Aaron Asbury joined Appalshop in September of 2021 as the Program Coordinator of Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute (AMI). Aaron graduated from the University of Pikeville in 2018 with dual majors in Film & Media Arts and Communication. He has worked within the media field for several years now, previously acting as channel manager for Pike TV and a lead organizer of the University of Pikeville Film and Media Arts Festival.

At home, Aaron is a huge nerd, playing tabletop role playing games as much as possible, and certified foster parent with his lovely wife.

Aaron is a staff member of Appalshop's board.

Beloved by millions of readers around the world for her “dazzling” novels, (USA Today) Adriana Trigiani is The New York Times bestselling author of twenty books in fiction and nonfiction (she just finished her 21st manuscript). She has been published in 38 countries around the world.  Their devotion has made Adriana one of “the reigning queens of women’s fiction” (USA Today).

Adriana is host of the hit podcast, You Are What You Read, sponsored by Book of the Month. Adriana interviews the luminaries of our time about the books that built their souls. Episodes feature Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Hannah, David Baldacci, Whoopi Goldberg, Rainn Wilson, Amor Towles, Fannie Flagg, Katie Couric, Mitch Albom, Jhumpa Lahiri, Craig Ferguson and many more.

Andy Bracken & Fading Appalachia (@andybracken_music) • Instagram photos and videos

Musician

"On Diamond Creek"

Ashley York is a director and film producer who has worked on Academy Award®-winning teams and on projects that have won top honors and premiered at the Sundance, Los Angeles, Berlin, and SXSW film festivals, as well as on Apple, Netflix, A&E, National Geographic, HBO, and the Sundance Channel. Her most recent film, "Hillbilly," won the Grand Jury prize for Best Documentary at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival, a London Foreign Press Association Award, and a Michael Moore Founders Award for Best Documentary at the Traverse City Film Festival. She was featured in Variety as a “filmmaker to watch” and is a frequent panelist and mentor for SXSW, Women in Film, Film Fatales, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she is an associate adjunct professor. She is inspired by the works of bell hooks, James Baldwin, and the late Aimé J. Ellis. Ashley lives in Los Angeles.

Burke is the educational specialist at the Southwest Virginia Museum and Historical State Park

Jack Beck is a native of Dunfermline, Scotland and now lives in central Appalachia, with his wife, Wendy Welch. A folk musician, Jack has performed extensively throughout the UK, Canada, and the United States. They now live in central Appalachia.

The Safety of Small Things by Jane Hicks – Hindman Settlement School (theorchardshop.org)

NYT Bestselling Author of The Glass Castle

Rachel Rosolina joined Appalshop as Communications Director in January 2023. Born and raised in the shadow of Roan Mountain in East Tennessee, Rachel graduated from Berea College with a bachelor of arts degree in English and a minor in Appalachian Studies. She then earned a master of fine arts in creative nonfiction from West Virginia University. With an affinity for the written word, Rachel spent many years in the publishing industry, working at such houses as West Virginia University Press, Solution Tree Press, and Indiana University Press, before refocusing her marketing and publicity background into organizational communications in Appalachia. In her free time, Rachel loves reading, writing, watching films, and traveling. She has a lifelong goal of visiting all the continents. For press or media requests, reach her at: press @ appalshop . org

Silas House is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels (Clay's Quilt [2001], A Parchment of Leaves [2003], The Coal Tattoo [2005], Eli the Good [2009], Same Sun Here [2012], including his most recent, Lark Ascending, which was a Booklist Editors' Choice and is the winner of the 2023 Southern Book Prize and the 2023 Nautilus Book Award. Four of his plays have been produced. He is also the author of the 2009 book of creative nonfiction Something's Rising (with co-author Jason Kyle Howard). In 2022 he was the recipient of the Duggins Prize, the largest award for an LGBTQ writer in the nation. The same year he was named Appalachian of the Year in a nationwide poll. In 2023 he was inducted as the Poet Laureate of Kentucky for 2023-2025 and became a Grammy finalist.

About — Tiffany Williams