"Now, Appalachia"

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, our special series on the business side of publishing continues with book publicist Maryglenn McCombs. Maryglenn is a 1993 graduate of Vanderbilt University and has been actively working in the book publishing industry for nearly 20 years. During that time she has been involved with literally hundreds of books. She discuss what a book publicist does for authors and why authors need them to help promote their work(s).

This episode of Now, Appalachia is the first episode in a series of podcasts focusing on the business side of writing and publishing. The guest for this episode is Ashley Runyon, of the University Press of Kentucky.The University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia. The Press is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as six private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies.

Ashley Runyon, the acquisitions editor of the press, discusses university presses,  how and why they might be a good publishing option for authors, and how an author can know if a university press is a good option for their project.

This episode of Now, Appalachia is the first episode in a series of podcasts focusing on the business side of writing and publishing. The guest for this episode is Ashley Runyon, of the University Press of Kentucky. The University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia. The Press is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as six private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies.

Ashley Runyon, the acquisitions editor of the press, discusses university presses,  how and why they might be a good publishing option for authors, and how an author can know if a university press is a good option for their project.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Ohio author Jess Montgomery about her latest novel THE STILLS. Jess Montgomery is the “Literary Life” columnist for the Dayton Daily News and writes a new Writer's Digest magazine column, "Level Up Your Writing (Life)." Based on early chapters of the first in the Kinship Series, The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and named the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Kentucky author Leesa Cross-Smith about her new novel THIS CLOSE TO OKAY. Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, and This Close To Okay. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two teenagers. Find more at LeesaCrossSmith.com.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews North Carolina author Renea Winchester about her new novel OUTBOUND TRAIN. Renea Winchester was born in Bryson City, North Carolina. She is the author of two nonfiction books set in Atlanta Georgia where she lived for 17 years. Outbound Train is her first novel.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews New York Times bestselling Appalachian author John Hart about his latest novel THE UNWILLING. John is the New York Times bestselling author of The King of Lies, Down River, The Last Child, Iron House, Redemption Road, and The Hush. The only author in history to win the Edgar Award for Best Novel consecutively, John has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for Fiction, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His novels have been translated into thirty languages and can be found in more than seventy countries.

On the first episode of 2021, Eliot interviews author Michael Farris  Smith about his new novel NICK. Michael is the author of Blackwood, The Fighter, Desperation Road, Rivers, and The Hands of Strangers. His novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists in Esquire, Southern Living, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. He has been a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, the Gold Dagger Award in the UK, and the Grand Prix des Lectrices in France, and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Bitter Southerner, Garden & Gun, and more. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and two daughters.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks to Brooks Rexroat, founder of Summer Camp Publishing. Summer Camp Publishing is a micropress specializing in brief but powerful works of prose and poetry. Based in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the press has a special affinity for the Appalachian and Midwestern roots of its founders but is home for compelling work from writers writing from anywhere and everywhere.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks to Tennessee historian and author Jeff Jackson about his latest book: PAPER BULLETS: TWO ARTISTS WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES TO DEFY THE NAZIS. Jeff is a is Professor of History at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. An expert on European history and culture, he is the author of Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910 and Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris. He has appeared in documentary films and helped develop “Harlem in Montmartre: A Paris Jazz Story” for PBS’s  Great Performances.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Kentucky author Ellen Birkett Morris about her short story collection LOST GIRLS. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, AntiochReview, South Carolina Review, and other journals. She received the BevelSummers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of the Al Smith Fellowfrom the Kentucky Arts Council. Morris has an MFA from QueensUniversity-Charlotte.