Crystal Wilkinson Popular Books
Crystal Wilkinson Biography & Facts
Crystal E. Wilkinson is an African American feminist writer from Kentucky, and proponent of the Affrilachian Poet movement. She is winner of a 2022 NAACP Image Award and a 2021 O. Henry Prize winner; she's a 2020 USA Fellow of Creative Writing. She teaches at the University of Kentucky. Her work has primarily involved the stories of Black women and communities in the Appalachian and rural Southern canon. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Kentucky 2021. Early life and education Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Crystal Wilkinson was brought to her grandparents' farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky (about three miles east of Middleburg, Kentucky), when she was six weeks old. They were the only African-American family in the area. Like many farmers in Appalachia, Silas Wilkinson grew cash crops of tobacco and corn and produced sorghum molasses; and, given the few jobs available for African-American women in eastern Kentucky, Christine Wilkinson cleaned and cooked in the homes of the local schoolteachers of Casey County. Wilkinson wrote that she "lived an enchanted childhood" and that her grandparents "gave me the freedom to explore the countryside and to write, to dream, to discover." She wrote about her childhood and her upbringing in her award-winning book, Blackberries, Blackberries: "I grew up on a farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky during the seventies. I swam in creeks and roamed the knobs and hills. We had an outhouse and no inside running water. Our house was heated by coal and wood-burning stoves and we lived so far back in the woods that we could get only one television station. But it was a place of beauty - trees, green grass and blue sky as far as you could see. I am country. Being country is as much a part of me as my full lips, wide hips, dreadlocks and high cheek bones. There are many Black country folks who have lived and are living in small towns, up hollers and across knobs. They are all over the South—scattered like milk thistle seeds in the wind. The stories in this book are centered in these places." Wilkinson attended Eastern Kentucky University in nearby Richmond, Kentucky and graduated with a B.A. in Journalism in 1985. In 2003, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree for Creative Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. Career Early in her career Wilkinson was a public information officer and community relations manager for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, editing their quarterly environmental newsletter and handling media relations for special projects. She also began volunteering her time to public service in Lexington, most notably the Roots and Heritage Festival, helping with publicity and coordinating the literary readings. During this time, Wilkinson joined other Kentuckian African American writers (including Kelly Norman Ellis, Ricardo Nazario y Colon, Mitchell L. H. Douglas, and Daundra Scisney-Givens) at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center at the University of Kentucky where Frank X Walker was the assistant director. The group, later called The Affrilachian Poets, was mentored by the poet Nikky Finney who was teaching then at the University of Kentucky. In 2000, Wilkinson published her first volume, the short-story collection Blackberries, Blackberries (The Toby Press, 2000), which would go on to receive the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature. In 1997, Wilkinson became the Assistant Director for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky, where she taught short courses and implemented many different programs and activities for Kentucky's literary arts scene. From 1997 to 2001 and again in 2008, she taught high school juniors and seniors who were juried into the creative writing discipline for the Governor's School for the Arts. She also served as chair of the creative writing department from 1997 to 2001. In the spring of 2004, she served as the Writer-in-Residence for the Appalachian College Association, conducting advanced creative writing classes and one-on-one instruction for undergraduate writing students at Cumberland College, Lindsey Wilson College and Berea College. She has taught creative writing at Eastern Kentucky University (2002–2003), Indiana University Bloomington (2004–2007), and at Morehead State University (2007–2013). As of 2020, Wilkinson is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky in the Department of English, the Program in African American and Africana Studies. She also works with the UK Appalachian Center and the Gaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky. She currently conducts research in "Creative Writing, Fiction, The Short Story Cycle, Black Culture in Appalachia, Mental Illness in Literature, [and] Women and the Black Rural Landscape". She and her partner, the artist and poet, Ronald Davis (upfromsumdirt), are the founders and editors of the briefly published Mythium: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, a journal that celebrated writers of color and other cultural voices. They were also co-founders and owners of The Wild Fig Books and Coffee in Lexington, Ky from 2011 until 2018. Wilkinson has presented many workshops and given readings in the U.S., including: the International Conference on the Short Story in English at the University of Iowa the Ocean State Writers Conference the African American Women Writers Conference at the University of the District of Columbia Wilkinson was appointed Poet Laureate of Kentucky in 2021. She is the first Black woman appointed to that position. Wilkinson is featured in several television shows: "Coal Black Voices" (2001) "GED Connections," Kentucky Educational Television (2001) "James Still's Legacy," Kentucky Educational Television (2003) "Crystal Wilkinson, Poet," Connections with Renee Shaw, Kentucky Educational Television (2009) Awards Wilkinson is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including the 2016 Ernest Gaines Fellowship for Literary Excellence and the Sallie Bingham Award from the Kentucky Foundation for Women for the promotion of activism and feminist artist expression. In 2006, Wilkinson was the Guest Fiction Editor and featured writer for Nantahala Review. Her short fiction piece "Holler", published in Slice Literary Magazine (Spring/Summer 2010), was nominated for the 2010 Pushcart Prize. Crystal Wilkinson has also gained recognition from the United States Artists in being awarded a position as a 2020 USA Fellow. Blackberries, Blackberries 2001 Best Debut Fiction, Today's Librarian Magazine 2002 Paul and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club Pick University of Louisville's Barker Lecture Freshman Book in Common Pick Water Street 2003 Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2003 Shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club Pick Utne Reader Book Club Pick University of Cincinnati Book in Common Pick Nominee for Kentucky Public Librarian.... Discover the Crystal Wilkinson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Crystal Wilkinson books.
