State writing Conference & Convention

October 4-6, 2019
Holiday Inn East
549 S. Rock Road
Wichita, Kansas 67207
Holiday Inn East
549 S. Rock Road
Wichita, Kansas 67207
Thank you for your patience as we update that this page with results of awards and activities of the 2019 convention. If you have photos to share or would like to link convention reports from your own website, please send details to Tracy.
10/7/2019 - Adult Prose & Poetry Contest Results Added (scroll down)
10/7/2019 - Youth Contest Results Added (scroll down)
10/24/2019 - Many photos added! (Keep scrolling down to view all!)
2019 Book Award Winners - Summary
Writers of the Year
Merit Awards for Service & Achievement:
Length of Membership Recognition
10/7/2019 - Adult Prose & Poetry Contest Results Added (scroll down)
10/7/2019 - Youth Contest Results Added (scroll down)
10/24/2019 - Many photos added! (Keep scrolling down to view all!)
2019 Book Award Winners - Summary
Writers of the Year
Merit Awards for Service & Achievement:
Length of Membership Recognition
Keynote - When Worlds Collide

For thirty-five years, Paul Bishop pursued two careers—putting villains in jail, and putting words on paper. As a detective with the LAPD, he chased bad guys and solved crimes. Under the cover of darkness, however, he donned his Cloak of Stories, finding cathartic release writing novels…But what happens when the cop and the writer inevitably crash into each other?
2019 Poetry Contest Results (adult)

Category: Classic Forms -- 39 entries
Judged by: Dr. Mark Watney
Mark C. Watney is an English professor at Sterling College in Kansas. He was born and raised in South Africa, immigrated to the United States in 1977 as a high school senior. After graduating from college he travelled around the world for the next decade--teaching English in Tokyo, studying Turkish in Istanbul, researching Islam in India, and cycling from Canada to Mexico-- before returning to Los Angeles as a high school English teacher and completing his PhD at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is married with three sons and dreams of three future daughter-in-laws.
Watney’s first poem was published in a South African anthology of high school poetry way back in 1975, at the age of 15. But he published nothing for the next four decades, spending most of his time doing surgery on freshman essays. Then, finally, at the ripe age of 56, he got inspired to begin writing again and has been published in five literary journals over the past three years: Avatar Literary Review, Saint Katherine Review, Dappled Things (First Place,The Jacques Maritain Prize for Nonfiction (2017), The Other Journal, and Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry. Watney claims that though his brain has deteriorated in many ways over this last decade (in memory and chess ratings, for example), it has surprisingly improved in its ability to write poems. He believes that as the brain ages, it can be forced to circumnavigate its aging synaptic highways in creative and unusual ways—resulting in things like poems (the best of which he hopes will be written as an old man).
1st Place Fifty-Eighth Anniversary--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
2nd Place Used Book Inscribed to "Mom--E-E" --Kristine Polansky, D4, Manhattan
3rd Place Complete--Kristine Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Cartography--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Hang Tight--Patricia Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Category: Theme Contest "Hook'em and Book'em" -- 23 entries
Judged by: Al Ortolani
Al Ortolani’s newest collection of poetry, On the Chicopee Spur, was released from New York Quarterly Books in 2018. How Wally Lost His Thumb and the Boy Scouts Became Cannibals, a mix of old and new “Wally poems” also appeared from Spartan Press the same year. A previous collection, Ghost Sign, co-authored with J.T. Knoll, Adam Jameson, and Melissa Fite Johnson was selected as a Kansas Notable Book for 2017. Ortolani is the Manuscript Editor for Woodley Press in Topeka, Kansas, and has directed a memoir writing project for Vietnam veterans across Kansas in association with the Library of Congress and Humanities Kansas. He is a 2019 recipient of the Rattle Chapbook Series Award. After 43 years of teaching English in public schools, he currently lives a life without bells and fire drills in the Kansas City area.
1st Place Dream Fishing--Kelly W. Johnston, D5, Wichita
2nd Place Still Hungry--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
3rd Place Circles--Kelly W. Johnston, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Hooked by Books--Hazel Hart, D2, Emporia
Honorable Mention: Catch and Release--Dixie Brown, D5, Bel Aire
Honorable Mention: All Things Are in Process--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
Category: Performance Poetry--10 entries
Judged by: Matt Spezia
Matt Spezia is a national powerhouse of lyrical ability, combining a 4 time national award winning poetry style, Kansas City hip hop, and thespian teachings. This artist has 3 albums and a book published and has appeared in an anthology cd and book. With his third project “Babylon” having released June 25th. His 4th album, his next project releasing later this year.
