- Kentucky has given American literature political power, cultural revolution, Appalachian poetry, and some seriously spooky stories.

- [Lauren] From "All the King's Men" and "Ain't I A Woman?"

to "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" and "The Bailey School Kids," Kentucky writers have tackled power, identity, history, and the imagination in unforgettable ways.

- [Fred] And the stories keep coming with today's writers giving voice to the people, places, and traditions that make Kentucky unique.

- Come explore Kentucky through the books and writers who have helped shape its story and ours.

This is "American Stories: A Reading Road Trip."

(gentle music) - Well, hello and welcome.

I'm Fred Nahhat here with Lauren Smith from PBS Books.

- We're hitting the road to discover the books, writers, and stories that reveal something unique about every corner of America.

- And there's a lot more to explore.

Find your state, catch up on past stops, or discover what to read before your next trip all in "American Stories: A Reading Road Trip," the collection on the PBS Books YouTube channel.

- [Lauren] Today, we're exploring Kentucky, where bluegrass gives way to the Appalachian mountains, winding rivers, and communities with deep roots.

Beyond horses, bourbon, and bluegrass music, we're discovering a Kentucky shaped by some remarkable books and storytellers.

- Kentucky has this interesting mix of geography.

The far eastern and eastern part of the state is in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains, and then Western Kentucky is a little more flat and, you know, connects with the Mississippi River.

- We have the beautiful Cumberland Falls in Corbin, Kentucky that produces a moonbow, a lunar rainbow on certain days, and it's the only one in the Western hemisphere.

And we have the largest cave system in the world, Mammoth Cave.

- I'm in the bluegrass region, which is probably what most people think of when they think of Kentucky these days.

You know, it's where the horse farms and bourbon industry are located.

And I grew up in Eastern Kentucky, which is the other place people probably think of, which is where you know, Colonel Harlan Sanders was born and where all the mountains are and coal mines and those kinds of things.

- I think people equate Kentucky with fried chicken and horses, and I just want people to know we're a lot more than that.

I mean, that is part of our culture and two things to be proud of, but there's just so much more.

And a big part of that is our literature.

- And I think there's a lot of folklore that comes out, especially of our, especially out of the Appalachian Mountain Range.

So much storytelling was passed down by word of mouth.

And so we also have that that's very unique and strong and gives a sense of community and culture in Kentucky.

- Stories can come from anywhere and there are plenty of opportunities for stories in the people and the places in Kentucky.

- We also have really great library systems, so, and great bookstores.

So, you know, you're at no shortage of opportunities to find books, and our free little libraries are all over the place.

- I wish they would say, you know, horses, bourbon, basketball, and books, but they tend to stop after basketball.

(gentle music) - Kentucky's writing legacy is filled with voices unafraid to wrestle with big ideas.

They've examined power, politics, and challenge the way we think about race and gender.

These stories search for deeper meaning and find inspiration in the people and places of Kentucky.

- Robert Penn Warren was the first US poet laureate.

He also is a three-time Pulitzer winner that he won two Pulitzers for poetry and also won a Pulitzer for fiction.

- It's pretty hard to do it in one genre, but I've done it in multiple genres really sets him apart.

- Well, I know so many people who consider "All the King's Men" to be the greatest novel ever written.

I love some of his lesser known books that I would recommend people read, books like "The Cave" or "Band of Angels."

- Robert Penn Warren is known as a founder of the New Criticism Movement.

One of the go-to texts of the new critical movement with "Understanding Poetry" was written with Cleanth Brooks.

- He's also who inspired the State of Kentucky to have a Kentucky Writer's Day on April 24th, because that's his birthday.

So, it's an exciting time for all Kentuckians with events going around on all over the state.

- So, if that is where we hang our hat on, it's not a bad start.

Typically, I also claim William Wells Brown was the first African American to write a novel in the United States.

That richness, even older than, you know, than our US Poet Laureate is also present, but probably only celebrated in Kentucky.

- [Jay] Bell hooks are her given name of Gloria Jean Watkins.

She's known for her writing within feminist literature, race, and social criticism.

- Bell Hooks, oh, what a treasure.

I revisited "All About Love" not too long ago.

What a mind, you know?

What a person who I think also saw the state in all of its flaws, but also still recognized and valued the parts of it that were home.

- Her words were so powerful, made people think in a different way, and a lot of people really honor bell hooks and the contributions she made to literature.

