May 3, 6:30 pm: Kim Michele Richardson’s novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was a smash hit. Now she’s back with a sequel, The Book Woman’s Daughter, which follows the character of Honey Lovett as she takes over her mother’s packhorse library service, delivering books deep into the Kentucky hollers. This launch is a virtual event through Carmichael’s Bookstore; you must purchase the book to join the session.
May 5, 7:00 pm: Historian Emily Bingham will discuss and sign her new book, My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song, at Joseph-Beth in Lexington. Can’t make it to the Joseph-Beth event? On May 10 at 7 pm, the Louisville Free Public Library’s Craig Buthod Author Series will welcome Bingham to the stage at the main library, where she’ll be in conversation with Kentucky poet laureate Crystal Wilkinson. Copies of the book will be available at that event too, courtesy of Carmichael’s Bookstore. Both events are free, but if you’re going to the library event, please register here first.
May 10, 7:00 pm: Courtney Maum, novelist and founder of creative collective The Cabins, has written a moving memoir, The Year of the Horses, which details how her return to horseback riding helped her through a deep depression and how women’s lives have been enriched throughout history through such deep human-equine connections. Maum will appear at Joseph-Beth Booksellers for this discussion and signing on the 10th; if you’re in Louisville, come out for the Carmichael’s event on May 11 instead. Both events are free.
May 14, 4:00 pm: What could be better than spending a Saturday afternoon browsing at a great Kentucky bookstore? Adding some great Kentucky bourbon to the mix! Carmichael’s Bookstore on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville will host the Eat Your Bourbon event in conjunction with the Eat Your Bourbon Marketplace just a few doors down. Books on bourbon and on Southern baking will be available, including Heather Wibbels’s mixology guide Bourbon is My Comfort Food and Jenn Davis’s The Southern Baking Cookbook: 60 Comforting Recipes Full of Down-South Flavor (which I haven’t read yet but already love for its wonderful recipe names: Mountain Molasses Cornbread, anyone?). Come down and enjoy a cocktail Kentucky-style while you choose some new books for your culinary library.
May 25, 5:00 pm: Are you just getting started as a writer? Or are you an established writer, but you’ve recently relocated from elsewhere and don’t have a local network? If you're in or near Lexington, drop by the Carnegie Center for their Spring 2022 Writers' Meet-Up, where you can meet like-minded writers, find a writing group/critique partner, and mingle with instructors, mentors, published authors, and fellow students. Wine and light refreshments will be provided. Free event. No need to register; just drop in.,