bell hooks and Crystal Wilkinson Featured Speakers at Kentucky Book Fair


bell hooks and Crystal Wilkinsonbell hooks and Crystal Wilkinson will be “In Conversation” at the Kentucky Book Fair Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. The annual event, presented by Kentucky Humanities, features more than 180 writers and speakers from across the country.

hooks is a renowned cultural critic and Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College. Wilkinson is the recipient of the 2017 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Fiction and the current Appalachian Writer-in-Residence at Berea College. During the “In Conversation” session at 1 p.m. on the main stage, they will have a candid conversation on each one’s career in writing and their experiences as Black women and writers living in Kentucky.

Other Berea College alumni and faculty whose books will be featured during the 2017 Kentucky Book Fair include:

  • Bill Best (along with Dobree Adams) –  Kentucky Heirloom Seeds: Growing, Eating, Saving
  • Loyal Jones – My Curious and Jocular Heroes: Tales and Tale Spinners from Appalachia
  • Robert G. Lawson – Who Killed Betty Gail Brown? Murder, Mistrial, and Mystery
  • Keven McQueen – Horror in the Heartland: Strange and Gothic Tales from the Midwest

Kentucky Humanities is an independent, nonprofit corporation affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Kentucky Humanities is supported by the National Endowment and private contributions. In addition to hosting the Kentucky Book Fair, Kentucky Humanities sponsors PRIME TIME Family Reading Time, offers Kentucky Chautauqua® and Speakers Bureau programs, hosts Smithsonian Traveling Exhibits throughout the state, publishes Kentucky Humanities magazine, and awards grants for humanities programs. www.kyhumanities.org

Categories: News, People
Tags: bell hooks, Crystal Wilkinson, faculty, humanities

Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources—primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia—but welcomes students from 41 states and 76 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, so students work 10 hours or more weekly to earn money for books, housing and meals. The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character.