As the daughter of the director of the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival, Hayley Levy was born with books in her blood. At just 20 years old, and a junior at Washington University, Levy has met more than a handful of world-famous authors, and even had a character of a book named after her.

“I guess you could say I am an honorary festival committee member,” Levy said. “I’m sure the ladies on the committee would be OK with that.”

Levy, a congregant at B’nai Amoona, has been assisting her mother, Marcia Evers Levy, at the book festival since Hayley was six years old.

“During the festival I attend many of the author programs, and every year I go with my mom to the convention, Book Expo America,” Hayley Levy said. “I’ve helped find authors and books, met with authors with my mom and reviewed books for the festival committee.”

Levy loves every part of the book festival as well as Book Expo America (BEA). She has missed the festival only once, when she was in Israel. BEA is a yearly convention where publishers showcase their new books and the authors who wrote them.

“It’s hard to describe BEA but it’s one of the coolest things ever, if you like books,” Levy said. 

Levy loves to read and when she finds the right book, she cannot put it down. 

“My parents couldn’t get me to stop reading all the time when I was younger” Levy said. 

As a result of the book festival and Book Expo, Levy has fond memories of meeting well-known authors and public figures. Some of those she has gotten to rub shoulders with include Julie Andrews, Jerry Springer, Condoleezza Rice, Michael Bolton, Ellen Schreiber, Jon Stewart, and Nicholas Sparks. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet authors before they hit it big, like Stephenie Meyer of the ‘Twilight’ series,” Levy said. 

Levy’s exchanges with famous authors have thrust her into the spotlight as well. After she had the opportunity to meet former President Bill Clinton, she was interviewed about her meeting with him by the CBS news show “60 Minutes.” Levy even became pen pals with Ellen Schreiber, the author of many teen books. 

“Years ago, she emailed as a reader of my books and somehow mentioned the festival,” Schreiber said.  “She told me about it for several years (via email) and we kept in touch. We’d write to each other back and forth for several years. It was really cool.”

Finally, one year Schreiber attended the Jewish Book Festival. To this day, Schreiber and Levy still keep in touch. 

“One amazing author, Ellen Schreiber, even came to the festival,” Levy said. “She also named a character in one of her books after me.”

Schreiber’s book, “Once in a Full Moon,” features a werewolf and a girl he falls in love with. The cool skateboard chick who captures the werewolf’s eye is named after Hayley. 

“I thought it would be fun to pay homage to my friend,” Schreiber said.

Not only has the book festival had a large impact on Levy, but Levy has had a large impact on the book festival as well.

“I believe Hayley has enjoyed meeting a wide variety of authors and interacting with them,” said Evers Levy. “The opportunity to discuss ideas and issues with experts and literature with novelists has also been exciting and fun. I’m happy to say Hayley has left a positive impression on festival authors . . . They always ask about her when I hear from them after they’ve appeared here.”

Levy’s view of Judaism and everything that Jews are capable of accomplishing has been broadened by her work at the book festival.

“Volunteering with the festival has made me more aware of the diversity and creativity of the Jewish people,” Levy said. “We are writers, musicians, journalists, actors, politicians, and more.”