“Captive State” Book: Upcoming Local and Regional Literary Events
Explore opportunities to learn more about HNOC’s latest publication at upcoming community events.
Adapted from the award-winning exhibition of the same name, HNOC’s new book Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration examines how the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked.
This page will be updated regularly with upcoming events centered around the launch of the book, as they are confirmed.
Upcoming Events
2026 New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University
Panel Discussion: “After the Sentence: Justice, Accountability & Second Chances”
Friday, March 13, 2026
4–4:45 p.m.
NROTC Building, Tulane University
Freret Street and McAlister Drive, New Orleans, LA 70118
Sophie Cull, Calvin Duncan, and Nick Weldon examine the American criminal justice system through the lens of accountability, redemption, and reform. In conversation with Madeleine Landrieu, Dean of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, they explore the human consequences of incarceration, the structural forces that shape sentencing and reentry, and the moral questions at the heart of punishment. Drawing on lived experience, legal scholarship, and investigative reporting, their discussion considers what justice demands after the sentence is served and what meaningful second chances require from individuals, institutions, and society.
Learn more about Captive State and preorder your copy from the Shop at the Collection.
Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
softcover • 9" × 11" • 106 pp.
57 color images
ISBN 9780917860942
$19.95
Past events
Captive State Book Panel Discussion
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
6 p.m.
Loyola University College of Law, 526 Pine Street
Nick Weldon, HNOC editor and coauthor of Captive State, will moderate a panel discussion featuring Dr. Andrea Armstrong, Loyola University College of Law; Anthony Hingle Jr., Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), Montrell Carmouche, Operation Restoration; and HNOC curator and historian Eric Seiferth.
Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series
Monday, November 10, 12 p.m.
Jewish Community Center, New Orleans
5342 St. Charles Avenue
$10 admission for nonmembers
RegisterOpens in new tab
As part of the Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series at the New Orleans JCC, editor Nick Weldon will give a lecture about Captive State followed by a Q&A session and book signing. A kosher boxed lunch will be provided to attendees.
2025 Words & Music Festival
Panel Discussion: Reading for Justice: From Incarceration to Exoneration
Wednesday, November 19, 6:30 p.m.
André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice
2541 Bayou Road, New Orleans
Free admission, registration recommended
The 2025 Words & Music Festival, hosted by One Book One New Orleans, will kick off with a panel discussion featuring Captive State editor Nick Weldon and foreword author Dr. Andrea Armstrong in conversation with Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull, coauthors of The Jailhouse Lawyer. The discussion will be moderated by Verite reporter Richard A. Webster.
2025 HomeFest
Friday, October 17, 6:30 p.m.
Community Book Center
2523 Bayou Road, New Orleans
Free and open to the public
Join us at the Community Book Center to celebrate the book launch with editor Nick Weldon and Captive State exhibition advisors Anthony Hingle Jr. (Voice of the Experienced), Montrell Carmouche (Operation Restoration), and Katie Hunter-Lowrey (organizer with Justice for Survivors coalition). HNOC will also host a book table and lounge area on the second day of the festival, Saturday, October 18, on Bayou Road between N. Rocheblave St. and N. Broad St. Learn more on the HomeFest website.
2025 Louisiana Book Festival
Saturday, November 1, 11–11:45 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
State Library, 701 N 4th Street, Baton Rouge, 4th Floor
Free and open to the public
At the 2025 Louisiana Book Festival, editor Nick WeldonOpens in new tab and author/exhibition curator Eric SeiferthOpens in new tab will discuss the making of Captive State. A book signing will follow from 12 to 12:45 p.m. at the Cavalier House Books Tent. Visit the Louisiana Book Festival websiteOpens in new tab for more information.
Related Exhibitions
Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
Learn how the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked, and how these connections have made Louisiana the world leader in incarceration today.
Related Stories
A Long Arc of Injustice
Once the hub of the domestic slave trade, Louisiana now leads the world in incarceration, with Black people disproportionately affected. HNOC’s exhibition Captive State traces the roots of this inequity all the way back to the founding of the state.
Inside Angola’s Prison Newspaper, the ‘Angolite’
John Corley, associate editor at Louisiana State Penitentiary, discusses the history and operations of the award-winning periodical.
Related Collection Highlights
“Vernon C. Bain” Christening Ceremony Video
When New York City’s war on drugs sent incarceration rates soaring, officials commissioned a floating jail built and christened downriver from New Orleans.
Hospital Banner Newsletters
An unusual periodical, written and produced by residents of the state mental hospital in the mid-20th century
Death Notice for John Ward Gurley
One hot-headed young upstart in early 19th-century Louisiana found his way onto the dueling field, where the odds were not in his favor.
Related News
HNOC, LHA Select “The Carceral City” to Receive 2024 Williams Prize
Innocence Project New Orleans to Honor HNOC with John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice
“Captive State” Named Museum Exhibition of the Year by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
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