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A Kentucky author will hold his first “post-pandemic” book signing at the Pineville-Bell County Public Library during the upcoming Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival in Pineville.

Middlesboro’s Jamie H. Vaught will sign his recently-published 256-page paperback, titled Chasing the Cats: A Kentucky Basketball Journey, at the Pineville library on Saturday, May 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.   The event will be held outside under the tent near the library’s front entrance.

After writing four books about UK hoops during the 1990s and 2000s, this is Vaught’s first book in 16 years.  Like his previous books, the new volume features interesting profiles of individuals — mostly former players and student managers — who have strong ties with the Wildcat men’s program. Coach John Calipari, broadcaster Dick Vitale, LSU coaching legend Dale Brown, ex-Wildcats Kevin Grevey, Jack Givens, Kenny Walker and Jeff Sheppard, among others, are featured in separate chapters.

Wrote Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network and ESPN on the back cover of the book, “This is an absolutely wonderful book and a must read for any Kentucky fan. Jamie Vaught displays in Chasing the Cats a brilliant insight to UK basketball and a beautiful writing style sure to please basketball fans everywhere. I don’t remember a book I have enjoyed more. Just a rich and riveting read.”

Like Finebaum, UK personalities Mike Pratt and Matt Jones also wrote blurbs for the book.

“We are very pleased with Jamie’s book,” said publisher Doug Sikes of Missouri-based Acclaim Press. “The book already has had good reviews and you can google to find out. Even the book has a 4.5 rating (out of 5) in nine reviews on Amazon.”

The new volume has been featured on BBN Tonight, a television show spotlighting UK athletics which appears on Lexington’s WLEX-TV (NBC).

A longtime credentialed sports columnist in Kentucky, Vaught is also a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro where he has taught since 1991. The Somerset High School graduate has two degrees from UK – B.S. in Accounting and Masters of Business Administration (MBA).

For more details about the book signing, you can call the library at 606-337-3422.