iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Happy 2nd Book Birthday to PINEVILLE TRACE! I’m appreciative of everyone who’s helped bring this book into the world and supported it these last two years. Forever thankful to Kevin McKelvey my editor and founder of Etchings Press, Erik Rust for the cover art, and everyone who’s supported the book!

030

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Had a blast at the inaugural Appalachian Literary Arts Festival in Morehead, KY! Thanks to Amy Le Ann Richardson , Andrew Preston, Coffee Tree Books, Rowan County Arts Center, and everyone who worked to put this awesome festival together. Can’t wait till next year! #appalachianliteraryartsfestival

060

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Hope to see you at the Appalachian Literary Arts Festival this weekend in Morehead, KY! Check out our panel at 11:30 am Sunday. And I’ll be signing copies of PINEVILLE TRACE at Coffee Tree Books on Sunday 10:30 am-5 pm! #appalachianliteraryartsfestival

120

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Stoked to talk about book tours and publicity at AWP ‘27 Chicago with these awesome writers—Jared Lemus, Karol Lagodzki , & @agatabrewer.bsky.social ! #awp27 #booktour #bookpublicity

151

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

If you’re a Gen X music and book fanatic like me, you are also a big fan of Chuck Klosterman. I got a chance to interview Chuck back in 2017. My thanks to Chuck and editor Chris Tula, who published this in the great Fiction Southeast Journal. Link in comments. #writingcraft #chuckklosterman

120

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Love music and books? Check out our chat that aired recently on Hoot and Holler via WESU 88.1. Host Ed McKeon and I chat about all things literary and music. I’m the first guest to request a song by a certain band…. Listen to find out which one. Link in comments.

030

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

If you’re looking for a list of Appalachian authors on Bluesky, here’s a list I’ve been working on: bsky.app/profile/did:... #appalachianwriters #writingcommunity 💙📚

061

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

For National Book Day, consider one of these awesome reads from Appalachian authors who converged recently at the Appalachian Writers' Workshop at Hindman Settlement School. All are available at Read Spotted Newt. Photo credit: Sarah Insalaco #nationalbookday #appalachianlit #appalachia #books

040

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Looking for a cat-centric book for International Cat Day? Pig has a recommendation. Link in comments. #internationalcatday

180

Reposted by Wes Blake

Crystal Wilkinson @crystalwilki.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Ocean Vuong blessed us all in Kentucky. I'm lifted by his deeply moving tribute to Black letters and his brilliance and heart. A big thanks to @carmichaels.bsky.social for bringing us this gladness. We were inspired/changed.

1143

Reposted by Wes Blake

Carolyn Forché @carolynforche.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I'm so happy to announce my first (and last) new and selected, with fifty years of work and twenty-two new poems! What a journey this has been. The book will be published in September and is ready for pre-order now.

Cover of my Otherwhere: New and Selected Poems, 1976-2026.

511621

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Love writing flash fiction? Check out the F(r)iction Fall Flash Fiction Contest! I’m stoked to be judging this great contest. Learn more at link in comments. #writingcontests #flashfictioncontests #flashfictionwriters

141

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Loved getting a chance to teach and hang out with fellow writers at the awesome Appalachian Writers Workshop at Hindman Settlement School this week. It’s an honor to teach and be a part of a community and place that’s so meaningful to me. #aww2026 #appwriters2026

160

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

If you’re at Hindman Settlement School for the Appalachian Writers Workshop, I’d love to see you at this generative writing workshop! #writing #writingcraft #appalachianwritersworkshop

011

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

My new review of Sherrie Flick’s I HAVE NOT CONSIDERED CONSEQUENCES is live at the recent RAIN TAXI Online Edition. Link in first comment.

120

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Thanks to Beth Castrodale for choosing PINEVILLE TRACE as a Small Press Pick and writing such an insightful review! Scroll for highlights, then head to smallpresspicks.com/pineville-trace to read the review. #bookreview #smallpress #flashfiction #appalachianfiction #southernfiction

010

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I’m excited to be a judge for the F(r)iction Fall Writing contest! Flash fiction writers—I’m looking forward to reading your work! Joy Deva Baglio will be judging short stories, and Renia White will be judging poetry. Send us your work! Visit link in comments. #writingcontest #flashfictioncontest

132

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

On Denis Johnson’s birthday, I’m remembering this day 12 years ago when I met him in Lisbon via Bluegrass Writers Studio and Disquiet Literary Program . He’s my favorite writer and visited our workshop. I wrote an essay on Substack about it: open.substack.com/pub/wesblake...

030

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Awards for PINEVILLE TRACE, a Southern Gothic, flash novella from the Univ. of Indianapolis’ Etchings Press about a former revival preacher who escapes from prison in 1970’s Kentucky, following a cat named Buffalo while confronting his past and seeking redemption.

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I’m stoked to be part of the inaugural Appalachian Literary Arts Festival in my childhood home of Morehead, Kentucky! There’s so many writers, artists, and musicians there I admire. Come see us!

030

Reposted by Wes Blake

Read Appalachia @readappalachia.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

✨NEW EPISODE!✨ In our second installment of our conversations series, @wesblake.bsky.social and Em J Parsley discuss the process of writing novellas, why they're drawn to short fiction, and the books that inspired them. Have a listen! www.readappalachia.com/blog/ep-56-c...

a graphic with text that reads Read Appalachia the podcast. New Episode! Wes Blake and Em J Parsley. Photos of Wes and Em are featured in the middle of the graphic.]

