Chris Holbrook’s first book, Hell and Ohio: Stories of Southern Appalachia, was published in 1995 by Gnomon Press. His stories have appeared in a variety of literary journals; have been included in the anthologies Groundwater, Kentucky Voices, Home and Beyond, and A Kentucky Christmas; and have received first-place awards in contests sponsored by Now and Then magazine (1994) and Louisville magazine (1995 and 1997). Chris has held residency fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA and at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY. In 1988 and again in 1998, he received Al Smith Fellowships from the Kentucky Arts Council. In 1997, Chris was presented the Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Celebration of Appalachian Writing. A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Chris earned an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Morehead State University and has taught at Alice Lloyd College. He grew up in Soft Shell, KY, in Knott County.