Since its founding, the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University has celebrated storytelling in all its forms—on the page, on the stage, and in the vibrant visual culture of our city. Each year, the festival commissions a Louisiana artist to create an original poster that embodies the event’s spirit and the creative pulse of New Orleans. These posters are more than commemorative artworks: they are invitations into the festival’s world, reflections of the community it serves, and tributes to the imagination that fuels readers and writers alike. Together, they tell a story of a festival deeply rooted in place, creativity and the power of shared narratives.
During the festival, all five years of commissioned poster art will be exhibited together on the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center, offering visitors a visual journey through the festival’s creative evolution.
2022 - Emma Fick
The inaugural poster by artist, author and illustrator Emma Fick set the tone for the festival’s visual identity with a richly detailed celebration of New Orleans iconography and the joy of reading. Her watercolor design centers on a classic green uptown streetcar—every passenger absorbed in a book—gliding past Tulane’s uptown campus under a canopy of blooming magnolias. Fick framed the piece with illustrations of book covers from authors featured at the festival. True to her goal of crafting an image “visually iconic to New Orleans,” the 2022 poster captures the magic of discovery, the intimacy of reading, and the shared curiosity that defines the festival’s debut year.
Read more about Emma Fick's poster art here.
2023 — Alex Beard
Painter, author and conservationist Alex Beard brought his signature “Abstract Naturalism” to the 2023 festival poster, designing The Reading Tree: a lively brown tree overflowing with colorful animals, insects and sea creatures, each happily engrossed in a book. From pelicans and alligators at its roots to fish and sharks in the surrounding blue water, the poster radiates warmth, whimsy and the boundless possibility of stories. As Beard explained, the piece springs from the same imaginative world as his beloved Tales from the Watering Hole children’s books, extending an invitation for families to read together and find joy in the natural world. Cheerful, detailed and full of character, the poster reflects the festival’s mission to nurture a lifelong love of reading—especially among young readers.
Read more about Alex Beard's poster art here.
2024 — Brandan "BMIKE" Odums
For 2024, acclaimed muralist and cultural storyteller Brandan “BMIKE” Odums created a poster that foregrounds community, connection and the unique intimacy of the written word. Known for large-scale murals that center social consciousness and local identity, Odums designed a piece featuring books held up by a range of hands, each displaying a portrait on its cover—an image of stories shared between people and across generations. Odums describes literature as one of the most enduring relationships between artist and audience, a theme reflected in the poster’s bold imagery and deep sense of kinship. His design stands as a tribute to the way books build bridges and how reading unites communities in dialogue, memory and love.
Read more about BMIKE's poster art here.
2025 — Simon of New Orleans
The 2025 poster by beloved folk artist Simon of New Orleans bursts with exuberance and unmistakable local charm. Featuring Simon’s iconic fleur-de-lis and heart rendered in his signature folk pop-inspired style, the design radiates bold color and playful energy. With hand-painted lettering and vibrant motifs, the poster embodies the celebratory spirit of the festival’s tagline, “Mardi Gras for the Mind,” capturing the joy, humor and creative resilience that define New Orleans culture. Simon’s work has long served as a visual love letter to the city, and this poster continues that tradition—inviting festivalgoers to revel in a weekend where ideas parade, stories sparkle, and the literary arts take center stage.
Read more about Simon's poster art here.
2026 — Francis X. Pavy
Renowned Louisiana artist Francis X. Pavy crafted the 2026 festival poster as a richly atmospheric tribute to the transformative power of reading. Set against a glowing dusk sky of saturated pinks and blues, the image depicts a solitary reader silhouetted on a wrought-iron steamboat balcony drifting along the Mississippi River, with a dreamlike New Orleans skyline rising behind him. Infused with Pavy’s signature blend of folklore, rhythm and local iconography—and paired with elegant hand-crafted lettering by his daughter, Annabelle Pavy—the poster captures a moment suspended between quiet reflection and the vibrant world beyond. It evokes the feeling of being transported by a story, embodying the festival’s mission to uplift imagination, celebrate place and honor the timeless magic of the written word.
Read more about Francis Pavy's poster art here.
All posters are available for purchase in our official merch store.
