2026 Kentucky Women's Book Festival Session Information

Carissa Turpin - Carissa Turpin was born and raised in Appalachia where she listened to her relatives weave fanciful (and sometimes scary) tales. She currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky where she teaches fifth and seventh grade language arts. Her first book, Doomsday Dani, won gold in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in 2023. Her second book, A Mess of Monsters, was published in September of 2026.

Lynn Slaughter - Lynn Slaughter is addicted to the arts, chocolate, and her husband’s cooking. After a long career as a professional dancer and dance educator, Lynn earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She is the author of five coming-of-age young adult mysteries, a fantasy middle grade novel, and two adult police procedurals featuring a female homicide detective. Her novels have received numerous accolades, including a Silver Falchion Award, two Agatha nominations, an Imadjinn Award, and a Moonbeam Silver Medal. Midwest Book Review called her young adult novel, Missing Mom, a “remarkable book” that “invites readers to immerse themselves in a narrative that beautifully captures the essence of struggle and triumph.”

Sandra Rippetoe - Sandra Rippetoe MA, RDN, LD is a poet, author of children’s books, registered dietitian nutritionist, former K-12 homeschool teacher, and photography hobbyist. Any nature-filled setting is a happy place for her and inspires her writing, but she finds a small forest especially endearing. Sandra loves a long uphill walk on a path surrounded by trees. It should come as no surprise that she dreams of watching nature grow a forest on a bare piece of rolling land, and documenting the incredible transformation with photographs, stories, and poetry. Sandra lives in Kentucky with her husband and son.

Meredith R. Lyons grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. In between plays, she got her black belt, fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for team USA in the Savate World Championships in Paris. In spite of doing each of these things twice, she couldn’t stay warm and relocated to Nashville. She owns several swords, but lives a non-violent life, saving all swashbuckling for the page, knitting scarves, gardening, visiting coffee shops, and cuddling with her husband and two panther-sized cats. Her first novel Ghost Tamer is an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best SciFi Fantasy, an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Winner for Best SciFi Fantasy, an IPPY Award Winner for Best First Book, and a Silver Falchion Winner for Best Book of 2023 and Best Supernatural. A Dagger of Lighting released April 1, 2025 with a starred review from Library Journal. A Horn of Onyx released March 31, 2026.

JJ Park is a local Kentucky indie author who also works in inpatient physical therapy. I spend my days knitting, writing, reading, and chasing around my cats. Books and coffee are my therapy, but writing is my life. It's an unconscious decision I make everyday to write something.

Sara Wigal is a literary agent, educator, and publishing advocate. I serve as an Associate Professor and Director of Publishing at Belmont University, where I lead the next generation of publishing professionals. With a passion for literature and a deep understanding of the publishing industry, I bring years of experience as a literary agent, educator, and advocate for authors. I hold a B.A. Literatures in English with a minor in Language Studies in Spanish from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.A. Writing & Publishing from Emerson College. I’ve worked in publishing since 2008, and my mission is simple: to demystify the book publishing process and empower writers and publishing professionals with actionable insights.

Randi Smith is a born-and-raised Kentuckian who still calls the Bluegrass State her home. She first discovered her love of writing after self-publishing a short novel in high school, which inspired her to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Publishing from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She currently lives in her hometown with her many rescue cats. When she isn't trying to meet her word count goal, she works at her local library. Besides her passion for all things reading and writing, Randi is an avid lover of astronomy, orcas, and the color purple. She is a proud member of Authors Against Book Bans and the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Amy Foos Kapoor is an author and producer whose debut children’s book, Into the Blue: A Counting Adventure, sparks young imaginations with its beachy counting fun. She holds a BA from Western Kentucky University and an MFA from Spalding University’s Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing. She also co-directs and produces the annual summer reading series, Voice & Vision, with Spalding’s School of Writing and 21c Louisville. Amy lives in Louisville with her family and two corgis.

Lisa Boeglin is an award‑winning author and former Indiana PTA Teacher of the Year, a lover of nature, artist, traveler, and proud self‑proclaimed bat nerd. A history enthusiast and storyteller at heart, she lives in southern Indiana with her husband and their rotten fur‑baby. She’s the proud mom of four adult children and “BeeBee” to two precious grandchildren. From the moment she began reading picture books aloud to her students, Lisa dreamed of seeing her own name on a cover—bringing stories to life for young readers everywhere. A retired elementary teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Lisa continues to inspire future educators as an adjunct instructor at a local community college. She has led professional development sessions for teachers at the local, state, regional, and national levels. When she’s not spending time with her grandkids, you’ll find her exploring new places, cheering on the Indiana Hoosiers, or tucked away in her Evansville home crafting picture books filled with heart, history, and wonder.

