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You will enjoy Kentucky Writers'
Day at three area locations;
we look forward to your being part of it.
Dr. H.R. Stoneback
Dr. H.
R. Stoneback and the
Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society from New York will be joining us
again this year.
H. R.
Stoneback is Distinguished Professor of English at the
State University of New York. As Honorary President of the Elizabeth
Madox Roberts Society, every year he leads
dozens of students from New York and many other states (including
France!) to Kentucky to study Roberts, one of Kentucky's greatest
writers, and to participate in the annual Roberts Conferences held at
St. Catharine College (and other venues in Springfield and Harrodsburg)
every April since 1999. In addition, Roberts Society members have
participated in the Penn's Store Kentucky Writers Day programs for over
a decade.
Stoneback is the author or
editor of 30 books, roughly half poetry and half literary studies. In
2012 he will read at the Kentucky Writers Day program on Sunday April
22 from his new volume of poetry and memoir--VOICES OF WOMEN SINGING."
KY Writer's Day Show - performances by
Dawn Lane Osborn, and other
Kentucky Writers' Day Songwriters. Dawn is a poet, song writer, and
musician and performs professionally.
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Special
Guest
Appearance
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"Take the inventiveness of Boy Dylan, the
melodic voice of John Denver; add the showmanship of Garrison
Keilor and that's Michael Johnathon."
-- Bob Spear,
Publisher of HEARTLAND REVIEW
Michael Johnathon is a folksinger, songwriter, concert
performer, author ... and now playwright ... who has a worldwide
radio audience exceeding a million listeners each week.
The Lexington-based songwriter has been called a 'Woody Guthrie in
a Cyber World' because of the huge growth of his weekly public
radio and PBS show the WOODSONGS OLD-TIME RADIO HOUR. (www.woodsongs.com)
In the 1980's Michael bought a guitar and a banjo and settled into
the isolated mountain hamlet of Mousie, Kentucky, to learn folk
music. For the next three years, he traveled up and down the
hollers of the Appalachian mountains knocking on doors and learning
the music of the mountain people. Michael experienced hundreds of
front porch hootenannie
throughout Appalachia where folks would pull out their banjos and
fiddles, sit on their front porches with him and play the old songs
that their grandparents taught them.
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Guest
Appearance
From the time Gary Edwards
steps on stage, his expertise and magnetism transforms your evening
into an unforgettable event.
He brings to life old favorites such as “As Time Goes By”
and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and new favorites such as “Memory”
from Cats and “New York,
New York”. Gary also
sings Top 40 music hotter than the tropics and cooler than cool.
Gary creates tomorrow’s sound for today’s audiences!
This multi-dimensional entertainer makes legends live on with
startling impressions of your favorites: Elvis* Tom Jones* Johnny
Mathis* Roy Orbison* Willie Nelson* Buddy Holly* Platters* Julio
Iglesias. Let Gary
Edwards take you down memory lane!
Gary’s sizzling
performances have please SRO crowds all over the world.
He is equally at home with conventions, cruise lines, and
private parties. His
audiences are always magnificently entertained.
He is on Nashville’s “Most Wanted List” from recording
sessions with Billy Sherrill, Sonny Linbo, James Stroud, and Chuck
Howard. Gary is
definitely a country crowd pleaser.
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Guest Appearance
Elizabeth Orndorff
worked in advertising, public relations and publications production
before turning to fiction and playwriting. She has degrees from
Grove City College (PA), University of Georgia, and University of
Kentucky, where she taught journalism. Her play
Death by Darkness won
the International Mystery Writers Festival in 2007 and the Southern
Playwrights Competition in 2008. In 2009 she studied with Lee
Blessing at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, partially funded by a
Kentucky Arts Council Award. Also in 2009, her play
Aidan’s Gift won the
Kentucky Theatre Association’s playwriting award. She won a
Wurlitzer Foundation Fellowship to live and write plays in Taos,
New Mexico, during 2010. In 2011 her plays were finalists in the
University of Arkansas Kernodle
playwriting competition and the Eudora Welty New Play Series.
The Mantua-Maker
by Elizabeth Orndorff is the story of the conflicted friendship
between Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker, Lizzie
Keckley. Teri Carter, a talented
actress from Danville who has been in numerous productions,
including Our Leading Lady and The Lion in
Winter, will read the part of
Lizzie. Karen Logue, the managing director of West T. Hill Theatre
and also a veteran actress, will read the part of Mary.
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Press Release: Book Signings-
Favorite Recipes of Kentucky Celebrities
Breaking News: Special BOOK SIGNING
Meet PAM WHINNERY
Friday, APRIL 20 & Saturday APRIL
21
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
EDDIE MONTGOMERY'S Steakhouse
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Gravel Switch, KY- Author and Kentucky native
Pam Whinnery has been blessed to participate
in book signings at so many exciting events. Everything from
the 30th Annual Corvette Homecoming as a fundraiser
for Corvettes Conquer Cancer to The Great Outhouse Blowout
Races at Historic Penn Store as a fundraiser for the store.
Now in its sixth printing, the cookbook,
Favorite Recipes of Kentucky Celebrities is a celebration
of all things Kentucky. It not only has recipes from famous
celebrities with ties to Kentucky, but recipes from various
historical locations, tourist attractions, and unique Kentucky
celebrations.
Pam will be participating in one of these
celebrations April 21-22. She will be one of several authors
along with musicians participating in the 2012 Kentucky
Writer’s Day Celebration hosted by Historic Penn Store. The
book signings will take place at Eddie Montgomery's Steakhouse,
Harrodsburg, Kentucky on both Friday evening and Saturday
evening.
About the Kentucky Cookbook: What do Hannah
Montana, Fess Parker, Bill Monroe, and Robert Penn Warren have
in common. They all contributed recipes to Favorite Recipes
of Kentucky Celebrities.
