EDITORIAL: Sad chapter for Book Fest
Advocate (excerpt)

The Louisiana Book Festival, held since 2002 in and around the State Capitol, has been a nice way to advance Louisiana’s image as a place where the life of the mind is valued. We pay a lot of lip service to the uniqueness of Louisiana culture, but if Louisiana doesn’t honor its homegrown authors, an important part of that culture, how can we expect that culture to be sustained?

The Book Fest won’t be held this year because of state budget cuts, and unless the state budget picture improves, which doesn’t seem likely soon, the festival could be in jeopardy for next year, too.

With the state facing millions in red ink, spending money on any kind of festival — even a literary one — is difficult to justify. But we wonder if private donors and sponsors might be recruited to save the Louisiana Book Festival. The Book Fest already has some corporate sponsorship; perhaps others can step up to the plate.