- But Bell was, you know, not just a famous writer, but people who claim to be her students talk about how she helped shape them and their value system, that they became better human beings because of how she helped them see the world.

- Bell hooks was a dear friend of mine.

We were neighbors and I was never in conversation with bell that I didn't realize I was talking to a genius.

And she was fiercely proud to be from Kentucky.

She wanted people to know she was from Kentucky.

When she donated her archives to Berea College, she did that very purposely.

She said that she wanted people who were researching her to be required to come to Kentucky and to understand it better.

- She is well beloved in the state, just a huge inspiration, huge.

- [Jay] Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who spent the end of his life at the Abbey of Gethsemane here in Kentucky.

- And he wrote over 70 books in multiple genres and is widely considered one of the most important Catholic writers of the 20th century.

- It's impossible to overestimate the impact Thomas Merton had.

And of course, he was, you know, from France originally, but he lived so much of his life in Kentucky.

And if you read his work, you can see the way that the place, and especially the landscape, fed his work.

- "The Seven Storey Mountain" is excellent, but I also like just the scattered poems.

Again, I think he's somebody that's a little off the beaten path for a lot of people when they think about Kentucky.

- Even though he was very intellectual, can bring it down to the level that actually I can understand.

(laughs) "No Man Is an Island," I have on my nightstand and I've been go, reading it a little bit, underline some things.

I'm like, "Wow, that's really profound.

I'm going to think about that."

- And I think the thing about Thomas Merton is that he broke the mold, he stepped out of the traditional role that priests held, and he also showed that there is room for critical thinking, philosophy, to think in different ways, and he made that okay.

- We have a group of five writers that are often affectionately grouped together and called the Fab Five.

Wendell Berry, Ed McClanahan, Gurney Norman, James Baker Hall, and Bobbie Ann Mason.

- Gurney Norman was a good friend of mine, and I think his short story collection called "Kinfolks" is quintessential reading.

- [Jay] He also was an integral part of the Appalachian Writers Workshop that happens each year at the Hindman Settlement School.

- James Baker Hall's another such writer who mentored numerous young people early in their careers by teaching at the University of Kentucky, and he especially taught poetry although he could write in multiple genres.

And, you know, he was also a talented photographer.

He won many awards, including the, a Pushcart Prize.

- James Baker Hall was my poetry teacher at the University of Kentucky.

Gurney Norman was my fiction instructor at the University of Kentucky, and that whole list, you know, makes up at least three former poet laureates for the state.

- [Jay] Ed McClanahan was known as Captain Kentucky.

He earned that in California when he and Gurney Norman both were part of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters.

- He's widely known by everybody to be, for his humor.

I mean, he is absolutely just one of the best humor writers ever.

And to give you an idea of kind of how his humor works, one of his last books that he wrote was "Not Even Immortality Lasts Forever: Mostly True Stories."

- Wendell Berry, just what a gentleman, what a kind gentleman, farmer and poet.

I don't think you can get any bigger than that, and an activist and who cared about the land and small farms.

- Wendell's probably the most celebrated and well-known outside the State of Kentucky.

He's probably published the most.

His footprint extends well beyond literature because of his, you know, leadership in environmentalism and agricultural.

- He's just one of those writers that his impact has not finished being told.

I think we're going to hear generations from now that his writing is still impacting other people.

And then the final person in the Fab Five, our only living member as of today, is Bobbie Ann Mason.

- When I was a teenager, Bobbie Ann Mason just exploded on the literary scene, and so she was one of those writers who made me think maybe I can be a writer too.

You know, if this woman from very rural Kentucky can do it, I can too.

And so I count her as a real inspiration in that way.

And of course, she changed literature the way that she wrote about rural places and the complexity she gave to rural characters in ways that they really hadn't had before.

- They're not just a Fab Five to me because I knew them personally.

I had chances to break bread, visit their houses, sit in their classrooms so that I feel like they became part of me and it's part of what I get to pass down to my students.

- You know, I think that the Fab Five are just an example of how communal the writing community here is.

We all really do kind of support each other and cheer each other on.

- [Lauren] There's also Barbara Kingsolver.

She has Kentucky ties.

- She recently won the National Book Award for Lifetime Achievement and her novel "Demon Copperhead" became a Pulitzer Prize winner, but she's won multiple awards over the years and several of her books are actually set in Kentucky.

- Barbara Kingsolver was publishing her first novels when I was in high school and in her first book of poetry.

So, like that, those were some of my kind of formative Kentucky books, "The Bean Trees" and "Other Voices."

