In 1982, Alice Lloyd College decided it could no longer afford to publish Appalachian Heritage, and Mike Mullins of Hindman Settlement School in the Knott County seat offered the magazine and its editor, Al Stewart, a new home. Every member of the Editorial Board, which by this time included Fred Chappell and Jim Wayne Miller, agreed to stay on, and a Board of Directors was formed, including Bill Weinberg, James B. Goode and Al Perrin. During this time, the magazine published work from Jeff Daniel Marion, Sharyn McCrumb, Rita Sims Quillen, and Jean Haskell Speer.
In 1985, twelve years after he founded Appalachian Heritage, Al Stewart retired as editor. Berea College President John Stephenson welcomed the magazine to the Berea College campus and hired a new editor, Sidney Saylor Farr, a member of the College library staff and distinguished writer with excellent contacts in the literary community. Her very first issue introduced magazine readers to Gurney Norman, Garry Barker, Verna Mae Slone, Anne Shelby and Grace Toney Edwards while also featuring returning authors Al Stewart, Wilma Dykeman, James Still, Jim Wayne Miller, Bettie Sellers, Jeff Daniel Marion, Bennie Lee Sinclair and Bettie Sellers. Sidney Farr’s third issue inaugurated a new feature, write-ups of new Appalachian Books provided by George Brosi, who was already well known as a bookseller specializing in regional books.
During her fourteen years as editor, Sidney Saylor Farr attracted many fine writers, including Artie Ann Bates, Ronald D. Eller, Diane Fisher, Edward Francisco, Denise Giardina, Jeff Mann, Llewellyn McKernan, Robert Morgan, Ron Rash and Meredith Sue Willis. Joe Survant and Irene McKinney published poems in Appalachian Heritage before becoming the Poets Laureate of Kentucky and West Virginia respectively, and R. T. Smith published a story in the magazine before being named editor of the prestigious literary journal, Shenandoah, based at Washington and Lee University in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The first published work by Silas House appeared also during Sidney Farr’s editorial stint. To celebrate the magazine’s 20th anniversary in 1993, Sidney Farr announced the institution of the Denny C. Plattner Awards, given annually ever since to outstanding writing that has appeared in the magazine.
The Fall 1999 issue was the first edited by James Gage, an English Professor at Berea College. During his three-year term as editor, Gage published the work of many writers who had already become readers’ favorites as well as several promising newcomers, including Bill Brown, Claude L. Crum, Linda Parsons Marion and Lynn Powell. He also continued to publish distinguished authors who had previously appeared, including Silas House, Jeff Daniel Marion and Gurney Norman.
The current editor, George Brosi, came on board for the fall 2002 issue, although his book write-ups had appeared in every single issue since 1985. His first issue instituted some changes, including a page of news, a page of announcements of forthcoming literary events and a featured author. Each issue included the writing of the featured author, literary criticism and a literary biography, as well as some anecdotal pieces. The very first featured author was Ron Rash, followed by Lee Smith, James B. Goode, Fred Chappell, Jeff Daniel Marion, Lisa Alther, Silas House, Robert Morgan, Sharyn McCrumb, Gretchen Moran Laskas, Michael McFee and Gurney Norman. For the Fall issue in 2005, the first historical writer, Emma Bell Miles (1879-1919), was featured, followed by Mary Lee Settle (1918-2005). The Spring 2006 issue featured another contemporary author, Crystal Wilkinson, followed by Jeff Mann, Meredith Sue Willis, and Darnell Arnoult.
Beginning with the Summer 2003 issue, the graphics in the magazine have celebrated the work of a particular artist or group of artists. The first featured photographer was Judith Victoria Hensley followed by Doris Ulmann (1882-1934). The first issue of 2004 featured the artists of Cherokee High School on the Qualla Boundary and the following issue used photographs of the Vardy, Tennessee, community from the collection of Alyce and Drew Williams. Later featured photographers included Tim Barnwell, Kenneth Murray, Douglas Yarrow, Warren Bruner and James Baker Hall. The Fall 2005 issue featured Emma Bell Miles (1879-1919) as not only the author, but also the artist, and the next issue included photographs of and about Mary Lee Settle, primarily from family and friends. The next featured photographer was James Archambeault followed by Sarah Hasty Williams and Philip van Voorst, both graphic artists. The Winter 2007 issue featured Dean Hill, a photographer.
During the Brosi era, Kay Stripling Byer contributed not only poetry but also her very first published short story to Appalachian Heritage before she became North Carolina Poet Laureate. The magazine continues to try to present an interesting mix of well-established authors alongside promising previously unpublished writers and those with a small following. Writers newly attracted to the magazine, in addition to some of the featured authors, include Sheila Kay Adams, Wendell Berry, doris davenport, R.H.W. Dillard, Nikky Finney, George Garrett, Kentucky Poet Laureate James Baker Hall, David Huddle, Chuck Kinder, Jeanne Larsen, Keith Maillard, Lee Maynard, Frank X Walker and Charles Wright.
Now in its fourth decade of continuous publication, Appalachian Heritage has laid the groundwork and has established the reputation that will allow it to thrive in the future. Readers can look forward to keeping abreast of the regional literary community, enjoying their old favorites and discovering fresh new talents with each new issue of the magazine.