Best Seller Crystal Wilkinson Books of 2024
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
King JamesHoly Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...
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Ice Crown
Kay L MoodyThe competition could save her life... But only if she wins. Talise can manipulate the elements with ease. Water, air, earth, and fire all bend to her will. As a citizen of the Sto...
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Make Me Forget
Anna BrooksOne lie can destroy everything... After enduring years of manipulation and an immeasurable amount of loss, Charlotte Kelly makes one last ditch effort to change her life and try to...
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Frankenstein
Mary ShelleyAn Apple Books Classic edition. Mary Shelley was just 18 when she had a nightmare vision: “I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. ...
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The Girls on Chalk Hill
Alison BelshamThey lie on the hillside, wearing matching white dresses, tiaras in their blonde hair. Each of them clutches a red rose. They could be sleeping, but frost shines on the lashes of t...
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Imperfect Chemistry
Mary FrameShe's never understood the point of romance, but now he's going to show her. Lucy London puts the word genius to shame. Having obtained her PhD in microbiology by the age...
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Serendipity
Carly PhillipsHe’s from the wrong side of the tracks. She lived in the house on the hill. Now their fortunes have reversed…but their longago attraction still burns. From high school golden girl ...
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Secrets of the Cottage by the Sea
Rebecca Alexander‘Heartwrenching… a delightful page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely spectacular’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Heartbreaking… stunning’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   As Ellie stood on the boat, watching...
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Silenced Girls
Roger Stelljes“ Wow wow wow! Grips you in a choke hold and does not let go … Oozes suspense and bonechilling twists and turns . Astonishing … One of those rare books you stay up all night to rea...
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Anna Karenina
Leo TolstoyAn Apple Books Classic edition. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Thus begins what many consider the world’s greatest novel. Leo Tolst...
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Against the Boards
Cynthia GundersonPeople say opposites attract, but now I have proof. There's zero rationale for why I would fall for Tyler Bowen. I mean, he's the star winger of my brother's hockey ...
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Moby Dick
Herman MelvilleAn Apple Books Classic edition. Herman Melville’s classic begins with one of the most famous opening lines in world literature: “Call me Ishmael.” Moby Dick was a commercial failur...
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Mischief after Midnight
Jennifer BernardBartender Toni Del Rey is the quickwitted queen of the Olde Salt Saloon, famous for trading barbs with grizzled fishermen and putting rowdy customers in their place. Independent an...
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You Are Kind
Michael GordonA little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...
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Love Notes
Lexy TimmsWe're not here to take part, we're here to take over… I stood in the elevator, all my things in a cardboard box. Surrounding me, nearly every other employee clutched thei...
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Dracula
Bram StokerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...
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Holy Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...
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No Room For Regret
Janeen Ann O'ConnellThe movement of the ship seals his fate. He could be sailing anywhere, anytime, but he's not, he's going to the other side of the world. He could be anyone, but he's...
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A Light in the Window
Marion KummerowMargarete stumbles out of the bombedout house, the dust settling around her like snow. Mistaking her for the dead officer’s daughter, a guard rushes over to gently ask her if she i...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Rascal
Katie McCoy"My hot new neighbor is keeping me up all night..." Discover the fakedating steamy romance, perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Elle Kennedy, and Hannah Grace! Emerson Haye...
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Opal
Freya BarkerWhen Opal goes undercover in a youth center several teenagers have disappeared from, she’s shocked to find a ghost of her own traumatic past at the helm. However, her worry for the...
