JSH’s Ky: Writers, aspiring writers — sign up
for star-studded Carnegie book conference

Are you a writer, or aspiring to be one? This June, Lexington’s Carnegie Center will be hosting the Books In Progress Conference, with none other than Barbara Kingsolver as their keynote speaker.

Kingsolver, raised in rural Kentucky, is the author of The Lacuna and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, among other works. She’s also been a keyboard player for the Rock Bottom Remainders (an all-star rock-n-roll band made up of famous writers, including Stephen King, Amy Tan and Matt Groening) and established the Bellwether Prize, a $25,000 grant intended to support writers whose unpublished works support positive social change.

Every one of Kingsolver’s books since 1993′s Pigs in Heaven has made the New York Times Best Seller List. Kingsolver was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton, and her novel The Poisonwood Bible was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her prestigious book club.

Among the workshops and lectures: “Structuring Your Novel”, “Finishing Your Memoirs”, “Finding a Literary Agent”, and “Revising Nonfiction.” Also on hand will be:

• A.J. Verdelle – Washington, DC-born author of The Good Negress (1995).

• Will Lavender – Whitley City native whose latest “puzzle thriller Dominance has been lauded in The New York Times Book Review and Kirkus Reviews.

• Leatha Kendrick – Author of three volumes of poetry – most recently, Second Opinion (2008), and two-time recipient of the Al Smith Fellowship in Poetry from the Kentucky Arts Council.

• George Ella Lyon – Winner, Best Books of the Year citation, Publishers Weekly magazine, for her book Who Came Down that Road?

Registration is $175 ($150 with student ID). Call the Carnegie Center before Friday, April 20, for the Early Bird Rate at 859.254.4175, or register online at href="http://carnegiecenterlex.org">carnegiecenterlex.org. To pay with cash or check, you must register in person at the Carnegie Center, 251 West Second Street.

Conference attendees’ cost of registration includes the reading by Barbara Kingsolver at the Lexington Convention Center on Friday, June 8, 7pm. The reading will also be open to the public for $20.

Jeffrey Scott Holland is a native Kentuckian, painter, writer, actor, musician, paralegal – and interested in all things. He joins a growing stable of talented, interesting regular columnists for KyForward.com, bringing his gift of a well-turned phrase, quirkiness and humor to entertain and enlighten — and sometimes provoke — our readers. He can always be reached at any time, by anyone on the planet, at jshpaint@gmail.com.