Kate Chopin (1850–1904), born Katherine O’Flaherty, was the author of two published novels and about one hundred short stories, and lived in New Orleans for over ten years. She is widely considered one of the first feminist authors of the twentieth century. She is best known for her short story collections Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897), and her novel The Awakening (1899).
John William Corrington was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He received a JD at Tulane University School of Law (1971), but after a few years left the practice of law and began writing full time. Before his death in 1988 he had published four books of poetry, four novels, three books of short fiction, two anthologies, and, with his wife, had written a four-book mystery series, six feature movies, and numerous television episodes.
O’Neil De Noux writes in multiple genres with twenty-nine books published and hundreds of short story sales. His mysteries have won Shamus and Derringer awards and his novel John Raven Beau was the 2011 Police Book of the Year. His historical novels include Battle Kiss and USS Relentless. The French Detective is De Noux’ s latest, a historical mystery novel set in 1900 New Orleans. A former homicide detective, De Noux is currently a police investigator at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Tom Dent (1932–1998) was a New Orleans — born poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher, and was an active participant in the Black Arts and civil rights movements. He was a leading literary figure in New Orleans and spearheaded the Free Southern Theater community workshop program to cultivate local talent within the New Orleans community. His work as an oral historian culminated with his book Southern Journey: A Return to the Civil Rights Movement (1997).
Ellen Gilchrist won the National Book Award for her 1984 collection Victory Over Japan. She is the author of more than twenty books, including novels, short stories, essays, and poetry, most recently her story collection Acts of God. Gilchrist lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and teaches creative writing at the University of Arkansas.
Shirley Ann Grau is the author of nine novels and short story collections who was raised in Alabama and Louisiana. Her first novel, The Hard Blue Sky (1958), portrayed the descendants of European pioneers living on an island off the coast of Louisiana. Her public profile rose during the civil rights movement, when her dynastic novel Keepers of the House (1964), which dealt with race relations in Alabama, earned her a Pulitzer Prize.
O. Henry (1862–1910), born William Sydney Porter, was an American writer of short stories known for his wit, wordplay, and plot twists. He lived briefly in New Orleans in 1896 while fleeing embezzlement charges before eventually settling in New York City, where he would spend the remainder of his life. His most notable stories include “The Ransom of Red Chief” (1910), “The Duplicity of Hargraves” (1902), and “The Gift of the Magi” (1905).
Grace King (1852–1932) was a New Orleans novelist and historian whose writing captured Louisiana’s complex racial identity. Her writing career began when the editor of Century challenged her to counter negative depictions of mixed-race slave owners. King’s short fiction appeared in major national magazines before being collected in Tales of a Time and Place (1892) and Balcony Stories (1893). Her most notable work of nonfiction is New Orleans: The Place and the People (1895).
Armand Lanusse (1812–1867) was an educator and poet who lived in New Orleans his entire life. In 1845 he edited and contributed to Les Cenelles, a collection of eighty-five poems written by seventeen free black Louisiana poets and the first collection of poems by African Americans ever published in the United States. In 1848 he helped establish a school for orphans of color and worked as its director until his death.
Valerie Martin is the author of ten novels, including Trespass, Mary Reilly, and Property, three collections of short fiction, and a biography of St. Francis of Assisi titled Salvation. She has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Kafka Prize (for Mary Reilly) and Britain’s Orange Prize (for Property). Her most recent novel is The Ghost of the Mary Celeste.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin is a graduate of the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop and a member of the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance and the MelaNated Writers Collective. His work has appeared in Redivider, Callaloo, the Massachusetts Review, and Unfathomable City. He is the winner of the 2014 Iowa Review Fiction Award, the 2014 So to Speak Journal Short Story Award, and the 2014 William Faulkner Competition for Novel in Progress.
Julie Smith is an Edgar Award winner for best novel, and the author of four mystery series set in New Orleans and San Francisco. A former journalist, she has worked for newspapers in both those cities and now lives in New Orleans. She is the owner of booksBnimble, which publishes mysteries and other quality works digitally. In 2007 Smith edited the best-selling anthology New Orleans Noir for Akashic Books.
Eudora Welty (1909–2001) was a National Book Award — winning author of short stories and novels that center around the American South. She was born in Jackson, Mississippi, where she lived until her death. Her most famous novel, The Optimist’s Daughter (1973), takes place in New Orleans and won her the Pulitzer Prize. She is also notable for her photograph collection One Time, One Place (1971).
Tennessee Williams (1911–1983) was an American playwright and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and four Drama Critic Circle Awards. He was born in Mississippi and in 1939 moved to New Orleans, a city that inspired much of his writing, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), which won him his first Pulitzer Prize. His most famous plays include The Glass Menagerie (1944) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955).
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the stories in this anthology. “A Conscientious Marriage” by Armand Lanusse was originally published in French as “Un Mariage de Conscience” in L’Album Littéraire: Journal des Jeunes Gens, Amateurs de Littérature, Vol. 1, August 15, 1843, translated here by David and Nicole Ball; “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin was originally published in Vogue as “The Dream of an Hour” on December 6, 1894; “The Little Convent Girl” by Grace King was originally published in Balcony Stories (New York: Century, 1893); “Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking” by O. Henry was originally published in McClure’s (December 1899); “The Purple Hat” by Eudora Welty was originally published in Harper’s Bazaar (November 1941), reprinted by permission of Russell & Volkening as agents for the author, copyright © 1941 by Eudora Welty, renewed 1969 by Eudora Welty; “Desire and the Black Masseur” by Tennessee Williams was originally published in