We are thrilled to welcome Silas House as our keynote speaker for KyCAD's 2024 Commencement Ceremony.

A Kentucky native, House is the bestselling author of the novels—Clay’s Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, The Coal Tattoo, Eli the Good, Same Sun Here (co-authored with Neela Vaswani), Southernmost, and Lark Ascending—as well as one book of creative nonfiction and three plays.

He is a former commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and his writing has appeared in Time, The Atlantic, Ecotone, The Advocate, Garden and Gun, and Oxford American.

As a music journalist, House has worked with artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell, Senora May, Leann Womack, Charley Crockett, John R. Miller, and many others. He was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award around his video collaboration with Kentucky musician Tyler Childers.

A member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the recipient of three honorary doctorates, House is the winner of many accolades and honors including: Nautilus Award, EB White Award, Appalachian Book of the Year, Storylines Prize from the New York Public Library/NAV Foundation, Lee Smith Award, Southern Book Prize in Fiction, and the Duggins Prize.

In 2021 House was the recipient of the Governor’s Award from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear for his service to the arts in his home state. He currently serves as the Commonwealth’s Poet Laureate and continues his work in academia as the NEH Chair of Appalachian Studies at Berea College, a member of the fiction faculty at the Naslund-Mann School of Creative Writing at Spalding University, and as a series editor for Fireside Industries at the University Press of Kentucky.

‍