Matt Spezia also is a regional coordinator for Poetry for Personal Power, a non-profit organization that focuses on consumer advocacy, making a lasting improvement in peoples’ daily lives with efforts in mental health and artist activism and entrepreneurship. Outside of art, Matt Spezia has taken the role of a mentor for many Highland Park high school students in Topeka, recently completing his year-long bi-monthly workshops with the school.
Matt Spezia uses his platform and his art to promote self-confidence and betterment, social awareness, cultural change. He has worked to directly influence school children in 26 different districts.
1st Place Pianos-- Curtis Becker, D2, Emporia
2nd Place Watchers in the Crowd-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
3rd Place Growing Up-- Taylor Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Honorable Mention: The Reverie-- Taylor Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Category: Narrative Verse -- 54 entries
Judged by: H.C. Palmer
H.C. Palmer, is a retired Internist. He served as a Battalion Surgeon with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1965-66. His work has appeared in New Letters, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, War Literature and the Arts, Narrative Magazine, The New Mexico Poetry Review, I-70 Review, Flint Hills Review, Gray’s Sporting Journal and other journals and anthologies. His first book of poems, Feet of the Messenger, from BkMkPress, the University of Missouri, Kansas City, released in October 2017, was a finalist for the 2017 Balcones Poetry Prize. He works with a veterans writing program in partnership with the Kansas City Public Libraries, The Writers Place and the Moral Injury Association of America. He was the 2017 Anthony Hecht Scholar at the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Feet of the Messenger was a 2017 Kansas Notable Book.
1st Place After the Fire--Linda Ahrens Brower, D7, Ashland
2nd Place Kiowa County Blues--Rock Neelly, D6, South Lebanon
3rd Place The pots -- Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: I Don't Think We . . . --Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Cezanne's Studio--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Dear Bookshelf--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Category: Whimsy -- 41 entries
Judged by: Marie Asner
Marie Asner has three careers, that of a poet, entertainment reviewer and church musician. She has received a Mini-Fellowship from the Kansas Arts Commission for a collection of poems on Amelia Earhart, been a member of Kansas Arts On Tour and had a story included in “The Last Book” project by Luis Camnitzer that was displayed in Buenos Aires, Zurich and New York City. Asner received the Gold Key to the City of Shawnee, Kansas for 20 years as a newspaper journalist. Marie Asner’s poem, “The City” was selected to be published in the Kansas City Star Magazine for the 150th anniversary of Kansas City, Missouri.
1st Place The Cat Knows--Roy Beckemeyer, D5,Wichita
2nd Place Enough Chocolate-- Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
3rd Place Flock of Starlings--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Laundromat--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Your Trusted Time Machine --Dan Close, D5, Wichita
Category: New Poets -- 29 entries
Judged by: Melissa Fite Johnson
Melissa Fite Johnson’s first collection, While the Kettle’s On (Little Balkans Press, 2015), won the Nelson Poetry Book Award and is a Kansas Notable Book. She is also the author of A Crooked Door Cut into the Sky, winner of the 2017 Vella Chapbook Award (Paper Nautilus Press, 2018). Her poems have appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Broadsided Press, Rust + Moth, 3 Elements Review, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. Melissa teaches English in Lawrence, Kansas, where she and her husband live with their three dogs.
1st Place Doctor's Visit -- Emily Hamm, NM, New Strawn
2nd Place Old Song--Julie A. Sellers, D1, Atchison
3rd Place Dorothy--Emily Hamm, NM, New Strawn
Honorable Mention: Before We Part-- Christine Marquardt, D1, Topeka
Honorable Mention: To filigree with sky--David Cook, D5, Wichita
Category: Free Verse -- 81 entries
Judged by: Jennifer Halling
Jennifer Halling, OSB, was raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, and graduated from Benedictine College in 1984 with a degree in English and from Loyola College in 1989 with a master's in pastoral counseling. She lived in St. Louis for 13 years, where she worked as a manuscript editor at Mosby Publishing Company and became part of The Project, a poetry writing group that has been active for 25 years. In 2016 she published a book of poetry, Still Life: Contemplative Poems. Some of her poems have appeared in The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Voices, I-70 Review, and Benedictines. She resides at Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison, Kansas, where she edits Threshold magazine and a journal called Benedictines.
