Writer Jane Hicks has been named the recipient of the Appalachian Writers Association (AWA) 2015 James Still Award for Poetry for her book "Driving with the Dead: Poems," published by University Press of Kentucky (UPK).

University Press of Kentucky author T.R.C. Hutton has been named recipient of a 2014 Kentucky History Award given by the Kentucky Historical Society and the 2014 Appalachian Writers Association’s Book of the Year Award for Nonfiction for his book "Bloody Breathitt: Politics and Violence in the Appalachian South."

Author Helen Matthews Lewis has been named the recipient of the 2012 Appalachian Writers Association’s Book of the Year Award for Nonfiction for her book "Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in Appalachia."