In the spirit of Kentucky neighborliness, you
are invited to take a lighthearted peek into the personal
recipe files of celebrities from all across the state of
Kentucky as well as those who have strong ties to the Bluegrass
State. This is just what Favorite Recipes of Kentucky
Celebrities gives you an opportunity to do. The cookbook
has over 300 recipes from local and national personalities,
highly visible Kentucky businesses, artist, writers, athletes,
sportsmen, actors, musicians, bed and breakfasts, restaurants,
notable events and places. In addition, there are brief notes
with each recipe on the contributor.
Whinnery will also have her Tennessee
Cookbook Country Goodness Recipes of Tennessee Celebrities
available with recipes from Elvis Presley, Alan Jackson, Dolly
Parton, PayPal Founder David O. Sacks, Pres. Andrew Jackson,
and The Chattanooga Choo Choo. The Tennessee cookbook
also has over 300 recipes and is on the same format as the
Kentucky cookbook.
Come join the fun and meet the authors and
musicians at this wonderful event.
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Emcees |
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Andy Colley is
a 16 year veteran of radio broadcasting in stations across
Kentucky. He currently
serves as Program Director and Operations Manager for 1590
WLBN and 100.9 MIKE FM in
Lebanon/Springfield, along with 102.7 WYSB
in Bardstown. Andy hosts the
morning show on 100.9 MIKE FM and afternoons on sister station K
Country 105.7, WGRK in
Greensburg/Campbellsville.
Andy likes to be active in his community as well, currently serving
as president of the Lebanon-Marion County Rotary Club.
He is also the father of two daughters and a grandfather,
too.
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Hershel McKinley is
probably best known for his many
years on
Danville radio stations WKLO, WHIR, and WMGE-FM, as News
Director, public affairs broadcaster and morning air personality.
In what Hershel
describes as "long ago and far away" he wrote, produced, directed
and appeared in many films for the State of Kentucky in The
Department of Public Information. Hershel has worked in the
Lexington and northern Ohio radio and television markets and is a
graduate of Kent State University.
Hershel lives on a
farm in Mercer County with his wife Shirley. Hershel and Shirley have two married children, Jason and
Mary Beth McKinley, Rachel and Preston Correll and two
grandchildren, Gus and Annie Correll.
Calling himself a lifelong
fledgling novice in creative writing Hershel is a member of
Speaking Out and Nomadic Ink writing groups in Mercer County.
Hershel
currently does freelance voice work, script writing and
photography.
He and his
family have traveled or worked in many parts
of the world including East Africa, Central America, England, the
Caribbean, and India.
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James Franklin Spragens
was born and reared in Lebanon, Kentucky. His great-great
grandfather William Spragens first
owned and operated what is now Historic Penn's Store from 1845 -
1850. James was one of the Marion County High School students who
drafted the Bill establishing the state of Kentucky's "Official"
Writers Day of April 24. James as owner and operator of BLUES ON
TAP restaurant and bar in Lebanon, KY hosted the first
SONGWRITERS TRIBUTE SHOWCASE night ... and continued for many
years. Presently James operates historic
Myrtledene Bed & Breakfast
www.myrtledene.com, Lebanon, Kentucky since 1993. His
interest in literature-- and especially Kentucky literature-- has
led to past work with Jeanne Lane and the Penn's
Store's Kentucky Writers Day
celebration. James studied English and creative writing at the
University of Kentucky with Gurney Norman. James resides in
Lebanon, Kentucky with his wife and two sons.
He is pleased to step
into the role formally held by our dear, departed friend, Terry
Ward, as MC.
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Larry Sanders has been making music most of his
life. He's been the opening act for several Grand Ole Opry
stars and has taken his music to several states. He has
recorded three CD's and has appeared on national television and
several cable stations. He and his Borderline Band are
well-known throughout Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio for their variety
of music. Larry also serves as Host of Local
Artist Spotlight, a daily radio program on 1420
WHBN THE ROOSTER. |
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List of Other Writers and Performers |
Deborah Blevins is a native of Monticello, KY.
Musis has always played a major part of her life. Some of the most
fond memories of her childhood are singing in the car with her
family. She began singing in church at the age of ten and began
playing guitar and piano at the age of sixteen. Deborah started
writing gospel music in 1992 at the age of thirty. She has written
over sixty songs and her original material is loved and requested
where ever she performs. Her soul purpose is to bless others with
her music and to bring honor and glory to her Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Classic Harmonies
is a family group performing Christian, folk and country music. Our
Christian music is comprised of beautiful songs ranging from gospel
to old hymns to contemporary. Our folk and country numbers include
hits from the 1960's through the 1980's. We strive to remind our
listeners of the classic sounds from that era that we want to keep
alive. |
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 Paula Sparrow will once again be bringing her "Creature
Comforts" to Kentucky Writers Day. She recently published her first
book, Kentucky Living's Creature Comforts, a compilation of her
columns on animal rescue. The first book of its kind, Creature
Comforts covers the state of Kentucky, visiting animal rescues,
shelters, and sanctuaries, reporting on the people of Kentucky who
have devoted their lives to saving animals: dogs, cats, wildlife,
primates, and even elephants. The book was nominated for the 2010
Media Advocacy Award from Pet Groups United. This year, Paula will
be discussing the intended-as well as unintended-results of "the
power of the written word." Paula, as usual, will be
bringing stories she's written on animal rescue.
When she published an essay about adopting a pet instead of
buying one, she was surprised at the reaction her words got.
Her topic this year will be "The Intended-and
Unintended-Effects of a Writer's Words. |
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John Robinson, phototgrapher
Having
spent his early years in the USMC,
C.A. SHELLEY became a member of the Lexington Fire
Department, retiring after 28 years of service.
In 2010 he
found his voice in the arts by writing and co-producing the movie
Gone but Not Forgotten, the
Story of the Smoke Eaters, a full-length documentary
chronicling the memories and experiences of his "Firefighter
Brothers". During the filming Shelley became so inspired
that he began to write.
First:
A Collection of Poems,
Thoughts & Short Stories about his beloved Fire Department.
Second: Wake Up, America;
it’s Your Conscience Calling, thirty poems honoring the
struggles that our military and their families are enduring every
moment. Third: His current book
A Spiritual Awakening,
forty-nine poems of Inspiration & Hope.
