Wes Blake really wasn’t interested in going to college. But as the time neared, he decided to give it a try and headed off to the University of Kentucky to start his life as a business major. It did not go well. After the first year, he was totally unmotivated and knew that the business world would never see the likes of Wes Blake. After his very unsatisfying first year in college, he switched his major to English where he later earned his degree. It was this switch that led to crossing paths with James Baker Hall. After taking two classes with Gurney Norman, Wes signed up to take Jim’s autobiography class.
(more…)Newsletter Articles 2025-2026
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Legacy Corner: Wes Blake
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Meet Natalia Stanley
If you haven’t been on the Foundation’s social media sites, get moving! Our presence has increased because of the work of Natalia Stanley, Social Media Coordinator. Natalia started with the foundation as an intern one year ago, but has moved to a part-time position because of the level of her work and commitment.
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Natalia ended up in Louisville for college via Chicago where she grew up with her parents and brother. She very quickly fell in love with Louisville and when it came time to choose a law school, she made the decision to enter Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law where she will be a second year student. After law school, Natalia plans to pursue a career in criminal defense here in Kentucky. She is especially interested in work that promotes equity and drives meaningful, systemic change within the justice system. This summer in addition to producing social media content for the Foundation, Natalia is working in the Louisville Public Defenders office where she is excited to get some hands-on experience.
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Hazard to Host First 2026 Kentucky Writers on the Road May 16 at Bobby Davis Museum & Park
Join us as we kick off Kentucky Writers on the Road in Hazard, Kentucky on May 16. The event will be held at Bobby Davis Museum and Park from 4:00—6:00 p.m.
The featured reader will be 2025 James Baker Hall Book Award Winner Willie Davis reading from his winning entry, Honeysuckle Season set in Hazard. As a product of Appalshop parents who divorced early in his life, Hazard became the drop-off point for spending weekdays in Lexington and weekends in Whitesburg. Willie still has family in Hazard and some of his characters are based (very loosely he will say!) on early Hazard memories. The second reader on May 16 will be Hazard poet Jordan Whitaker.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the James Baker Hall Foundation to Hazard on May 16th,” states Read Spotted Newt owner and author Mandi Fugate Sheffel.” It’s going to be a wonderful celebration of Kentucky voices.”
The event is free to the public and light refreshments will be served by Shenanigans. For more information, contact Jane White at jane@jamesbakerhall.org or (502) 379-5250.Kentucky Writers on the Road Hazard
Saturday, May 16
Bobby Davis Museum & Park
234 Walnut Street
Hazard, Kentucky 41702
4:00—6:00 p.m.
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Kentucky Writers on the Road Gears Up for Year Two
Summer is just around the corner and the James Baker Hall Foundation is hitting the road again with our program, Kentucky Writers on the Road. There will be four stops in 2026: Hazard, Louisville, Newport and Morehead. Kentucky Writers on the Road showcases the work of the foundation’s annual book award winner while teaming up with a local arts organization to share the reading stage with local writers. This year we will be kicking off the 2026 tour on Saturday, May 16th in Hazard, Kentucky with Willie Davis reading from Honeysuckle Season, the winner of the 2025 James Baker Hall Book Award.
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James Baker Hall 2025 Book Award Winner Willie Davis
Willie Davis knows the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Born in Whitesburg as the product of an Appalshop Mom and Dad, his parents divorced early and until graduation, he spent weekdays in Lexington and weekends in Whitesburg with the handoff in Hazard. Through that experience, he adapted to growing up in two very different cultures.
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From Lexington, Willie Davis is the winner of the 2025 James Baker Hall Foundation Book Award for his entry, Honeysuckle Season. Unfolding over a single day, Honeysuckle Season tells the story of a circus van travelling through Hazard, Kentucky that careens off the road, smashing into a line of parked cars, killing a local basketball star. Twelve different narrators offer their take on that event and its aftermath, each story complimenting, deepening, and undermining the stories that came before.
