Dear Authors, Readers, Fans and Friends of Books,
We at Kentucky Humanities are thrilled to welcome you to the 44th edition of the Kentucky Book Festival! This year promises to be an unforgettable experience, and we can’t wait for you to join us on Saturday, November 1. We encourage you to sit in on one of the many panel discussions or stage conversations, browse the author’s gallery, listen in on a story time, and check out the fun activities for the next generation of readers. But don’t just come out on Saturday—join us for the added excitement throughout the week! There’s so much to see and do, and we want you to be a part of it all.
We are grateful to our partners at Joseph-Beth Booksellers for once again hosting and assisting with planning the festival. Generous contributions from countless individuals and organizations make this festival possible. We owe all our sponsors and partners an enduring thanks. In fact, because of our amazing sponsors, hundreds of children (age 14 and under) will receive vouchers for a free book of their choice at the festival again this year. It’s heartwarming to see the joy on their faces as they pick out their new favorite book.
We also want to express our deepest gratitude to our incredible volunteers. Their dedication and enthusiasm are the heartbeat of this festival, and we couldn’t do it without them. We hope that everyone who attends the Kentucky Book Festival finds an interesting book to enjoy, meets a new favorite author, and leaves enriched with the literary love that is so abundant in our Commonwealth. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Jay McCoy
ON BEHALF OF THE KENTUCKY BOOK FESTIVAL TEAM NOVEMBER 1 9:30AM–3:00PM
Joseph-Beth Booksellers 161 Lexington Green Circle Lexington, KY 40503
Kentucky Humanities will host several events during the week leading up to the Kentucky Book Festival (October 27–31). Additional conversations, discussions, and presentations will take place on various stages at the KBF on Saturday, November 1. On Saturday, authors will sign books on the lower level within Joseph-Beth Booksellers with access via escalator and elevator. Maps will be provided on the day of the festival. The schedule of events and author lineup are subject to change.
STAY UPDATED
For the most up-to-date author lineup and event schedule, follow us here:
KENTUCKY HUMANITIES BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR
Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D. Lexington
VICE CHAIR
Hope Wilden, CPFA Lexington
TREASURER
Jordan Parker Lexington
SECRETARY
Lou Anna Red Corn, JD Lexington
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER
Penelope Peavler Louisville
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER
Andrew Reed Pikeville
Aaron Asbury Ashcamp
Chelsea Brislin, Ph.D. Lexington
Teri Carter Lawrenceburg
Brian Clardy, Ph.D. Murray
Selena Sanderfer Doss, Ph.D. Bowling Green
Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. Morehead
Clarence Glover Louisville
Nicholas Hartlep, Ph.D. Berea
Chris Hartman Louisville
Sara Hemingway Owensboro
Eric Jackson, Ph.D. Florence
Philip Lynch Louisville
Lois Mateus Harrodsburg
Keith McCutchen, Ph.D. Frankfort
Tom Owen, Ph.D. Louisville
Libby Parkinson Louisville
Wayne Glover Yates Princeton
KENTUCKY HUMANITIES STAFF
Bill Goodman Executive Director
Marianne Stoess Assistant Director/ Editor, Kentucky Humanities
Kay Madrick Development Director
Derek Beaven Program Officer
Zoe Kaylor Grants Administrator
Jay McCoy
Kentucky Book Festival & Center for the Book Director
Joanna Murdock Administrative Assistant
Katerina Stoykova Director of Educational Outreach
Julie Klier Consultant - Event Production/ Logistics Manager
Kentucky Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. Kentucky Humanities is supported by the National Endowment and by private contributions. In addition to producing the Kentucky Book Festival, Kentucky Humanities offers Kentucky Humanities at the Schools programs, sponsors PRIME TIME Family Reading Time®, offers Kentucky Chatauqua® and Speakers Bureau programs, hosts Smithsonian traveling exhibits throughout the state, publishes Kentucky Humanities magazine, serves as the Kentucky affiliate for the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and awards grants for humanities programs. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the NEH or Kentucky Humanities board and staff. Learn more at kyhumanities.org.