He calls
himself a "Blue-Collar Poet", with "My God guiding this ship,
putting His words in my heart, which I put to paper. I am on a
mission and I have a lot to say, so look for me; I'm coming to you
down God's highway."
C.A. Shelley
and his wife Rita reside at Lake Herrington, Mercer County,
Kentucky.
Wilma Brown of Danville is a retired English
teacher and librarian. She is also an artists whose portraits
hang in over 300 homes in central Kentucky. In community
involvement, she has been a founding member of several non-profit
arts organizations as well as the owner of a retail store
representing the work of over 100 Kentucky artists. For the
past six years she has been a member of the Board of Directors of
the Kentucky Arts Council.
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 Joe Crafa was born and
raised in Brooklyn, New York. He became interested in music of
the thirties and forties while listening to his parents' record
collection and became influenced by the styles of Dick
Haymes, Bing Crosby, and several
other artists of that era. Joe was the lead singer for several
"oldies" groups while living in New York. He played tenor
saxophone and performed at resorts in the Catskill Mountains of
New York state. After marrying he
moved to New Jersy and discontinued
any public performances. He moved to Casey County, Kentucky in
2005 and in 2009 was "drafted" by his friends to help start an
open mic at Uncle Bob's in Stanford,
Kentucky.It was there that he first
heard Leah Clark perform. The two tried an unrehearsed song
together at the open mic, which was
so well received that they decided to form a duet.
Leah Bugg Clark, born and
raised in Stanford, Kentucky, developed a love for music at an
early age, learning to play the guitar and sing at the age of
thirteen. She grew up playing music and singing in church, using
praise and worship music as the foundation of her musical
ability. She later branched out and began singing at coffee shops
and open mics, and started writing
her own music. Leah's writing influences
include Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, and Melissa Etheridge.
She is frequently compared to sixties and seventies folk music
icons like Joan Biaz and Judy
Collins. Leah's melodic song writing and stunning vocals can be
described as dream-like and haunting.
Although they came from such different musical and geographical
backgrounds, the similarity in style and vocal quality was
immediately evident. They have been described as having a "magic
blend" that captures their audiences.
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Mamakitty
Southwood came together out of the shared love for a good
song, driven by the lyrics and vocal interwoven harmonies of
songwriters Kim Weber, Mark DeWitt, and Tony Cooper. You can view
live video at this website address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkyAPJ3VlYw or through our
myspace:
www.myspace.com/mamakittysouthwood You can also find us on Sonicbids,
Reverbnation, Facebook, Digstation and CD Baby.
The band is a soulful breed of
Rock and Americana, flavored by a variety of influences- especially
folk and blues. Kim Weber has been writing since before sand Weber joined forces in August, 2008. Tony
Cooper joined the band in the fall of 2010. It was an immediate
connection, melding his style with the existing sound. The band’s
flexibility lies in the ability to play as a full 5 piece or
as an acoustic duo or trio. They have performed for groups as he can
remember and performing since she was 29 years old, and songwriters
Mark DeWitt and Tony Cooper have been making their magic since
before they could walk. Mamakitty Southwood has been performing as
a band since DeWitt arge
as Fender's Den Radio's audience and the Heartland Festival's
attendees to groups as intimate as a few wanderers on Bardstown Road.
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 Richard Moore - Artisan, Craftsman, Musician / Songwriter presently
resides in Ashville, North Carolina. His grandfather gets the
credit for teaching him to play guitar and Johnny Cash for the
inspiration to start writing songs at the age of fifteen. Being
reared in a military family, he gathered influences from all over
the country; mainly the southeast. Moore was introduced to Penn's
Store when he accompanied buddy and Hall of Fame inductee Billy Edd
Wheeler at the 2007 "GREAT OUTHOUSE BLOWOUT". |
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The
Elizabeth Madox Roberts
Society will be part of
the events,
in conjunction with their conference at St. Catherine College in
Springfield.
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 Just
One is a Gospel R&B
Praise band that God brought together in 2009. The members of
Just One share a common joy for music that is encouraging,
uplifting and points their audience to the Lord. Musical
influences include R & B, Gospel, and Contemporary Praise.
Just One’s song lineup includes old favorites such as “Lean on Me”
and “Oh Happy Day” as well as many original songs. Located in
central Kentucky, Just One welcomes all opportunities to share the
Gospel in song.
Members of Just One are: Barry Harmon (keyboard & vocals), Patsy Harmon
(rhythm guitar), Renita Gray (lead vocal), Robert Coulter (bass
guitar), Cammie Coulter (background vocals), Ronnie Readnour (drums
& background vocals), Trish Claunch (background vocals) and Gerald
“Shotgun” Wethington (sound technician).
If you would like to book Just One in concert for your worship service or
event, contact Trish at 859-940-9192, via e-mail at
JustOne156@gmail.com or
message on Facebook at
www.Facebook.com/JustOneBand.
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Glenn D. Metzger has been
performing music for most of his 58 years, beginning with church
choirs from age six. After taking up violin at ten and guitar
at twelve, he played folk and rock and roll through his teen years
and while majoring in music in college. A long hiatus to
attend to family duties was followed by a return to performing,
both solo and with small groups and a contemporary church music
band. Now, in the words of one of his songs, he's "playing
bars, playing jails, anywhere the ship sails."
Steven Gray from Campbellsville, Kentucky, writes poetry
and short children's stories and also composes and writes music. He is a singer and a craftsman. |
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John Robinson, photographer
Gregg
Neikirk
and Adam Neikirk
are songwriters from Danville who currently live in Westfield,
Massachusetts. Gregg Neikirk is
professor of English at Westfield State University, where he
teaches literature and writing, including a popular Songwriting
course. Adam
Neikirk will soon enter graduate
school in an MFA program where he will use his jazz guitar
skills to help write poetry, among other things. Adam, who has
a B.A. in Jazz Studies, has also been a teacher in the
Songwriting classes at WSU. |
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 Darlene
Franklin-Campbell grew up in the hill country of Southern
Kentucky. She holds a M.A. in Education.
