Crystal Wilkinson

Sigh!

No.

Writer's Digest July/August 2025 Digital Edition When it comes to setting the scene, all writers know it’s a critical piece to ensuring readers have a clear grasp of what they’re reading, whether it be a physical setting in a novel or narrative nonf...

I have an article in this issue! Big thanks to Greg Michalson, @crystalwilki.bsky.social, and @davidjoy.bsky.social for sharing their advice on writing difficult scenes.

Feeling wobbly at my writing desk today, but thinking of the woman who helped raise me who is straddling this world and the next but going home today. She is 89. I'm writing about my mama but all my mamas come to me. I'm not steady at all but here. I'm here. Fingers on key board. I'm here.

Hospitals are strange places for trauma bonding. Shoutout to the stranger who tried to mirror my steps to the parking lot to tell me about the doctors drilling a hole in her niece's head. The image is with me on my pillow all these hours later.

One of my favorite writers once said he never married young because he was afraid he'd have to choose family or writing and he was scared of the choice he'd make.

Is writing a selfish act? Must we untether ourselves from family to get it done?

Writing Workshop Join acclaimed authors Frank X Walker and Crystal Wilkinson for an inspiring and immersive writing workshop set against the scenic backdrop of Kentucky State Parks. This unique experience offers write...

Join me and Frank Walker for a writing workshop in beautiful Butler State Park. parks.ky.gov/writing-work...

Painting titled “Love is in the Hair,” featuring a Black mother tending her daughter’s hair at the kitchen table. Artwork by Chase Williamson, a painter and MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The NEW issue of Kweli Journal has dropped. Our May issue is focused on the theme of MOTHERING.

READ NOW at link in bio 👆🏿

Kate, Katherine, and Meg hugging in Birmingham this weekend because they never see each other irl!

Ashley Jones, Meg Reid, John T. Edge, and Crystal Wilkinson.

Still glowing from our Deep South Convening, this past weekend in Birmingham. Here's 3/4 of @hubcitypress.bsky.social and the organizers (@johntedge.bsky.social, Ashley Jones, me) with our incredible keynote, @crystalwilki.bsky.social.

This entire thing is just...smh

Needed!

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts Audiobook Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts - Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts audiobook, by Crystal Wilkinson... Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt...

audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/p...

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts released on audio from Tantor TODAY! Thank you for reading AND listening. Link in the comments and take a listen. Get it wherever you buy your audiobooks.

Always good to see Pauletta.

It is!

Grateful for a beautiful night of words and a sold-out house at @themercantilelib. What kind staff and stewards. Nights like this are a brilliant respite from the rest. Being in this special place felt like a sort of church. I hope to get back soon.

👠👠 + 🎣👨🏿‍🦳 + 👰🏿‍♂️

THE SHOES OF THE
FISHERMAN'S WIFE

has an official cover AND release date from @kentuckypress.bsky.social - Oct 14, 2025!

surreal poems, narrative poems, nature poems...

maybe "surreal narrative nature" poems?

preorder link coming soon!

"Witness" by Crystal Wilkinson

#poem #poetry #apoemaday

Listen to Francis’ full conversation with Melissa Clark in our latest episode!

splendidtable.org/episode/2024/02/09/melissa-clarks-deep-dive-into-salt-crystal-wilkinson-on-her-kitchen-ghosts

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson: 9780593236512 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians, through powerful storytelling alongside nearly forty comforting recipes, from the former...

There’s an awesome book by Crystal Wilkinson, a historian and black Appalachian, that is full of these kind of shorthand recipes (and the full recipe as well). It’s called “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts.”

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704948...

We had so much fun last week with Crystal Wilkinson and Ronni Lundy at the 2025 Prichard Lecture! Wilkinson read from her latest book, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, and took us on a captivating journey from the hidden legacies of Black Appalachia to the unexpected pitfalls of cookbook writing.

2025 Tremont Writers Conference in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Events 2025 Tremont Writers Conference in Great Smoky Mountains National Park NewPages.com

The 3rd annual Tremont Writers Conference takes place this October. Join authors Crystal Wilkinson, David Joy, Karen Spears Zacharias, & Maurice Manning. Apply by May 15.
https://www.newpages.com/blog/events/2025-tremont-writers-conference-in-great-smoky-mountains-national-park/

#writingconference

Current reading pile. Antidotes to the news. H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald; Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, by Crystal Wilkinson; and the Winter 2025 issue of the Little Patuxent Review.

Tremont Writers Conference in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tremont Writers Conference in Great Smoky Mountains National Park takes place in Tennessee in October. Discover more writing conferences & literary events at NewPages.com.

Join Crystal Wilkinson, David Joy, Karen Spears Zacharias, & Maurice Manning for an intensive 5-day retreat in the Smoky Mountains at the Tremont Writers Conference. Apply by May 15.
https://www.newpages.com/events/2025-tremont-writers-conference/

#writingconference

Now go read his novel "Those We Thought We Knew" which deals with this exact monument. Then, go read Marie Cochran, @crystalwilki.bsky.social S.A. Cosby and more Affriclachian artists.

I don't need a constant Exec Order update. And if you think he's really helping us...