052

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

New podcast alert! The new episode of READ APPALACHIA dropped today! Em J Parsley and I talk about novellas, why we love short fiction, unique structures, Gurney Norman, books that inspired us, and nature as healer. Give it a listen!

010

Reposted by Wes Blake

West Virginia University Press @wvupress.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

We are thrilled to announce our signing of Wes Blake’s narrative nonfiction collection! Wes Blake is the award-winning author of PINEVILLE TRACE (Etchings Press), whose fiction and essays have appeared in Electric Literature, storySouth, Louisiana Literature Journal, among others.

031

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

I’ll be teaching a flash fiction and a paths to publication class this Friday and Saturday at the 20th annual Mountain Heritage Literary Festival at Lincoln Memorial University! Get tickets at link in comments. #appalachianlit #writingcommunityofinstagram #writingcraft #flashfiction #publication

120

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Honored to be included in this list and to have my work in Porchlight: A Journal of Southern Literature. Check out their journal—they’re doing good work. Read article at link in first comment. Thanks to editor-in-chief Randy Mackin and their other editors. #southernlit

150

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

PINEVILLE TRACE is a FINALIST for the Eric Hoffer Book Award! Thanks to the judges for recognizing the book! Learn more about the award: www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoffer-... Learn more about the book at wesblake.com #HofferAward #BookAward #literaryfiction #appalachianlit #southernlit

040

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Kingsport, Tennessee! A mess of Appalachian authors associated with Hindman Settlement School will be arriving at Kingsport Public Library on Friday, May 15 from 3-6 pm to read, tell stories, meet you, and sign their books! We hope to see you! Please feel free to share! #appalachianauthors

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

New interview about flash fiction, constraints, influences, inspiration, craft, and more! Thanks to the Flash Fiction Institute , Kim Culbertson, and Grant Faulkner for featuring me! If you don’t follow them already, you should! Link in first comment. #flashfiction #writingcraft #authorinterview

170

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Congrats to ETSU’s 10th annual Spring Literary Festival! Founder Jesse Graves brought in Ron Rash, Juan Martinez, Nickole Brown, Rose McLarney, and shared work from their talented students and faculty. #appalachianlit #literaryfestival

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Happy Indie Bookstore Day from Joseph-Beth in Lexington!

040

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Stoked to have words in the new spring Appalachian Journal spring ‘26 issue! Check out my review of Julie Hensley’s FIVE OAKS. Thanks to Jessica Cory for including me and putting together this stellar issue! Get a copy! #appalachianlit #writingcommunity #literaryjournal #bookreview #fiveoaks

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Join us for the 20th Annual Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, May 29 and 30 at Lincoln Memorial University. Founder @silashouse.bsky.social will be keynote speaker. Engaging courses w/ Charles Dodd White, Mandi Fugate Sheffel , Wes Blake, Meg Wade. Get tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/20th-annua...

010

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

HAZELGREEN AND OTHER HAUNTS: A Memoir of Place-in-Essays is a finalist for the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize! Exciting things are coming soon. Stay tuned. This book is about Appalachia, impermanence, Sam Shepard, an eastern Kentucky jazz pianist, place, stories, and time.

041

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Are you a flash writer looking for community? Check this out! Tell your flash friends.

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

When I get this time machine working, I’ll be stopping here! Thanks to Grayson for sharing this. This is one of my favorite songs, and Midway, KY is the town on the north side of the county I live in. Somehow I never ran into Sam Shepard, but a lot of my friends did.

010

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Good times signing books and meeting readers at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville! #appalachianlit #southernlit

030

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Had a blast at the Appalachian Studies Assciation Conference (ASA)! Loved our panels “Appalachian Men Write the Seasons of Love” and “Animal Rescues in Appalachian Literature.”

050

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Huntington, West Virginia at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference! #appalachianlit

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Charlottesville! We’ll be at the Virginia Festival of the Book this Saturday from noon until 6pm. Drop by, say hello, and get a signed book if you’re in the area! #bookfestival #appalachianlit #southernlit

050

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Love animals? Love Appalachia? Check out our panel at the 49th Annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference at Marshall University! #appalachianlit #animals

050

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Come hear us read our work from “Appalachian Men Write the Seasons of Love: Portraits of Vulnerability and Masculinity in Contemporary Appalachia” 49th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference at Marshall University

020

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

If you missed me at Joseph-Beth Books in Lexington today, there are signed copies of Pineville Trace left! Pineville Trace, an award-winning novella-in-flash from the University of Indianapolis’ Etchings Press, is an “introspective, haunting tale that remains with us” (Heavy Feather Review). 💙📚

150

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I’ll be signing copies of the ole Pineville Trace this Saturday at the always supportive Joseph-Beth Bookstore in Lex, 1-3 pm. I’m appreciative to the judges that have recognized this book (and allowed me to cover it with all these cool award stickers like my Trapper Keeper when I was a kid). 💙📚

090

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Had fun signing books at Wildside Winery, just down the road in Nonesuch, KY #PinevilleTrace

040

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

This is one of the most impactful and stunning books I’ve read. From the unforgettable opening prose poem “Allegiance” to the closing consciousness-mirroring “Shattered Jewel,” this is a soulful, visceral and urgent work brimming with clarity, honesty, sadness, humor, and beauty. Read it.

050

Wes Blake @wesblake.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Hope to see you out there! Learn more at wesblake.com/events #writingcommunity

020