Teacher, artist,
minister and internationally known poet, she donates proceeds from
her poetry to combat Mountain Top Removal. Her work has appeared in
such notables as Story South, Instructor Magazine, Inlightenment
and Coal County: Rising up Against Mountain Top Removal, the
accompanying anthology to the 2009 Ashley Judd film.
Darlene is an advocate
for literacy and the arts, for ecological responsibility, and for
all things “anti-cancer”, donating the royalties from her novel, I
Listened, Momma, to Relay for Life. I Listened, Momma marks her
debut as a southern novelist and is raising both awareness and
funds in the fight against cancer.
http://www.darlenefranklincampbell.com/chippie
http://www.nochipa.wordpress.com |
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Clyde & Marie Denny
and The Cumberland Mountain have been
writing and performing their unique style of bluegrass music for
over fifty years. The group has gained the love and respect of
fans in thirty five states and Canada. The band has changed a lot
over the years but the driving style of Clyde and Marie has never
changed. Over the years they have shared the stage with the likes
of: Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley, Loretta
Lynn, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Martin, Larry Sparks, Flatt &
Scruggs, Jim& Jesse, The Osborne Brothers, and Del McCoury.
These writers have written over one hundred
songs and one of their most requested songs, “The Girl from West
Virginia” received major national and international attention when
recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver on two separate projects.
It is a crowd favorite on bluegrass festivals and there are
hundreds of musicians on YouTube performing their renditions of
this song. That within itself is a major honor for Clyde and Marie
Denny.
Their music has been
featured in a movie called Borderlines produced by Ron
Schildknecht in 1990. They have made guest appearances on the Dukes
of Hazard and even recorded an album with Irene Ryan, better known
as Granny Clampett, of the Beverly Hillbillies. Clyde & Marie have
also been guest on the Cas Walker Show and many other TV programs
over the years and their most recent spot has been on The
Cumberland Highlanders series on RFD TV broadcast over Dish
Network.
The Dennys have recorded
for several companies over the years. Their first single record was
recorded for Nugget Records owned by Lonzo and Oscar of the Grand
Ole Opry. Some of the other companies include Blake Records in
Memphis, TN, Atwell Records, Country Star Productions, Old
Homestead Records. The newest CD “Lonesome Train” was recorded at
Southfork Recording Company owned and operated by Randy Jones,
mandolin player for The Lonesome River Band.
Clyde and Marie Denny are
major influences to some of today’s top Nashville songwriters
including Kevin Denny who was a co-writer for Craig Morgan’s
“Bonfire” and Dailey Vincent’s IBMA awarding winning Gospel
recorded performance of the year “On the Other Side”. They are
admired by other artists for their original style and sound. It is
safe to say that Clyde and Marie Denny are unique as individuals
and artists bringing an identifiable element of self, home and
family to their original style of bluegrass music.
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Maurice Manning's third book of poetry,
Bucolics, has just been released in paperback.
His first book, Lawrence Booth's Book of Visions, was
selected for the 2000 Yale Series of Younger Poets. Manning is
from Kentucky, where he lives part of the year. He teaches at
Indiana University and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren
Wilson College.
It was announced Monday, April 18 in the
New York Times that
MAURICE MANNING ( who read Saturday, April 16, 2011 at
the WEST T HILL THEATRE venue, Danville, KY for the 2011 KWD
CELEB ) was one of the Finalists for the 2011
PULITZER PRIZE in Poetry. It is announced
annually the winner along with the 2 finalists for the year.
We congratulate Maurice and thank him for so graciously
sharing his talents and time with everyone at the
2011 KENTUCKY WRITERS DAY CELEBRATION.
Jude Lally
is a Lexington poet who writes and recites poetry as an outlet for
his creative needs and as a means of enlightening, inspiring,
engaging and entertaining listeners. Being diagnosed with a rare
degenerative neuromuscular disease, his words come from an
uninhibited, tragic, honest, often hilarious, very real place.
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John Robinson, photographer
 Dooley-Miller
Band is:
Joel
Miller from Irvine, KY now living in Frankfort with his
wife of 37 years. He says that performing his songs is very
difficult for him. “I am so close to the subject that the
feelings that motivated me to make up the song come back when I
perform it.”
Steve Dooley from Conway, KY,
a small wide spot in the road in Rockcastle County, Kentucky
Jennifer Gwinn from Frankfort, KY. She is a
nurse who has been gigging since age 12
Wayne
Westerfield, a bank vice-president and a veteran drummer
who play all types of music
Three of Joel's songs …
AMY’S SONG- Remember when your children were small and
a Band-Aid (with a hug) could fix just about any injury? Adult
children have painful problems that can’t be fixed so easily.
MOMMA PLAYED GUITAR
– Before arthritis stopped the
music, my Mother could play any song she wanted……but only in
the key of “C”. I was told I had to learn how to play “Wildwood
Flower” on the guitar before I could get one. (Don’t go near
the water until you learn how to swim.) Joel’s Mom taught him
how and Joel’s Dad brought a new guitar to him from Northern
Kentucky in a caboose on an L&N coal train.
OLD GATE ON THE HILL-
Family reunions and gatherings were at my Great-Grandparents
farm in the Sand Hill area of Estill County. The gate was on
the top of a rise about ¼ mile from
the house and could be clearly seen from the front porch. As
family members got out of the car to open the gate the folks on
the porch could see their arrival and would wave a greeting. Do
you think heaven is like that? |
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Mark H Metcalf is an attorney in Lancaster,
Kentucky. Mark has practiced law for 25 years, as a private
practitioner, state and federal prosecutor, and as a judge on the
United States Immigration Court in Miami, Florida. He has
represented Kentucky twice before the U.S. Supreme Court as Special
Assistant Attorney General of Kentucky. He is presently Command
Judge-Advocate for the 149th Brigade in Louisville, Ky and
deploys for duty in Iraq on June 1, 2011. Metcalf
will be discussing his book, "THE BROKEN COURTS".
