Bluegrass Writers Coalition

Abigail Keam is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author who writes the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a Southern female beekeeper turned amateur sleuth living in the glamorous world of oak-cured bourbon, antebellum mansions, and Thoroughbred farms. Besides loving history, Kentucky bourbon and chocolate, Abigail loves honeybees and for many years made her living by selling honey at a farmers’ market like her protagonist, Josiah Reynolds. She is an award-winning beekeeper who has won many honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair including the Barbara Horn Award, which is given to beekeepers who rate a perfect 100 in a honey competition. Miss Abigail has taken her knowledge of beekeeping to create a fictional beekeeping protagonist, Josiah Reynolds, who solves murder mysteries in the Bluegrass. While Miss Abigail’s novels are for enjoyment, she discusses the importance of a local sustainable food economy and land management for honeybees and other creatures. She currently lives on the Kentucky River in a metal house with her husband and various critters. She still has honeybees.

Alan Goldstein, of Louisville, has been writing for over 40 years, with more than 150 articles published in various periodicals, including Astronomy magazine. Two won national awards. He debuted his first mid-grade fantasy novel through Dingbat Publishing in 2021. He retires as an interpretive naturalist at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in November 2025, where he created programs that reached hundreds of thousands of visitors and students for 31 years. He is a co-founder of the Louisville Writers' Meetup since early 2015. Activities include nature photography, gardening, fossil & mineral collecting, and curating his family’s history.

Amethyst Drake crafts delightful characters and weaves their complex relationships into her mystery novels. She loves all kinds of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers and enjoys watching classic detective and espionage dramas like "Columbo,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”.

Come Home to Story https://www.annhgabhart.com/

Artie Ann Bates is a nature-lover and semi-retired psychiatrist living at the head of a holler in southeastern Kentucky. Her fiction and nonfiction are a sharing of Appalachian ways. Fiction publication includes the short story “Subsidence” in the Bluegrass Writers Coalition anthology as a finalist in their 2025 Kentucky Visions contest. It is from an unpublished collection, Kaintuck Stories, which was a finalist in the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Grace Paley Short Fiction Contest, 2024. Another story from the collection, “Widow’s Breath,” was published in the 2024 issue of The Santa Fe Literary Review. Nonfiction work includes an unpublished grief memoir-in-essay collection, A Process Most Impossible, from which two entries have found homes. “Forming Thoughts” was published in The Periwinkle Pelican, April 2025, and “The Doctor Curse” appeared in The Calendula Review: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, Fall, 2024. Harvard’s Institute to End Mass Incarceration journal, Inquest, printed “Letcher is Us,” in the May 2024 issue, about the risks of another federal prison in southeast Kentucky. Based on research and written narration of the history of the inherited log house, barn, corn crib and smokehouse, the David Back Log House and Farm was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Past publications include a children’s book, Ragsale, in 1995 by Houghton Mifflin, and essays in the anthologies Bloodroot: Reflections on Place by Appalachian Women Writers (edited by Joyce Dyer) and Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia (edited by Sandra L. Ballard and Patricia L. Hudson), as well as several in Appalachian Heritage Magazine. A book review of Pain Killer: A “Wonder” Drug’s Trail of Addiction and Death by Barry Meier appeared in the Spring/Fall 2005 issue of the Journal of Appalachian Studies.

Bill Carman is a hunting and fishing guide and award-winning outdoor writer. His stories have appeared in numerous outdoor magazines, and he won the national Outdoor Life Book Club short story contest. He has written three books of hunting and fishing essays and authored a true crime book, Saving Noah, set in a small town in Kentucky. His latest book, Fishing with Daniel Boone, takes the reader on a fly fisherman’s journey to the rivers and streams of Daniel Boone’s life. Bill regularly conducts outdoor skills workshops, and he teaches outdoor writing at the Carnegie Center. He and his wife live in Lexington, Kentucky where he is teaching his grandchildren the ways of the woods. Bill can be reached at www.kentuckywildoutdoors.com.

Bobbie Falin is a self-published science fiction/ fantasy author who is currently editing her fifth novel for early summer release. She enjoys reading, gardening, and yes, it is true: if they were taking volunteers to go into space, she would be the first in line.

Bradley P. Logan is an actor with an interest in writing short plays and adapting flash fiction from the page to the stage. He has appeared on stage in various community and professional theatres in the central Kentucky area. He serves on the board of directors for Pioneer Playhouse in Danville. Brad joined BWC in early 2024.

