Heartland Book Festival

CONSTANCE ALEXANDER

Biography

Award-winning poet, playwright, columnist and civic journalist, Constance Alexander believes that poetry has the power to shine a light on public policy issues like caregiving. She has published works in many genres, and received a Governor’s Award in the Arts in 2014 for her work in media.

From Cradle to Grace

MATTHEW BRENNAN

Biography

Matthew Brennan has written five volumes of poetry and two chapbooks. He was a finalist for Best Books of Indiana, as we as winning the Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred. His poems have appeared in such journals as Sewanee Review, Poetry Ireland Review, and Heartland Review.

One Life

TED HIGGS

Biography

Ted Higgs currently teaches Latin, Italian, and Greek history at Maryville College in Tennessee. He is a retired Army officer and a linguist, having worked and translated in both Modern Greek and Italian. He has also taught at the US Military Academy, the University of Maryland, Elizabethtown Community & Technical College, and the University of Kentucky.

Plank by Plank

PAMELA HIRSCHLER

Biography

Pamela Hirschler’s poems have appeared in numerous journals, and she was a 2018 finalist for The Heartland Review’s Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Drew University, and is past president and webmaster for the Kentucky State Poetry Society and a former board member of the Green River Writers. After a 20-year career in information technology, Pamela lives with her husband in Frankfort, Kentucky.

What Lies Beneath

SARA PIRKLE HUGHES

Biography

Sara is a Georgia native, an identical twin, and a breast cancer survivor. She holds a PhD in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. She teaches at the University of Alabama, where she is the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing.

The Disappearing Act

TOM C. HUNLEY

Biography

Tom C. Hunley is a professor in the MFA/BA creative writing programs at Western Kentucky University. His work has appeared in many literary periodicals, such as TriQuarterly, Five Points, North American Review and New York Quarterly. He is the author of several poetry collections and lives in Bowling Green, KY.

Here Lies

TRISH LINDSEY JAGGERS

Biography

Trish Lindsey Jaggers is an award-winning Kentucky poet, educator, social activist, feminist, amateur photographer, vintage/antique collector, and has published in numerous literary magazines, journals, books, zines, and anthologies. An assistant professor of English at WKU, she teaches composition, literature, and creative writing.

Holonym: a collection of poems

LIBBY FALK JONES

Biography

Libby’s poems have been included in many national and regional journals and anthologies. Professor Emerita at Berea College where she taught creative writing, Jones is past president of Kentucky State Poetry Society.

Above the Eastern Treetops, Blue

CLAY MATTHEWS

Biography

Clay Matthews has published poetry in journals such as The American Poetry Review, Black Warrior Review, Kenyon Review, and Gulf Coast. His most recent book, “Shore”, was recently released from Cooper Dillon Books. Clay is an Assistant Professor of English at Elizabethtown Community & Technical College.

Shore

YVONNE MORRIS

Biography

Yvonne Morris works as a Writing Staff Instructor and adjunct faculty member for the Arts and Humanities Division at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. She has assisted in the publication of The Heartland Review for 18 years and is its Associate Editor. “Mother was a Sweater Girl” is her first chapbook.

Mother was a Sweater Girl

NINA MURRAY

Biography

Nina grew up in Lviv, in Western Ukraine, and holds advanced degrees in linguistics and creative writing. As a member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, she has served in Lithuania, Canada, and Russia. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals, including Ekphrasis and The Harpoon Review.

Alcestis in the Underworld