Essayist, professor and former co-editor of The Southern Review Lewis P. Simpson received the Louisiana Writer Award in 2005. He was honored by the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana for his extraordinary contributions to the state's literary heritage exemplified by his body of work.

The prestigious Louisiana Writer Award has been given annually since 2000 to recognize outstanding contributions to the literary and intellectual life of Louisiana.

Simpson authored or edited 12 books, seven of which were published by the Louisiana State University Press. His works include The Fable of the Southern Writer and Mind and the American Civil War.

In addition to the Louisiana Writer Award, Simpson was recipient of the Avery O. Craven Award of the Organizations of American Historians, the Hubbell Medal, the Jules and Frances Landry Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.

Born in 1916, Simpson grew up in Jacksboro, Texas. He received Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1948, Simpson moved to Baton Rouge, where he was a professor of English at Louisiana State University until 1987. He was named Boyd Professor at LSU in 1980.

He served as co-editor of the Southern Review from 1965 to 1987.

Simpson was a founding member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He was also president of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature.

Simpson died in 2005.