Florence M. Jumonville, a native and lifelong resident of New Orleans, heads the Louisiana and Special Collections Department at the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans. Combined with a stint as head librarian at The Historic New Orleans Collection, she has worked with Louisiana materials and special collections for nearly 35 years. She holds advanced degrees in library science, history, and education from Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans. With two books and more than 50 book chapters, articles, and conference papers to her credit, Florence has varied research interests that prominently include the history of printing and publishing in New Orleans, emphasizing ephemera and sheet music. Currently she is writing about the history of the State Library of Louisiana and its role in the development of parish libraries throughout the state.
Barney Karpfinger studied English at Columbia University while supporting himself with a job as a paralegal. He founded the Karpfinger Agency in 1985 after working at two other literary agencies and also running the contracts department at a major publishing house. His clients include Amitav Ghosh, John Lescroart, Leah Hager Cohen and Bill Loehfelm, the winner of the first Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, among others. (Loehfelm is a New Orleans resident and a member of the 2010 faculty of Words & Muisc.)The Karpfinger Agency focuses on representing writers who wish to make a living writing books, writers who are dedicated professionals and whose work “inspires passion in us.” The agency believes in “helping clients develop their careers from scratch and in working with talented writers to regenerate careers that have faltered for one reason or another We negotiate thoughtfully and aggressively on behalf of our clients. And we donít disappear once a deal is made. We are advocates for our clients during the entire publishing process both in the U.S. and abroad.” The agency’s list ranges from some of todayís best mysteries to fine literary fiction. Our non-fiction list includes narrative non-fiction, as well as memoirs, biographies and cultural and political analysis. “Across forms, our clients share two traits in particular: an ease with language and the ability to tell a compelling story.”