1st Place Tenacity--Brenda L. White, NM, Emporia
2nd Place Almost an Astronaut--Cheryl Unruh, D2, Emporia
3rd Place Wheat--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Treasure--Marilyn B. Page, D1, Leavenworth
Honorable Mention: Metamorphosis--Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: To Kate Spade-- Brenda L. White, NM, Emporia
Category: Japanese Forms (Haiku, Renga, Tanka) -- 34 entries
Judged by: Al Ortolani
1st Place Garden of eggplants--Barbara Brady, D1, Topeka
2nd Place Wind-- Diane Wahto, D5, Wichita
3rd Place Stone stubborn poets-- Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Black stripes on pant leg----Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Swallows-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Honorable Mention: Pillow-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Judged by: Dr. Mark Watney
Mark C. Watney is an English professor at Sterling College in Kansas. He was born and raised in South Africa, immigrated to the United States in 1977 as a high school senior. After graduating from college he travelled around the world for the next decade--teaching English in Tokyo, studying Turkish in Istanbul, researching Islam in India, and cycling from Canada to Mexico-- before returning to Los Angeles as a high school English teacher and completing his PhD at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is married with three sons and dreams of three future daughter-in-laws.
Watney’s first poem was published in a South African anthology of high school poetry way back in 1975, at the age of 15. But he published nothing for the next four decades, spending most of his time doing surgery on freshman essays. Then, finally, at the ripe age of 56, he got inspired to begin writing again and has been published in five literary journals over the past three years: Avatar Literary Review, Saint Katherine Review, Dappled Things (First Place,The Jacques Maritain Prize for Nonfiction (2017), The Other Journal, and Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry. Watney claims that though his brain has deteriorated in many ways over this last decade (in memory and chess ratings, for example), it has surprisingly improved in its ability to write poems. He believes that as the brain ages, it can be forced to circumnavigate its aging synaptic highways in creative and unusual ways—resulting in things like poems (the best of which he hopes will be written as an old man).
1st Place Fifty-Eighth Anniversary--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
2nd Place Used Book Inscribed to "Mom--E-E" --Kristine Polansky, D4, Manhattan
3rd Place Complete--Kristine Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Cartography--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Hang Tight--Patricia Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Category: Theme Contest "Hook'em and Book'em" -- 23 entries
Judged by: Al Ortolani
Al Ortolani’s newest collection of poetry, On the Chicopee Spur, was released from New York Quarterly Books in 2018. How Wally Lost His Thumb and the Boy Scouts Became Cannibals, a mix of old and new “Wally poems” also appeared from Spartan Press the same year. A previous collection, Ghost Sign, co-authored with J.T. Knoll, Adam Jameson, and Melissa Fite Johnson was selected as a Kansas Notable Book for 2017. Ortolani is the Manuscript Editor for Woodley Press in Topeka, Kansas, and has directed a memoir writing project for Vietnam veterans across Kansas in association with the Library of Congress and Humanities Kansas. He is a 2019 recipient of the Rattle Chapbook Series Award. After 43 years of teaching English in public schools, he currently lives a life without bells and fire drills in the Kansas City area.
1st Place Dream Fishing--Kelly W. Johnston, D5, Wichita
2nd Place Still Hungry--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
3rd Place Circles--Kelly W. Johnston, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Hooked by Books--Hazel Hart, D2, Emporia
Honorable Mention: Catch and Release--Dixie Brown, D5, Bel Aire
Honorable Mention: All Things Are in Process--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
Category: Performance Poetry--10 entries
Judged by: Matt Spezia
Matt Spezia is a national powerhouse of lyrical ability, combining a 4 time national award winning poetry style, Kansas City hip hop, and thespian teachings. This artist has 3 albums and a book published and has appeared in an anthology cd and book. With his third project “Babylon” having released June 25th. His 4th album, his next project releasing later this year.
Matt Spezia also is a regional coordinator for Poetry for Personal Power, a non-profit organization that focuses on consumer advocacy, making a lasting improvement in peoples’ daily lives with efforts in mental health and artist activism and entrepreneurship. Outside of art, Matt Spezia has taken the role of a mentor for many Highland Park high school students in Topeka, recently completing his year-long bi-monthly workshops with the school.
Matt Spezia uses his platform and his art to promote self-confidence and betterment, social awareness, cultural change. He has worked to directly influence school children in 26 different districts.