Carol June Franks is a retired teacher who, upon retirement, began her journey as a children's book author. Her stories give the reader a nostalgic experience and a cadence to be enjoyed by all ages. Unique to children's books, Carol includes guidance for parents and teachers to use the text to further children's reading and writing skills.

Catherine Perkins (she/her), semi-retired Thoroughbred trainer, part-time zero-turn mower operator, horse crossing guard, stand-up comedian and full time poet, is the author of "Udder Uproar," Accents Publishing 2024. "Udder Uproar" is a small collection of entertaining, often humorous, sometimes bawdy or risqué poetry.

Chris Helvey is an award winning short-story writer, a poet, and a novelist. The author of more than a dozen novels and multiple short-story collections, Chris’ latest novel, Revolution, was recently released by Wings ePress, and is available in both paperback and e-book formats on Amazon. A founding member of the Bluegrass Writers Coalition, he is also editor-in-chief and publisher of Trajectory Journal.

Cody Draco is an emerging queer poet, settled but never stagnant, creatively restless in the rural sanctuary of southern Kentucky, United States. Unflinching yet deeply human, his poetry pushes boundaries while distilling meaning from the void of 21st-century existence in an intentional effort to code a new masculinity.

Love Beyond the Bucket List is Dawn's first novel. Her journey as an author began when she placed her mother, Eileen, in memory care. This experience led to three fundamental changes in her life: writing her mother’s feisty, adventurous love story, working at a memory care facility, and founding the Facebook group, “Dementia Insider” to help families navigate the ever-changing world of dementia. After earning a degree in communications and journalism from California State University, Sacramento, Dawn began writing as a reporter, then went onto becoming an advertising copywriter for radio and direct mail. Dawn is considering a second Bucket List Book and speaking "gigs" (as a certified toastmaster) to help other families avoid three very common, but preventable clashes between adult children and older adults. When not writing, she enjoys gardening, e-biking, and spending time with husband Paul and their “Giant Beagle” Maddie.

Denise Janette Bruneau is an American novelist who writes sweet romance stories about real life, second chances, and crazy love. Her tales will strum on your heartstrings but will always leave you with a happy ending. Her characters are authentic and inspiring and will make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. When Denise is not writing, she is working as an Obstetrician, delivering babies into the world. In her free time, she values time with her husband, teenage daughter, and three dogs. You might also find her listening to audiobooks, enjoying some spa time, and attempting a little exercise. She is a member of the Author Ready author group led by NY Times best-selling author, Richard Paul Evans. She also bumps elbows with her fellow authors in the Bluegrass Writers’ Coalition. Her novels, Lavender Sky and Finding Home, won the 2024 International Impact Award. Finding Home also won the 2024 Regal Summit Award. www.denisejbruneau.blogspot.com

Married to Susan, three children and three grandchildren. Lives in Lexington, Ky. Author of three books.

Virginia Smith is the bestselling author of more than fifty novels (and counting!), two illustrated children’s books, and many articles and short stories.

Mister Jones was seated at his desk in his trailer. He scratched in one of the answers to the newspaper crossword. He did not get up when he heard the van coming down the way.

Jim Miller has spent more than four decades as a journalist, sports executive and author. After eleven years as a newspaper reporter in Louisville and Baltimore, the Kentucky native joined the National Football League in 1981. A 21-year NFL career followed which included ten years as executive vice president of the New Orleans Saints and another five with the Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears. Jim retired from the NFL in 2003 and became athletics director at the University of New Orleans, guiding the program through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. He chronicled the Katrina ordeal in his 2012 book, Where the Water Kept Rising, and followed that up in 2017 with Integrated: the Lincoln Institute, basketball and a vanished tradition, published by the University Press of Kentucky. His current book, King of the Gunrunners, was published in 2024 by the University Press of Mississippi. Jim and his wife Jean live in Diamondhead, Mississippi.

Musician, writer, VO artist. Happy ex-corporate trainer. Still consulting. Traveler, farmer, retreat leader. Official Fat Soul of Fat Soul Club Media “For the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” Prov. 13:4, KJV. Aspiring follower of Jesus.

Jan has enjoyed journaling since she was a youngster in northwest Ohio. Her passion for researching the details of a story has heightened her desire to create more layers of interest in her debut manuscript. Years of working in the classroom setting, among children with multiple behavioral issues, has prepared her with a plethora of unique information for her current manuscript. She resides in her country home on a cliff above the Kentucky River in central Kentucky, and surrounded by her husband, dog, cat and nature.

