Many Cities have literacy programs encouraging citizens to "read one book" together. The city of New Orleans, always a bit different, has just written a book together instead. "New Orleans by New Orleans" is a new collection of flash fiction, essays, poetry, song lyrics and art, all inspired by New Orleans. Each story is written from a different perspective.

"New Orleans by New Orleans" is a powerful read with poignant anecdotes, childhood memories of buildings long gone, family lineages, harrowing hurricane experiences, a talking cockroach, everyday life in the city, and a lot more.

Written works hail from professional writers such as fifth-generation native New Orleanian and Jefferson Press Prize-winning author James Nolan; James A. Reeves, co-founder of Red Antenna and author of The Road to Somewhere; and New Orleans-based writers Patty Friedmann, Mary S. Palmer, Jocelyn Kerr, Sandy Warren, Helen Krieger, Randall P. Roussell, Karel Sloane-Boekbinder, Lynette Norris Wilkinson, Rachel Dangermond, and community leaders including Jonathan Skvarka, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans.

"New Orleans by New Orleans" also features works by more than 40 artists including Ogden Museum of Southern Art presented artists Jack Niven and Jimmy Descant, and professional artists William B. Crowell, Sandra Burshell, Rex Dingler, Odie K. Tucker, Jr., Sarah Rosedahl, Holly Scheib, and Brent Barnidge. Artworks include photography, found-object and mixed media collage, sculpture, line drawing, and watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings.

The book is the third installment of "Book by Authors," a program established in 2006 in response to the National Endowment for the Arts’The Big Read. Inspired by a city coming together to “Read One Book,” creative firm Smolarcorp created a model for a city to “Write One Book” about itself.