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Kentucky Humanities is pleased to announce the 2023 Kentucky Reads selection is The Book Woman's Daughter, by Kim Michele Richardson. 

About the book:

Information will be forthcoming soon.

About the author:

The NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Kim Michele Richardson has written five works of historical fiction, and a bestselling memoir.

Her critically acclaimed novel, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a recommended read by Dolly Parton and has earned a 2020 PBS Readers Choice, 2019 LibraryReads Best Book, Indie Next, SIBA, Forbes Best Historical Novel, Book-A-Million Best Fiction, and is an Oprah's Buzziest Books pick and a Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads selection. It was inspired by the remarkable "blue people" of Kentucky, and the fierce, brave Packhorse Librarians who used the power of literacy to overcome bigotry and fear during the Great Depression. The novel is taught widely in high schools and college classrooms and has been adopted as a Common Read selection by states, cities, and colleges across the country and abroad.

Her latest novel, The Book Woman’s Daughter, an instant NYT and USA TODAY’s bestseller is both a stand-alone and sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Kim Michele lives with her family in Kentucky and is the founder of Shy Rabbit.

Booking fee:

The booking fee for your organization is only $50. Kentucky Humanities will supplement the remaining cost of the program. Each host organization will be provided with 15 copies of The Book Woman's Daughter to share among participating members and publicity materials to promote your discussion. Kentucky Humanities will pay an honorarium to the discussion leader (you choose) below to lead your book discussion. Or you can choose to find your own book discussion leader and your organization will pay that leader or he/she will donate his/her time to serve as a discussion leader.
 
Any nonprofit organization in Kentucky can host this program, including libraries, historical societies, churches, prisons, veterans’ groups, museums, book clubs, etc. These programs will be awarded on a first-come first-served basis and must take place between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.
 
Social media hashtag: #KyReads

How to host book discussion:

  1. Decide your organization would like to host a book discussion of The Book Woman's Daughter.
  2. Select who will serve as your scholar to lead a discussion about the book and relevant topics. (see list below)
  3. Contact the scholar and set a date, time, and location for your group discussion and discuss any special arrangements.
  4. Book the program using the online booking form at least six weeks in advance, beginning December 1, 2022, and pay the $50 booking fee.
  5. Kentucky Humanities will send you an agreement to sign and return.
  6. Kentucky Humanities will also send an electronic social media graphic, flyer, bookmarks, and 15 copies of The Book Woman's Daughter to promote your event.
  7. Publicize your book discussion once it has been approved using the supplied materials.
  8. Host your discussion and have participants complete the provided evaluation forms.
  9. Complete the program coordinator's report.
  10. Return evaluation forms to Kentucky Humanities within two weeks of your program taking place.

Discussion Guide:

Click here to download a copy of the discussion guide for The Book Woman's Daughter.
 

Scholars available to lead discussions for your group:

  1. Constance Alexander, constancealexander@twc.com, (270) 293-7920, Murray, KY. Constance Alexander is published poet, playwright, essayist, and civic journalist in Murray.  She has received numerous  grants and awards for her creative work, including support from Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Foundation for Women, Ragdale Foundation, Kentucky Press Association, the Writers Exchange of Poets & Writers, Inc.among others. With an MA is in the Humanities, an MBA in Management, and an MFA in fiction, she is a skilled facilitator.
  2. Diane Calhoun-French, jctcveep@gmail.com, (502) 500-2176, Louisville, KY. Diane Calhoun-French recently retired as Provost at Jefferson County Community & Technical College. She has been a member of the Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau for many years with talks such as Popular Fiction for Women, A Cultural History of Paper Dolls, Tea for Two, Reading in the Age of the Kindle, and others.
  3. Erin Chandler, erinchandler22@aol.com, (859) 940-2087, Versailles, KY. Erin Chandler's memoir, June Bug Versus Hurricane was published in 2018. Her original play of the same name was produced at the Lost Studio in Los Angeles in 2009. Cinderella Sweeping Up, a collection of essays was released in June 2019. The essays were originally published in the Woodford Sun where she writes a weekly column. Erin holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University and Masters in Theatre from the University of Kentucky. She teaches playwrighting and screenwriting at the Carnegie Center in Lexington, KY, and is hard at work on a new novel, Nervous Blood. Erin was on the roster for the 2019-2020 Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau.
  4. Elizabeth Glass, ELizabeth.L.Glass@gmail.com, (502) 552-0088, Louisville, KY. Elizabeth Glass earned her PhD in Humanities from the University of Louisville. She is a scholar, creative writer, and teacher. She has received an Emerging Artist Award in Nonfiction from the Kentucky Arts Council and a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
  5. Donna Eastham, donna.eastham@kctcs.edu, (606) 425-3764, Somerset, KY. Donna Eastham is originally from Ohio and has been in the state of Kentucky since 1982. Donna has taught at Eastern Kentucky University and currently teaches at Somerset Community College in the IECE program.
  6. Ann C. Hall, ann.hall@louisville.edu, (614) 404-2579, Louisville, KY. Ann C. Hall is a Professor of Comparative Humanities at the University of Louisville. She has recently co-edited a collection called Dramatic Apparitions:  Theatrical Ghosts with Alan Nadel from the University of KY.  The collection examines the way ghosts haunt theatre in different eras, cultures, and genres.  Other publications include A Kind of Alaska: Women in the Plays of O’Neill, Pinter, and Shepard and Phantom Variations: The Adaptations of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, 1925-present. She is passionate about the humanities, film, the arts, teaching, and performance. She teaches courses in film, modern drama, and interdisciplinary humanities.
  7. Jacqueline Hamilton, aliceontheroad1955@gmail.com, (859) 935-5153, Winchester, KY. Jacqueline Hamilton teaches English and literature at Eastern Kentucky University. Her research work focuses on how to build effective listening skills in people of all ages. She studied in London, England, on a Rotary Foundation fellowship in journalism, and received a Jesse Stuart fellowship during graduate school. Hamilton portrays Alice Lloyd and Sue Grafton for Kentucky Chautauqua. She also started and continues to direct a non-profit called Why We Write whose mission is to give students the mindset of writing as “workable fun."

  8. Alana Scott, a.scott@moreheadstate.edu, (606) 783-2540, Morehead, KY. Alana Scott is an Associate Professor of History in the Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, Global Studies & Legal Studies (School of Humanities & Social Sciences) at Morehead State University. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Florida State University. She has served as a Prime Time Family Reading discussion leader for many years.

  9. Richard Taylor, richard.taylor.ky@gmail.com, (502) 352-3516, Frankfort, KY. Richard Taylor is retired from teaching at Transylvania University and former Poet Laureate of Kentucky. Taylor has written more than a dozen books including Bull's Hell, a collection of poems on the life of Cassius M. Clay, and Snow Falling on Water: New and Selected Poems. His book, Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landscape, was awarded the Thomas D. Clark Medallion. He lives near the banks of the Elkhorn outside of Frankfort.
  10. Jayne Moore Waldrop, jaynemoorewaldrop@gmail.com, (859) 494-8262, Lexington, KY. Jayne Moore Waldrop is a writer, attorney, and author of Retracing My Steps, a finalist in the New Women's Voices Chapbook Competition (Finishing Line Press 2019). She had two books published in 2021, a linked story collection, Drowned Town (University Press of Kentucky) and a poetry collection, Pandemic Lent: A Season in Poetry (Finishing Line Press). She's a former book columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal and literary liaison at the Carnegie Center of Literacy and Learning in Lexington.
  11. Marianne Worthington, worthington.marianne@gmail.com, (606) 521-7115, Williamsburg, KY.  Marianne Worthington is a poet, editor, and educator living in southeastern Kentucky. She co-founded the online literary magazine Still: The Journal in 2009 and serves as its poetry editor.
  12. John "Spike" Wright, jgw966@gmail.com, (859) 567-5555, Warsaw, KY.  Most people know John Wright by his nickname, "Spike". He is a lifelong resident of Gallatin County and has led discussions for Kentucky Reads including All the King's Men, Hannah Coulter, and The Birds of Opulence. He has served as a Prime Time Family Reading discussion leader. A graduate of Transylvania University and the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at NKU, Spike has served as the Gallatin County Attorney since 2003.

Booking form:

Once you have contacted the discussion leader and made your book discussion plans, please complete the booking form below and submit online.