J. Schlenker, a late-blooming author, lives with her husband, Chris, out in the splendid center of nowhere in the foothills of Appalachia in Kentucky, where the only thing to disturb her writing is croaking frogs and the occasional sounds of hay being cut in the fields.

Author of numerous articles on gardening and floriography, I am a former high school teacher with a deep appreciation for creativity and research. Born on the sun-drenched shores of the French Mediterranean coast, I reside in Frankfort, Kentucky, with my husband, where we raised two lovely daughters. When not writing, I tend to my garden full of heirloom roses and a few naughty plants, much to the delight of my three grandchildren.

John David Morgan is an Army Veteran, and first-generation college graduate with an undergraduate accounting degree from Bellarmine University in Louisville, an MBA from Vanderbilt University, and an MA in English from the University of Louisville. His work has been published in The Saturday Evening Post 2021 Great American Fiction Contest Anthology (a finalist), The Louisville Review, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, and Trajectory. John retired from Humana in 2022 and is currently working on his first novel. He is enrolled in the Bluegrass Writers Studio Low-Residency MFA program at Eastern Kentucky University.

Jonathan D. Scott grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs but lived most of his adult life in North Carolina before moving to Kentucky in 2022. During and after a career in advertising, Scott wrote three novels and a short story collection under his own name.

J Keith Thompson is an American author from Jeffersontown, Kentucky, who currently resides in Sellersburg, Indiana, with his wife Kate. His short story "Animal Crackers with Zebedee" has been featured in Catholic365 along with other reflections. His first novel, "Two-Bit Wizərd" was released in February 2025 through Next Chapter Publishing. It is available on Amazon, Goodreads, Google Books, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, and Nook.

I am a multi-media artist focusing on critical thought and creative dissent. I write across genres, in long and short formats, including songs and poetry. I will interrogate just about anything. I also love to write about music, the arts, and the funny things that happen to us all. I am the author of In Lieu of Heaven, a novel which The Midwest Book Review "enthusiastically recommend(s), especially for those who prefer their literary entertainment to be thoughtful and thought-provoking." (5 star review) Currently, I lead Peace Meal Supper Club™, a series of fine dining events which explore socially vital themes. Through the use of multiple media forms–word, food, music, and film—these immersive events explore the ethical impacts of our personal and social choices. My multiple careers—IT, culinary, organic agriculture—have given me the opportunity to live coast to coast while experiencing life at many contrasting levels: a true writer's dream.

Leslie Gulvas is a writer who prefers to be defined by actions rather than adjectives. She is a collector of experiences, a former research scientist, and a retired science teacher. An eclectic author she writes in multiple genres. Under her own name, she has multiple published creative nonfiction articles and fictional stories in anthologies. Using pseudonyms to protect the innocent, she has produced the Carnival Charlatan urban fantasy series as Skeeter Enright and as Lee Gull wrote the Native American thriller Off the Reservation. Her contemporary, gothic horror novel was a finalist for the 2024 Claymore Award.

Melissa Raine is a lifelong resident of Frankfort, Kentucky. She is a book lover and reads a wide variety of books but her most favorite genres are fantasy and speculative fiction. She has work published in the Bluegrass Writer's Anthology, From Pen to Page, Volumes One and Two. She recently has a piece of flash fiction titled "Confetti" published in TMP Magazine Whispers in the Woods Volume 22. When she is not reading and writing she is a Document Processing Specialist at Kentucky Public Pensions Authority. She is currently working on a personal essay to submit to Pen to Page Volume 3 and more short stories.

I bring you mystery with a dash of romance and a dollop of history. I hope you enjoy my work and we become great friends. Join my VIP group at: https://bit.ly/33fcOuy

Michelle has published three devotionals in Unlocked Magazine. Her work in progress is inspirational historical fiction, taking place in medieval Spain. Eva is kidnapped and taken to an enemy kingdom, where she discovers a military secret and must escape to warn her people.

Paul Stansbury is a lifelong native of Kentucky. He is the author of the four volume Inversion short speculative fiction collection; and Down by the Creek – Ripples and Reflections. Over one hundred of his speculative fiction stories have been published in a variety of print anthologies and in a variety of online publications. His poetry has appeared in several print anthologies and in a variety of online publications as well. He is a Kentucky Monthly Penned winner. His short play, Nana Toby was selected for the inaugural Union Commonwealth University Festival of New Plays. He is Scheduling Coordinator for The Jeanne Penn Lane Celebration of Kentucky Writers. He is the owner of Sheppard Press. Now retired, he lives in Danville, Kentucky.