1st Place Pianos-- Curtis Becker, D2, Emporia
2nd Place Watchers in the Crowd-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
3rd Place Growing Up-- Taylor Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Honorable Mention: The Reverie-- Taylor Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Category: Narrative Verse -- 54 entries
Judged by: H.C. Palmer
H.C. Palmer, is a retired Internist. He served as a Battalion Surgeon with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1965-66. His work has appeared in New Letters, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, War Literature and the Arts, Narrative Magazine, The New Mexico Poetry Review, I-70 Review, Flint Hills Review, Gray’s Sporting Journal and other journals and anthologies. His first book of poems, Feet of the Messenger, from BkMkPress, the University of Missouri, Kansas City, released in October 2017, was a finalist for the 2017 Balcones Poetry Prize. He works with a veterans writing program in partnership with the Kansas City Public Libraries, The Writers Place and the Moral Injury Association of America. He was the 2017 Anthony Hecht Scholar at the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Feet of the Messenger was a 2017 Kansas Notable Book.
1st Place After the Fire--Linda Ahrens Brower, D7, Ashland
2nd Place Kiowa County Blues--Rock Neelly, D6, South Lebanon
3rd Place The pots -- Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: I Don't Think We . . . --Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Cezanne's Studio--Arlice W. Davenport, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Dear Bookshelf--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Category: Whimsy -- 41 entries
Judged by: Marie Asner
Marie Asner has three careers, that of a poet, entertainment reviewer and church musician. She has received a Mini-Fellowship from the Kansas Arts Commission for a collection of poems on Amelia Earhart, been a member of Kansas Arts On Tour and had a story included in “The Last Book” project by Luis Camnitzer that was displayed in Buenos Aires, Zurich and New York City. Asner received the Gold Key to the City of Shawnee, Kansas for 20 years as a newspaper journalist. Marie Asner’s poem, “The City” was selected to be published in the Kansas City Star Magazine for the 150th anniversary of Kansas City, Missouri.
1st Place The Cat Knows--Roy Beckemeyer, D5,Wichita
2nd Place Enough Chocolate-- Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
3rd Place Flock of Starlings--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Laundromat--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Your Trusted Time Machine --Dan Close, D5, Wichita
Category: New Poets -- 29 entries
Judged by: Melissa Fite Johnson
Melissa Fite Johnson’s first collection, While the Kettle’s On (Little Balkans Press, 2015), won the Nelson Poetry Book Award and is a Kansas Notable Book. She is also the author of A Crooked Door Cut into the Sky, winner of the 2017 Vella Chapbook Award (Paper Nautilus Press, 2018). Her poems have appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Broadsided Press, Rust + Moth, 3 Elements Review, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. Melissa teaches English in Lawrence, Kansas, where she and her husband live with their three dogs.
1st Place Doctor's Visit -- Emily Hamm, NM, New Strawn
2nd Place Old Song--Julie A. Sellers, D1, Atchison
3rd Place Dorothy--Emily Hamm, NM, New Strawn
Honorable Mention: Before We Part-- Christine Marquardt, D1, Topeka
Honorable Mention: To filigree with sky--David Cook, D5, Wichita
Category: Free Verse -- 81 entries
Judged by: Jennifer Halling
Jennifer Halling, OSB, was raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, and graduated from Benedictine College in 1984 with a degree in English and from Loyola College in 1989 with a master's in pastoral counseling. She lived in St. Louis for 13 years, where she worked as a manuscript editor at Mosby Publishing Company and became part of The Project, a poetry writing group that has been active for 25 years. In 2016 she published a book of poetry, Still Life: Contemplative Poems. Some of her poems have appeared in The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Voices, I-70 Review, and Benedictines. She resides at Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison, Kansas, where she edits Threshold magazine and a journal called Benedictines.
1st Place Tenacity--Brenda L. White, NM, Emporia
2nd Place Almost an Astronaut--Cheryl Unruh, D2, Emporia
3rd Place Wheat--Roy Beckemeyer, D5, Wichita
Honorable Mention: Treasure--Marilyn B. Page, D1, Leavenworth
Honorable Mention: Metamorphosis--Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: To Kate Spade-- Brenda L. White, NM, Emporia
Category: Japanese Forms (Haiku, Renga, Tanka) -- 34 entries
Judged by: Al Ortolani
1st Place Garden of eggplants--Barbara Brady, D1, Topeka
2nd Place Wind-- Diane Wahto, D5, Wichita
3rd Place Stone stubborn poets-- Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Black stripes on pant leg----Kristine A. Polansky, D4, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Swallows-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
Honorable Mention: Pillow-- Roy Stucky, D5, Pretty Prairie
2019 Prose Contest Results (adult)
Theme Contest – Hook ’Em and Book ’Em – 12 entries
Judge: Janet Anderson-Story is a retired librarian living on 5 acres just outside Baldwin City. She holds a Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical antiquities from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from Ottawa University. She enjoys crocheting, reading, and clearing the land of invasive honeysuckle.
