[New York, NY: September 4, 2025] The new children's fiction title The Mardi Gras Mystery by George S. Corey (Gistikidz, pub October 28, 2025) is the first book in the upcoming New Orleans-themed trilogy that casts Georgie and GiGi, characters from the award-winning dramatic podcast series The Social Contract, as pint-sized super sleuths.
This whimsical, witty, and wondrously illustrated trilogy for young readers is rich with all that is magical about New Orleans, from its food and lore to its architecture and eccentricities.
The debut title in this New Orleans Trilogy will be followed by The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans (Christmas, 2025), in which the spirit of Marie Laveau is summoned, and The Missing Maid of Orleans (Fat Tuesday, 2026), in which the city's Joan of Arc statue vanishes. The storybooks/mini-art books for kids are richly illustrated by The Artist Cleo, whose work was featured in Georgie and GiGi's first kids' lit adventure Presidential Conversations for Kids ("history with a wink" -Kirkus). In that book, the kids travelled back in time to meet past presidents-from riding in a stagecoach with Abraham Lincoln to riding waves with Barack Obama in Hawaii.
In The Mardi Gras Mystery, "G and G" are magically transported to New Orleans to help save the city's annual Mardi Gras festivities after a series of ghost sightings scare revelers away. The light-hearted romp finds the spirited twosome (and their adult chaperones) experiencing the city's famous sites, including St. Louis Cathedral and Fifi Mahony's. And when they finally get to taste the famous beignets at Café du Monde, the ghosts create a powdered sugar cyclone! The decidedly friendly ghosts are based on notable real figures drawn from New Orleans rich cultural heritage, including Père Dagobert and Germaine Cazenave Wells.
In a joint statement, Corey and Cleo said, "The ways in which this city has inspired us are too numerous to list. We're just thrilled to be translating some of the most entertaining and mysterious aspects of its rich, diverse history into these adventures for young readers. And we couldn't think of better tour guides than Georgie and GiGi!"
The Social Contract podcast, which first introduced the characters of Georgie and GiGi to audiences, has racked up numerous industry awards since its 2022 premiere, including a platinum MarCom, Gold dotCOMM, gold AVA Digital Award, and silver W3 Award. The joint Talkbox/liCten audio series features Broadway veteran Stephen DeRosa (Hairspray, Into the Woods, Mr. Saturday Night, BOOP! The Musical), who voices all the characters in the podcast series. DeRosa will narrate the audiobooks for all three titles in the New Orleans Trilogy. His narration of Corey's works has been called "a tour de force" (Broadway World).
In past seasons of the podcast, young listeners have learned lessons in leadership and civic responsibility from the likes of Harriet Tubman, Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Plans are underway for Georgie and GiGi's adventures in the New Orleans Trilogy to be serialized in upcoming episodes of the podcast.
"The best part of what we're doing is knowing that these characters are resonating with kids," said Corey. "They're learning about all kinds of people and places right alongside Georgie and GiGi, and I think that's cool."
Cleo added, "I could never have imagined that Georgie and GiGi, who were initially created as a way to engage kids in presidential history, would have their own podcast series, and, now, this book trilogy. I can't wait to see what may be in store for them next!"
The Mardi Gras Mystery is being billed as "spooktacular fun" and will be available in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats.
Check out the podcast series!
