I recently spoke with Larry about the foundation after two and a half years to look back at its evolution as well as a glance into the future.
– Jane White, Editor
JW: It’s been about 2 ½ years since you launched the foundation. Is it different than what you originally imagined or close to what you envisioned?
LP: We’ve learned a lot since we started! It’s a good thing we’ve had such a great group of friends and advisors to help guide us. We knew we wanted to support writers all across Kentucky because that’s what my father had said, but we had no clear idea what that really meant or how to do it!
We established the JBH Book Award from the beginning and made a point of including young writers in everything. As we began to introduce ourselves around the state and find the partner relationships which eventually grew into the Kentucky Writers on the Road speakers series, we found incredibly strong literary communities everywhere!
JW: So that was a good surprise as you were developing the foundation!
LP: Absolutely. Do you know the quality and the sheer number of people who are actively pursuing some interest in creative writing, whether it be poetry or not? We have found all over the state, you know, interest in writing. The commitment is really extraordinary and was totally unexpected outside the major centers.
Newsletter Articles 2025-2026
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If you are involved in a writing community in the Commonwealth, you have probably crossed paths with Katerina Stoykova, publisher of Accents Publishing based in Lexington. Katerina has been a good friend to the James Baker Hall Foundation since its inception as a connector to many writers in Kentucky as well providing guidance along the way.
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Katerina was born in Bulgaria and immigrated to the United States in 1995. Trained in her home country as an electrical engineer, she continued her education in the U.S. and obtained a Masters in Computer Science. Additionally she holds an MBA from Virginia Tech and Masters of Fine Arts from Spalding University. This begs the question . . . where did your career path diverge to your current status?
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Native Lexingtonian David Neal never dreamed his dream career path would bring him back to the Bluegrass. Having just graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in cinematography, he assumed his path would take him elsewhere.
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“I realized with some of the things around the state’s incentives to bring more film here and the creation of LEX Studios, there were actually a lot of cool things happening here. So, combining the thing I love most with the place I love, it was easy.”
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On December 2, the James Baker Hall Foundation was part of the world-wide fundraising effort, GivingTuesday. The Foundation raised $48,000 for programs.
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Americans gave $4 billion to nonprofits on GivingTuesday in 2025, an increase from the $3.6 billion they gave in 2024, according to estimates from the nonprofit, GivingTuesday.
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(more…)In just two years, the James Baker Hall Foundation has made quick progress toward our mission of continuing the great artistic heritage by providing direct support to Kentucky’s literary and visual creatives. We’ve been busy! Take a look back and see some of our accomplishments over the past two years:
Programs
- The James Baker Hall Foundation Book Award gave awards in 2024 and 2025 to Kentucky-focused writers who won competitive, independently judged competitions and were awarded publishing contracts and a stipend
- Kentucky Writers on the Road visited communities across the Commonwealth from Newport to Paducah to work with arts organizations to hold readings with the 2024 Book Award Winner and local poets
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James Baker Hall Foundation 2025 Book Award Winner: Willie Davis
The foundation is proud to announce the winner of the second annual James Baker Hall Foundation Book Award. Willie Davis of Lexington was selected as the winner of this year’s competition in short fiction.
Willie Davis’s writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Kenyon Review, Salon, storySouth, and Berkeley Fiction Review amongst other places. He is the winner of The Willesden Short Story Prize (judged by Zadie Smith) and the Katherine Ann Porter Prize (judged by Amy Hempel). He is the author of the novel NIGHTWOLF and the short story collection I CAN OUTDANCE JESUS.
Toni Ann Johnson, Flannery O’Connor Award-winning author of Light Skin Gone to Waste and the 2025 James Baker Hall Book Award judge, made these comments, “Honeysuckle Season” is a novel in stories that takes place in Hazard, Kentucky, and unfolds during the course of one day after a terrible car accident kills a resident. Using a Rashomon approach, Davis moves into the consciousness of multiple townspeople, and we learn about them and their lives. These characters are wonderfully well-drawn. Flawed and funny, odd, and wounded, striving and defeated, we get to know them well enough to root for them as individuals and as people who care for each other more than they realize. It’s a remarkable read.”
Watch in the upcoming months for more on Willie and his upcoming book.
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Legacy Corner
The James Baker Hall Foundation was created several years ago to honor the legacy of James Baker Hall. As the foundation has grown and reached more people, we have come into contact with some of Jim’s former students during his time at the University of Kentucky as director of their Creative Writing Program. We have learned through stories that he mentored quite a few students to not only be better writers, but to also to be devoted to whatever their life threw at them. In November, we talked with Steve Heine, a visual artist from Louisville, Kentucky.
(more…)Steve Heine’s path crossed with James Baker Hall in the mid-1990’s on the University of Kentucky campus. He already had graduated with a degree in Marketing, but had developed a fascination with architecture and came back to UK to study in the School of Architecture. Because he had recently graduated, he was able to use many prerequisites to fill requirements and was in need of an elective and he selected a short story workshop of Jim’s as he had always loved short stories.
Architecture and writing? Seems like a stretch, but Steve thinks it was a natural fit for him. “Jim emphasized clarity in his work,” states Steve. He continues, “Jim was thoughtful and carefully edited. He would say the short story is the hardest form of writing. A novel is a big, expansive piece. With a short story there is nowhere to hide.”
Steve believes thoughtful and careful editing is a centerpiece of his art. “I will edit my art on my laptop. It is multi-layered and 3D and it is highly edited before I begin to work on it in my studio.”
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(more…)The James Baker Hall Foundation is headed to New Castle, Kentucky and The Berry Center for our last stop for Kentucky Writers on the Road. Arts and Letters Day integrates land use, economics, history, literature and art to celebrate the state’s culture and foster community. The event features readings and book signings by Kentucky writers, gallery exhibitions and access to The Berry Center Bookstore.
“Arts and Letters Day is such a special day to celebrate Kentucky writers,” states James Baker Hall Foundation Managing Director Larry Pemble. “And this year, to have our 2024 Book Award winner, Wesley Houp, as one of the reading authors, it will be a very special day for Wesley and the foundation.”
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Workhorse Mentors Program in Need of Four Mentors
We have good news and bad news. The good news? Christopher McCurry and Workhorse have secured mentors for five aspiring young writers. The bad news is that they are still in need of four more. “I have two students still looking for a mentor in prose/short story telling,” states McCurry. He continues, “One mentee/mentor pair are from Berea College.”
Could you find the time to mentor a young writer? Here are the mentor requirements:- Be an established writer with notable publications in their chosen genre(s)
- Provide a background check, if working with minors/school students
- Complete appropriate volunteer forms for minors/school students
- Complete mentorship application
Once approved, mentors receive a $400 dollar stipend. For more information, contact Program Coordinator, Christopher McCurry at christopher.mccurry87@gmail.com.
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James Baker Hall Foundation Out and About in the Commonwealth
Larry Pemble, Jeanine Triplett, Ann and Brian Morrow
Wesley Houp reads in Paducah 
Larry Pemble moderates discussion on what writers need at Kentucky Book Festival
Willie Davis and Toni Ann Johnson, 2025 Book Award presentation On October 24-25, the Foundation was in Paducah working with the Western Kentucky College and Technical College. We hosted a reception on Friday night followed by readings and 2024 Book Award winner Wesley Houp conducted a poetry workshop on Saturday morning. On November 1 in Lexington, we co-sponsored the Writing Room at the Kentucky Book Festival with the Creative Writing program at Spalding University. The event was held at Joseph-Beth Books.
