His other works include Bogmeadow's Wish, The Book of Marie, To Dance with the White Dog, The Valley of Light, Taking Lottie Home, The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene, Shadow Song, The Runaway, Dark Thirty, After Eli and The Year the Lights Came On, as well as a book of essays (Special K) and a children's book (To Whom the Angel Spoke).

Three of his novels have been produced as Hallmark Hall of Fame movies –To Dance with the White Dog, The Runaway and The Valley of Light. 

His books have been published in more than twenty foreign languages, with To Dance with the White Dog selling two million copies in Japan. 

An essayist and regional Emmy-winning screenwriter as well as a novelist, Kay's work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. 

LaGrange College and Mercer University have recognized his work with honorary doctorate degrees. 

Kay has received the Georgia Author of the Year award three times and in 2004 was presented with the Townsend Prize, considered the state's top literary award. In October, 2006, he received the prestigious Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV. In March of 2007, he was presented the Brooke Baker Award from Dunwoody Library honoring his career as a writer.

Also in 2007, Kay was presented the Stanley W. Lindberg Award, named for the late editor of The Georgia Review and considered one of the state's most prestigious literary honors, given for an individual's significant contribution to the preservation and celebration of Georgia's literary heritage.

A native of Hart County, GA, Kay and his wife now reside in Athens, GA.