An illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music. In an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, Kristina Gaddy uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion.
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Had Elizabeth "Bess" Clements Abell (1933–2020) been a boy, she would likely have become a politician like her father, Earle C. Clements. Effectively barred from office because of her gender, she forged her own path by helping family friends Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson.
In War & Homecoming: Veteran Identity and the Post-9/11 Generation, Travis L. Martin explores how a new generation of veterans is redefining what it means to come home. More than 2.7 million veterans served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their homecomings didn't include parades or national celebrations. Instead, when the last US troops left Afghanistan, American […]
Elizabeth Kilcoyne’s Wake the Bones is a dark, atmospheric debut about the complicated feelings that arise when the place you call home becomes hostile.
Calling all dog lovers! Bestselling author, director, and producer W. Bruce Cameron, author of "A Dog’s Courage," will chat about writing books from a dog's perspective with Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of "Luna Howls at the Moon" in the Writer's Room. Attend this program at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, or watch the livestream from here on Saturday, […]
Bestselling author/illustrator Vashti Harrison and award-winning author Alice Faye Duncan discuss their writing careers, inspiration, upcoming projects, and so much more. Don't miss this special program if you love children's books!
What will Kentucky Book Festival visitors find on your table? All of my books are a celebration and motivation for Kentucky’s beautiful outdoors! If you’re looking for an easy walk in the woods, a heart-thumping hike atop a mountain ridge or simply a wander through a public garden, I have lots […]
What will Kentucky Book Festival visitors find on your table? hopefully theyll find my three full length poetry collections, Deifying A Total Darkness (Harry Tankoos Books, 2020), To Emit Teal (Broadstone Books, 2020), The Second Stop Is Jupiter (Wayne State University Press, 2023) – collectively a loose trilogy of poems in conversation […]
Under the Angel Tree, written by Christine Elizabeth Herren and illustrated by Erin McGuire Thompson, is the story of Eileen, a little girl who is bullied by her friends only to discover the special magic that lives inside each of us.
In this panel discussion between journalists-turned-authors, Emily Bingham, Kristina Gaddy, Jyoti Thottam, & Amy Argetsinger chat about their latest books. Click "Learn More" to watch the video!
Two Brown Dots explores what it means to be a racially ambiguous, multiethnic, Asian American woman growing up in Kentucky. In stark, honest poems, Quintos recounts the messiness and confusion of being a typical ‘90s kid—watching Dirty Dancing at sleepovers, borrowing eye shadow out of a friend’s caboodle, crushing on a boy wearing khaki shorts […]
Vacations require a great deal of planning, no matter who is going or the final destination. But, if one wants to take along the family monster, there are special challenges to consider. And for that, it's best to have a helpful guide to follow. Travel Guide for Monsters contains all the information you'll need so […]