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The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FitzgeraldAn Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...
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Wrong Places
Teralyn MitchellSometimes the path to happily ever after runs through all the wrong places… Romance never did Maggie Anthony any favors. So now that she’s back in her small hometown as a divorced ...
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Sunrise at Crystal Bay
Mia KentA decadelong secret. A devastating betrayal. And a chance to return to the placeand the boyshe left behind. Leah Turner had it alla happy marriage of twentyfive years, two grown ch...
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Beautiful Storm
Barbara Freethy“ "Barbara Freethy’s Romantic Suspense books are explosively good!"  –New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson. From #1 NY Times Bestsel...
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The Hookup Equation
Roxie NoirTeach me everything. My whole life, I’ve been a good girl. I follow rules like nobody’s business. I obey guidelines like I was born to it. Show me a line, and I’ll toe it. I’m even...
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Through the Looking-Glass
Lewis CarrollAn Apple Books Classics edition. Travel back to Wonderland in Lewis’s acclaimed sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . When Alice’s game of “Let’s pretend” turns real, she fi...
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The Duke Who Knew Too Much
Grace CallawayA #1 National Bestselling Regency Romance He's a rake accused of murder. She's the spinster accusing him. Enemies make the hottest lovers. "Readers looking for a goo...
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Spark of Passion
Lexy TimmsI wish my head could forget what my eyes have seen… Two years after running a black ops mission in Syria, Dane Morrison is struggling with PTSD while serving his Aspen community as...
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Knock Knock
Chris Merritt⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ Wow. I absolutely loved this book!... I was not able to put it down from the moment I started it, so much so that I devoured it in just two days .’ Goodreads reviewer Natas...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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Scorned Queen
Lisa Renee JonesThe protégé king wants the king unseated but it will be war, and a bloody one. And you can only push a future queen so far before she says enough, and proves she's as worthy f...
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Meditations
Marcus AureliusWritten in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challen...
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Brush With Death
Mia HallMy first year at the Dreadmore Academy. What can go wrong? How long do you have? The list of stuff that can go right is much, much shorter.  I'm probably going to fai...
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Game Changer
Piper LawsonA steamy, grumpy sunshine sports romance featuring a woman down on her luck, a star basketball player with a filthy mouth, and a connection neither of them can deny. After being du...
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Collided
Portia MooreAlex I want Madison the moment I lay eyes on her. But I’ve got my work cut out for me because someone before me broke her heart and destroyed her trust. She's my friend, that&...
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Wormwood Abbey
Christina BaehrAs a Victorian clergyman's daughter, Edith Worms has seen everything until a mythical salamander tumbles out of the fireplace into her lap. When a letter arrives from estrang...
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A Tempest of Discovery
Sarah M. Cradit“Absolutely riveting!” "Cradit's delivery of mystery and intrigue is flawless." "Be still my heart. Nicolas Deschanel is back and better than ever." “A mus...
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Protect Me
Margaret WatsonPolice officer Mia Donovan is studying for the detective's exam when her captain offers her an assignment – be Finn O'Rourke's personal bodyguard for the next three ...
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The Art of War
Sun TzuAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...
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Teach Me The Ropes
Vanessa ValeMeet the Manning brothers in this steamy small town cowboy series from USA Today Bestselling author Vanessa Vale! A bachelor auction. I was in a fing bachelor auction. I wasn'...
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Silver Hunter
Lacey SilksThey call her a cougar, but he calls her, his Queen. Grace Brooks, Manhattan's most soughtafter hair stylist, never expected Hunter, the young handyman with a knack for fixing...
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The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage
Halima KhatunWinner of the 2021 Bookbrunch Selfie Award for Best Adult I know I'll land a husband… but will he be the one? The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage – A Hilarious Romcom Tha...
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Close to the Ridge
Lexy TimmsClimb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. In the end, all I learned was how to be strong. Alone. Lincoln is a former Navy Seal, hiding away in the ...
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The Power of Unlimited Faith
Kynan BridgesTake The Limits Off Your Faith! Do you ever hear people talk about “getting more faith” or “increasing their faith?”  When we buy into this idea, we never have enough. Tho...
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...
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The Odyssey
HomerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...
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Just One Time
Samantha BacaThere are worse things than turning forty.    However, I can't seem to evade my worry of my biological clock, and my fear that time is running out. I've...
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Her Texas Ex
Katherine GarberaShe couldn't forget him, even if she tried... When Amelia Corbyn was a vulnerable teen, she found out she wasn’t a Corbyn by blood. Her biological father was a legendary count...