Legions of book lovers came together Saturday to discuss and promote literature at the seventh annual Louisiana Book Festival.Engaged festival-goers and 190 authors participated in panel discussions and conversations in the chambers and committee rooms of the Louisiana Capitol Building, a part of the festival that makes it unique, said Rebecca Hamilton, assistant secretary for the office of the state library.”We have a very intimate environment,” Hamilton said. “You can meet the author you’re going to see. It is on a scale so that you can have a very intimate reaction with an author that would [otherwise] be lost in an auditorium.”Hamilton said in addition to promoting literacy and encouraging reading, the festival is a part of Louisiana’s economy, both culturally and financially.”As people write books about Louisiana, that’s economic development,” Hamilton said. “There’s visibility for the state. We are part of Louisiana’s cultural economy.”Ernest J. Gaines, author of Southern novels “A Lesson Before Dying” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” spoke about the inspiration Louisiana has given his writing.Though Gaines left Louisiana in 1948, he returned in 1963 — a move he said was crucial to his work. “The only thing I could write about was Louisiana,” Gaines said. “My soul remained here. For me to be a writer, I had to come back to Louisiana … and my stories began to feel true to me.”Hamilton said the festival also makes a positive economic impact on Baton Rouge, and festival organizers had an independent study conducted to find out the true amount of the impact. “The festival has a $2 million economic impact on the greater Baton Rouge area,” Hamilton said. “That comes from people coming in, staying overnight and eating at restaurants.”Mark Kerry, Baton Rouge resident and author of “Tigers of the Tigris,” a book about his experience working with Iraqi soldiers, said the festival is a great place for productive discourse between authors, but is also a good business opportunity.”Authors get lots of exposure [at the festival], and you can make a buck by selling your work,” he said.Gisele Haralson, author of a self-published book on relationships called “More than just Sex: It’s the Art of the Chase,” said this year’s Book Festival was her first. Haralson wrote her book after writing a thesis on black women’s perceptions of marriage during her graduate work at Southern University.Haralson said the festival provides ample opportunity to network and meet readers, but being at a festival with successful authors like Gaines is important for her as a writer.”It gives me a mindset to know the possibilities for me as an author,” Haralson said. “It gives me something to look forward to and strive for.”About 500 volunteers, many of whom are associated with the University’s School of Library and Information Science, put on the festival and keep events working, Hamilton said.Students in the LIS program organize a group to volunteer at the festival every year, said Beth Paskoff, dean of the School of Library and Information Science.”Students work in many different areas of the festival,” Paskoff said. “It gives them an opportunity to see what kinds of things they may be doing in the future and meet people who may be their colleagues someday.”Suzanne Stauffer, assistant LIS professor, said the festival’s central location at the Capitol, state museum and state library adds another meaningful layer to the event.”I don’t know of any other capital where you can have this type of cultural festival literally in the middle of state government,” Stauffer said.—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]