DATE: April 20, 2026

FOR: Immediate Release

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jane White, jane@jamesbakerhall.org or (502) 379-5250

The James Baker Hall Foundation was created in 2024 to support the legacy of the Kentucky writer, teacher and photographer, James Baker Hall, to continue his work in mentoring young writers and to support Kentucky writers. The foundation backs several programs for young writers across the Commonwealth such as the Ironwood Writers Studio at the Hindman Settlement School, a book award competition for writers with the winning entry receiving a publishing contract and stipend and the program Kentucky Writers on the Road, a tour across the Commonwealth with the current year book award winner.

Honeysuckle Season by Willie Davis was selected by independent judge, author Toni Ann Johnson, as the winning entry in 2025. Unfolding over a single day, the book tells the story of a circus van travelling through Hazard, Kentucky whose driver experiences a medical emergency behind the wheel. The van careens off the road, smashing into a line of parked cars, killing a local basketball star. In Honeysuckle Season, twelve different narrators offer their take on that event and its aftermath, each story complimenting, deepening, and undermining the stories that came before.

Willie Davis’s writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Kenyon Review, Salon, storySouth, and The Berkeley Fiction Review amongst other places. He is the winner of The Willesden Herald Review (judged by Zadie Smith) and the Katherine Ann Porter Prize (judged by Amy Hempel). He teaches English, Journalism, and Creative Writing at Kentucky State University. He is the author of the novel Nightwolf and the short story collection I Can Outdance Jesus.In 2026, Willie Davis will be the featured reader at these four Kentucky Writers on the Road stops. The Foundation seeks to engage local artists to be on the bill with the Foundation’s book award winner. Stops will include:

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The mission of the James Baker Hall Foundation is to celebrate the legacy of our great artistic heritage by providing direct support to Kentucky’s literary and visual creatives. We honor Jim’s legacy by making funding available for emerging and established voices. To learn more, visit our website at: www.jamesbakerhallfoundation.org.