- I just love the way that she has represented our place.

She's also somebody who is full of hope and she's a realistic optimist, and I really appreciate that about her.

- She's wonderful, I think, and, you know, just a legend.

And we still claim her even though she doesn't live here anymore.

(laughs) (gentle music) - Kentucky's storytelling tradition continues to grow as today's writers bring new voices and perspectives into the conversation.

Poet Frank X Walker did just that when he coined the term "Affrilachia," celebrating the Black voices and experiences rooted in Appalachia.

- Frank X Walker is a former Kentucky poet laureate.

He currently teaches in the MFA program at UK, and one of the things that most folks will probably know Frank for is coining the term "Affrilachia."

He also founded the Affrilachian Poets who are celebrating their 35th year in 2026.

- I think the beauty of a poem is that it's smaller than a novel, it's shorter than a feature film, but it still has to do the same work.

It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

There's a rise in the fall, there's a climax.

All that happens, but it may be in 14 lines or, you know, 17 syllables.

So, it's the whole piece of art in the smallest possible package.

So, the beauty of writing a collection of poems that do that, but in a narrative style that allows you to tell a whole story has been very appealing to me.

All parts of the history have been interesting to me.

I've written about the Civil Rights Era with a book about Medgar Evers, and I've talked about Kentucky's horse racing tradition and the Black jockey's role in that.

A most recent book is set just before, during, and after the Civil War, you know, so I had this kind of broad fascination with history that is really about which stories have been undertold or underappreciated.

So, I try to add a different, a new point of view on it that allows people to get a more holistic version of the story that I think is actually closer to the truth.

- Kim Michele Richardson turns to Kentucky's past for inspiration, bringing lesser known stories of Appalachian life to the pages and novels like "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek."

- Kim Michele Richardson is such a great representative of Kentucky and the good that's happening and really her focus on literacy movements and telling Kentucky's history is an invaluable resource for us.

- It has been my biggest privilege to introduce the Pack Horse librarians to the world and these books and to lift up and honor that.

And the women, they delivered those books and reading material through all kinds of inclement weather, the bloody coal mine wars, civil unrest, their own pandemics.

It was very impressive.

And when I was writing and spent years and years and years working on "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek," I said, "If I could plant seeds of kindness, courage, and compassion, that will be all I ever hope for."

And then I've honored it and I feel I did.

And the book has inspired so much kindness.

You wouldn't believe the acts of kindness in the letters, thousands of letters.

People who, after reading "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek," they said, "I'm donating to food banks or I'm donating to book deserts."

So, I just have the best readers in the world, and it really was life-changing.

- Kentucky storytelling has plenty of room for a little fun too.

Marcia Thornton and Debbie Dadey brought mystery and mischief to generations of young readers with their beloved "Bailey School Kids" series.

- Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey were recently, just this past year, inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame as the authors of over 130-some kids books, you know, everything from chapter books to picture books to middle grade readers.

If you've had a middle schooler within the past 10 years, I bet you anything they've read one of "The Bailey School Kids" books.

- When we started writing, we noticed that there were, you know, lots of picture books, lots of novels, but at that time, especially, not a lot of books that were in between the chapter book level for second and third graders who needed, you know, a bridge from easier to harder books, and that's what we focused on.

- And I want readers to feel empowered.

I want them to enjoy reading.

That's the number one thing.

I want them to want to sit down and turn those pages and not want to stop.

In fact, that's the most important thing that I keep in mind when I'm writing, and then develop their confidence as readers, because we are former teachers, so we understand also that kids are learning to read with our books, and our books are providing a foundation for them to move forward and read larger works.

And so I want them to be empowered that way, but I also want to write characters that resonate with the readers so that they can see themselves in those characters.

And, you know, as people, we are all flawed, and I want them to read our stories and say, "Oh, wait a minute, you know, they're just a kid like me, but look what they did."

And I want, so I want kids to feel empowered through the characters and the stories that they tell.

- One of the main things that I definitely, from any of my books, from "The Bailey School Kids" to the "Mermaid Tales," to any book that I've written are children who are different, who work together for a common goal, whether that be chasing monsters or chasing sharks or whatever, they work together to solve a problem.

And I think that's what I've mostly written about.

- Novelist Silas House has built a celebrated career telling deeply human stories rooted in Appalachia, bringing the region's communities and complexities to readers through books like "Clay's Quilt" and "Southernmost."

