Wes Swietek
Wes Swietek is an award-winning journalist who has served as editor of newspapers in Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. A Chicago native, he is currently the managing editor of the Daily News in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife and two children. This is his second book. His first book was The Cemetery Road Murders about an infamous murder case in Bowling Green.
Featured Book
When the Bluegrass Ran Red
In the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, when Bowling Green was known as “Little Chicago” and Newport was called “Sin City”, sensational murders, crime and corruption made daily headlines across Kentucky. Colorful characters, along with rampant corruption and horrific violence, produced a unique period in the Commonwealth’s history. Many of the murder cases remain unsolved. Those murders — and this era of unbelievable, headline-making crime — are still vividly remembered, discussed and written about to this day. In When the Bluegrass Ran Red, award-winning journalist Wes Swietek examines some of the true stories from this dangerous era, when the Bluegrass was stained in blood.
Meet Wes Swietek and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.