April 14, 1935 – June 25, 2009

Wes Houp is a Central Kentucky kid at heart. He grew up in High Bridge outside of Lexington and attended Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky. He somewhat stumbled into college, but it was at Asbury that he developed his love of poetry.

Accents Publishing will be celebrating their 15th anniversary this year as an independent publisher. Accents Publishing was the foundation’s partner in our first book award and will be publishing Wes Houp’s book of poetry, Strung Out Along the Endless Branch.

Katerina Stoykova, founder, was born and raised in Bulgaria, but immigrated to the United States in 1995 and has been in Kentucky since 2004. While trained as a software engineer and in project management, she knew her heart was in writing. She began writing as an 8 year old girl in Bulgaria, and that love followed her to Kentucky.

“Outsiders often have negative stereotypes about education and literacy in Kentucky. So many people are surprised to learn that the state has a rich tradition in the literary arts”, says Tom Eblen, Literary Arts Liaison, at The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

As we enter into year two of the foundation, we are looking at ways to collaborate with partners, specifically in Northern and Western Kentucky, to introduce the foundation and mission. We know the history of the great literary tradition in Kentucky and understand it is not limited to the Bluegrass region.

The James Baker Hall Foundation is looking for friends to help us spread the word about the foundation. We have held two parties in Louisville and both were a big success. These events are about 2 hours in duration and give the foundation the opportunity to introduce people to our mission.