Bill King

Bill King

Bill King grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia and made his home in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. He received an M.A. in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Georgia and taught creative writing and literature at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, for 27 years.

His work has appeared in Kestrel, Appalachian Review, What Things Cost: an anthology for the people (The University Press of Kentucky), 100 Word Story, Naugatuck River Review, and many other journals and anthologies. His chapbook, The Letting Go (2018), is from Finishing Line Press.  His first full-length poetry collection, Bloodroot, was released in October 2023 (Mercer University Press).

He was the 2021 Heartwood Poetry Prize winner. His book Bloodroot received the Weatherford Award from Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association in March of 2024.