Kentucky Women Writers Conference to Feature Sportswriter Sally Jenkins

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 25, 2007) − The Kentucky Women Writers Conference will celebrate the region’s love of “hoops and horses” by featuring Washington Post journalist Sally Jenkins at its literary festival this September in downtown Lexington.

Jenkins is the author of eight books, including three New York Times best-sellers, most notably It’s Not About the Bike with Lance Armstrong.

Her sessions will highlight sports writing and turf writing as abundant channels of opportunity for women writers. Her visit is co-hosted by the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

Julie Kuzneski Wrinn became director of the conference this year, after serving as its board president. Wrinn’s background is in book publishing, and during a decade in that business in Washington, D.C. she edited some of Kentucky’s most beloved authors—Wendell Berry, Ed McClanahan, and the late Guy Davenport.

“Arriving in Lexington in 2002 already knowing these eminent Kentuckians was a happy coincidence for me," Wrinn said. "And after five years of residing in the Bluegrass, I better understand the rich sense of place that inspires its many artists. Few states can claim such a thriving community of working writers as Kentucky, and it seems fitting to host the longest running literary festival of women in the nation."Other featured presenters during the weekend-long event are poets, novelists, journalists, children’s authors, a memoirist, a playwright and a documentary filmmaker.

Daytime writing workshops and panel discussions for registrants will be held at the Central Library on Friday, Sept. 28, and at the Carnegie Center on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Two presenters also have leadership roles at prestigious small presses, Sarabande Books and Cinco Puntos Press, and will offer practical advice about the publishing industry.

The conference hosts a series of free events beginning on Thursday night, Sept. 27, with a screening at the Kentucky Theatre of the documentary feature, Motherland Afghanistan, followed by a discussion with its filmmaker.

On Saturday afternoon, the conference will hold a free reading at the Village Branch Library by children’s author and bilingual publisher Lee Byrd, who will discuss how a book is made.

Keynote speaker Naomi Shihab Nye, an award-winning poet and essayist, will appear at UK’s Memorial Hall on Saturday night.

To register for the conference, view its itinerary, or learn more about its presenters, visit the website.