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Carolyn Townsend, transplanted from Michigan more than 30 years
ago, is a retired teacher and freelance writer living on a small
farm in the hills of southern Kentucky.
Her writings often focus on the charm of simple ways and local
culture.
She is presently working on her first book.
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"RAPTURE" - Classic Rock &
Christian Rock
Lead Guitarist Lynnwood
Peavler is 12
years old and his brother, drummer/vocalist,
Bowman
Peavler is 10. Both have been playing music
since the age of 5 and 6. They are homeschooled and live
in Harrodsburg, Ky. These brothers have performed at
charity events, Natasha's of
Lexington, the Kentucky State Fair, Ralph Long State Park of
Lexington, Burgin Fall Festival, and Battle of the Bands of
Eddie Montgomery Steakhouse.
They have been with the
Lexington Music Academy for 3 years.
Both are members of
the Lexington's Bethel Harvest Church Adult Praise and Worship
Band, & Youth Band ReFuse.
Bass Guitarist: Grace
Mattingly is age 13
of Lexington, Kentucky.
Rhythm Guitarist, Caleb Morrison
is 11 years old and has played guitar for 4 years. He
is homeschooled and lives in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
He has performed at Nathasha's of
Lexington and has been with the Lexington Music Academy for 1
year.
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Stuart
W. Sanders is former executive director of the Perryville
Battlefield Preservation Association. He is the author of
Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky’s Largest Civil
War Battle (The History Press) and has contributed to the books
Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field Officers of
the Bluegrass State, multiple volumes of Confederate
Generals in the Western Theater, and multiple volumes of the
forthcoming Confederate Generals in the Trans-Mississippi.
Sanders has also written for Civil War Times Illustrated,
America’s Civil War, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military
History, Hallowed Ground, Blue & Gray, Kentucky Humanities, The
Journal of America’s Military Past, Kentucky Ancestors, The
Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Encyclopedia Virginia,
and several other publications. He is currently a public
history administrator in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
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Michael Barry Sanders has wanted to be a musician
since he was seven years old and first saw the Be atles play.
He grew up under the influence of his grandfathers, who both
affected in life in different ways.
He is a born-again Christian because of his mother’s
teachings and plays in several gospel groups, as well as many other
genres. He has been writing
lyrics and songs since the age of 13. In 1990 Michael wrote, sung,
played several instruments including bass and guitar, and released
his first gospel recording called “Love Songs To God”;
in 2009 Michael’s second release, a 7 song mixture of
gospel and secular, released:
“Heart Condition” including Michael’s epic ode to EP called
“Memphis Boy.” Michael
currently enjoys whenever he’s called up playing with his latest
musical soul stirrers: Dawn
Osborn, Steve Shepperson, and Wayne
Westerfield;
in 2011 Michael co-wrote and recorded with his good
friend, Gene Laferty (“Spirit
Seekers”), a song called “12 Hours of Heaven”; Michael’s greatest
love is for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and his three (3)
daughters, Chelsea (23), Sara, (22), and Kate (18).
When Michael’s not taking care of his father, Randall, 87,
or running something to one of his girls, you might find and see
him in the Mercer and Boyle Family Court where Michael participates
with other local Barristers, in helping the court in assisting
parents and/or their children achieve workable, long term solutions
to problem challenges in their lives that are in their and the
communities Best Interest.
Michael dedicates his 2012 Ky Writer’s
Celebration musical experiences to Jesus, his mother and dad, his
children, and his community, his friends, fellow citizens, and all
the musicians and participating and/or attending artists and
listeners. |
Nicky Reynolds is the executive director for the
Lebanon Tourist & Convention Commission. Prior to moving to
Kentucky, Reynolds worked in the tourism industry in Oak Ridge and
Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as for the Tennessee Department of
Tourism.
Her
background in music and writing date back to her school days when
Reynolds competed in and won numerous writing competitions at the
local and state levels.
Reynolds' poetry has been published online and in some
collective works of poetry. While her passion is for poetry, she
has written some unpublished short stories, musical lyrics, and
children's books. While she doesn't sing her own lyrics, Reynolds
has performed other popular songs at weddings, funerals, and as a
guest singer at churches. She has also performed the National
Anthem at festivals and events.
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 Regina
Noel-Wethington was reared in Dry Creek, Kentucky. She
graduated from Casey County High School at the top of her class in
Choir and Music Theory. Her love for singing and writing
began at an early age. She began writing songs at age 14.
While in high school she pursued her love of music by singing in a
gospel group and also in church. In a later move to Indiana,
Wethington continued her musical interests in writing and by
singing with a soft rock band for 2 years. Upon return to
Kentucky she sang with Jerry Chapman and the Young Country Band.
Her published poems include "Peace of Mind" and "Life".
Regina is married to Ernest R. Wethington, a Kentucky native,
and has 4 beautiful children who also carry Mom's love of music,
one son-in-law now serving in Afghanistan and one
adorable grandson. Regina Wethington resides in Summersville,
Kentucky.
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 Barry
Morrison,born March 20, 1949, in Red River Gorge,
Kentucky, is an American country music singer-songwriter. This
multi-talented artist is largely identified with the country rock/americana
genre(s) of music, and is best know for
his 1970's cult-classic "Snakey Hollow
Stud"; a song released on the RCM Records label which charted on
the Independent Country Music Charts at number one. Based on this
initial success, Morrison received a 1971 first round nomination
for Country Male Vocalist of the Year. In the
interveining years, several other of
Morrison's releases have entered into a top five chart position,
with "There Ain't No Country" being the
only other of his songs to reach number one. The
offer to record his music on his own terms for
a Nashville-based label lead Morrison back to recording and
performing in 2007. Given the opportunity, he took a bare bones
approach to recording the highly acclaimed roots music album; "A
Cold Wild Wind". That year saw him touring solo throughout the
central and southeastern United States in support of the album
release. In 2009, Morrison recorded outstanding cover versions of
"Folsom Prison Blues" and "Good Hearted Woman" in preparation for
headlining and promoting the 2010 Walk the Line-Good Hearted Woman
Tour. In April 2012, Morrison returns to the studio to record more
original material. He'll be backed by an outstanding studio
ensemble featuring bassist Paul Martin, better known as "The
Apostle", the
Americana Music Association 2006 Instrumentalist of
the Year Kenny Vaughn and dobro
virtuoso Matt DeSpain. Morrison writes
and performs music his devotees can relate to on a gut level. His
songs have a build and release to them that make them memorable
because he performs them with raw emotion and with feelings bound
together by his well-crafted lyrics and melodies that "sing".