- Silas House is a former Kentucky poet laureate.

He's also probably one of the best known Appalachian Kentucky writers working today.

He is known not only for writing his fiction, but he also writes poetry, he writes non-fiction, he writes plays, and was involved in writing the script for Tyler Childers' "In Your Love" video.

- When I was Poet Laureate of Kentucky, a lot was made of me being the first gay poet laureate of Kentucky, but I was adamant that I was somebody who contained multitudes.

I wanted people to know that I was also a person of faith, that I was a person raised working class, and that I was raised in a trailer.

That was important to a lot of people, and I didn't expect how many people would write to me and come to my events and thank me for talking about being raised in a trailer.

The best thing for me is when a reader tells me they've seen themselves in my work in a way they've never seen themselves before.

Visibility really matters.

And so when somebody tells me that they were able to come out because of one of my books or a country music video that I wrote or a poem, there's nothing better than that, you know, when you can have an impact in somebody's life.

And I think the thing is those pieces of art find the people who need them.

So, really, I have nothing to do with it, but it's nice when you are part of that in some way and somebody tells you that you made a difference in their lives.

- Kentucky's contemporary voices also know how to stretch the imagination.

Gwenda Bond brings adventure, mystery, and the unexpected to the page in novels, including "Girl on a Wire."

- Gwenda Bond is probably one of the better known writers in Kentucky right now.

She is one of the founders of the Lexington Writer's Room.

A number of people on the national level may recognize her name as the person who was chosen to write the first "Stranger Things" novel, which was the backstory of Eleven's mother.

- I am one of those writers that I guess shows that writers from Kentucky can write anything they want.

I would say I've written some works that are set here.

I've also written lots of books that are globe hopping or go elsewhere, and I've written lots of different genres.

I started writing in the young adult genre in 2012 was when my first book was published.

I've gone on to write a series of circus novels for young adults, "Girl on a Wire" was the first one of those.

I sort of jumped ship into writing for adults because I just, I kind of follow my muse, the stories that want to happen instead of limiting myself.

And then I wrote several rom-coms for adults that have fantastical bent, "Mr.

& Mrs.

Witch," "Not Your Average Hot Guy," and "The Date from Hell."

And my most recent book is "The Frame-Up," which is a magical heist story that is set in Kentucky.

Got to have a little magic in there, but for the most part, I really am trying to give people an escape from the world that also maybe mirrors ways in which it could be better.

(gentle music) - No road trip through Kentucky would be complete without stopping in its libraries.

Across the state, these welcoming spaces preserve history, inspire new generations of readers, and remain an important part of the communities they serve.

- In Kentucky, we're fortunate to have the library system that we do, and the Kentucky Department of Library and Archives is such a phenomenal resource in and of itself, but then all of the libraries across the state do such a good job of bringing community together.

- Well, there's two very special Carnegie libraries in Kentucky that I go to often.

One of them is in my hometown.

I live in Paris, Kentucky, and the Paris Bourbon County Public Library, their original Beaux-Arts-style building is still there.

It's been restored, but they also built a new addition with a glass front on the new side and then this historic building that has some of the shelves in it.

- Not only is it physically a beautiful building and a great collection that they house, but they were also the first First Amendment Library within the Commonwealth.

- I have to say, my favorite library in Kentucky is the Henderson County Public Library, which is a Carnegie library on the front, and that's the big steps I walked up to, feeling like a princess going to get my books every week as a child, but on the back, it's all new and exciting.

Lots of wonderful things happening in Henderson County Public Library, so yay for that library and for the start they gave me.

- I'm a huge fan of the Lexington Public Library system.

Anytime I'm like, "I wish the library did this," I go look and it's like, "Oh, they do do that.

They do have that."

They have a whole studio where you could learn to podcast or video edit or take photography classes, and they also have most every new book that you want to read and lovely people, they also do a lot of cross-programming with like our arthouse movie theater.

Like there's a film festival this weekend, but I love our library.

They just do an incredible job.

- My favorite library is the one I grew up in, the Danville Boyle County Public Library.

I initially went to that library admittedly as a kid because they had air conditioning, so I would make my way to the library and stay all day.

Before I was old enough to walk uptown to the library, the book would be able to drive into our community and park on a Saturday morning, and I'd be the first kid on the bus.

So, I credit them with my, you know, with launching what some people think is a career.

- And I have to say, I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Kentucky Talking Books Library, which is a part of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.

