Jim Davis reveres words. The Tennessee native devoured My Weekly Reader as a boy, earned a Master’s Degree in English, counts writers among his friends, and introduces Louisianans to authors as the director of the Louisiana Center for the Book and the Louisiana Book Festival. Still, when asked what it means to be honored with the Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities award, he pondered a moment, then said, “I don’t have the gift of putting into words just how much it means to me. That is why I promote authors and am in awe of them—because they can put things into words, but I’m not good at it. I just think they are wizards.” 

Davis conjures his own kind of book magic. During his seventeen years leading the Louisiana Book Festival, held annually at the Louisiana State Library and other venues on the State Capitol grounds in Baton Rouge, it has become one of the country’s premier literary events. The festival presents books and writers to more than twenty thousand people through their one-day event each autumn as well as through writing workshops and author outreach to schools. Davis quickly passes credit to the festival’s Assistant Director Robert Wilson, State Librarian Meg Placke, and other staff, but he works with uncommon drive and purpose. “I do have a certain passion. Having a festival that people of all ages can enjoy is just personally gratifying,” he said. 

A high school teacher jolted Davis into a literary awakening through an assignment to read William Faulkner. But Davis had long been an avid reader. As a young boy, he saved up his allowance to buy mysteries. A series of biographies captured his attention in fourth grade; his favorite detailed the life of Will Rogers, an actor whose folksy style made him widely beloved. Like the icon of his early fascination, Davis has a down-to-earth sensibility that ensures he keeps all readers in mind, not just those with a literary predisposition. 

Davis is always asking himself what Louisiana’s readers would want. As a result, the festival brings in national authors, has evolved to include poets and welcome well-written self-published books, and facilitates connection between authors and readers by setting up a book signing for every visiting author.  

To maximize access to the festival’s literary resources, the week before the big event, participating authors are transported to schools around the state.  That is just one of several outreach programs Davis gets excited about as he works to further the mission of the Louisiana Center for the Book, which is to increase interest in reading, books, and libraries. The center also runs a summer reading program, hosts online programs for Women’s History Month and Black History Month, and convenes poets for a program called “Just Listen to Yourself: Louisiana’s Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets.”  

He sees his role as fighting aliteracy as much as illiteracy. “I just want to turn people onto books and the freedom to read, which is an extension of the freedom of expression,” Davis said.  

In his native East Tennessee, Davis had a career teaching literature and serving in an administrative role at a community college. In 1977 he took two trips to New Orleans in quick succession—he had to make sure he had fallen in love with the city, not just Mardi Gras, he said—and the lure of New Orleans overpowered his comfortable position at home. He moved, a decision which, he said, “shocked everybody, not the least of which was myself.”  

After the move, he worked at hotels, a hospital, a NASA facility, and a record store. There, a librarian recognized him from his frequent visits to her branch, where he often pored over the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature seeking articles to feed his interest in marbles. At the record store, as he helped her track down recordings of showtunes, she asked a life-changing question: “Have you ever thought about working at the library?”  

He first landed a job at the circulation desk and then became the Jefferson Parish Library’s Adult Program Manager, where he arranged author programming. That prepared him well for his current role, which he has held since May 2008.  

Another pivotal moment came in 2020, when Davis, who had liver disease, received a liver transplant. “I might not be around to accept this award if I hadn’t had that transplant, so I want to take this opportunity to encourage other people to be liver donors,” he said. 

If that sounds empathic, Davis might chalk that up to books. “Empathy is one of the greatest things to come out of reading,” he said. “To see others’ perspectives and to have a better understanding of others—reading brings us closer together.” 

Kerri Westenberg, a New Orleans writer, has been an editor at numerous magazines, including National Geographic, Bon Appetit, and Cooking Light. She wrote the award-winning article “Warning: This Article May be Banned” for 64 Parishes.