09/12/2026
Join our special Author Book Signing & Meeting Event with Kathleen Wilson on Thursday, September 24 from 5-7pm at the Montgomery Museum!
Wilson's debut novel, The Fabric of Wishful Thinking, is a richly researched portrait of 1910 rural Appalachia, written by an author with deep expertise in Appalachian history, craft, and culture.
Along with its compelling story, Wilson's book offers a rare look inside early Southern textile mill culture. The Fabric of Wishful Thinking is a powerful story about families and the fractures that result from divided loyalties.
Kathleen Wilson is an Honorary Fellow at Virginia Humanities, Charlottesville, Virginia. Her work in the field of Appalachian craft for more than three decades has been recognized in the publication of countless articles, four books, and the history of the Southern Industrial Educational Association, 1905-1926, a digital resource. She has given scores of public speeches and lectures at professional conferences and public meetings in the United States and abroad, seeking new opportunities to share Appalachian cultural traditions with a wide audience.
