Kentucky Book Festival adds Louisville Edition
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Kentucky’s oldest literary event is expanding to Louisville this summer.
The 44th annual Kentucky Book Festival is debuting KBF: Louisville Edition on June 14 in the Paristown Arts District at Carmichael’s Bookstore.
The Louisville Edition is set to offer a similar experience to Kentucky Humanities’ flagship event in Lexington, with a unique Derby City flavor and a format that utilizes Paristown’s outdoor venue. 30-40 authors will attend the free event to meet readers, including new Kentucky Poet Laureate Kathleen Driskell, Book of the Month Club author and Louisville resident Meg Shaffer, former Poets Laureate of Kentucky Crystal Wilkinson and Richard Taylor, former Courier-Journal columnists Bob Hill and Byron Crawford, and award-winning children’s authors Brittany Thurman and Alex Willan.
Main stage programs throughout the day will include former Congressman John Yarmuth in conversation with Michael Tackett about his seminal biography of Senator Mitch McConnell, a panel discussion of this year’s Kentucky Reads selection - Savory Memories - with Linda LaPinta and Ronni Lundy, and a reading by the recipient of the first James Baker Hall Book Award Wesley Houp, with music form the McLain Family throughout the day. Children will also be able to enjoy activities throughout the grounds for younger readers, such as arts & crafts, storytimes, and a treasure hunt.
“Books, and the love of reading, transcend the challenges of any particular moment,” said Kentucky Humanities Executive Director Bill Goodman. “That’s why we’re in Louisville for this new event, why we will continue the Kentucky Book Festival in Lexington, and why we serve the Commonwealth through all our programs. The Kentucky Book Festival: Louisville Edition is one more example of how investing in the humanities makes for a better Kentucky.”
The Louisville Edition is coming just after the announcement of Kentucky Humanities losing federal funding as part of the cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The $850,000 in funding cuts accounted for 70 percent of the organization’s operating budget.
KBF: Louisville Edition is a fully free event. Children under the age of 14 can receive a free book of their choice from select children’s and young adult authors while supplies last.
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