Morrison's edgy, Cash-like, baritone delivery clinches the deal.
His songs are a reflection of his life. When he sings to us, we
believe him. The Barry Morrison discography chronicles the very
powerful musical output of a consummate singer-songwriter. The
lyrics from one of his songs proclaims, "I'm a hundred miles of bad
road, I'm a bridge washed out". Luckily, he found the way around it
all. The 2012 Kentucky Writers Day Celebration welcomes him to our
stage.
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Singer-Songwriter, Recording
Artist, and Actress, Sarah Elizabeth Burkey, has performed
in 18 countries but has
called Kentucky home all her life. Sarah plays 11 instruments and
her work appears on 15 albums. Sarah Elizabeth is to Kentucky what
Fats Domino was to New Orleans. Fats epitomized the sound of the
Crescent City in his time, equally giving an honorable nod to his
musical ancestry while carrying the torch on to his generation.
Sarah does this too, in our context and in our time. Her sound is
deeply rooted in the Kentucky hills, with a voice sweeter than a
honeysuckle vine in spring and old as the current of the Ohio
River.
Sarah Elizabeth Burkey was born
and raised on Rural Route 4, Kevil, Kentucky. Her unique musical
and literary compositions are born of this rich history. Sarah's
work has been published in books and literary journals in the US
and Europe.
The non-fiction book
Western Kentucky: Lost & Forgotten, Found & Remembered
by Sarah Elizabeth and Ron Whitehead, a travel book unlike any
other, is a must read! Inspired by hiking 325 miles for 19 days
across Kentucky forests, fields, backroads & railroads, it is the
companion book to Sarah's album
When The Redbuds Bloom.
Sarah Elizabeth was the keynote
speaker and featured performer at Ohio University's 8th Annual
Women of Appalachia Conference in 2006. Sarah plays the lead in the
independent feature film Red Velvet Cake, filmed entirely in
Kentucky. This film has not yet been released.
Sarah recorded her latest album
DON'T DIE YET immediately upon returning from the Sacred
Black Hills of South Dakota where she spent a great deal of time on
the Sioux Reservation with the International Council of 13
Indigenous Grandmothers. Grammy Nominated Musician, Tony Redhouse
accompanies Sarah on this album with Native American flute and drum
plus many other instruments from indigenous cultures of the world.
Sarah Elizabeth's songwriting drips with passion and a sacred
appreciation of life.
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 Ed McClanahan is a native of Brookville,
Kentucky. A graduate of Miami University in Ohio and the
University of Kentucky, he has taught English and creative
writing at Oregon State University, Stanford University, the
University of Montana, the University of Kentucky and Northern
Kentucky University. His books include The Natural
Man (a novel), Famous People I Have Known, A Congress
of Wonders, and My Vita, If You Will. McClanahan
is now working on a novel, The Return of the Son of Needmore.
Andy Rice, a native of Pulaski County, Kentucky currently
resides in Boyle County with his wife Jane. Andy's musical
inspiration comes from his uncle, who would bring his guitar to
family gatherings and perform for the family. Andy's mother
Geneva Rice was also an inspiration as she also played the guitar
and sang. Andy has written two songs, "Which Way to Pray" and
"Slipped and Fell in Love". Andy also played guitar and sang
solo in a country band named "Andy and the Dandy's" in the early
1980s. In the '80s and '90s he played with "The Kings Mt.
Bluegrass Boys."
 Paula Hill grew up in Danville, where her
father West T. Hill was chairman of the theatre department of
Centre College. He later founded West T. Hill Community
Theatre and gave Paula a great love for writing and all the fine
arts. Paula taught English and Theatre at the University of
Kentucky, Lexington Community College and Centre College. She
designs and leads fine arts tour groups to New York, London and
Tuscany. Her compositions include a chapbook of poetry: By
Heart, writing and directing plays at the West T. Hill
Community Theatre, and writing a business column for The
Advocate-Messenger. |
Ronnie Payne has been in the music
business pretty much all his life. He, like many before him, got
started as a young boy singing in Church. Ronnie's first time on
stage was when he and his brother James won second prize in a
talent contest at Renfro Valley when he was about fourteen and his
brother was thirteen. By the time he was sixteen he was playing
rhythm guitar with Jewel Noe from Somerset, KY. While with that
band, he played a regular live broadcast at WRVK radio in Mt.
Vernon. His next group, "Patch of Blue", was formed in the mid
sixties while living in Lancaster. They played many current hits of
that era, including songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones,
Johnny Rivers and more. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Ronnie went
to Louisville and began making his way around the music scene
there. He started off in a small neighborhood tavern, but quickly
moved up to bigger venues. Ronnie began playing bass guitar and was
soon considered to be one of the best in the business. He got to
know many of the area's top musicians and was soon doing studio
work as well as the nightclub scene. Ronnie played in some of the
most popular bands in the area, playing everything from pop to
bluegrass. Some of the groups he was with opened for nationally
known acts to include Atlanta Rhythm Section, Mitch Ryder and the
Detroit Wheels, Shenandoah, Earl Thomas Conley, Johnny Paycheck,
Marty Stuart, Alabama, Hank Jr., Keith Whitley and others. Most
recently, he was with a great group of players called "Ron Payne
and Yellowstone", playing popular country and southern rock. A well
respected and seasoned performer, Ronnie resides, once again in
Lancaster, KY and has become a great addition to our growing local
music scene. |
Sean T. Johnson is a singer/songwriter originally
from a small west Tennessee town. He has been playing and writing
music since the early ‘90s in a variety of places, from cafes and
bars in the San Francisco Bay area to little out of the way places
in central Kentucky.
