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2025 AUTHOR LINEUP

Meet the incredible lineup of authors joining us at the Kentucky Book Festival! 

FICTION

Sylvia Ahrens

Sylvia Ahrens

Out on a Limb
Crystal Caudill

Crystal Caudill

Written in Secret
Christina Dotson

Christina Dotson

Love You To Death
Kristen Gentry

Kristen Gentry

Mama Said
Alix Harrow

Alix Harrow

Starling House
Silas House

Silas House

Dead Man Blues
Bob Johnson

Bob Johnson

The Continental Divide
Sarah Landenwich

Sarah Landenwich

The Fire Concerto
Madge Maril

Madge Maril

Slipstream
John Winn Miller

John Winn Miller

Rescue Run: Capt. Jake Rogers' Daring Return to Occupied Europe
Cynthia Reeves

Cynthia Reeves

The Last Whaler
Benjamin Rue Silliman

Benjamin Rue Silliman

Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike
Gerald Toner

Gerald Toner

Christmas in Our Time
B. Elizabeth Beck

B. Elizabeth Beck

Swan Songs
Lee Cole

Lee Cole

Fulfillment
Matt Goldman

Matt Goldman

The Murder Show
Julie Hensley

Julie Hensley

Five Oaks
Nancy Jensen

Nancy Jensen

In Our Midst
Toni Ann Johnson

Toni Ann Johnson

Light Skin Gone to Waste
Dwain W. Lee

Dwain W. Lee

Plausible Deception
Lee Martin

Lee Martin

The Evening Shades
Elizabeth Bass Parman

Elizabeth Bass Parman

Bees in June
Mark Rigney

Mark Rigney

Vinyl Wonderland
Allegra Solomon

Allegra Solomon

There's Nothing Left for You Here
Nathan Vanderford & Holly Burke

Nathan Vanderford & Holly Burke

Cancer in Appalachia: A Collection of Youth-Told Stories Volume 2
Lawrence Weill

Lawrence Weill

The Metaphysics Shoppe of Wylers Ford
Billy Parks Burton

Billy Parks Burton

Turn a Blind Eye
Susan Coventry

Susan Coventry

Till Taught by Pain
Ann H. Gabhart

Ann H. Gabhart

The Pursuit of Elena Bradford
Alix Harrow

Alix Harrow

The Everlasting
Christopher J. Helvey

Christopher J. Helvey

Revolution
Wendy Jett

Wendy Jett

Woman
Chris McClain Johnson

Chris McClain Johnson

Three Guesses
James Markert

James Markert

Spider to the Fly
T.J. Martinson

T.J. Martinson

Her New Eyes
Steven Penn

Steven Penn

A Trunk in the Basement
Julia Seales

Julia Seales

A Terribly Nasty Business
Erin Cecilia Thomas

Erin Cecilia Thomas

I Watched You from the Ocean Floor
TJ West

TJ West

Country Road Romance

NONFICTION

Martha A. Barnette

Martha A. Barnette

Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland
Jan Bradenburg

Jan Bradenburg

The Modern Mountain Cookbook: A Plant-Based Celebration of Appalachia
David Chaffetz

David Chaffetz

Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: the Horse and the Rise of Empires
Deedee Cummings

Deedee Cummings

How To Dream
Elizabeth DeWolfe

Elizabeth DeWolfe

Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy
Gerald Fischer

Gerald Fischer

Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Kentucky Volume II Legacy of the Irregulars
Jacqueline Jane Hamilton

Jacqueline Jane Hamilton

A Pencil Grows in Kentucky
Janet Holloway

Janet Holloway

Pathlights
Sonya Lea

Sonya Lea

American Bloodlines: Reckoning with Lynch Culture
Barry Mazor

Barry Mazor

The Everly Brothers Story: Blood Harmony
Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith

Marie Mitchell and Mason Smith

Paranormal Kentucky: An Uncommon Wealth of Close Encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, and Cryptids
Nancy O'Malley

Nancy O'Malley

Kentucky Frontier to Commonwealth: Historical Archaeology at Daniel Boone's and Hugh McGary's Stations
Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin

Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives
Mandi Sheffel

Mandi Sheffel

The Nature of Pain: Roots, Recovery, and Redemption amid the Opioid Crisis
Bob Willcutt

