Fiction writer Megan Pillow got an auspicious start to her literary journey in 1994 at the Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts.
“Frank X Walker — former Kentucky Poet Laureate and former Governor’s School for the Arts instructor — was my first creative writing teacher,” she said.
Pillow, a Louisville resident, was one of four Kentucky literary artists to be awarded a prestigious Individual Artist Fellowship this year.
The fellowship is a $7,500 unrestricted award given to a Kentucky artist who has achieved a high level of excellence and creativity in their discipline. For the 2024 fiscal year, the arts council awarded fellowships in literary arts.
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Pillow is currently working on a novel she is developing from a short story she wrote, titled “Long Live the Girl Detective,” that appeared in the publication Electric Literature. The novel is her response to a 2020 comic book that celebrated the 90th anniversary of Nancy Drew. The comic featured the Hardy Boys investigating the death of Nancy Drew, the iconic detective of young adult literature.
“I was mad about that [comic book story], so I used that as a jumping off point,” Pillow said. She has been working on the novel for more than a year.
The Individual Artist Fellowship will allow her to make significant progress toward finishing it, she said.
“It’s huge for me, because writing is often not well paid, especially creative work, and it’s hard to get funding for creative work,” Pillow said. “I work full-time, I’m a single mom and I work my schedule around my kids’ schedule. This fellowship will allow me to dedicate funds to childcare so, in addition to my full-time job, I’ll have time to finish working on this novel.”
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Recipients of the Individual Artist Fellowships, listed by discipline and city, are:
The fellowship can only be awarded to any individual twice in their lifetime.
In addition to the Individual Artist Fellowships, the arts council awarded four Emerging Artist Awards, $1,000 unrestricted grants to early-career, professional Kentucky artists who demonstrate excellence and creativity in their work.
Emerging Artist Award recipient Emily Borst of Crescent Springs has been a theater performer since their days at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville. Borst went on to major in musical theater at Northern Kentucky University. Borst’s writing provides other people in the LGBTQ community with a reflection of themselves.
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“Theater and the arts are a huge part of my life,” Borst said. “My writing career came from a want for LGBTQ stories I wanted to see: funny, strange, quirky and joyful. A story like my own life and the lives of my friends around me.”
Recipients of the Emerging Artist Awards, listed by discipline and city, are:
The Kentucky Arts Council is accepting nominations for 2025-2026 Kentucky Poet Laureate.
Nominations may be made by individuals or organizations inside or outside of Kentucky, and will be assessed on:
• The publication of a written body of work informed by living in Kentucky
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• Critical acclaim for the work’s high degree of creativity
• The nominee’s capacity to promote the literary arts in Kentucky across the Commonwealth
The Kentucky Poet Laureate’s minimum duties over the two-year term are to make a presentation at the Kentucky Arts Council’s annual Kentucky Writers’ Day — held on or around April 24 — and to promote the literary arts in Kentucky through readings of their work, workshops and presentations at meetings, seminars, conferences, schools and libraries across the state.
The Kentucky General Assembly established the Kentucky Poet Laureate position in 1991. The governor appoints the poet laureate for a two-year term. The word poet in the position’s title is interpreted in its broadest sense to include professional writers whose accomplishments are in any recognized literary form, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting and screenwriting.
ST. PETERSBURG ― When Emilien Pitre arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, for college, he had more of an adjustment period than a typical Wildcat freshman. The Canadian infielder not only was seeing a new level of baseball and meeting new teammates, but dealing with another language.
Pitre grew up speaking French in the hockey-loving suburb of Repentigny, Montreal.
“The Lexington community is far different from Quebec,” Pitre said with a laugh. “So that was definitely an adjustment, but the people there, they were so welcoming to me, they made the transition easier.”
Pitre did not have the traditional baseball path but Sunday night, the second baseman out of the University of Kentucky was the Rays’ surprise second-round draftee, No. 58 overall. Draft “experts” predicted he would go in the later rounds, but the Rays liked what Pitre showed just getting here.
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“We’re thrilled to take Emilien Pitre,” Rays amateur scouting director Chuck Ricci said. “I think he’s another guy with really good contact skills and the power kind of emerged this year. (He’s) a very, very self-made player. I think he showed up at Kentucky, probably wasn’t ready to play that level, and just worked really hard at his English, at his body and his game, and where he’s come in that amount of time is just, it’s so impressive.
“Our guys did a Zoom with him the other day, and they came away just really, really impressed by just, just how far he’s come on his own. He’s at a good program in Kentucky, and he really made the most of an opportunity.”
Pitre had to take advantage of any opportunity.
Growing up in a suburb of Montreal, Pitre calls himself a Canadian “outlier” in that he never played the national sport of hockey. Instead, he gravitated to soccer and baseball. No one in his family played the latter; his family just supported his love of the game.
