Baton Rouge readers can head downtown Thursday, October 29, for the 19th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence at Manship Theatre at Shaw Center for the Arts. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the public ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. with free admission.
This year’s winner is Rob Franklin, whose debut novel Great Black Hope won the 19th annual award. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Gaines Award honors rising African-American fiction writers and celebrates the literary legacy of Ernest J. Gaines.
Attendees can expect a reading from Franklin, a Q&A with one of the award’s judges, and a brief reception afterward. For local book lovers, it is a chance to hear a nationally recognized emerging novelist in person during a free evening centered on literature, conversation, and Louisiana storytelling.
Event Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026