Bob Willcutt

Gratz Park The Heart of Historic Lexington
Fiona Young Brown

Fiona Young Brown

Secret Lexington: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure
Grant Barrett

Grant Barrett

Perfect English Grammar
Jennifer Brian

Jennifer Brian

Classic Cocktail Revival
Angela Correll

Angela Correll

Village Life: Discover Tuscan-Inspired Hospitality and Intentional Living
Albert DeGiacomo

Albert DeGiacomo

Awakening To Light. Three Plays
Elias Dorrin Eells

Elias Dorrin Eells

Cocktails and Consoles 75 Video Game-Inspired Drinks to Level Up Your Game Night
Julia Flint

Julia Flint

We Were Promised: How an Appalachian Grandmother Fought a Corporate Giant
Denis Fleming Jr.

Denis Fleming Jr.

Thomas Jefferson and the Kentucky Constitution
Bob Hill

Bob Hill

Out Here
Martha S. Jones

Martha S. Jones

The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir
Johnisha Levi

Johnisha Levi

Number's Up: Cracking the Code of an American Family
Eliza McGraw

Eliza McGraw

Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America
Christopher Newman

Christopher Newman

Marion: The Marion Miley Story, 1914-1941
Sharon Roggenkamp

Sharon Roggenkamp

The Life & Times of Hammerin' Hank Ward: The Kentucky Park & Highway Commissioner Who Chased Riverfront Loan Sharks, Tangled with Arsonists in the Parks, and Banished Run Down Dump Trucks.
Davis Shoulders

Davis Shoulders

Queer Communion: Religion in Appalachia
James Wells

James Wells

Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son's Odyssey to Find the Father he Never Knew
Marvin Bartlett

Marvin Bartlett

Spirit of the Bluegrass
Bryan S. Bush

Bryan S. Bush

Samuel One-Armed Berry: Shaker, Teacher, Ruthless Civil War Guerilla
Tony Crunk

Tony Crunk

Hopkinsville
Louis S. DeLuca

Louis S. DeLuca

Old-Time Kentucky Farmsteading Ways and Means From the Journals of Herbert Lee Clark
Cheryl L. Eriksen

Cheryl L. Eriksen

Greyhound: The Remarkable Story of the Legendary Racehorse Who Inspired a Nation
Laura Gaddis

Laura Gaddis

Mosaic
Lisa Hoffman

Lisa Hoffman

STEM SMART Parenting: A Practical Guide for Nurturing Innovative Thinkers
Brigid Kaelin

Brigid Kaelin

Lakeside
George Ella Lyon

George Ella Lyon

Don’t You Remember? (Revised & Updated)
Keven McQueen

Keven McQueen

The Judge Mulligan Poisoning and Other Historic Lexington Crimes
James C. Nicholson

James C. Nicholson

Racing's Return from the Brink: The Incredible Comeback of Old Rosebud and American Horse Racing
Susan Reigler

Susan Reigler

Kentucky Bourbon
Shaunna Scott

Shaunna Scott

Toward Just Transitions: Visions for Regenerative Communities in Appalachia
Belinda Smith-Sullivan

Belinda Smith-Sullivan

Cocktails Southern Style
Jessica Whitehead

Jessica Whitehead

Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard

POETRY

Joseph Anthony

Joseph Anthony

Playing Fair
Tony Crunk

Tony Crunk

Cosmogony: Night & Time
Wesley Houp

Wesley Houp

Strung out along the Endless Branch
Libby Falk Jones

Libby Falk Jones

Enchanting the Ordinary: Poems & Photographs
Alessandra Lynch

Alessandra Lynch

Wish Ave
Pat Owen

Pat Owen

The Crossroad
Amy Richardson

Amy Richardson

Out of Places
Roberta Schultz

Roberta Schultz

Deep Ends
Alfonso Zapata

Alfonso Zapata

To Pay for Our Next Breath: Poems
David B. Cazden

David B. Cazden

New Stars And Constellations (Bainbridge Island Press, 2024).
upfromsumdirt

upfromsumdirt

The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife: Poems
Silas House

Silas House

All These Ghosts
Daniel Lassell

Daniel Lassell

Frame Inside a Frame
John W. McCauley

John W. McCauley

Kentucky is My Home: A Journey Into the Life of Jesse Hilton Stuart
Shauna Morgan

