Willie Carver
Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. is an Appalachian author, advocate, educator, and past Kentucky Teacher of the Year. His debut collection, Gay Poems for Red States, was featured on Good Morning America and named a Book Riot Best Book, a Top Ten Over the Rainbow Book by the American Library Association, and a Whippoorwill Honor Book.
Featured Book
Tore All to Pieces
Tore All to Pieces is a fragmented novel that delves into the lives of Appalachian characters with similar struggles, backgrounds, and experiences and examines how people are often lonely despite these connections. Each narrative, presented in the form of a poem or short story, bends and weaves like the roads of Appalachia. At a time when the rights of queer individuals, women, and people of color are increasingly under threat, this work powerfully reaffirms the humanity and significance of marginalized people.
Meet Willie Carver and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.