Pelican Publishing Company is a book publisher based in Gretna, a suburb of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Formed in 1926, Pelican is the largest independent trade book publisher located in the U.S. South. Pelican publishes approximately 60 titles per year and maintains a backlist of over 2500 books. Most of its titles relate to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

and Southern culture,

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

, art, travel guides,

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, children's books, and textbooks.

History

Formed in 1926 by John McClure, Pelican was tied early in its history to

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

and Stuart O. Landry. In 1970, Dr. Milburn E. Calhoun and family acquired Pelican. Calhoun served as company president and publisher prior to his death in 2012. Since his passing, daughter Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton has occupied his place as publisher and president. In May 2019, the company's assets was officially purchased by

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publ ...

. The purchased titles are now under the Pelican Publishing imprint of Arcadia Publishing. The company itself is still owned by Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton and the retained titles and rights are handled by her firm.

Significant titles

Pelican Publishing Company has produced many noteworthy titles, including the following: *''

Arnaud's Arnaud's is a Creole restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It serves classic Creole dishes. History Arnaud's was founded in 1918 by a French wine salesman, Arnaud Cazenave. In 1978, 60 years after the restaurant opened, it was bou ...

Restaurant Cookbook: Legendary Creole Cuisine'' by

Kit Wohl Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals ...

. *''Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy'' by Brandon Ray Kirk, which tells the story of the Lincoln County Feud. *'' The Cajun Night Before Christmas'' by James Rice: A

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the popular

Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' ...

poem in which Santa Claus visits

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

Louisiana. *''The Cavalry Battle that Saved the Union: Custer vs. Stuart at Gettysburg'', Paul D. Walker, 2002 *''Clovis Crawfish'', a children's series by Mary Alice Fontenot *''The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death'', Bill Keith study of the

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

public safety commissioner

George W. D'Artois George Wendell D'Artois, Sr. (December 25, 1925 – June 11, 1977) was an American law enforcement officer and politician in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as the city's Public Safety Commissioner from 1962 to 1976. D'Artois was investigat ...

*''

Finn McCool's Football Club ''Finn McCool's Football Club - The Birth, Death and Resurrection of a Pub Soccer Team in the City of the Dead'' is the title of a nonfiction memoir book written by Belfast author Stephen Rea and released in February 2009 by Pelican Publishing Comp ...

'' by Stephen Rea, released February 2009. Memoir of the author's experiences at an Irish pub in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and what happened to the patrons before, during, and after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. *''

Louisiana Almanac The Louisiana Almanac is a regularly updated reference work, published by the Gretna, Louisiana based Pelican Publishing Company. New editions have usually been produced every two to six years, but the most recent edition, the nineteenth, was publ ...

'' (series): A resource of statistical data and historical information related to the State of Louisiana. *''The Maverick Guide'' (series): A series of travel guides begun by Robert W. Bone (author). *''New Orleans Classic Cookbook Series featuring Desserts, Appetizers, Seafood and Gumbos & Soups'', also by

*''See You at the Top'', the first book by motivational business speaker Zig Ziglar *''Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles'' by

: The first trade publication written by

. Pelican also has a history of publishing books that advance

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

views. It published a number of Stuart Omer Landry's racist tracts, including ''The Cult of Equality: A Study of the Race Problem'' and ''Rebuilding the Tower of Babel: A Study of Christianity and Segregation''. Pelican has been called "one of the leading, if not the leading, publisher of neo-Confederate books," including books that helped "found the modern neo-Confederate movement." Among the titles it has published are ''The Southern Nation: The New Rise of the Old South'', ''Myths of American Slavery'', and ''The South Was Right!''

References

External links

Pelican Publishing Company
Book publishing companies based in Louisiana Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Political book publishing companies Companies based in New Orleans Publishing companies established in 1926 {{US-publish-company-stub