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Margaret Orr

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup 2026 Margaret Orr

The author of two children’s books, Margaret Orr worked at WDSU-TV for 45 years, serving 15 of those years as chief meteorologist. She was recognized with Emmys for her coverage of hurricanes and tornadoes and many credit her with helping to save lives during dangerous weather. She was also honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Press Club of New Orleans and the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters and, in 2025, the broadcaster’s association inducted her into its hall of fame.

 

Schedule

Will be posted when available.

Jax and the Swamp Dragon: A Stormy Cajun Tale

“That’s a dragon!”

Papa thinks it’s a gator, and Mémère thinks it might be a rougarou or a dancing nutria—but Jax knows what he saw. There’s a storm whipping up the swamp, so if Jax wants to prove it, he needs to move fast. Armed with his shrimp boots and pirogue, Jax sets off to find a dragon with pink talons and a mischievous wink named Angélique.

Dynamic author and illustrator duo Margaret Orr and Matt Rinard of Scrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr team up again to bring readers a fantastically amusing children’s story set in the Acadiana swamp, a place where myths and folklore abound. Interwoven with Cajun French, Jax and the Swamp Dragon: A Storm Cajun Tale invites readers to soar over the cypresses and believe in the magic of Cajun Country.

Scrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr

In 2025, the Mystic Krewe of Barkus named Scrim—New Orleans’s most infamous canine escape artist—their grand marshal. In a dramatic leap from a second-story window triggered by a cat ambush, this seventeen-pound Westie mix bolted in April 2024. Surviving hurricanes, a blizzard, and two gunshot wounds while roaming fifty-seven square miles of the city, Scrim’s every move was tracked by a network of volunteers, surveillance cameras, and crowdsourced maps. 

Defined by his dogged fortitude and courage, his exploits became legend: snacking on chili dogs, dodging streetcars, crashing Saints tailgates, and even chatting with a giraffe at the zoo. But it was a New Year’s Eve firework scare and a run to Harahan that led to a turning point—and a cozy couch. Pondering his newly acquired leisure time, Scrim gave his first-person account of his adventures to trusted friend and beloved storyteller Margaret Orr. 

Now, Scrim recounts his journey from runaway rogue to local icon in his own words (with help from Margaret Orr). Scrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr is a heartwarming story of survival, sass, and finding out that, sometimes, the best adventures lead you home.