For those traipsing about the Crescent City on Halloween night, Pelican Bomb has an investigation of one of its most famous murderers, the jazz-loving Axman of 1918. He was never caught, so do be careful out there…

I’m humbled to hear that Hattiesburg, Mississippi has made the Gannett/University Press of Mississippi top-10 list for Mississippi Reads this week. To think so many folks are interested in local history (or simply love the Hub City, which is so easy to do) is a true thrill, and coming up on the two-year anniversary of its publication I’m still grateful to all those who made the book possible. Copies remain available from Arcadia, from Amazon, and elsewhere.

I’m delighted to be appearing this week at the premiere of “Riding the Wind,” a new play about Hattiesburg history written and produced by Dean Meador Smith, a descendant of one of the first settlers to the Hattiesburg area. The performance runs from Thursday to Sunday, October 6-9, at the Arnold Meador homestead in Hattiesburg, and I’ll be partnering with Main Street Books to sell and sign copies of Hattiesburg, Mississippi on-site at the play. For more information about the play, or to book tickets, visit the Riding the Wind page.

Pelican Bomb has an interview with zoe | juniper, the dance ensemble responsible for bringing a new production of sacred harp music to New Orleans.

Dates for the 2017 New Orleans Poetry Festival have just been announced: April 20-23, 2017. Proposals are open now; more information is available at the festival website.