May 18, 2024, 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. — Jill will be signing her book and selling her poetry-inspired gifts at Copper Club Brewing Company’s Book Fair at 153 N. Mulberry St., Fruita, CO. Stop by to see all the great books (and their authors!) at the fair and enjoy Copper Club’s large, family friendly beer garden that boasts lots of shade, tasty drinks for the whole family, and delicious food! There will also be a gift basket give away that you can enter for free at the book fair!
May 11, 2024, 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. — Jill will be reading a poem she wrote specifically for the Daughters of the American Revolution at their May luncheon meeting at the Wine Country Inn in Palisade, CO.
May 9, 2024, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — Come to Jill’s presentation, “The Davis Family and the Founding of Daven Haven Lodge in Grand Lake” for the Mesa County Genealogy Society at the Keller Williams Realty building at 2474 Patterson Rd. You’ll hear the story of how a successful minister and his wife and children began an idyllic life in Denver, spending their summers in Grand Lake, when things took a dark turn in the 1920s. You’ll hear how Jill pieced together with land records, newspaper articles, census records and other research, how her family split up and which strong women emerged out of that sad time as entrepreneurs that not only survived the Great Depression and World War II, but thrived as their Daven Haven Resort grew and gained national fame into the Golden Age of the 50s and 60s, earning the Duncan Hines approved restaurant designation and being featured in Better Homes and Gardens in 1954.
May 4, 2024, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. — Jill will be signing her book and selling her poetry-inspired gifts at the Spring Market at The Ordinary Fellow Winery at 202 Peach Ave., Palisade, CO. Come out and get your Mother’s Day and graduation shopping done while enjoying a glass of wine! Consider giving The Two Hearts Inside Us to the moms in your life who will likely see themselves in the lines of Jill’s poems.
April 6, 2024, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. — Jill will be signing her book and selling her poetry-inspired gifts at the Spring Market at The Ordinary Fellow Winery at 202 Peach Ave., Palisade, CO. Come out and enjoy a glass of wine and/or food and check out the market! Vendors that will be there include: @postcards.quilts @neverdullartandgraphics @oddsunart @trail_cookie @globemallow_studios @poppymountainrituals @greatergoodexchange @jillburkeywrites @ajstudios.shop @carsonbelledesigns and @oil_up_and_thrive.
April 2024 — I’m so excited to be featured in Spoke+Blossom’s spring 2024 issue! Check out the article where I discuss some of the poems in my book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, and then pair it with a delicious cocktail. It was very fun doing the research and tweaking the recipe of The Last Word Cocktail until it was just right - I hope you enjoy! If you’re looking for a Mother’s Day treat for Mom, buy her my book and prepare this beautiful cocktail for her to enjoy with it on the patio. Ahhhh, heaven!
April 2, 2024, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. — Jill will be the featured poet at the Bardic Trails online poetry series reading presented by the Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Club. For more information and to find out how to register to receive the Zoom link, go to Jill’s event page.
March 30, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. — Jill will teach a one-hour workshop on the Da Vinci Device for HopeWest Caregivers. The workshop is designed to help participants discover their own healing through the creative writing process. The workshop is free, but registration is required - email mwatson@hopewestco.org to request a flyer, and/or to register.
March 18, 2024 — Jill will read a couple of bird poems at the beginning of the Grand Valley Audubon Society’s meeting.
December 16, 2023, 2:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. - What can be better than music, shopping, painting, food, and wine? Head to the Palisade Winter Wine Wonderland at The Ordinary Fellow at 202 Peach Ave., Palisade, CO! Jill will be there signing her book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, as well as selling her greeting cards, 8x10 and 5x7 frame-ready poetry prints (poems layered over photographs), and other gifts inspired by her poetry. See her merchandise in her shop.