My mother was a voracious reader, but as she aged, she started losing her eyesight.

And so she took advantage of the Kentucky Talking Books Library.

They saved her because it gave her something as she aged and something that she could really enjoy.

And it's amazing to me when I'm always surprised to find out that people don't know about it, and that it's free.

- One of my favorite libraries is in our state capital.

It's the Paul Sawyier Public Library.

- Named after the artist, has a beautiful setting and historical vibe, sits on the Kentucky River.

- [Silas] And it just has these incredible stained glass windows that I could look at all day.

It's a community center, you know, and that's what great libraries are, full of people reading books and on the internet and listening to books, taking classes, being parts of book clubs, all kinds of events.

So, I think the best libraries are the ones who are really active and they're serving their communities in every way they can.

And I just know so many libraries across the state that are doing that and I appreciate them so much.

- And for book lovers, Kentucky has plenty of stops worth adding to the itinerary.

It's independent bookstores invite you to browse the shelves, discover local voices, and maybe find a new favorite to take home.

- It has been a wonderful (laughs) adding and adding of independent booksellers across the State of Kentucky in the past couple of years.

A lot of the smaller communities are really supporting new bookstores coming up all over the place.

Carmichael's has been around for so many years and they're a foundation of booksellers in Kentucky.

- Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville is one of the best bookstores in the country, and they've earned that distinction a couple times from the industry.

- Carmichael's is, it's actually two stores in Louisville, and one mostly has most of their events, and the other is not that far away.

It's one of those places you walk in and you're like, "This is a well-curated bookstore."

And if I ask anybody here for a recommendation, they're going to know exactly what to give me.

- The Blue Marble Bookstore in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and a shout out, bless her heart, she's passed away, but to Tina Moore, who always welcomed us to her special little bookstore, and they really brought stories to life for kids, and can't say enough about that bookstore and how much it supported us as writers.

- I also love Poor Richard's Books in Frankfort.

It's connected to the Kentucky Coffee Tree Coffee Shop so I can get my coffee and then I can go into the bookstore and I could wander through the stacks and then not everybody knows this, but if you go up this really narrow staircase up to the next floor, it looks like it should be like an attic space, and it is filled with rows and rows and rows of books, especially old books.

So, you never know what you're going to find there.

- Kentucky Bookstore in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, small town charm.

It's Kentucky theme, Kentucky authors everywhere.

The Kentucky products they are so super supportive of Kentucky authors and are just doing an amazing job.

And it just a warm, welcoming place for readers and authors to be.

- One of my favorite bookstores in the world is Coffee Tree Books.

It's in Morehead, Kentucky.

It's one of only, I think, four or five bookstores in Appalachian, Kentucky.

It serves a wide region and it is staffed by the most incredible people.

- The coolest thing about it is that it is in, it moved to a larger location.

That's the old movie theater for Morehead, but also they recently hosted a festival and the, where the screen was, you know, has really given them like a great place to host book events.

- My favorite bookstore in Kentucky has to be Joseph-Beth's in Lexington Green.

- And it was, it has been an exciting journey for them.

I remember it when it started as a very small, independent, cozy bookstore.

Then they took over the entire center atrium of this mall, and so it became really big, beautiful place to go and gather.

They have a full restaurant.

Recently, they have been acquired by Barnes & Noble, but everybody is very determined to let it keep its independent bookstore feel.

(gentle music) - And many of Kentucky's stories can be experienced beyond the page.

Literary landmarks across the state invite readers to explore the places that shaped its writers, inspired their work, and continue to keep their stories alive.

- I think going back to that mix and that variety of what you can experience here, that, you know, within a few hours drive, you can go from a very urban area to, you know, one of the fantastic state parks that we have, like Natural Bridge or Mammoth Cave with the largest underground cave system in the US that you can see.

- One of the places I love to make pilgrimages to is the Abbey of Gethsemane where Thomas Merton did most of his writing.

His grave is there, his hermitage is there.

So, it is a spiritual center for literary Kentucky.

- I think if you're a writer, you know, I think if you could find a space that gives you a view of the Ohio River can be inspirational, but the fact that you're that close to water and you can see steamboats still traveling up and down the river or large barges, it's like time travel if you sit there long enough.

- Before you cross the Ohio River out of Henderson, there is on your right, (laughs) John James Audubon State Park and Museum.

And he did write a book, "The Birds of America," I believe it was called.

So, that's my shout out for my hometown and some literary efforts there.