First Place, District 7 - By Hook or By Book by Linda Ahrens Brower
Second Place, District 2 - Douglas County Hooks ’Em And I Book ’Em by Brian Daldorph
Third Place, District 5 - Tabula Rasa by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Ingenious Gentleman by Julie A. Sellers
Memoir or Inspirational– 24 entries:
Judge: Kathy Bode has been a nurse for 63 years, a missionary wife for 14 years, and a Director of Nursing for hospitals and colleges in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois for over 30 years. Her life and the life of her family is one of joyful service to others.
First Place, District 4 - A Common Bond by Nancy Julien-Kopp
Second Place, District 1 - Mermaid’s Tears by Julie A. Sellers
Third Place, District 2 - CHARRY’S SMILE by Carolyn A. Hall
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Molly by Brian Daldorph
Honorable Mention, District 1 - Finding My Father by Donna Lynn Lash Wolff
First Chapter of a Book –36 entries:
Category Sponsored by Mike and Monica Graves, District 2
Judge: Roy Briggeman is the former director of the Intensive Program at Emporia State University. He is enjoying his recent retirement by spending time with grandchildren, working in the yard, reading, and listening to music. He is a big sports fan and follows Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.
First Place, District 1 - Lost to History by Aimee L. Gross
Second Place, District 1 - The Rose Garden, Chapter One by Janet Jenkins-Stotts
Third Place, District 5 - Sonata of Elsie Lenore by Ann Christine Fell
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Citizen Zero by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Alchemist’s Lawn Boy by Aimee L. Gross
Stories Written for Teenagers – 11 entries
Category Sponsored by Ray “Grizzly” Racobs, District 5 Treasurer
Judge: Cara Codney is the Director of the Intensive English Program at Emporia State University. She also writes on television and popular culture as a contributor for several entertainment news websites, including Nice Girls TV and The Fairy Tale Site.
First Place, District 5 - Jack by Roy Stucky
Second Place, District 5 - Letter You Cannot Read by Roy Stucky
Third Place, District 5 - A Practical Man by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Two Different Worlds (Although only 500 Miles Apart) by Joann Williams
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Rosetta by Roy Stucky
Short Story (fiction) – 22 entries:
Category Sponsored by Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore, Emporia, KS
Judge: Richard Keller is Professor Emeritus of English at Emporia State University. Areas of concentration: Modern American literature, the Literature of Sport. Official for c. 2,000 soccer matches. Struck by lightning (that probably says it all).
First Place, District 1 - And the Rain by Stacy Thowe
Second Place, District 5 - Rose by Neel Holler
Third Place, District 5 - Mrs. Stetson’s Sunday by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Recess by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Junkyard Kids by Cheryl Unruh
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Leaves of Eden by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention, District 2 - it’s Like This by Perry L. Shepard
Humor – 17 entries:
Judge: Marcia Lawrence is the owner of Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia, Kansas. She is a published author, and former owner of a small, traditional publishing company.
First Place, District 2 - A Tale of Two Sisters…And a Dog by Jerilynn Henrikson
Second Place, District 5 - Hidden Treasures? By Ann Christine Fell
Third Place, District 2 - The summer I worked for the Mafia by Brian Daldorph
Honorable Mention, District 5 - My Super-Productive Absolutely-Perfect Day by Sandra Lou Taylor
Honorable Mention, District 2 - BAKING WITH THE lord by Carolyn A. Hall
Flash Fiction – 27 entries
Judge: Amy Sage Webb is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Emporia State University, where she was named Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. She is the author of Save Your Own Life: Kansas Stories. Her poetry, fiction, and nonfiction appear in numerous publications, and she has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
First Place, District 2 - Broken Axis by Cheryl Unruh
Second Place, District 1 - The Unexpected Casualty by Julie A. Sellers
Third Place, District 2 - Kobach in the Parade by Kevin Rabas
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Blue by Cheryl Unruh
Honorable Mention, District 1 - TRUTH SERUM EGGNOG by Janet Jenkins-Stotts
Playwriting –11 entries
Category Sponsored by Roy Beckemeyer, KAC State Past President and District 5 Public
Relations Chair – Judge, Amy Sage Webb
First Place, District 4 - Image is Everything by Kristine A. Polansky
Second Place, District 5 - Painter by Roy Stucky
Third Place, District 5 - Cloud by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Garage Sale by Stacy Thowe
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Man on a Stick by Perry L. Shepard
Special Category – Author Websites – 6 entries
Category sponsored by Meadowlark Books, Emporia, KS
Judge: Dave Leiker is best known for his Kansas photography, and he applies that same artistic eye to website design. His websites include prairiedust.net and kansasphotos.com
First Place, D5 – Roy Beckemeyer for royjbeckemeyer.com
Second Place, D6 – Jim Potter for Sandhenge Publications
Third Place, D5 – April Pameticky for River City Poetry
Judge: Janet Anderson-Story is a retired librarian living on 5 acres just outside Baldwin City. She holds a Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical antiquities from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from Ottawa University. She enjoys crocheting, reading, and clearing the land of invasive honeysuckle.