Shauna Morgan

Ground Provisions
Jeremy Paden

Jeremy Paden

how to recognize god's chosen
Artress White

Artress White

A Black Doe in the Anthropocene: Poems
John Compton

John Compton

my husband holds my hand because i may drift away & be lost forever in the vortex of a crowded store
Kathleen Driskell

Kathleen Driskell

Goat-Footed Gods
Denton Loving

Denton Loving

Feller
Christopher McCurry

Christopher McCurry

The Gospel of God Boy
Kevin Nance

Kevin Nance

Smoke
Marianne Peel

Marianne Peel

Untamed Arabesque
Carine Topal

Carine Topal

Dear Blood,
Cecilia G. Woloch

Cecilia G. Woloch

Labor: The Testimony of Ted Gall

YOUNG ADULT

Kassidy Caroline

Kassidy Caroline

The Shadows We Hide
Katherine Elizabeth Hale-Stringfield

Katherine Elizabeth Hale-Stringfield

The Mary Luck Tales: Witch's Curse
Jamie D'Amato

Jamie D'Amato

The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends
Mariama J. Lockington

Mariama J. Lockington

I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Dani Diaz

Dani Diaz

Dreamover

CHILDREN & MIDDLE GRADE

P. Anastasia

P. Anastasia

POE Prophecies: Dream Within a Dream
Julia Lynne Cothran

Julia Lynne Cothran

Does a Gaggle of Geese Giggle?
Tracey Feltner Francis

Tracey Feltner Francis

The Fluffy Brown Pup That Met His New Family
Bethany Hegedus

Bethany Hegedus

Batter for the First Day of School
Amy Kapoor

Amy Kapoor

Into the Blue: A Counting Adventure
Susan Mills

Susan Mills

Oliver, the Outstanding and Original Oviraptor
Shawn Pryor

Shawn Pryor

Taekwondo Academy: New Kid at the Dojang
Sandra Rippetoe

Sandra Rippetoe

Which Bird is the Best: Wise Owl Knows
Chuck Sambuchino

Chuck Sambuchino

Goodnight, Pickleball
Alex Scott

Alex Scott

Chuckles the Cheese and The Midnight Thief: A Cheesy Tale of Sneaky Snacks
Gin Noon Spaulding

Gin Noon Spaulding

ERRNT
Jessica Young

Jessica Young

Today at School with Yesterday and Tomorrow
Carlotta A. Berry

Carlotta A. Berry

There's A Robot In My Closet
Dawn Cusick

Dawn Cusick

The Astrochimps: America's First Astronauts
Carol June Franks

Carol June Franks

Sled Ride Down Unrue Street
Christine Herren

Christine Herren

A Light in the Darkness
Nathan Will Landrum

Nathan Will Landrum

The Specters of Mammoth Cave
Elizabeth Mongar

Elizabeth Mongar

A Glowhearts' Christmas Tale
Tammi Jo Regan

Tammi Jo Regan

Be Like Hank
Misako Rocks

Misako Rocks

Sew Totally Nala (Bounce Back Vol.3)
Mollie P. Sawyer

Mollie P. Sawyer

A Kentucky Adventure
Andrew Shaffer

Andrew Shaffer

Literary Cats Coloring Book
Sam Subity

Sam Subity

Valor Wings
Lynn Celdrán

Lynn Celdrán

The Tales of Javi Ramirez: Dumplings for Breakfast
Amanda Driscoll

Amanda Driscoll

Under Anna's Umbrella
LaTrell Halcomb

LaTrell Halcomb

Ouch Mr. Bear
Lyndsey Horn

Lyndsey Horn

When the Mountains Speak
Rachel Loftspring

Rachel Loftspring

Mila the Maker and the 200 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
Miranda Montoya

Miranda Montoya

Petunia Moves Again
Valerie M. Reynolds

Valerie M. Reynolds

The Twirl of Being a Little Black Girl / The Joys of Being a Little Black Boy (Second Edition)
Kay Saffari

Kay Saffari

Uno, Dos, Tres Means One, Two, Three!
Stacy Schilling

Stacy Schilling

The ABC's of Wavy and Curly Hair Starring...The Frizz Girls
Jennifer Sommer

Jennifer Sommer

Every Creature Eats
Robyn Wall

Robyn Wall

I Worked Hard on That!