Gary P. West
West grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and attended Western Kentucky University before graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1967 with a journalism degree. At U.K. he was a daily sports editor for the Kentucky Kernel. Throughout his extensive career he has served as executive director of the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation at Western Kentucky University, provided color commentary for Wes Strader on the Hilltopper Basketball Network. He is a freelance writer for several magazines in addition to writing a syndicated newspaper travel column, Out & About…Kentucky Style, for several papers across the state. Gary is in demand as a speaker and for book signings throughout Kentucky. This is his seventeenth book.
Featured Book
King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky’s Greatest Basketball Legend
In a state where the love of basketball itself is legendary, there are its rare heroes who also, through the dispassionate lens of history, rise to legendary status. When that legend rises so far above the others as to acquire mythical or rather, folk hero, proportions – and then enigmatically vanishes – you have King Kelly Coleman. This shy, humble mountain boy blessed with extraordinary talent and drive captured Kentucky’s hearts and all-time national record books with performances that were not surpassed for nearly seven decades. Originally published in 2005, the novel has been revised and expanded to include dozens of new photographs and facts about Coleman’s life up until his death in 2019.
Meet Gary P. West and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.