A two-day celebration of Appalachian writer, documentarian, advocate, UK English Professor Emeritus, and UK Alumnus (BA '59), Gurney Norman. Norman is the author of Divine Right's Trip: A Folk-Tale (1972), Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories (1977), One From Crazy Quilt: A Novel in Progress (1990), Ancient Creek: A Folktale (2012), and Allegiance (2019). He served as Kentucky Poet Laureate in 2009-10 and has been inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame (2019) and into the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame (2021).
Events include a musical performance, master class, panel discussions, film screenings, and readings of Gurney's works. The detailed program follows below. Please fill out this form for free (but required) registration: https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3lv996trKXMJ5Ns
| 10:30am -1:30pm | Check-in | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 11:30am | Gurney Fest! kickoff and new documentary by Sean Anderson. | John Jacob Niles Gallery in Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library |
| 12:00pm | Musical performance by Jack Wright, brought by the Appalachian Center and Appalachia in the Bluegrass Series. | John Jacob Niles Gallery in Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library |
| 1:15pm | Lunch and screening of KET documentary, Time on the River. | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 2:10pm | Morris Grubbs, "Living with Kinfolks: Gurney as a Master of the Short Story." | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 3:00pm | Panel discussion on Teaching Gurney. Speakers include Erik Reece, Morris Grubbs, Chris Green, Leatha Kendrick, and Theresa Burriss. Moderated by Robert Gipe. | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 4:30pm | Student and alumni readings, Graphite Creative Writing Club. | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 7:00pm | Film screening, The Wilgus Stories. | Ballroom in King Alumni House |
| 8:00pm | Panel discussion on The Wilgus Stories Film with Director Andrew Garrison and Actors William Johnson, Robin Mullins, and Frank Hoyt Taylor. |
| 9:00am | Screening of KET documentary, Wilderness Road. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 10:15am | Screening of Coal Black Voices. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 11:15am | Panel on Coal Black Voices. Speakers include Theresa Burriss, Frank X Walker, and Crystal Wilkinson. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 2:00pm | Panel on Gurney's Writing Community. Speakers include Robert Gipe, Chris Holbrook, George Ella Lyon, Maurice Manning, and Bobbie Ann Mason. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 3:30pm | Panel on Gurney and his Homefolks. Speakers include Mandi Fugate Sheffel, Nick Smith, Pam Meade, Angie Debord, Jack Wright, Dee Davis, and Scott McReynolds. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 5:00pm | Screening of KET documentary, From this Valley. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 6:00pm | Reception | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
| 7:00pm | Closing event with readings of Gurney's works and filmed tributes by distinguished authors. | Harris Ballroom in Gatton Student Center |
The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences Department of English is proud to sponsor Gurney Fest! with support from the A&S Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies, The Gaines Center for the Humanities, Appalachian Center, African American and Africana Studies, Nunn Center and UK Libraries, Department of Linguistics, Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies, Department of Sociology, Department of History, and Department of Modern & Classical Languages.
