Tom Thurman
Born and raised in Shelby County, Kentucky, Thomas (Tom) Thurman has directed over forty films. He has taught English and film at Tulane University, Berea College, Centre College and is currently a filmmaker-in-residence at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts. Their Secret Places is his first novel.
Featured Book
Their Secret Places
Jack Patterson and Nate Jackson are born and raised in a small Kentucky town. They are neighbors separated by age, color and money but joined by a passion for books, films and a mutual desire to discover the larger world beyond their tiny hamlet. Determined to escape small-town life, their travels are marked by love that is found, lost and regained, secrets that are kept and discovered, and families that are filled with warmth, longing and loss.
A story of leaving and returning, of hiding and being found, Their Secret Places is a novel about the power of friendship, the need for love, and the search for home and belonging.
Meet Tom Thurman and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.