- Another Carnegie Library that's very near and dear to my heart is the one that was Lexington's original public library building, which is now the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning where I work.

- It's all things literary.

They do the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame, Kentucky Great Writers Series.

They have an annual Books in Progress conference.

- There's a downtown literary walk that the Carnegie Center and our local visitor center put together, and people can follow the map or they can also listen to the audio tour.

- A place that I definitely would send them to is the Seelbach Hotel.

It's a historic hotel in Louisville.

It's got a Bavarian-style Rathskeller in the bottom of it, and it's constructed of Rookwood Pottery.

Scott Fitzgerald frequent there regularly and was inspired to write "The Great Gatsby."

It's really got some fascinating history.

Mobsters visited there, president, just go.

- And then I just discovered a new library, the Keeneland Specialty Library, which is beautiful and it's on the grounds at the Keeneland racetrack.

It has its own building.

They are a specialty library that operates like a public library.

And they have a huge just collection of racing and thoroughbred and horse-related materials, but also memorabilia and art.

They're doing incredible work and almost no one here realizes that they exist.

(gentle music) - Our Kentucky journey is part of a nationwide celebration.

As America marks its 250th birthday in 2026, PBS Books and the Library of Congress are traveling the country to explore the books, authors, and stories that help define communities from coast to coast.

- The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, and through its centers for the book across the country, it has a local connection in communities like Kentucky.

These centers know the writers' stories and literary traditions that make their states unique, and they're helping us uncover all of them along the way.

- [Lauren] Every stop gives us a new window into the American story.

- I'm Lee Ann Potter, the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress is the Congressional Library and the National Library of the United States, and the largest library in the world with more than 181 million items, from photographs to maps, from motion pictures to sound recordings, from newspapers to manuscripts, and more.

Oh, and yes, there are books, millions of them.

In this series, "American Stories: A Reading Road Trip," you will hear about many books and authors and poems and short stories and more, and how together they make up our nation's literary heritage.

As you do, I hope you will keep in mind that while they are all unique and come from different parts of our vast country, they all have something very important in common.

They all live in the collections of the Library of Congress.

We will also hear about the library's Affiliated Centers for the Book.

There is one in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

These centers promote reading, libraries, and literacy, and they celebrate and share their state or territory's literary heritage through a variety of programs that you will hear about in this very special series.

- Today, we're joined by the Kentucky Center for the Book, which is part of Kentucky Humanities.

- The Kentucky Humanities is the affiliate organization with the Center for the Book here, and we work with the literary community, both readers and writers, and also work to promote literacy across the state in all of its different formats, everything from our Kentucky Book Festival to our reading programs for adults as well as for kids and, you know, school visits with authors, a variety of different programs to encourage Kentuckians to either tell their story or hear the story of Kentucky.

Our most visible program is the Kentucky Book Festival, and we welcome over 5,000 folks to mingle with 100 of their favorite authors and experience programming, book discussions, story times for the, what we like to call the biggest bookish celebration in Kentucky.

An interesting program that we work with with Kentucky Humanities is our Chautauqua program, which is where we have a partnership with an actor who will perform as a famous Kentuckian.

Before it gets to the stage, they actually partner with a writer and a scholar to produce a historically accurate script.

And at our book festival, we'll have a number of the Chautauqua performers there to interact with the public.

- If you'd like to learn more about Kentucky Humanities and their programs to support literacy, you can visit them online at kyhumanities.org.

- Well, our trip through the Bluegrass State has been one for the books.

Thank you again to the Library of Congress and the Kentucky Center for the Book for partnering with PBS Books as we journey across the country, exploring the books, authors, and destinations that define America's story.

- Kentucky readers, we want your recommendations.

What's the one bookstore, library, literary, landmark, or hidden gem you'd send a book lover to?

And which Kentucky author should be next on our reading list?

Tell us in the comments.

- And if our reading road trip has sparked your curiosity about the landmarks, the authors, and literary treasures in your own state, the Library of Congress is a great place to start.

Visit in person in Washington, D.C., search its vast digital collections online, or connect with your local center for the book.

- For more information on the authors, books, and places featured in this episode, visit us at pbsbooks.org/readingroadtrip.

- This is just one stop along the way on the PBS Books YouTube channel.

You'll find the full journey, stories from across the country, all in one place, ready whenever you are, and be sure to share this video with all of your friends to start planning your next reading road trip.

- Until next time- - Happy reading.

- Happy reading.

(gentle music)