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Short Films Exploring the World of Wendell & Tanya Berry
In July of 2025, Foundation staff traveled to the Speed Museum Cinema in Louisville to view Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry by filmmaker Laura Dunn. We were captivated by the nine short stories and approached Ms. Dunn about presenting them for the Foundation at some point. That time has come!
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On Tuesday, April 14 the James Baker Hall Foundation will present Look and See | Further at the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington. On Thursday, April 16, the short films will be presented in Paducah with our partner Maiden Alley Cinema. The events, fundraisers for the Foundation, will begin at 7:00 p.m. and at the conclusion of the short films, Mary Berry—Wendell and Tanya’s daughter and Executive Director of The Berry Center—will do a Q & A with the audience.
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Richard Taylor to Judge 2026 James Baker Hall Book Award
(more…)It might be April 1, but this is no joke! We’re delighted to announce that the 2026 James Baker Hall Book Award will honor an unpublished, book-length manuscript of Creative Nonfiction by a Kentucky author at any stage of their career. Creative Nonfiction may include memoir, personal essays, biography, travel writing, and other forms grounded in factual storytelling. If you’re unsure whether your manuscript fits the criteria, we encourage you to reach out with questions. Submissions open on April 1.
The Foundation always seeks an independent reviewer and in 2026, we are proud to announce that Richard Taylor will be the judge. He is the author of numerous collections of poetry, two historical novels, and several books relating to Kentucky history, including Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landmark. A former Kentucky poet laureate, he has received two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as an Al Smith Award from the Kentucky Arts Council.
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Marta Miranda-Straub & Friends
(more…)The Foundation is excited to be going to Berea for a first-time visit and we have a dynamic line-up of poets and music. Marta Miranda-Straub, everyone’s favorite Cubalachian poet, is a published author, poet, storyteller and public speaker. She is the former commissioner for Kentucky’s Department of Community Based Services (DCBS), and she will be the featured poet at the event.
Marta was inducted into the Affrilachian Poets by Kentucky Poet Laureate, Frank X Walker in 2009. She was named among one of 15 emerging authors in 2025 by MSN.
Her bilingual memoir Cradled by Skeletons—A Life in Poems and Essays was published in 2019 and her illustrated children’s book Lullaby for Maddie was published in 2022 by Shadelandhouse Modern Press. Marta will be reading from her latest book of poems, Mermaid Musings: Diving in the Margins (8/2025), as well as from her memoir Cradled by Skeletons. There will be a sneak preview from her latest bilingual children’s book, Spirits in His Hair (Hispanic Heritage Month 2026), about her great nephew’s rough journeys at the barbershop, eased by Tía Marta’s soothing stories about Cuba. As well as an excerpt from her upcoming romance novel, Tangled Sheets & Secret Desires (3/2027), set in Montpellier, France.
Click more for ticket information:
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Northern KY Equinox
The James Baker Hall Foundation is proud to be one of the sponsors of the Northern Kentucky Equinox—An Appalachian Arts & Heritage Celebration. Presented by the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, the event will celebrate the relationship of the region to the Appalachian roots in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.
The Urban Appalachian Community Coalition (UACC) is an alliance of individuals and organizations engaging in research, advocacy, neighborhood service, and arts & cultural outreach programs to serve diverse Cincinnati populations.
The UACC embraces Appalachian and wider-community diversity and actively works for justice and cultural awareness in Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods as well as in neighboring Kentucky. It primarily serves Appalachian settlement neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati (Lower Price Hill, Over-the-Rhine, Camp Washington, Northside, South Fairmont, East End, St. Bernard), and cities of Covington and Newport, Kentucky.
Inspired by the irrepressible spirit of Appalachian people, they promote:- Wisdom informed by Appalachian heritage and urban migration experiences
- Resistance to threats against individual, family, and community well-being
- Respect for the Greater Cincinnati community as a harbor for diverse places and people
- Artistic and cultural expressions inspired by diverse identities and traditions
- Inclusiveness that respects differences, embraces connections, and promotes dynamic collaboration
- Advocacy on behalf of those Cincinnatians whose voices are marginalized or unheard
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Bloodroot Presents Kentucky Poet Laureate
(more…)On Thursday, March 26, the Bloodroot Writers Collective will host Kathleen Driskell, 2025-2026 Poet Laureate of Kentucky, as a visiting writer for an afternoon and evening of poetry, conversation, and community. This visit is part of Bloodroot’s ongoing work as a youth-led literary program hosted by the Rowan County Arts Center in partnership with the James Baker Hall Foundation.
