JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Book Festival is where readers and writers get together and meet face to face on the grounds of the State Capitol. Writers get advice from other writers, and the Mississippi tradition of storytelling is celebrated.

The crowds were back this year in spite of the heat.

There are newly published authors, like Steve Beam from Sumrall.

“This is what I wanted to do since I was in the 6th grade. I was just exposed to books, and I thought, ‘Wow. To be able to write stories that people read must be the most amazing thing in the world,'” he said.

But just as writers write, readers read.

Mississippi is known for producing writers. I wonder why we have so many more here than anywhere else.

John Floyd is one of those Mississippi writers. He has an idea why we write so much.

“You can’t open your car door in Mississippi without hitting a writer, and I’m not sure why. They say it’s because of our conflicted past. And I’m not sure that’s true. I think part of it is, certainly if you’re old like me, you grew up listening to stories told by everybody,” Floyd said.

Do you want to be a writer? Well, there’s basics you need to know in order to put a sentence on paper. But Beam has the best advice; just start.

One of my favorite writers is Willie Morris. He was asked about the literacy rate in Mississippi, or the lack of it, to which he replied, “We may not be read, but we sure do write like the devil.”