As a new foundation, we are looking for ways to introduce our work to people around the Commonwealth. Holding house parties for 15-20 people at a time is an easy way for supporters of the foundation to invite their circle of friends to hear about the work we do in supporting Kentucky artists.

The James Baker Hall Foundation was created by James Baker Hall’s family to ensure his legacy of mentoring Kentucky writers. While still in its infancy and less than a year old, the directors are working on the issues of policy, finances and ethics. We would love to introduce you to our 2024-2025 Board of Directors!

The James Baker Hall Foundation, in collaboration with Accents Publishing, is launching the James Baker Hall Book Award. The inaugural award is for poetry.

In 2024, the award recognizes an unpublished manuscript of poetry over 50 pages by a Kentucky author who has not yet published a full-length poetry collection. For the purpose of the award, a Kentucky author is defined as someone who lives in Kentucky, has strong ties to Kentucky or whose work features a prominent Kentucky theme.

For more than four decades, The Hindman Settlement School in Knott County has hosted the Appalachian Writers' Workshop, the premier annual gathering of writers who create a reliable space for writers to learn from each other regardless of achievement. In 2022, as a way for the Settlement to expand and deepen its impact in fostering Appalachian literature, they created the Ironwood Writers Studio to help high school students in Appalachia become a part of a writing community. The program also includes the Visiting Writers Residencies as an opportunity for published writers to work directly with high school teachers to build creative writing lessons into their existing curriculum.

On May 1, The James Baker Hall Foundation held our inaugural event to announce the creation of the foundation and introduce the first grantees. Additionally, foundation Managing Director Larry Pemble announced the launch of the James Baker Hall Book Award which this year will focus on poetry.

_{photo credit: @mikeswens}