The afternoon will be intentionally intimate and student-centered. From 4:00–4:45 pm at the Rowan County Arts Center, Driskell will lead a craft talk with middle and high school writers, offering students a hands-on writing experience and the chance to engage directly with a working poet.
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SCAPA Young Writers at Carnegie Center
The James Baker Hall Foundation is proud to sponsor the Young Writers Conference. Created by Christopher McCurry and developed in 2022 by the Literary Arts students at SCAPA Lafayette, the Young Writers Conference hosts young writers from around the Bluegrass. The conference is completely student run and led with readings, panels, workshops by and for student writers. The Young Writers Conference will convene March 28 at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and coincides with several Youth Writing Contests offered by the Carnegie Center.
The Young Writers Conference is free and open to the public and offers young writers between the ages of 12 and 18 the opportunity to learn from and network with one another. The schedule consists of morning and afternoon panel sessions; a reading from the SCAPA Literary Arts junior class; and an adult and youth Keynote reader, selected by the co-directors of the conference. The adult keynote speaker in 2026 will be Kathleen Driskell, Kentucky’s current Poet Laureate.
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prakash maggan & Rainmaker Hospitality Support the Foundation
When you have a program called Kentucky Writers on the Road (KYOTR), having a loyal supporter in the hospitality trade is a plus. Prakash Maggan is the Chief Financial Officer at Rainmaker Hospitality which is headquartered in Lexington.
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Managing Director Larry Pemble crossed paths with Prakash when their children attended Providence Montessori in Lexington together. As Larry was building the foundation, he sought Rainmaker Hospitality’s support to defer some travel expenses by providing accommodations for travel around the Commonwealth.
With a degree in accounting from Transylvania and then graduating with a law degree from the University of Dayton, Prakash was establishing a successful career at Deloitte when a sudden change with a tragedy around his cousins left his father needing help with the family’s hospitality business. Maggan said he had grown up around the family business and never thought that one day he would make the change. This crisis/opportunity moment for him turned out to be a good decision.
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SLAC Seeks Artists
If you’re a writer, visual artist, musician, or crafter who’s been wanting to deepen your craft, work alongside other committed creatives, and be part of something meaningful from the ground up, here’s an opportunity for you.
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The Arts Leadership Program (ALP) at the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative is a hands-on, mentor-supported experience designed to help artists grow both creatively and as cultural leaders. The program is funded by a special grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and centers artists who are using creative work as a tool for healing, connection, and recovery.
Participants in the ALP will help support and shape the launch of the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative’s literary publication coming this summer.
WHO CAN APPLY
We especially encourage applications from folks who are in recovery from addiction or trauma, living with or loving someone in addiction or recovery, or navigating grief, rupture, or long-term healing. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just a willingness to show up, make art, and grow in community.
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Meet Sarah Miller
One thing for certain about talking to people who were in James Baker Hall’s orbit is that he left a lasting impression. Former students have fond memories of class time and talk about his intensity and belief that art could heal.
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But not everyone in that orbit was focused on creative writing. James Baker Hall was an accomplished and prolific photographer as well as poet, author and teacher. Sarah Miller (artistic name Bloodswan) met Jim in 2005 while modeling for another Lexington photographer, Liam (Billy) Wilson. At the time, she was a psychology student looking to pick up a few extra dollars modeling. Little did she know how this would change her path!!
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Upcoming calendar
The spring is going to be a busy time for the Foundation with several events planned. Make sure you note these dates as we will be heading out in the Commonwealth!
Check us out at these events:Saturday, March 14
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Readings by Marta Miranda-Straub & Friends
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Rebel Rebel Studio and Lounge
440 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY
Free
Food Truck will be onsite