MON OCTOBER 27 at 7:00 PM
Books & Brews Literary Trivia
Gather your team and head over to Goodwood at Lexington Green for an evening dedicated to books and the Bluegrass! Test your literary knowledge, compete for exciting prizes, and savor delicious food and great company. It's a night full of good food & good times that you won't want to miss!
Free and open to the public—bring your friends, famil, and fellow book lovers for a fantastic time. See you there!
Goodwood • 200 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington
TUES OCTOBER 28 at 7:00 PM
Readings from Port William featuring Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story
Join us as we read and discuss the newest novel of the Port William series, titled Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story by prolific novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, farmer and Kentucky native Wendell Berry. This event will include readings from the book by Kentucky authors as well as a visual exploration of the beautiful setting of Port William (based upon Port Royal, Kentucky).
Tickets are required with online registration and book pre-order.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Circle
FESTIVAL WEEK EVENTS
Events and authors subject to change. Visit kybookfestival.org for updates, ticket information and schedule of events.
WED OCTOBER 29 at 7:00 PM
Silas House in conversation with Gwenda Bond about his new mystery, Dead Man Blues
Don't miss the chance to hear renowned Kentucky author Silas House read from his thrilling new mystery, Dead Man Blues. We will dive into the world of mystery and intrigue and join in a conversation between best-selling authors Silas House and Gwenda Bond. Nationally known for writing across genres, with a variety of novels from romantic comedies to historical fantasies to young adult adventures, Bond will discuss with the former Kentucky Poet Laureate his foray into writing a mystery as S.D. House. House’s debut historical crime novel is set in a small town on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Tickets are required with online registration and book pre-order of Dead Man Blues. Books by both authors will be available for sale at the event.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Circle
THU OCTOBER 30
A Way With Words with Martha Barnette & Grant Barrett
Join us at JosephBeth Booksellers for a special event with A Way with Words, the upbeat and lively public radio show and podcast about language, culture and communication. Each week, listeners call in to discuss word origins, slang, regional dialects, grammar and more with co-hosts Martha Barnette (a Louisville native) and Grant Barrett. Since its launch in 1998, the popular show has gained a devoted nationwide audience and is broadcast in 43 states across the U.S. and beyond. At our event, the hosts will share behind-the-scenes stories, answer questions and engage the audience in a lively discussion about the ways language shapes our lives.
FRI OCTOBER 31
Tickets are required with online registration and book pre-order of Friends with Words Books by both authors will be available for sale at the event.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Circle
A SPECIAL EVENT COMING SOON! Watch the KBF website and social media for an announcement with more details about a special guest and program.
Silas House
ALL THESE GHOSTS DEAD MAN BLUES
Silas House is the New York Times bestselling author of novels, nonfiction, plays and poetry. A former Kentucky Poet Laureate and Grammy finalist, House has received the Duggins Prize, Southern Book Prize, E.B. White Award, Lee Smith Award and many others. He teaches at Berea College and at the NaslundMann Graduate School of Creative Writing. A native of Eastern Kentucky, he now lives in Lexington.
