James B. WellsJAMES B. WELLS is a retired criminology and criminal justice professor in the School of Justice Studies in the College of Justice, Safety, and Military Science at Eastern Kentucky University, and is the recipient of the 2025 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences John Howard Award, an award given intermittently, upon significant demand, to recognize an individual who has made significant and sustained contributions to the practice of corrections. A former carpenter, soldier, and correctional officer in a super-maximum-security prison and later as a researcher/planner assisting architects in prison design, he has multiple degrees, including an M.S. in Criminal Justice, a Ph.D. in Research, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He’s authored or co-authored over sixty-five books, chapters, articles, and essays, as well as over a hundred and fifty research reports for various local, state, and federal agencies. Recent essays from his research and memoir work appear or are forthcoming in Collateral Journal, About Place Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Shift, Proud to be: Writing by American Warriors, Trajectory Journal, and From Pen to Page III: More Writings from the Bluegrass Writers Coalition.
His investigative memoir about his father's still CIA-classified death in Vietnam in 1965, titled Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, will be launched on Father's Day weekend, 2025. Links to publications, presentations, trailers, social media, blog, and other information can be found at https://jamesbwells.com. James enjoys spending much of his leisure time with his spouse on their Lexington, Kentucky farm located on the palisades of the Kentucky River, where he is an organic gardener and beekeeper.
I was honored to speak at American Legion Post #12 in Richmond, KY, last night. I had the opportunity to share details about my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. During my presentation, I provided a brief synopsis of the book and distributed a flyer […]
I’m excited to share that my publisher, Milspeak Books, has a talented production team that recently received Publisher’s Weekly Editor’s Best Pick and an A grade for cover design, interior design, editing, and marketing materials for a recent novel, has continued that tradition and produced a fantastic hardcover edition for my investigative memoir, Because: A […]
Last night, at the Bluegrass Writers Studio open mic held at Dreaming Creek Brewery, I read a short poem about my hopes for the release of my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. The book will be launched on June 14 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers […]
On the eve of my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, soon becoming available for preorder (see https://jamesbwells.com), I find it therapeutic to be able to read some poetry at the Kenwick Table to express my current feelings. I suspect I’ll have a complete draft of […]
It’s difficult to express my feelings at this moment. As 2024 comes to a close, I reflect on my accomplishments with a sense of satisfaction. Yet, I also feel mixed emotions about what awaits me in 2025. Shortly after retiring as a professor of criminology and criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University on January 1, […]
Last night’s Kenwick Table was marvelous! In addition to seeing my friend and former BGWS classmate, Libby Falk Jones, who was one of the featured poets reading from her poetry books, I shared my own piece. I provided evidence to support my suspicion that the investigation into the crash of the Air America plane that […]
At last night’s Bluegrass Writers Studio open mic, I read from an essay I wrote that was recently published by the Northwest State University Press’s literary journal, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors. The essay was about me discovering and thanking the man who saved my grandfather from a shelled and burning ammunition truck about to […]
My father’s military personnel file reveals that he was awarded his first Combat Infantryman Badge, the Asiatic Campaign Medal with a bronze arrowhead, and two Bronze Stars, which indicate three initial assault landings. He also received a Bronze Star with a “V” for valor during the Philippines campaign in World War II. In the fall of […]
Another milestone is in the making! My publisher informed me I would have most of November to proof the interior galley of my investigative memoir BECAUSE: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. I received it in my inbox this afternoon. After 33 years of research and writing, the […]
I was excited to find in the mail yesterday a story that emerged by chance and was recently published by Missouri Humanities and Greentower Press’s journal, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Volume 13. It’s an essay backed up by field research and archival research at the National Archives in College Park, MD, describing […]
James B. Wells