Richard Taylor, a former Kentucky poet laureate, is the author of two novels, a number of books of poetry, a memoir, and several books relating to Kentucky history, Living on a small farm outside Frankfort, he was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2023.

Ric Stuecker is a Pushcart Prize nominee, who has published two collections of poems with Kelsay Books (The Uncertainty Principle and Ghostlier Demarcations}, a collection of essays on conscious aging with John Hunt Publishing (Vibrant Emeritus: The Elder in the Twenty-First Century) and two novels with Next Chapter Publishing (The North Pole Letters and Coasting America}. He has mentored successful poets, fiction, and creative non-fiction authors and he has taught creative writing at Francis Parker School, Saint Xavier High School, and Indiana University Southeast. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Shannon McRoberts is a Creative Deconstructionist reimagining life around her one work at a time. At her core, the USA Today Best-Selling author, award-winning poet, and artist is a lover of all things fantasy.

Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author, editor, podcaster, and publisher based out of Lexington, Kentucky. A writer in several genres of speculative fiction, Stephen currently has 33 books in print. The editor-in-chief of Seventh Star Press, a small press with multiple imprints, Stephen founded and co-directs The Imaginarium Convention, a 12th year annual convention held in Louisville, Kentucky for writers and storytellers of all genres. Stephen is also the co-host of the weekly Star Chamber Show live podcast!

Stephen M. Vest is the editor and publisher of Kentucky Monthly, a Governor Award in the Arts (Media) honoree. Founded in 1998, Kentucky Monthly has more than 100,000 readers. He is the author of the upcoming biography, The Life and Times of Dog’s Best Friend; Unexpected Inheritance, a memoir about being raised by older parents and a hard-to-please grandmother; two collections of columns and the publisher of the 2012 anthology Kentucky’s Twelve Days of Christmas. Vest holds degrees from the University of Louisville and Murray State University (MFA). His work has appeared in The Journal of Kentucky Studies. A frequent speaker, Vest teaches communications at Campbellsville University feature writing at Eastern Kentucky University and English at Midway University. He and his wife, Kay, have four grown children. They live in Frankfort.

Susan Harris Howell has been a psychology professor for three decades. The Spirit of Vanderlaan, draws on that career to capture the warmth between a teacher and the students who inhabit her office. Susan is also the author of Buried Talents. She and her husband have two grown children, a daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson, and an incorrigible beagle named Doc.

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood. Today, she is an award-winning author and speaker with a passion for helping others find their identity. She loves to share life-changing ideas and inspiration with everyone she meets.

Tony Acree is an award-winning publisher, novelist, screenwriter and radio host. He lives near Louisville, Kentucky with his wife and talented twins. Dark Harbor Pictures will be producing two streaming shows, one based on his Victor McCain thrillers, and the other on his Samantha Tyler thrillers. In addition, his screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan has been optioned for the silver screen by Jamezz Hampton and 1209 Productions. His publishing house, Hydra Publications, won the Jason Sizemore Award for best small press, and Publisher of the Year by the AOF Megafest and Conquering Disabilities w/Film International Film Festival. His screenplay, The Hand of God, co-written by Sarah Gardiner, won Best Horror Screenplay at The LA Film Awards.His first solo screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan, took Best Long Format Screeplay at the Imadjinn Film Festival.

Vicki, a life-long Kentuckian, combined her passion for horses, nature, and kids in trouble to create her debut novel, The Car Thief. This book was the national award winner of Reader’s Favorite in the category of legal thriller. and Her follow-up novel, Sleight of Hand, will be published in early 2025.

James Wells (PhD, MFA) is a retired Criminology and Criminal Justice Professor at Eastern Kentucky University's College of Justice, Safety, and Military Science. He has authored/co-authored sixty-five books, chapters, articles, and essays. As a result of learning his father's death in Vietnam is still classified, Dr. Wells has been on a quest to discover the truth, find peace for himself and his family, and write about it. Recent essays appear in Collateral Journal, About Place Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Shift, and Proud to be: Writings by American Warriors. Links to information about him can be found at https://jamesbwells.com.

Beth Dotson Brown is a lifelong writer whose first novel, Rooted in Sunrise, was published in 2024. Beth has also contributed hundreds of feature articles and essays to a wide variety of publications and teaches writing from time-to-time. Rooted in Sunrise, won the Imadjinn 2025 Award for Best Literary Fiction Novel.

Zevon Price is a writer from Eastern Kentucky, a lifelong Appalachian who writes fantasy, horror, and Appalachian gothic stories. She has three rescue dogs who she adores, and spends most of her time writing when she isn't taking care of them.