Gin Noon Spaulding is an award-winning children's author, retired educator, and TEDx speaker whose mission is to help every child feel seen and supported. Through her engaging presentations and The Adventures of Li-Li children's book series, Gin helps families, educators, and organizations better understand sensory processing differences, neurodiversity, empathy, and inclusion. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Austin Peay State University, Gin was recruited to teach in Louisville, Kentucky, where she spent 27 years inspiring students in Jefferson County Public Schools. She later earned a Master of Education in Educational Counseling from the University of Louisville. Following her retirement from education, Gin turned her lifelong passion for helping children into a full-time writing and speaking career. She continues to serve her community through organizations including her church's Homeless and Usher Ministries, her daughter's charity - Blankets of Hope by Maleah and Friends, and with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Whether speaking to educators, parents, or community groups, Gin believes that stories have the power to build understanding, spark compassion, and ensure that every child feels seen, supported, and celebrated.

Confessions from Your Publishing Professor: The Business Behind the Books We Love with Sara Wigal. An insider's look at how books are acquired, published, marketed, and discovered—and a behind-the-scenes look at the forces that shape what books end up on our shelves. Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, will guide attendees through the major paths to publishing while unpacking common myths about the book business. If you've ever heard someone declare, "Books are dead!" this talk will arm you with the facts needed to challenge that assumption and understand why reports of publishing's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Whether you're an aspiring author, a devoted reader, or simply curious about how the industry works, this session offers a lively behind-the-scenes tour of modern publishing—with a quick detour into the history of U.S. book publishing, because that's exactly the sort of thing book nerds find fun.

You've Always Wanted to Write a Book...Now What? A First-Time Author's Guide to Self-Publishing with Diandre Glover Thomas. You've always wanted to write a book, but where do you begin? Self-publishing has made it possible for more people than ever to become published authors, but navigating the process can feel overwhelming. With countless publishing options, conflicting advice, and companies promising to make your dream a reality, it can be difficult to know where to start or who to trust. Designed specifically for first-time authors, this introductory session provides a practical overview of the self-publishing journey from the perspective of an independent author and publisher. Participants will learn what to expect from manuscript to publication, explore the major self-publishing options available today, understand the typical costs involved, and discover common myths, misconceptions, and mistakes that can lead to unnecessary frustration or expense. The session will also briefly compare self-publishing and traditional publishing so attendees can better understand which path best aligns with their personal goals. Whether you hope to publish a children's book, memoir, novel, nonfiction book, devotional, or family history, you'll leave with greater confidence, a clearer understanding of the self-publishing process, and practical next steps for moving your book from idea to reality.

Sara Wigal is a literary agent, educator, and publishing advocate. She serves as an Associate Professor and Director of Publishing at Belmont University, where she leads the next generation of publishing professionals. With a passion for literature and a deep understanding of the publishing industry, I bring years of experience as a literary agent, educator, and advocate for authors. She holds a B.A. Literatures in English with a minor in Language Studies in Spanish from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.A. Writing & Publishing from Emerson College.She has worked in publishing since 2008, and her mission is simple: to demystify the book publishing process and empower writers and publishing professionals with actionable insights.

Diandre Glover Thomas, who writes as D.G. Thomas, is an independent author and founder of Mattison Savage Publishing and DBN Magazine, where she promotes books by other independent authors. She has been publishing since 2015, creating stories for children and adults that celebrate family, friendship, community, and belonging. Her books include The Magic Chest children’s series, Norris and Twig, and the Thorne Sister Sleuths Cozy Mystery Series. Thomas also serves as Director of Projects and Communications in the Office of the Executive Vice President & University Provost at the University of Louisville. A UofL graduate, she holds a B.A. in Communication with a minor in Sociology and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and brings firsthand experience navigating self-publishing as an author and independent publisher.

Margaret C. Price - As the recipient of the prestigious Al Smith Fellowship awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council for “Artistic achievement as a screenwriter/playwright”, “Who I am, Why I write is shaped by something that happened when I made a decision to represent a child named Marigold.  She was an Appalachian little girl raped by a pedophile held down by her own mother. Marigold led me into the gritty, twisted labyrinth of the juvenile justice system. Believing I could be a stronger advocate for children like Marigold as a writer, I ultimately closed my law practice and moved to London where I studied Screenplay Writing at the University of London. And I wrote UNGENTLE TRUTH, a script about a child locked in a bedroom with a monster. The screenplay attracted producer Desmond Wilcox, then head of BBC docu-dramas and ultimately won Minneapolis -St. Paul Screenlabs. The award-winning script was produced into a hard-hitting film. I have never looked back on my decision to eavesdrop on the soul-stories of “angels in disguise”.  In time, I traveled to LA where I studied advanced screenplay writing at the American Film Institute and joined the Writers Guild.  Award winning scripts (screenplays & stage-plays) have been honored in film festivals and performed in theaters across the US. DOVE AND DANDELION, a compelling expose of children in jail, won Honors in the Louisville Film Festival. Originally produced as a stage-play set on a carousel, the play was performed at the National Juvenile Justice Conference in DC for members of the Sentate and House.  And toured nationally.

Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Beware the Tall Grass: A Novel, selected by Lan Samantha Chang for the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence. She is also the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award, and of Abide, and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her short story collection, Love Thy Neighbor, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Antioch Review, and South Carolina Review, among other publications. Morris is a recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship for her fiction from the Kentucky Arts Council, and grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Elizabeth George Foundation. 

Fannie M. Cox joined the University of Louisville Libraries faculty in January 1999, as the inaugural Electronic Resources Coordinator. Currently she serves as the Community Engagement Consultant and Liaison Librarian, where she works with community and campus organizations to promote Information Literacy and mentor junior faculty. She is the library’s faculty representative to the University’s’ Community Engagement Committee. Also, she serves as the library liaison/collection specialist to the Department of Urban and Public Affairs and the Multicultural Children’s Collection. And she is the first African American Librarian at UofL to be awarded tenure, become full professor, and in 2022, she became the first librarian to win the UofL Distinguish Faculty Career of Service Award. In 2020, “Library Collaborations and Community Partnerships: Enhancing Health and Quality of Life” was published. She co-edited the monograph with Drs. Vicki Hines-Martin and Henry Cunningham. She is a member of the Western Branch Library Support Association (WBLSA). The Western Branch of the Louisville Public Library is the first African American Public Library in the USA. She is also a member of the Friends of Parkland Library (FOPL). The Parkland Library was closed in 1985. Since 2017, she became a founding member of the FOPL and has worked with Metro Government, and the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation Board, to get Parkland Library reopened. It reopened in February 2025.

Alexandra Howard is an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of Engaged Learning at the University of Louisville Libraries. She is a proud graduate of Oberlin College where she earned her B.A. in Africana Studies and had the opportunity to meet one of the most banned and censored women’s voices in literature, Ms. Toni Morrison. Alex earned her M.S. in Library and Information Science, concentrating in Cultural Heritage Informatics, from Simmons University. She is passionate about libraries serving as critical community connectors and ensuring equitable access to information for all. In her current role, she helps lead library initiatives related to community-based learning, undergraduate research, and career readiness.

Latisha Reynolds is a professor at the U of L Libraries where she serves as Assistant Head of Scholar Services & Director of Faculty Success. She is a liaison for various disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences including, Social Work, Pan African Studies, and Theatre, working with researchers at all levels. She provides leadership for RAI’s Scholar Services including evidence synthesis supports and other advanced research services. Empowering others through research is one of the major joys of her work. She is a long-standing member of the Kentucky Women’s Book festival Committee. She has served on many working groups, and publishes on topics including diversity, library history, mentoring, information literacy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and scholarly publishing. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with family, creating art, traveling, and reading.

Courtney Shareef is an Assistant Professor and Strategic Research Initiatives Librarian at the University of Louisville. Previously, she served as Project Director for The HistoryMakers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive. She obtained a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2022), a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Fiction from Columbia College Chicago (2016), and a Bachelor's of Arts in Print Journalism from Howard University (2013). A lover of archives and literature of all kinds, she believes literacy - including reading, media, digital, and information - can transform lives.

Sherry Robinson is an award-winning American fiction writer, whose three novels include Blessed (2019), Shadows Hold Their Breath (2022), and Echo Her Lovely Bones (2022, special revised edition). She holds a PhD in English from the University of Kentucky, and an MA in English and MFA in creative writing from Eastern Kentucky University. Robinson is a native of Lexington, Kentucky. She is the retired vice provost and professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University, where she spent thirteen years specializing in American literature before moving into administrative positions.

Julie Hensley is an Appalachian writer, raised in the mountains of Virginia. She earned an MFA from Arizona State University and is the author of four books: Viable, Landfall: A Ring of Stories, Five Oaks, and the forthcoming Bent Cedar Mountain: A Novel-in-Verse. Hensley’s poems and stories have also appeared in dozens of journals, including the Southern Review, Indiana Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Quarterly West. She was recently names the South Arts Literary Fellow for the state of Kentucky. She is a core faculty member of the Bluegrass Writers Studio, the low-residency MFA program at Eastern Kentucky University. She lives in Kentucky with her family.