First Place, District 7 - By Hook or By Book by Linda Ahrens Brower
Second Place, District 2 - Douglas County Hooks ’Em And I Book ’Em by Brian Daldorph
Third Place, District 5 - Tabula Rasa by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Ingenious Gentleman by Julie A. Sellers
Memoir or Inspirational– 24 entries:
Judge: Kathy Bode has been a nurse for 63 years, a missionary wife for 14 years, and a Director of Nursing for hospitals and colleges in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois for over 30 years. Her life and the life of her family is one of joyful service to others.
First Place, District 4 - A Common Bond by Nancy Julien-Kopp
Second Place, District 1 - Mermaid’s Tears by Julie A. Sellers
Third Place, District 2 - CHARRY’S SMILE by Carolyn A. Hall
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Molly by Brian Daldorph
Honorable Mention, District 1 - Finding My Father by Donna Lynn Lash Wolff
First Chapter of a Book –36 entries:
Category Sponsored by Mike and Monica Graves, District 2
Judge: Roy Briggeman is the former director of the Intensive Program at Emporia State University. He is enjoying his recent retirement by spending time with grandchildren, working in the yard, reading, and listening to music. He is a big sports fan and follows Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.
First Place, District 1 - Lost to History by Aimee L. Gross
Second Place, District 1 - The Rose Garden, Chapter One by Janet Jenkins-Stotts
Third Place, District 5 - Sonata of Elsie Lenore by Ann Christine Fell
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Citizen Zero by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Alchemist’s Lawn Boy by Aimee L. Gross
Stories Written for Teenagers – 11 entries
Category Sponsored by Ray “Grizzly” Racobs, District 5 Treasurer
Judge: Cara Codney is the Director of the Intensive English Program at Emporia State University. She also writes on television and popular culture as a contributor for several entertainment news websites, including Nice Girls TV and The Fairy Tale Site.
First Place, District 5 - Jack by Roy Stucky
Second Place, District 5 - Letter You Cannot Read by Roy Stucky
Third Place, District 5 - A Practical Man by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Two Different Worlds (Although only 500 Miles Apart) by Joann Williams
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Rosetta by Roy Stucky
Short Story (fiction) – 22 entries:
Category Sponsored by Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore, Emporia, KS
Judge: Richard Keller is Professor Emeritus of English at Emporia State University. Areas of concentration: Modern American literature, the Literature of Sport. Official for c. 2,000 soccer matches. Struck by lightning (that probably says it all).
First Place, District 1 - And the Rain by Stacy Thowe
Second Place, District 5 - Rose by Neel Holler
Third Place, District 5 - Mrs. Stetson’s Sunday by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention, District 5 - Recess by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Junkyard Kids by Cheryl Unruh
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Leaves of Eden by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention, District 2 - it’s Like This by Perry L. Shepard
Humor – 17 entries:
Judge: Marcia Lawrence is the owner of Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia, Kansas. She is a published author, and former owner of a small, traditional publishing company.
