Sally Asher, owner and operator of Red Sash Tours, is passionate about revealing the unusual, outrageous and untold stories of New Orleans. An award-winning writer and professional photographer, Asher believes history (especially in New Orleans) doesn’t have to be stuffy and isn’t about merely listing dates and facts, but the gentle collision of truth and narrative – scandals and all! Her goal with almost everything she does is to inform, educate, and entertain.

She is the author and photographer of Hope & New Orleans: A History of Crescent City Street Names (2014, History Press) and Stories from the St. Louis Cemeteries of New Orleans (2015, History Press), co-author and photographer of 111 Places in New Orleans That You Must Not Miss (Emons, 2018) and author of the children’s’ books The Mermaids of New Orleans (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2018) and The Mermaids’ Night Before Christmas (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2019). She also contributed chapters (and photographs) to two New Orleans tricentennial books: New Orleans: The First 300 Years (Pelican, 2017), and New Orleans & The World (Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2017). 

Asher’s articles and fiction have appeared in over a dozen publications. Her book about Prohibition in New Orleans will be published in 2022/2023 and she is currently working on a book about symbolism in New Orleans cemeteries.

Asher’s photography has appeared in many local, national and international media outlets including the New York Times, Newsweek, Offbeat, U.S. World News, the Gambit, Penthouse Magazine, and New Orleans Magazine.

Asher has two master’s degrees from Tulane University in English and Liberal Arts (with a concentration in history).

She frequently lectures on New Orleans history through the Louisiana State Museum and has lectured for the Old U.S. Mint, C-SPAN, the Cabildo, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Hermann-Grima/Gallier House, Tulane University, VCPORA, the 1850 House, the Beauregard-Keyes House, New Orleans Public Libraries, the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans, and various private organizations.

Asher has lectured, presented, and/or moderated panels for the Louisiana Book Festival, Downriver Festival, Bourbon Festival, and the Tennessee Williams Festival. She has appeared on C-Span, and is a frequent guest on Steppin’ Out, NPR’s the Reading Life and Louisiana Eats as well as other local networks.

She wrote and co-produced two mini documentaries on Mardi Gras for the local PBS channel WYES: “Carnival in Storyville” (2017) and “Pershing in New Orleans (2016).

Asher serves on the board of Save Our Cemeteries (Tourism and Education) and is a member of the Arts Council of New Orleans, Friends of the Cabildo, Press Club of New Orleans, and the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans.
 

Beyond history and civic endeavors, Asher was also one of the original skaters for the local roller derby team, the Big Easy Rollergirls, is co-captain of the Leijorettes, a Mardi Gras dance krewe dedicated to honoring Princess/General Leia Organa of Alderaan, and Co-captain for Krewe of House Floats in the Bayou St. John/Fairgrounds neighborhood. She is also a licensed officiant and can help you plan and officiate your wedding.

When she’s not writing, researching, or sharing her love of New Orleans history, Asher enjoys spending time with her family and friends, eating and drinking at as many local restaurants and bars as she can, dancing to brass band music, making quilts for her loved ones, and walking the bayou with her two amazing dogs Fannie and Huckleberry.

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