Beatrice Davis gained her early editorial experience at the Medical Journal of Australia and commenced work as an editor at Angus & Robertson in early 1937. For thirty-six years she worked with and nurtured many important Australian writers of both fiction and non-fiction; she also played a key role in the development of Australian children's literature. Davis founded Poetry Australia and Coast to Coast: Australian Short Stories; these anthologies showcased emerging and established Australian poets and writers.
In the 1960s Davis established her George Street Studio, which has been described as 'the nearest thing to a Literary Salon in this country'. (Marilyn Stacey, cited in L. Poland, 2002.) Davis was dismissed from Angus & Robertson by Richard Walsh in 1973 after the 'old firm' had been acquired by Gordon Barton's Tjuringa Securities. From 1973 to 1986 she was an editor for Thomas Nelson.
Friend, mentor and editor to generations of Australian writers Beatrice Davis was a major force in the publishing of Australian literature. (Jacqueline Kent, A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, A Literary Life, Viking, 2001.) She was a judge for the Miles Franklin Award from 1957 until her death, and 'she was made an OAM and an AM in honour of her services to publishing'. 'In the last year of her life (1992), she was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by her alma mater, the University of Sydney'. The Beatrice Davis Fellowship, a travelling fellowship for editors was founded in 1991.