AUTHORS
FICTION
SYLVIA AHRENS Out on a Limb
B. ELIZABETH BECK Swan Songs
BILLY PARKS BURTON Turn a Blind Eye
CRYSTAL CAUDILL Written in Secret
LEE COLE Fulfillment
SUSAN COVENTRY Till Taught by Pain
CHRISTINA DOTSON Love You To Death
SHERRIE FLICK I Have Not Considered Consequences
JULIA FLINT
We Were Promised: How an Appalachian Grandmother Fought a Corporate Giant
ANN H. GABHART The Pursuit of Elena Bradford
KRISTEN GENTRY Mama Said
MATT GOLDMAN The Murder Show
CHRISTOPHER J. HELVEY Revolution
JULIE HENSLEY Five Oaks
SILAS HOUSE Dead Man Blues
NANCY JENSEN In Our Midst
WENDY JETT Woman
BOB JOHNSON The Continental Divide
CHRIS MCCLAIN JOHNSON Three Guesses
TONI ANN JOHNSON Light Skin Gone to Waste
SARAH LANDENWICH The Fire Concerto
DWAIN W. LEE Plausible Deception
MADGE MARIL Slipstream
JAMES MARKERT Spider to the Fly
LEE MARTIN The Evening Shades
T.J. MARTINSON Her New Eyes
CATHERINE MCKENZIE No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding
JOHN WINN MILLER Rescue Run: Capt. Jake Rogers’ Daring Return to Occupied Europe
ELIZABETH BASS PARMAN Bees in June
STEVEN PENN A Trunk in the Basement
CYNTHIA REEVES The Last Whaler
MARK RIGNEY Vinyl Wonderland
JULIA SEALES A Terribly Nasty Business
BENJAMIN RUE SILLIMAN Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike
VIRGINIA SMITH Wed and Gone
ALLEGRA SOLOMON There’s Nothing Left for You Here
DAVID STARKEY
The Fairley Brothers in Japan
ERIN CECILIA THOMAS I Watched You from the Ocean Floor
GERALD TONER Christmas in Our Time
NATHAN VANDERFORD & HOLLY BURKE Cancer in Appalachia: A Collection of Youth-Told Stories Volume 2
LAWRENCE WEILL The Metaphysics Shoppe of Wylers Ford
TJ WEST Country Road Romance
NONFICTION
MARTHA A BARNETTE Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland
GRANT BARRETT Perfect English Grammar
MARVIN BARTLETT Spirit of the Bluegrass
JAN BRANDENBURG
The Modern Mountain Cookbook: A Plant-Based Celebration of Appalachia
JENNIFER BRIAN
Classic Cocktail Revival
BRYAN S. BUSH
Samuel One-Armed Berry: Shaker, Teacher, Ruthless Civil War Guerilla
DAVID CHAFFETZ
Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: the Horse and the Rise of Empires
ANGELA CORRELL
Village Life: Discover Tuscan-Inspired Hospitality and Intentional Living
TONY CRUNK Hopkinsville
DEEDEE CUMMINGS How To Dream
ALBERT DEGIACOMO
Awakening To Light. Three Plays
LOUIS S. DELUCA
Old-Time Kentucky Farmsteading Ways and Means From the Journals of Herbert Lee Clark
ELIZABETH DEWOLFE
Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy
ELIAS DORRIN EELLS
Cocktails and Consoles 75 Video Game-Inspired Drinks to Level Up Your Game Night
CHERYL L. ERIKSEN
Greyhound: The Remarkable Story of the Legendary Racehorse Who Inspired a Nation
GERALD FISCHER
Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Kentucky Volume II Legacy of the Irregulars
DENIS FLEMING JR. Thomas Jefferson and the Kentucky Constitution
LAURA GADDIS Mosaic
RAE GARRINGER
To Belong Here: A New Generation of Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirit Appalachian Writers
JACQUELINE
JANE HAMILTON
A Pencil Grows in Kentucky
BOB HILL Out Here
LISA HOFFMAN
STEM SMART
Parenting: A Practical Guide for Nurturing Innovative Thinkers
JANET HOLLOWAY Pathlights
MARTHA S. JONES
The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir
BRIGID KAELIN Lakeside
SONYA LEA
American Bloodlines: Reckoning with Lynch Culture
JOHNISHA LEVI
Number’s Up: Cracking the Code of an American Family
GEORGE ELLA LYON Don’t You Remember? (Revised & Updated)
ELIZA MCGRAW
Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America
KEVEN MCQUEEN
The Judge Mulligan Poisoning and Other Historic Lexington Crimes
MARIE MITCHELL
Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids
CHRISTOPHER NEWMAN
Marion: The Marion Miley Story, 1914-1941
JAMES C. NICHOLSON Racing’s Return from the Brink: The Incredible Comeback of Old Rosebud and American Horse Racing
NANCY O’MALLEY
Kentucky Frontier to Commonwealth: Historical Archaeology at Daniel Boone’s and Hugh McGary’s Stations
LAURA A. PARÉ
See You in August: The Quilts of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival
SUSAN REIGLER
Kentucky Bourbon
SHARON ROGGENKAMP