Julie Marie Wade - Born in Seattle in 1979, Julie Marie Wade was raised in the Pacific Northwest. She earned a Master of Arts in English at Western Washington University in 2003, a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry at the University of Pittsburgh in 2006, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities at the University of Louisville in 2012. Her most recent collections include the memoir Other People's Mothers (University Press of Florida, 2025), The Mary Years (Texas Review Press, 2024), selected by Michael Martone as the winner of the 2023 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, and Quick Change Artist: Poems (Anhinga Press, 2025), selected by Octavio Quintanilla as the winner of the 2023 Anhinga Prize in Poetry. Quick Change Artist also received the Silver Medal in Poetry at the 2026 Florida Book Awards. With Densie Duhamel, Wade wrote The Unrhymables: Collaborations in Prose (Noctuary Press, 2019) and The Latest: 20 Ghazals for 2020 (Harbor Editions, 2025), and with Brenda Miller, she wrote Telephone: Essays in Two Voices (Cleveland State University Press, 2021), selected by Hanif Abdurraqib as the winner of the 2019 Cleveland State University Nonfiction Book Award. Her first poetry collection, Postage Due: Poems & Prose Poems (White Pine Press, 2013) won the Marie Alexander Poetry Series, and her third poetry collection, SIX (Red Hen Press, 2016), was selected by C.D. Wright as the winner of the 2014 AROHO/ To the Lighthouse Poetry Prize. A finalist for the National Poetry Series and a winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir, Wade is a member of the creative writing faculty at Florida International University in Miami and makes her home with Angie Griffin and their two cats.

Leslie Harper was born and raised in Louisville. She has a BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Louisville, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies. Leslie is the author of The Gendering of Madness in Victorian and Modern England and America. She has taught both composition and literature classes at University of Louisville, where she is currently the Accreditation Manager at the School of Nursing. She lives in Louisville with her husband and three children.

Leatha Kenrick, Kentucky poet, writer, and educator, is the recipient of multiple awards and fellowships, including the 2013 Sallie Bingham Award from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and Transylvania University’s 2025 Judy Gaines Young Book Award. Her poems and essays have appeared in anthologies including The Southern Poetry Anthology: Contemporary Appalachia, I to I: Life Writing by Kentucky Feminists, and What Comes Down to Us: Twenty-Five Contemporary Kentucky Poets. In addition to teaching creative writing at the University of Kentucky and in Morehead State University’s graduate program, she has served as writer-in-residence, mentor, and workshop leader at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning for over 25 years.

Joshua Bloom is an English major and Creative Writing minor who graduated from Bellarmine University in 2026. His poetry covers a variety of subjects, including anti-violence, the environment, and the power of human connection.

Maggie Nye is a PhD candidate at Florida State University, where she is hard at work on a strange, contemporary retelling of the Medusa myth. Her debut novel, The Curators, was published in 2024 by Northwestern University Press. A MacDowell fellow and Tin House scholar, her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in journals and anthologies including Seventh Wave, Passages North, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Pleiades. In addition to writing, editing, and teaching, she is an avid horror movie lover, candy eater, and roller derby player. She is also a secret poet.

Elizabeth Pope holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Bluegrass Writers Studio and an M.A. in English from Eastern Kentucky University. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Humanities within a track of Public Arts and Letters and an M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Louisville. She is a 2027 National Federation of State Poetry Societies poetry judge and received the Annett Allen Award in 2022. Her honors include an Emerging Artist Award from the Kentucky Arts Council and an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Her work is published in LIT Magazine with the New School, International Journal of Persian Literature, The Louisville Review, Euphony Journal, So to Speak: a feminist journal of language and art, The Notebook: A Progressive Journal for Women and Girls with Rural and Small Town Roots, North Dakota Quarterly, Appalachian Heritage, New Madrid, Still: The Journal, Red Rock Review, and The Fourth River, and elsewhere.

Flora K. Schildknecht is the Editor of The Louisville Review and Fleur-de-Lis Press. She is the author of the short story collection Megafauna (2018), and her fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in various journals, including the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature, The Harold Pinter Review, The International Journal of Social, Political and Community Agendas in the Arts, and in the anthology Food, Migration, and Diversity: The Many Flavors of the Short Story. She holds a PhD in Humanities from the University of Louisville and an MFA in writing from Spalding University’s Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing. For over a decade she taught courses in creative writing, literature, and humanities at Bellarmine University.