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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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:

Readings by Marta Miranda-Straub & Friends
Rebel Rebel Studio and Lounge
440 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY
Free
Food Truck will be onsite