The Life & Times of Hammerin’ Hank Ward: The Kentucky Park & Highway Commissioner Who Chased Riverfront Loan Sharks, Tangled with Arsonists in the Parks, and Banished Run Down Dump Trucks
GRETCHEN RUBIN
Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives
SHAUNNA SCOTT Toward Just Transitions: Visions for Regenerative Communities in Appalachia
MANDI SHEFFEL
The Nature of Pain: Roots, Recovery, and Redemption amid the Opioid Crisis
DAVIS SHOULDERS Queer Communion: Religion in Appalachia
BELINDA SMITH-SULLIVAN Cocktails Southern Style
ELAINE F. WEISS
Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement
JAMES WELLS
Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew
JESSICA WHITEHEAD
Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard
BOB WILLCUTT Gratz Park: The Heart of Historic Lexington
FIONA YOUNG BROWN
Secret Lexington: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure
POETRY
JOSEPH ANTHONY Playing Fair
DAVID B. CAZDEN New Stars And Constellations (Bainbridge Island Press, 2024)
JOHN COMPTON my husband holds my hand because i may drift away & be lost forever in the vortex of a crowded store
TONY CRUNK
Cosmogony: Night & Time
Martha Barnette
FRIENDS WITH WORDS: ADVENTURES IN LANGUAGELAND
Martha Barnette is a longtime journalist and co-host for two decades of the popular radio show and podcast A Way with Words. A Louisville native who did graduate work at the University of Kentucky, she has worked as a reporter for The Louisville Times and The Washington Post, and as an editorial writer for The Courier-Journal. She lives in San Diego, California.
RONALD W. DAVIS
The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife: Poems
KATHLEEN DRISKELL Goat-Footed Gods
WESLEY HOUP
Strung Out Along the Endless Branch
SILAS HOUSE All These Ghosts
REBECCA GAYLE HOWELL Erase Genesis
LIBBY FALK JONES Enchanting the Ordinary: Poems & Photographs
DANIEL LASSELL Frame Inside a Frame
DENTON LOVING Feller
ALESSANDRA LYNCH Wish Ave
Toni Ann Johnson
LIGHT SKIN GONE TO WASTE
Toni Ann Johnson has won the Flannery O’Connor Award, been shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize, and been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Johnson’s forthcoming linked story collection But Where’s Home? won The University Press of Kentucky’s Screen Door Press Prize and is scheduled for release in February 2026. She is the final judge for the James Baker Hall Foundation Book Award this year.
JOHN W. MCCAULEY Kentucky is My Home: A Journey Into the Life of Jesse Hilton Stuart
CHRISTOPHER MCCURRY The Gospel of God Boy
ROSALIE MOFFETT Making a Living
KEVIN NANCE Smoke
PAT OWEN The Crossroad
JEREMY PADEN how to recognize god’s chosen
MARIANNE PEEL Untamed Arabesque
AMY RICHARDSON Out of Places
ROBERTA SCHULTZ Deep Ends
Kathleen Driskell
GOAT-FOOTED GODS
An award-winning poet, essayist and teacher, Kathleen Driskell is the author of five collections of poetry. Her poems and essays have been published in The New Yorker, Southern Review, Appalachian Review and other literary magazines. She is chair of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. Driskell currently serves as Kentucky Poet Laureate.
Gretchen Rubin
SECRETS OF ADULTHOOD
Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential observers of happiness and human nature. She’s the author of many books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project, selling more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. She hosts the award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, where she explores practical solutions for living a happier life.
CARINE TOPAL Dear Blood, poems
ARTRESS WHITE A Black Doe in the Anthropocene: Poems
CECILIA G WOLOCH Labor: The Testimony of Ted Gall
ALFONSO ZAPATA To Pay for Our Next Breath: Poems
YOUNG ADULT
KASSIDY CAROLINE The Shadows We Hide
JAMIE D’AMATO The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends
DANI DIAZ Dreamover
KATHERINE ELIZABETH HALE-STRINGFIELD
The Mary Luck Tales: Witch’s Curse
MARIAMA J LOCKINGTON I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
CHILDREN + MIDDLE GRADE
P. ANASTASIA POE Prophecies: Dream Within a Dream
CARLOTTA A BERRY
There’s A Robot in My Closet
LYNN CELDRÁN
The Tales of Javi Ramirez: Dumplings for Breakfast
JULIA LYNNE COTHRAN Does a Gaggle of Geese Giggle?