First Place, District 2 - A Tale of Two Sisters…And a Dog by Jerilynn Henrikson
Second Place, District 5 - Hidden Treasures? By Ann Christine Fell
Third Place, District 2 - The summer I worked for the Mafia by Brian Daldorph
Honorable Mention, District 5 - My Super-Productive Absolutely-Perfect Day by Sandra Lou Taylor
Honorable Mention, District 2 - BAKING WITH THE lord by Carolyn A. Hall
Flash Fiction – 27 entries
Judge: Amy Sage Webb is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Emporia State University, where she was named Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. She is the author of Save Your Own Life: Kansas Stories. Her poetry, fiction, and nonfiction appear in numerous publications, and she has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
First Place, District 2 - Broken Axis by Cheryl Unruh
Second Place, District 1 - The Unexpected Casualty by Julie A. Sellers
Third Place, District 2 - Kobach in the Parade by Kevin Rabas
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Blue by Cheryl Unruh
Honorable Mention, District 1 - TRUTH SERUM EGGNOG by Janet Jenkins-Stotts
Playwriting –11 entries
Category Sponsored by Roy Beckemeyer, KAC State Past President and District 5 Public
Relations Chair – Judge, Amy Sage Webb
First Place, District 4 - Image is Everything by Kristine A. Polansky
Second Place, District 5 - Painter by Roy Stucky
Third Place, District 5 - Cloud by Roy Stucky
Honorable Mention, District 1 - The Garage Sale by Stacy Thowe
Honorable Mention, District 2 - Man on a Stick by Perry L. Shepard
Special Category – Author Websites – 6 entries
Category sponsored by Meadowlark Books, Emporia, KS
Judge: Dave Leiker is best known for his Kansas photography, and he applies that same artistic eye to website design. His websites include prairiedust.net and kansasphotos.com
First Place, D5 – Roy Beckemeyer for royjbeckemeyer.com
Second Place, D6 – Jim Potter for Sandhenge Publications
Third Place, D5 – April Pameticky for River City Poetry
2019 Youth Contest Winners
Fiction: Grades 1-2
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - The Princess and Her Brother
H.M. - Amulya Kotipalli - The Magical Peacock
Fiction: Grades 3-4
1 - Addison Zerger - The Gnome
2 - Addison Zerger - Love In A Graveyard
3 - Reeya Chundury - Mia and Mom’s Invention
H.M. - Adain Smith - The Helpful Turtle
H.M. - Emma Yu-an Li - Why Crocodiles are Green
H.M. - Chelsea Rose Walden - Too Many Chickens
H.M. - Nina Wilson - Elisa and the New House
Fiction: Grades 5-6
1 - Aubrey Martin - Farm Thief
2 - Arielle Li - Chapter 1 of The Dihu Diamond
3 - Arielle Li - The Talent Show (Show Not Tell)
H.M. - Jethro Tang - The Prisoner of the Water Closet
Fiction: Grades 7-8
1 - Morgan Sinsel - Mother Nature
2 - Morgan Sinsel - The Void
3 - John Hudson – Fries
H.M. - A. W. Headley - Oscar and the Guardians
H.M. - Chloe Pontious - Just Call Me Jess
Fiction: Grades 9-12
1 - Deja Kuehn - The Bridge
2 - Penelope (Penny) Duran - When Pigs Swim
3 - Caitlin Bond - A Warrior’s Tale
H.M. - Gunner Jones - Average Teenage Students
H.M. - Morgan-Rae Paige - A Villain’s Suicide
H.M. - Jacquline Spahr - Conspiracy, Anyone?
H.M. - Amanda Zhu - Regretter
Non-Fiction: Grades 1-2
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - My Little Sister
H.M. - Blythe Van Dusen - J.K. Rowling
Non-Fiction: Grades 3-4
1 - Xander Pinto - The True Story of Amelia Earhart
2 - Aarav Rajput - The Dust Bowl
3- Penny Crabb - Amelia Earhart
H.M. - Brody Browning - Uranus
H.M. - Lauren Egelhof - The Homestead Act
Non-Fiction: Grades 5-6
1 - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Athens or Rome: Which had the better system?
2 - Ellen Malloy - My First Black Diamond
3 - Gentry Aichele - The Dance Competition
H.M. - Brodie Kuhn - Grandma!