He describes his music as soulful, driven Folk-rock. Sean's first
album entitled “Sean Thornton” was recorded and produced by
Kimberly Sorgenfrei and Johnson and
released in 2001. Proud of his first work, Johnson is currently
working on his next album, scheduled for release in early April.
Johnson and his wife of 20 years have one child, and now reside in
central Kentucky.
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Linda S. Prather was born in
Kentucky and is a resident
of Lexington. Her greatest desire as a writer is to write
characters that readers love, hate, laugh and cry with. She
loves learning -- period. She received an associate degree in
metaphysics in 1992 and has become a Certified Clinical
Hypnotherapist. Her first novel, The Gifts,
incorporated metaphysics into fiction. |
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A resident of Lancaster, Dan Waters has spent a lot of years
making music. While living in the Cincinnati area, he formed a
group called"Dirty Waters". They played together from 1980-2002.
The group performed in the greater Cincinnati area as well as
southeastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. In 1981, Dan recorded a
single in Nashville's RCA studio. The song was titled "Warm Sheets
Can't Cover up your Cold, Cold Heart" and was released by an
independent promoter on the "Soundwaves" label. It was distributed
nationwide. Dan moved back to Lancaster in 2004. Since his return,
he's played as a street performer at the famed Renfro Valley and
2005-2006 as a featured singer at "Church in the Valley". He's
served as director of music in two area Churches. Dan currently
performs as a soloist, but is also a member of the gospel group
"Greg Ives and Sunday Morning". |
 Larry Ray Hafley was
reared in Peoria, Illinois. A lifetime writer, author, teacher,
preacher, lecturer, and motivational speaker, Larry now resides in
Cookeville, Tennessee, not far from Dale Hollow Lake. He has two
sons, Shawn and Curtis and four grandchildren. Larry enjoys
traveling, especially when going to fulfill speaking assignments.
Although he is a big Alabama football fan (Roll Tide!) he also
cheers for the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team!
Larry's family roots are in the
Gravel Switch/Forkland area of Boyle County, Kentucky. He says he
is the first Hafley who was raised away from a Kentucky tobacco
farm! His grandmother, Lee Hafley, wife of Earl Hafley, taught at
Forkland School for 43 years. Larry's parents, Cecil and Marie
(Coyle) Hafley, were from the Forkland area of Boyle County, but
moved to Peoria, Illinois, during WWII. You may contact Larry via
E-mail:
larryhafley1@cs.com, or by phone 931-510-9997.
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 "H. R. Stoneback--known
as "Stoney"
in the music world--is a part-time
singer-songwriter, a
full-time writer and professor.
He is the subject
of Jerry Jeff
Walker's hit song "Stoney."
Well-known in the 1960s,
especially in singer-songwriter circles in New Orleans and
Nashville, he
performed throughout Asia, Europe, and North
America for four decades as
half of the singing duo "Stoney
& Sparrow" (with his late wife). Over
the years, "Stoney
& Sparrow" released four albums that included many of
the
hundreds of songs he has written.
(One album, "Oh,
China!" was
recorded and
released in 1984 in China, where it was a best-seller.)"
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Born and reared in nearby Harrodsburg,
Nancy Wilson
has degrees from Berea College
and from the Tulane University Graduate School of Social
Work.
She worked for the American Red
Cross, which included spending a year as a medical social
worker with an air evacuation hospital in Vietnam during the
height of the war. She was also employed by the New York City
Department of Social Services. She is now retired from the
Kentucky Department of Social Services. With her artist
husband Howard Nancy has lived in a Louisville historical
preservation district for the past twenty-five years.
Nancy began
writing five years ago to satisfy a life-long desire. Howard
and she have published a book entitled
Breaking Out
composed of her poetry and his art work.
Her poems have also appeared in
The Courier Journal, The
Highlander, and Uncut Candy in
Louisville. Three of her poems will be published in the next
edition of Struggle,
a magazine published in Detroit.
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Christina
Lovin is the
author of the poetry collections What We Burned for Warmth
and Little Fires. A two-time Pushcart nominee and
multi-award winner, her writing has appeared in numerous journals
and anthologies. Southern Women Writers named
Lovin 2007 Emerging Poet. She has served as
Writer-in-Residence at Devil’s Tower National Monument and the H.J.
Andrews Experimental Forest in Central Oregon. In 2010, she was
named inaugural Writer-in-Residence at Connemara, the North
Carolina home of the late poet Carl Sandburg, with whom she shares
her home town of Galesburg, Illinois. Lovin
has been a resident fellow at Virginia Center for the Creative
Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Prairie Center of the Arts,
Orcas Island
Artsmith Residency at Kangaroo House, and Footpaths House to
Creativity in the Azores. Her work has been supported with grants
from Elizabeth George Foundation, Kentucky Foundation for Women,
and Kentucky Arts Council. She resides with four dogs in a rural
central Kentucky, where she teaches English and creative writing at
Eastern Kentucky University.
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 The 3 members of
FIGURE 8 Rock Band,
Levi Smock - Ryan Sanders - Jakob
Duncan are
all
students at Mercer County Senior High. Formed in November 2011, the
band plays predominantly original songs. They recorded their first
CD in February 2011. At the 2012 SONGWRITERS TRIBUTE SHOWCASE they
will perform all original songs.
To learn more about
FIGURE 8
check
facebook.com/figure8.band or Email
Figure.f8.gmail.com
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 Yolantha
Harrison-Pace, award winning author, playwright and
poet,referenced
as America's Top 100 Literary African American Divas, Poet of the
Year, Humanitarian Author of the Year, Adjunct Reporter for
University of Southern California's Institute of Genetic Medicine
Art Museum, Guest Columnist Advocate Messenger, On-Line
Arts and Education Reporter for Examiner, Guest Poet for
THE CAN FACTORY of Mohnesee, Germany.
