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.

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

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.

I'm attending No Kings's event, “NO KINGS Lexington” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

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

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.”

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

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

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

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

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). 💙📚

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). 💙📚

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

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.

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

Throwback Thursday! David Domine talked with me and Erik Rust at @carmichaels.bsky.social a while back. Tonight MURDER IN GLITTERBALL CITY, a new documentary based on his awesome book premieres on HBO Max. Watch it! #truecrime

Excited to be part of the 2026 Appalachian Writers Workshop faculty alongside these talented writers and teachers. You won’t find a better workshop or writing community. Join us! Applications are open until March 1st. Apply at hindman.org/workshop #AWW26 #AppalachianWritersWorkshop #WritingWorkshop

Check out my new story “To Bury” in the brand new UNTELLING Issue 4 | Winter ‘25 issue. I workshopped the story this summer at Appalachian Writers Workshop at @hindmanschool.bsky.social . I worked on the final sentence every day for three weeks! Order your copy at hindman.org/untelling/

Loved this book. One of the best Jim Harrison books, and it surprises me how high quality most are. This is a story about grief, life, death, the UP, Chippewa religious ideas, bears, our connection with animals and the spirit world, and how our stories and the stories of our ancestors carry on. 💙📚

Honored to be included in the new UNTELLING Issue 4 | Winter ‘25 issue alongside so many writers/poets/artists I admire. Thanks to editor Melissa Helton and Hindman Settlement School. Order your copy at hindman.org/untelling/

A sad day in our country that should deeply concern every American.

Honored to be a finalist and look forward to writing in James Still’s cabin soon! Congrats to the winners and other finalists, and thanks to the judges! #OakLedgeResidencyContest #JamesStill #Contest #WritingRetreat #appalachianwriter

The new @publisherswkly.bsky.social print edition features PINEVILLE TRACE and highlights how artist Erik Rust worked with Etchings Press and designer Abigail Bailey to create the NIEA award-winning cover! #publishersweekly @booklife.bsky.social #booklife #coverart #collage #pinevilletrace 💙📚

PINEVILLE TRACE is a 2026 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite for both the literary fiction AND audiobook categories! Thanks to Etchings Press and narrator Michael Mau! www.independentpressaward.com/2026-favorites #2026IPA #GabbyBookAwards #bookaward #literaryfiction #audiobook 📚💙🐱

Honored to be included among these fine writers in FLASH FICTION WRITING TIPS—the #1 Amazon New Release in Reference! a.co/d/bNL4N1W Featuring luminaries of the form like Meg Pokras, Sherrie Flick, Grant Faulkner, Stuart Dybek, Dinty Moore, Etgar Keret, @nodghosh.bsky.social

Help protect nature and farmland! If you live in Woodford County, sign and share this petition to protect rural farms from being developed and subdivided. After signing, contact county magistrates and come to the meeting Tuesday, Jan. 13th at Woodford Fiscal Court at 5:30. c.org/MYrx4H28jQ

My favorite reads of 2025! 💙📚

Me and Pig

Winter Solstice. Orion through Pines

Some highlights about my debut book PINEVILLE TRACE from Etchings Press, Univ. of Indianapolis. Available at your local bookstore or library, bookshop.org, and all the usual online places. Learn more at wesblake.com

Audiobook Sale! $1.99 now through Dec. 31!

It’s been so nice listening to stories about Gurney Norman over the last couple days. I feel lucky to have had him as a teacher. Thelonius Monk said that “a genius is the one most like himself.” Gurney was always completely himself. Listen to Gurney read “Allegiance”: youtu.be/Zk8nRWujzu4?...

New interview at Southern Review of Book ! I got to talk with Julie Hensley about her new book FIVE OAKS, memory, secrets, form, autofiction, and the importance of place. Read here: southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/12/05/f...

Thanks to @publisherswkly.bsky.social & @booklife.bsky.social for featuring PINEVILLE TRACE in their “Cover Crush” article! Read about how the cover came to be, then check out the original artwork by Erik Rust on display at Paul Sawyier Library in Frankfort, KY. booklife.com/news/create/...

Get signed copies of PINEVILLE TRACE at Joseph-Beth Bookstore in Lexington! Signed books make great gifts! Joseph-Beth can ship signed copies, too. Thanks so much to the folks at Joseph-Beth like Randy, Gary, Sam, Liz (who took this photo!), and many others. 💙📚

Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

Get signed copies of PINEVILLE TRACE at Fireside Reads Bookshop! Signed books by local authors make great gifts. This cool new bookstore is just past the Fayette County line in Jessamine County, on Harrodsburg Road. #shoplocal #indiesfirst

We’re giving away 10 signed copies of PINEVILLE TRACE, “an introspective, haunting tale that remains with us” (Heavy Feather Review). Enter today for a chance to win! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho... #goodreadsgiveaway #free #signedbook #southernlit #appalachianlit #novella #flashfiction

Thanks to Randy Mackin and Porch Light—Southern Lit Journal for publishing my new story “Hit the Road,” excerpted from ANTENNA—the novel manuscript about Frank Russet’s life prior to PINEVILLE TRACE! Read here: www.readporchlight.com/read/excerpt...

Good times at the Books by the Banks Book Festival literary fiction panel and book signing!

Late October/early November days in Nonesuch with Natalie Blake. Planted the last (hopefully?) of our hundred plus trees, hanging with our cats Pig and Queak, and watching the leaves change.

Check out our Literary Fiction Panel at Books on the Banks at 1:30 pm on Sat. Nov. 15 in Room 1SB. Join @katherinehowe.bsky.social Lynne Hugo, Esinam Bediako, me, & our moderator Isa Fernandez. It’s sure to be a lively talk! #bbtbcincy #booksbythebanks #bookfestival #literaryfiction

The new Oct. 27 @publisherswkly.bsky.social Best Books Issue features a review of PINEVILLE TRACE and names it a @booklife.bsky.social EDITOR’S PICK!

I’ll be at the West Virginia Book Festival this Saturday signing copies of PINEVILLE TRACE! #bookfestival #literaryfiction #appalachianlit #southernfiction #novella #pinevilletrace #writingcommunity 💙📚

Had a blast on our panel at the Southern Festival of Books talking writing and books with Robert Inman. So many great Barry Hannah stories, too! If you missed Bob and I, you can get signed copies of our new books VILLAGES & PINEVILLE TRACE at @parnassusbooks.bsky.social ! #southernfestivalofbooks

Had so much fun at Proof Book Fest signing books and talking with readers, editors, and writers that I forgot to take pictures until it was over!

Great conversation at Morgenstern Books with @klagodzki.bsky.social last week. You can get signed books of PINEVILLE TRACE & CONTROLLED CONVERSATIONS at Morgenstern Books in Bloomington, IN!

Nashville! Sunday at 1 pm in the Duck Room: Museum—Come hear Robert Inman and me chat at the Southern Festival of Books. Robert studied under one of my favorite writers—Barry Hannah! Book signing after! 📍Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, Nashville, TN @parnassusbooks.bsky.social

I wrote a few words for my writing mentor Gurney Norman, the Kentucky and Appalachian writer and teacher, who passed this Sunday. I’ve been reflecting on what a big influence he had on my life and others. You can read it at substack.com/@wesblake/no... #GurneyNorman #appalachianlit #kentuckywriters

New interview! Check out this interview over at The Daily Obsessive on Substack. My friend Dave Kolonich and I talk about flash fiction, the fourth wall, fictive dreams, faith, fraud, etc! You should subscribe to Dave’s Substack, The Daily Obsessive, too. Read at open.substack.com/pub/thedaily...