Jim Sitter, founding executive director of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, has received the 2016 Kay Sexton Award for “long-standing dedication and outstanding work in fostering books, reading, and literary activity in Minnesota” from the Friends of St. Paul Public Library and the Minnesota Book Awards.

St. Catherine University’s Master of Library and Information Science Program presents the award each year to an individual or organization that has shown the aforementioned qualities. Sitter has worked on behalf of the literary arts community for over thirty years; after he graduated from Macalester College, he worked at the Hungry Mind Bookstore where he established the Hungry Mind Reading Series. Shortly after, Sitter acquired a company called Truck Distribution in 1979 and transformed it into a national distribution service called Bookslinger, which brought visibility to independent literary presses like Minnesota’s Graywolf Press, Milkweed Editions, Coffee House Press, and New Rivers Press.

Due to a growing interest in the craft of bookmaking, Sitter also went on to found the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). To ensure its success, he assembled a board of arts and civic leaders, serving as founding executive director until 1989. He also assisted with the growth of Allan Kornblum’s Toothpaste Press, which became the organization’s first “press-in-residence” in its move to Minnesota, and he is credited with persuading Kornblum to found Coffee House Press and encouraging Scott Walker, founder of Graywolf Press, to move Graywolf from Washington State to Minnesota.

Sitter has also directed the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP); helped to form LitNet, a coalition of literary organizations that advocate for freedom of expression and funding for the literary arts; and advocated for National Endowment for the Arts fellowships in the 1990s.

David Unowksy, founder of the Hungry Mind Bookstore and fellow Kay Sexton Award recipient, puts it this way: “Jim’s work has benefitted every aspect of our literary culture: writers, publishers, booksellers and other nonprofits.”

Sitter will formally receive his award at the 28th annual Minnesota Book Award Ceremony on Saturday, April 16 at Saint Paul’s Union Depot. Awards in eight book categories will be presented to awardees. For tickets or more information about the event, visit the Minnesota Book Awards webpage.

Photo: via Star Tribune