24 to watch in 2024: A prize-winning writer shines her literary light on new authors
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Lexington Herald-Leader is profiling 24 individuals this month that you should be keeping an eye on in 2024. The selected group represents a cross-section of industries, political parties, missions and the state itself. We believe each is notable for their contributions to Kentucky, as well as their plans for the next 12 months.
Who: Crystal Wilkinson, poet, novelist, memorist and Bush Holbrook Endowed Professor at the University of Kentucky.
Background: As the author of four novels and poetry collections and the former Poet Laureate of Kentucky, and a full-time faculty member in creative writing at UK, Wilkinson has long been a shining light in Kentucky’s literary scene. A new publication and a new project may make her a national star.
Why 2024 will be notable: With the publication of “Praisesong for Kitchen Ghosts,” a culinary memoir edited by Francis Lam, Wilkinson is about to embark on her first multistop book tour with a national publisher. In addition, she’s just been given her own imprint at the University Press of Kentucky: Screen Door Press will allow Wilkinson to choose and publish new voices in fiction that champion diverse views from the Black diaspora.
Why do you think she will be successful in 2024? “We’ve had the honor of working with Wilkinson for more than a decade and look forward to the fantastic projects she has in store this year,” said Ashley Runyon, director of the University Press of Kentucky. “We’re particularly excited about Wilkinson’s new imprint Screen Door Press, published by the University Press of Kentucky and dedicated to discovering unique, exceptional, and varied voices within Black literary traditions.”
Why is 2024 such an important year for you and your organization? “I think 2024 will be a phenomenal year for writing — for Kentucky writers, for Black writers, and for my own writing,” Wilkinson said. “This new book has already received so much attention and so many accolades ... I’m hopeful and filled with promise about sharing the message of Black Appalachian foodways and the stories of ancestors.”
