Jiv Johnson, indecisive over which drink to choose at a Cracker Barrel.

Hello everyone! My name is Jiv Johnson and I’m extraordinarily grateful to be the new intern for Accents Publishing. I guess I should probably talk a little about myself and what I’ll be bringing to the writing community here in Lexington and beyond.

I’m 18 and from Mount Sterling, Kentucky. Currently, I’m a freshman at the University of Kentucky pursuing a BA in English and a minor in Appalachian Studies. I’ve been writing poetry pretty much most of my life. However, I’m more interested in the advocacy for writing in general; I’ve always found that writing seems to be an underrated art-form in a lot of artistic communities, always considered an accompanying art to other medias. Thankfully, I’ve found a position here at Accents where I’ll be doing what I love: writing about writing.

My job here will be focused on expanding communications between Accents and the greater writing community. What this means, really, is that I’ll be publishing posts and keeping any readers of the blog more up-to-date on literary happenings around the region. Outside the region, I’ll be giving more wide-ranging news on writing events such as national conferences Accents is participating in or successes of Accents writers beyond Lexington. Through some outreach to other publishing companies or writing projects, I’ll hopefully help bridge a gap between the Accents community and the overall national/international artistic conversation. The blog will still be focused on Accents related writing/authors—I’ll just be communicating more with local writing havens around town such as The Wild Fig, Morris Book Store, and countless others. I’ll also be contacting individual writers before any releases about book readings or writing events to make a more personal post about their work.

I look forward to bringing more writing news to everyone!