Russellville High School graduate Holly Goddard Jones is one of more than 130 authors and illustrators who will attend the 20th annual Southern Kentucky Book Fest on April 20-21, including New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Loren Long, well known for his Otis series along with his illustrations for President Obama’s Of Thee I Sing.
Jones has appeared at the Book Fest before and is always in demand because of her writing and her ability to talk about the art of writing.
Holly Goddard Jones is the author of The Next Time You See Me and Girl Trouble(stories). Her work has appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories, New Stories from the South, Tin House magazine, and elsewhere. She was a recipient of The Fellowship of Southern Writers’ Hillsdale Prize for Excellence in Fiction and of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award. She earned her M.F.A. from Ohio State University and her B.A. from the University of Kentucky.
The Salt Line, Jones' second novel, was released in September 2017. Publisher's Weekly, in a positive review, described the book as "seamless" and "thrilling."[9]The novel also received praise from the Los Angeles Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
She teaches creative writing at UNC Greensboro and lives in Greensboro with her husband, Brandon, and their children. Brandon Jones is also an RHS graduate.
SOKY Book Fest offers variety. “There are authors for audiences of all ages and reading levels, and SOKY Book Fest is free and open to the public,” said Sara Volpi, Literary Outreach Coordinator for WKU Libraries and Book Fest organizer. “We’re doing some new things this year too, like offering writing workshops on Saturday instead of just Friday. There’s truly something for everyone.”
Held at WKU’s Knicely Conference Center, SOKY Book Fest weekend is full of author presentations, panel discussions, and book signings as well as the Kentucky Writers Conference featuring writing workshops on Friday, April 20, presented by several authors who will be at the main event on Saturday, April 21. Friday also includes Teen & Children’s Day, with hundreds of school-aged children and teens visiting presentations and getting books signed by favorite and newly discovered authors. Full schedules for each day and a full author lineup are available on sokybookfest.org.
SOKY Book Fest favorite Phil Bildner will be there, along with Kentucky natives Debbie Dadey, Molly Harper and Jones; former Governor Steve Beshear; National Book Award-nominated Mitali Perkins; and Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall series.
Apart from the opportunity to meet and talk to authors in the bookselling area, fans can attend panels and presentations throughout the weekend to learn more about the writing process and nerd out with fellow word-lovers. Chat with debut novelists Abby Fabiaschi, Ismée Williams or Leesa Cross-Smith, whose debut Whiskey & Ribbons, is set in Louisville. Authors of inspirational romance like Ann Gabhart, Scarlett Dunn and Sarah Loudin Thomas will also be there, along with many authors of exciting thriller/mystery books.
With titles from musicians like J.D. Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers, to chefs Albert Schmid – chronicling the hot brown – and Garin Pirnia – writing the history of beer cheese – all the literary bases are covered.
Sponsored by Dollar General, Jim Johnson Nissan, Walmart and other local businesses, SOKY Book Fest is a partnership of Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Warren County Public Library and WKU Libraries. For information, visit the website at sokybookfest.org or contact Book Fest organizer Sara Volpi at WKU Libraries at (270) 745-4502.