We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get after this! When you’re new and finding your footing in the world as the James Baker Hall Foundation is, it’s important to create opportunities. The Foundation has done a lot in one year with a successful kick-off event in May, a well-received book award that saw 70 entries and the selection of our first winner (Congratulations, Wes!) plus working with two incredible grantees, Write to Recover and The Hindman Settlement School.
Whew . . . talk about a full year! But now, we have an opportunity and you can be a part of it.

On October 1st, the foundation announced our first book award winner at Spalding University

When you do something for the first time, you never know how it will turn out. The foundation announced the book award at our event on May 1 and by the deadline of June 30, we had over 70 manuscripts submitted! We were stunned with the response and very pleased. Many thanks to acclaimed poet, Greg Pape, for serving as the judge. We are proud to announce George Wesley Houp as the 2024 James Baker Hall Foundation Book Award winner for his submission Strung Out Along the Endless Branch.

With over 70 entries in the initial book award, we walked away knowing that our belief in the depth of writing talent in Kentucky was true. We not only wanted to honor our winner, but also highlight the other strong finalists.

The James Baker Hall Foundation will be participating in the Bluegrass Community Foundation’s Good Giving Challenge December 3-6. In 2023, the online event raised $2.67 million dollars benefiting 195 Bluegrass area charities.

The James Baker Hall Foundation in partnership with Accents Publishing is pleased to announce the results for the James Baker Hall Book Award.  The inaugural award recognizes an emerging author who hasn't yet published a full-length collection in poetry.