Ambassador to Haiti for Arise and Shine
the Light Ministries. |
Ben Anthrope
(Louisville, KY) is a singer/songwriter
who's moved all around KY throughout his formative
years, and a short while in California. You can tell Ben
Antrhope listens to a lot of
different types of music as his music travels through
outsider-hinged country, folk, blues, and just straight
experimental presentations to express the ideas and the sounds
that he's taking aim at. You should catch him either with his
full swaggering quintet or solo acoustic style at
a venue near you.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benanthrope/230948246945323?sk=app_2405167945
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 Dixie Bertram
has been teaching language arts for 21 years in Lincoln County,
Kentucky. She always had a great personal love for writing, and
since becoming a teacher, has an even greater love for teaching
others to write. Dixie began writing stories at a very young age. A
high school poetry class opened the door to another genre. Bertram
has written plays for church, which she also directed and produced,
and has also written sermon skits and personal narratives.
Dixie Bertram presently teaches at Lincoln County Middle
School; lives in Stanford, Kentucky where she has resided most of
her life, has two daughters and two granddaughters. |
Mike Hill and Gordon Webb
Gordon Webb, a native of Eastern Kentucky and
West Virginia, has spent most of his adult life in
Elizabethtown and now resides in Lebanon.
He picked up the guitar in his teenage years after a
football injury put a damper on his mobility for several
months. Being the
9th of 10 children, and a teenager in the '60's, his musical
influence was rock and roll and popular music of the 50's and
60's. This is the
style he has stayed with.
Although he does not write original music, he sometimes
likes to alter the lyrics of rock and roll to spiritual wording
and perform in his church (as in Sister Act).
Gordon also performs covers in small venues with his friends
Mike Hill (bass) and Ricky Cox (drums) calling themselves The
Fogies (no 'Old' included but inferred).
.jpg)
Band members: Phillip Crowe, Jeff
Cain, Greg Ives,
Mark Lanham, and Jimmy Kalb
Dix
River Crossing is a regional bluegrass group that has
been playing festivals ,concerts, and private gatherings since
the fall of 2009.
Whether an audience
is listening for traditional, contemporary, or original
bluegrass, this tightly knit group will meet the keenest of
expectations.
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 Debra
A. Revell
is an award-winning technical writer in central
Kentucky.
She was born in Ohio, but at age 9
months, her parents moved her to the South. She lived in three
large cities in
Georgia, North Carolina, and
Alabama before
moving to Kentucky’s rolling hills.
Her interest in creative writing
began as a teenager. She was the essay editor on her high
school’s literary magazine in Huntsville, Alabama.
She attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville and graduated with a B.A. in
psychology and education, so she had two majors at this point
in time.
She was an elementary school
teacher for several years in Kentucky before she attended Eastern Kentucky University to earn a B.A. in public
relations. After this, she began her 20+ year career in
technical writing and editing. She has worked for three
companies in Lexington, Kentucky as an information developer/technical
writer. She has also worked as a marketing coordinator.
While working at Lexmark
International, Inc., Debra won nine Society of Technical
Communication awards for her technical manuals. In 1997, she
was one of three ladies to represent Lexmark at the
International Society of Technical Communication Conference
held in Toronto,
Canada.
Though she has written poems and
short stories since high school, her interest in creative
writing grew greatly when she joined the creative writing group
at Lexmark in 1998. She was a member of this group from 1998 to
2004, and she was the leader of this group from 2001 to 2004.
The group dissolved in 2004 when members experienced an
overload of work and numerous lunchtime meetings. Debra tried
to keep the group alive and going, but with attendance
dwindling week after week at their Wednesday lunchtime writing
meeting, she had no choice but to end their group.
Debra has been a member of the
Winchester Writers’ Group since May 2010.
She continues to write poetry and short stories, but has
only shared her work with a few friends and members of her
writing groups. Recently, she has decided to share her work
publicly by reading a few of her poems at the Saturday session
of the Kentucky Writers’ Day Celebration.
Lately, she has tried to write
short stories in the fantasy genre. Her next goal is to try to
be published.
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Call
it traditional acoustic blues bluegrass alternative country with
regular original words, and sometimes long words, too, put to a
melody, and sung with a drawl. Influenced primarily by old
songwriters and blues singers, Aaron Raitiere has been
writing and performing original songs since his childhood in
Kentucky. His swampy songs and soulful voice are a pleasure to
even the most critical ear.
Aaron's new solo CD "Kissin' Machine" is complete. Hear songs at
www.myspace.com and buy the
album at www.cdbaby.com. |
 Carolyn
Crabtree is a former mathematics and English teacher
who now spends her spare time doing history and genealogy
research. Over the last 30 years she has written many
Bible Studies and devotionals and has helped compile history
books for the Forkland Community Center. |
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Site of the 2012 KWD songwriters "SHOWCASE"
Friday and
Saturday Evenings
Eddie Montgomery's Steakhouse
180 Lucky Man Way
Harrodsburg, Kentucky 40330
859-734-3400
http://www.eddiemontgomerysteakhouse.com
Site of the 2012
KWD Saturday Events
All Day Saturday
West T. Hill Community Theatre
117 Larrimore Lane,
Danville, KY
Site of the 2012
KWD Sunday Events
Historic Penn's Store
Gravel
Switch, Kentucky
The following hotel is offering discount
rates for any out-of-town visitors attending Penn's Store Kentucky
Writers' Day
THANK YOU, HAMPTON INN!
Hampton Inn --
Danville
100 Montgomery Way
Danville, KY 40422
859-236-6200
fax 859-936-0271
www.hamptoninn.com/hi/danville-ky
************************************
View the 2011 Kentucky
Writers Day Performers list here.
For more information contact Jeanne Penn Lane at
Penn's
Store (859) 332-7706 or (859) 332-7715, or
e-mail
PennsStore@aol.com
It is best to call ahead to check times and
cancellations.
Penn's Store
257 Penn's Store Road
Gravel Switch, Kentucky 40328
859-332-7715 or 859-332-7706
GPS Coordinates: N37.549912;
W085.028191
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