2026 Appalachian Literary Arts Festival

Read my poem, “Teaching Streetcar to College Literature Students” today with the Women of Appalachia Project. Morehead, Kentucky is such a cute town, and I was proud to meet so many friends there!

New books from the book fair!
Fellow readers! ❤️

My Review in Appalachian Journal

I’m proud to have my review of Ashley M. Jones’s Lullaby for the Grieving in the newest issue of Appalachian Journal. Her book is a poetry collection published last year. She served as poet laureate of Alabama from 2022 until 2026.

McKay’s Bookstore

Went to Nashville today to visit with a friend, and she took me to McKay’s bookstore. I thought I’d buy 1-2 books, but I wound up with all these, plus a blank journal not pictured here. Money well-spent! ❤️❤️❤️

Books from McKay’s, a used bookstore in Nashville, TN

What I’m Reading Now: New Nigeria County by Clare Brown

I’m listening to the audiobook of New Nigeria County by Clare Brown. It’s a satire I found on Audible.com about a Black woman who calls 911 on a White youth in her neighborhood. She assumes he’s a gang member because he’s wearing cargo shorts. Whites are marginalized in the community. For instance, Blacks tell them their names are difficult to pronounce, and Europe and European culture are disparaged. The book plays off of race-based stereotypes, and to some degree, gender-based stereotypes too. The things I like best about it so far are the writing and the readers/actors. Inflections in the voices of the actors made me chuckle, and several clever jokes stood out. Try it if you like satire.

Image taken from Simonandschuster.com

Tennessee Book Award

Y’all, I have exciting news! My book, Daughters of Muscadine, has just won the Tennessee Book Award in fiction! This is a huge honor. It comes with a $2,500 cash prize, and I’m invited to give a talk with Denton Loving and Rachel Louise Martin, the poetry and nonfiction winners, at the Southern Festival of Books this Sunday. I’m grinning big as can be! ❤️❤️❤️

Here’s a pic of the plaque I received. It’s gorgeous and made of solid wood.

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