FB&C Writer Pens New Book on NOLA

At FB&C, we love to celebrate the successes of our writers, many of whom write for top newspapers and magazines and even books of their own. Today I'm happy to announce Deborah Burst's debut in book form, Hallowed Halls of Greater New Orleans: Historic Churches, Cathedrals and Sanctuaries (History Press, $19.99). Filled with 45 beautiful photos, Burst's book explores the rich history and culture of NOLA's devotional spaces: From Belgian Monk Gregory de Wit in Saint Joseph's Abbey to the history of Black Catholics at Blessed Sacrament - St. Joan of Arc church, to Philip Cazalé, who dedicated his life to building a network of 30 Romanesque Catholic churches and schools across south Louisiana. And the book contains a foreword by Anne Rice, whose own baroque childhood church, St. Alphonsus, is seen below.  

Burst, a New Orleans native herself, has been freelancing for us for years--her feature on a little library in Rugby, Tennessee, is in our current issue, and she's also written about topics that range from post-Katrina library cleanup at Tulane University to vintage cocktail books. Both a photographer and a writer, she has published more than a thousand articles and has received nineteen writing and photography awards over the last nine years.

For more information about her book, take a look at her website. Congrats, Deb!

Image credit: Deborah Burst.