December 9, 2023, 10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair at Fruita Community Center at 324 North Coulson Street in Fruita, CO. Jill will be signing her book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, as well as selling her greeting cards, 8x10 and 5x7 frame-ready poetry prints (poems layered over photographs), and other gifts inspired by her poetry. Jill is putting together gift sets to make your holiday shopping personalized and easy (She can sign books for your gift recipients!). See her merchandise in her shop.
December 2, 2023, 10:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Olde Fashioned Holiday Market at the Old Palisade High School Gym at 341 W. 7th St., Palisade, CO.
November 26, 2023, 12:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Holiday Craft Fair at Carboy Winery at 3752 G Rd. in Palisade, CO.
November 25, 2023, (Saturday after Thanksgiving) 10:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Craft Fair & Book Festival by the Daily Sentinel at the Grand Junction Convention Center at 159 Main Street in Grand Junction.
November 11, 2023, 12:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Maker’s Market at Base Camp Provisions at 155 N. Mulberry St., Fruita, CO.
November 2023 — Jill and her book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, made page 48 of the November 2023 issue of the Beacon! See more information on Jill’s blog here.
November 4, 2023, 8:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. - Come see Jill at the Annual Holy Family Christmas Craft Fair at 786 26 1/2 Rd in Grand Junction, CO, from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.!
October 19, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. - Jill will be reading a few “new” poems and poems from her book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, at Colorado Mesa University’s Poets & Writers at CMU Reading Series. The reading is FREE and will take place at Betty’s Gourmet Coffee Shop on the first floor of CMU’s Hotel Maverik at 840 Kennedy Avenue, Grand Junction, CO. John Anglim and Michele Hansen are also reading, and the event will last about 60-75 minutes including a Q&A at the end. If you’d like, you can buy Jill’s book while you’re there and have her sign it for you! She can take cash and credit card payments. Feel free to arrive a little early so you can get a beverage and/or a snack (Betty’s has a variety of coffee, tea, beer, wine, and pastries), and settle in before the reading begins. Thank you CMU and Betty’s for putting these readings on! Other CMU readings this school year are on Nov. 16, Feb. 15, Mar. 14, and Apr. 18. You can check these two links for more information: https://twitter.com/unibcarlson/status/1705015480296333359https://www.instagram.com/p/CxeUlWDMbhm/
September 27, 2023 - Jill’s new book, The Two Hearts Inside Us, is now available at Out West Books on Main Street between 5th and 6th streets in downtown Grand Junction, CO. You can also still buy it at Lithic Bookstore & Gallery at 138 S. Park Square #202 (Upstairs), Fruita, CO.
April 20, 2023 - Jill will be one of the readers at the Poets and Writers at CMU series. The reading is Thursday, April 20th, at 7:00 p.m. at Betty’s Gourmet Coffee and Such on the first floor of the Hotel Maverick in Grand Junction, CO.
March 3, 2023, at Lithic Bookstore & Gallery in Fruita, CO - Jill is participating in the “Words from the Wild” reading featuring five writers from the journal Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry. See Jill’s blog for more information.
March 1, 2023, 6:30 p.m. at Out West Books in Grand Junction, CO - Jill is participating in the “Words from the Wild” reading featuring five writers from the journal Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry. The reading will take place at Out West Books in downtown Grand Junction, 533 Main Street, at 6:30 p.m. See Jill’s blog for more information.
January 5, 2023 - Jill’s poem, “It’s Animal” was published in the the winter 2023 issue of Plainsongs.
September 22, 2022 - Jill’s poem, “Gold Star Mothers” was published in the online quarterly journal, A Plate of Pandemic. Read her poem here.
September 1, 2022 - Jill’s poem, “Hiking Rabbit Valley on Easter” advanced to the 2nd Round in the Colorado Hearts and Minds Poetry Contest. Read her poem and blog post about the contest here.
August 23, 2022 - Jill’s poem, “Why We Went to the Desert” was published in the 2022 issue of Deep Wild Journal.
January 11, 2022 - Jill’s poem, “Hope” was published in In This Together: A Community Anthology. Read her poem and blog post about it here.