DAWN CUSICK
The Astrochimps: America’s First Astronauts
AMANDA DRISCOLL
Under Anna’s Umbrella
TRACEY FELTNER FRANCIS
The Fluffy Brown Pup That Met His New Family
CAROL JUNE FRANKS Sled Ride Down Unrue Street
LATRELL HALCOMB Ouch Mr. Bear
BETHANY HEGEDUS
Batter for the First Day of School
CHRISTINE HERREN
A Light in the Darkness
LYNDSEY HORN
When the Mountains Speak
AMY KAPOOR Into the Blue: A Counting Adventure
RACHEL TAWIL KENYON You Can Sit with Me
JASON LADY
The Pure Shore Club
NATHAN WILL LANDRUM The Specters of Mammoth Cave
RACHEL LOFTSPRING Mila the Maker and the 200 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
SUSAN MILLS
Oliver, the Outstanding and Original Oviraptor
ELIZABETH MONGAR
A Glowhearts’ Christmas Tale
MIRANDA MONTOYA Petunia Moves Again
SHAWN PRYOR
Taekwondo Academy: New Kid at the Dojang
TAMMI JO REGAN
Be Like Hank
VALERIE M. REYNOLDS
The Twirl of Being a Little Black Girl/The Joys of Being a Little Black Boy (Second Edition)
DAVID RICKERT
Checkups, Shots, and Robots: True Stories Behind How Doctors Treat Us
SANDRA RIPPETOE
Which Bird is the Best: Wise Owl Knows
MISAKO ROCKS Sew Totally Nala (Bounce Back Vol.3)
KAY SAFFARI
Uno, Dos, Tres Means One, Two, Three!
CHUCK SAMBUCHINO Goodnight, Pickleball
MOLLIE P SAWYER
A Kentucky Adventure
STACY SCHILLING
The ABC’s of Wavy and Curly Hair Starring...The Frizz Girls
ALEX SCOTT
Chuckles the Cheese and The Midnight Thief: A Cheesy Tale of Sneaky Snacks
ANDREW SHAFFER Literary Cats Coloring Book
JENNIFER SOMMER Every Creature Eats
GIN NOON SPAULDING ERRNT
SAM SUBITY Valor Wings
ROBYN WALL I Worked Hard on That!
ALEX WILLAN Mermaids are the Worst!
TAYLOR WOOLLEY Earth Rover
JESSICA YOUNG Today at School with Yesterday and Tomorrow
2025 IMAGE ARTIST K. NICOLE WILSON
K. Nicole Wilson dwells in art, possibility and Lexington. Originally from Maysville, she’s Limestone filtered, over 100 proof and often rye. K. Nicole completed most of her undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky and later earned an MFA in poetry in Cardinal country.
Each year, the Kentucky Center for the Book, a part of Kentucky Humanities, selects two books to represent Kentucky as part of the Library of Congress’ Roadmap to Reading during the National Book Festival. This year, the center chose Alix E. Harrow’s Starling House as the Adult selection and Amanda Driscoll’s Under Anna’s Umbrella ad the Young Readers selection.
Alix E. Harrow
STARLING HOUSE / THE EVERLASTING
Alix E. Harrow is the bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches and Starling House. Her work has won a Hugo and a British Fantasy Award and been shortlisted for the Nebula, Southern Book Prize and Goodreads Choice awards. She’s from Kentucky but now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband and their two semi-feral kids.
Amanda Driscoll
UNDER ANNA’S UMBRELLA
Amanda Driscoll’s newest picture book, Under Anna’s Umbrella, is her most personal and heartfelt story to date. She is also the author and illustrator of Duncan the Story Dragon and Little Grump Truck. Born and raised in Louisville, Amanda lives in Fisherville with her bunny, who thinks he’s a dog; her dog, who thinks he’s a human; and her husband, who thinks he’s a comedian.
2025 SPONSORS