Pitre grew up playing baseball maybe two to three months a year because “it’s so cold” up there.
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“I played travel ball with this organization from Quebec when I was 15 or 16, and luckily, I got calls from a couple of different schools, and Kentucky was the first one to reach out to me,” Pitre said. “They mentioned how much they believed in me from the beginning so that really stuck with me.
“The past three years have been the best three years of my life.”
Kentucky infielder Émilien Pitre (4) gets the out at second base against Texas A&M outfielder Caden Sorrell (13) during a College World Series game on June 17 in Omaha, Neb. [ MIKE BUSCHER | AP ]
Pitre saw action in just 11 games as a freshman. He came in undersized and needed experience.
“I got into Kentucky and I was little,” Pitre said. “I was not big, not strong, and so my first year was all about getting bigger, stronger and faster. I made my goal to be at a certain weight and be certain strength. So my first year, I ate and lifted every single day. I focused on my body as much as I have ever done in my life.”
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Pitre had missed two seasons due to the COVID pandemic and then his 12th-grade year, which is a gap year in Quebec, he had spent living with a family in Ontario to learn English.
“But after that, I played summer baseball for the first time in, like, a couple years,” Pitre said of competing in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. “So I was just ready to, you know, obviously, get on the field and play. That summer, I went to Maryland and Bethesda and played summer ball, and absolutely had a blast there and played well. So it was nice to see all the work I put in and finally show up on the field and perform.”
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In three years at Kentucky, Pitre was a .307 hitter with a .460 slugging percentage. He hit 11 home runs (10 in 2024) and stole 46 bases (26 this past season).
The Rays think that Pitre’s power will continue to come as he grows stronger — and not at the cost of his speed.
“We made a couple of adjustments to my swing. And I got stronger. That summer I gained about 10 pounds, while still keeping my ability to steal bases and stay fast,” Pitre said.
Pitre is excited to start the next leg of his unlikely journey to professional baseball with the Rays organization. He had several meetings with Tampa Bay and was not surprised — like some draft experts — that they picked him so early.
“It feels amazing,” Pitre said. “It’s been a dream since I started playing baseball. So being able to feel this moment with my family is awesome.”
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Day 2 Rays picks
Round 3, 94th overall
Nathan Flewelling, Catcher, St. Joseph High School (Alberta, Canada)
Round 4, 124th
Nate Knowles, RHP, William & Mary
Round 5, 157th
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Jacob Kmatz, RHP, Oregon State
Round 6, 186th
Janzen Keisel, RHP, Oklahoma State
Round 7, 216th
Ryan Andrade, RHP, Pittsburgh
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Round 8, 246th
Jayden Voelker, RHP, Northern Essex CC (Massachusetts)
Round 9, 276th
Garrett Gainey, LHP, South Carolina
Round 10, 306th
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Trey Pooser, RHP, Kentucky
• • •
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Could we actually see the Kentucky Wildcats miss out on Bluegrass products Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno? Based on the latest recruiting buzz, there’s a real chance it will happen.
With the AAU season effectively wrapping up soon with the Nike Peach Jam now underway, it looks like Johnson could announce a decision in the coming weeks, but it’s unlikely to be Kentucky.
Heading down the stretch, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Alabama Crimson Tide have drawn the most buzz for Johnson. That was reiterated by On3’s Joe Tipton, who believes the Tide and Heels are standing out for the Versailles (KY) native.
He recently took a visit to Alabama and the Crimson Tide should like where they’re at.
North Carolina is also making a really strong push and should not be underestimated. The hometown Kentucky Wildcats remain involved.
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One source said that this recruitment will likely come down to Alabama and North Carolina.
As for Moreno, the Cats appear to have a much better shot with him, though they may not be leading the race, at least based on what On’3s Jamie Shaw is hearing.
While Kentucky is thought to be near the top for Moreno, the Indiana Hoosiers may actually lead this race.
Heading into the visits, sources tell me to watch for Kentucky and Indiana in this one. One source close to the recruitment took it a step further and said they think Indiana leads heading into the visits.
If Moreno and Johnson end up elsewhere, it would be a painful blow for the start of the Mark Pope era. It’s rare that the state of Kentucky produces not one but two top-30 prospects, so to miss out on both would really sting, especially since they’d be going to play for rivals. Not to mention Jasper is the son of Kentucky football great Dennis Johnson.
Saying this, I’m not sure how much blame can be placed on Pope’s shoulders if it happens. Relationships matter, and Pope didn’t recruit these guys while at BYU. Sure, he’s recruited them since becoming Kentucky’s new head coach in April, but these other schools have been on Johnson and Moreno for much longer.
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Here’s to hoping Pope can finish strong and land at least one of these guys. Moreno is currently set to visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.
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