H.M. - Addysen Patrick - Epic Softball
H.M. - Cade Strathman - My trash talker experience
Non-Fiction: Grades 7-8
1- Tina Yu-tian Li - Walking a Mile in His Shoes
2 - Luke Hui - Alzheimer’s Disease
3 - Morgan Sinsel - Dog Behaviors
H.M. - Morgan Mae Hixson - Terror and Torture: Hitler’s Infamous Secret Police
H.M. - Joshua Zyzak - Proof that the Time is Always Right
Non-Fiction: Grades 9-12
1 - Penelope (Penny) Duran - Life’s Merry-go-round
2 - Bethany Choriego - Lee’s and Washington’s Views on Slavery
3 - Bethany Choriego - William “Boss” Tweed’s Corruption
Poetry: Grades 1-2
H.M. - Blythe Van Dusen - Beagles and Dachshunds
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - Nabraska
Poetry: Grades 3-4
1 - Rachel Rohrback - St. Louis
2 - Kinsley Scholl - 4th of July Fun
3 - Mila Pinto - Do Not Hide
H.M. - Sir Davis - Caliber
H.M. - Xander Pinto - The Ache
H.M. - Adain Smith - The Happy Squirrel
H.M. - Xander Pinto - The World
H.M. - Sophia Young - Haiku
Poetry: Grades 5-6
1 - Arabella Gipp - The day you left
2 - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Beyond What We See
3- Hadley Morrow - 我爱你 汉堡包 Wǒ ài nǐ Hànbǎobāo (I Love Hamburgers)
H.M. - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Thank you Amma (In my native language, Tamil, Amma means mother)
H.M. - Maya Reddy - Haiku For All Seasons
Poetry: Grades 7-8
1 - Morgan Sinsel - California Dreamin’
2 - Eddy Jiang - The Garden Path
3 - Isobel Li - You Are The Greens
H.M. - Audrey Caleb - Colored Pencils
H.M. - Chloe Pontious - You Taught Me how to Love
H.M. - Morgan Sinsel - Dying Hopes
Poetry: Grades 9-12
1 - Bethany Choriego - A Maybe Truth
2 - Jacquline Spahr - Shatter
3 - Carly Markovich - He Will Come Knocking
H.M. - Sarah Flora Chocron - The Distance Formula
H.M. - Penelope (Penny) Duran - Crossing
H.M. - Katherine Kallas - Houdini Days
Youth Spoken Word Poetry Winners:
1 – Chloe Pontious - Please Do Better
2 – Emily Montandon – Giving Up
Bajaj Youth Award Winner
Morgan Sinsel
Youth Judges
Ann McWhite was born and raised in Marysville, Kansas, and moved to Colorado in 1969. She finished college in Denver and then worked as a nurse at P/SL from 1975 to her retirement in 2014. At sixty-nine years old, she enjoys attending writing book club, paddle boarding, astronomy, gardening, reading, climbing in the mountains with her son Joe, baking, and just being with other retired friends keeping friendships open.
Judged Fiction Grades 1-2 and Non-Fiction Grades 1-2
Emporia Writers: Formed in 2010 by three writers, the Emporia Writers Group has grown to about forty members, with two dozen “regulars” who meet weekly for write-in sessions, to discuss writing and publication and to encourage and support each other in the writing process. Members of the group write novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry, plays, non-fiction, memoir, and essays. In addition to numerous self-published authors, there are three small-press publishers in the group.
Judged Fiction Grades 3-4 and Non-Fiction Grades 3-4
Connie Rae White had dreamed for years of writing, someday, but life was busy. Instead, she spent fifty years working in medicine, first as a Medical Technologist, and then for eighteen years as a Physician Assistant in Family Practice. Upon retirement, in 2011, she joined the Kansas Authors Club to learn to write. Since then, under her author name Connie Rae, she has published three children’s books: Lizzie’s Life Adventures, What WILL We Do On A Rainy Day, and Camo, the Polka-Dot Pup. Her latest book, It’s All Show Business, is the memoir of a friend who grew up in his family’s circus. Connie Rae co-chaired the 2019 KAC State Convention for District 5.
Judged Fiction Grades 5-6
Diane Wahto: After her three sons left for college, and after nine years of teaching high school journalism at Winfield High School, Diane Wahto entered the Wichita State University MFA program in 1983 and started writing poetry. She taught English Composition at Butler Community College from 1985 to 2009. She has co-edited two editions of the anthology, 365 Poems. Her book of poetry, The Sad Joy of Leaving, was published by Blue Cedar Press in 2018. Her blog, “Poet of a Certain Age,” may be found at poetofacertainage.wordpress.com. Diane is President of the Kansas Authors Club, District 5, and is the Awards Chair for the state. She is also the co-chair of the 2019 KAC State Convention. She and her husband, Patrick Roche, live in Wichita with their dog Annie, a waif Diane found running loose on the Kansas Turnpike.
Judged Non-Fiction Grades 5-6
Louise Brown has lived most of her life in Colorado, currently Arvada. She treasured her chance, years ago, to take adult education classes from Colorado poet Carolyn Campbell which launched her efforts in writing poetry. She has been a member of Columbine Poets of Colorado, a branch of National Federation of State Poetry Societies, for many years. Most recently she participates in Hard Times Writers at the Arvada Library. Louise has a 16-year-old granddaughter and a 13-year-old grandson* whose family lives with her. Since her grandson Jason was three, she has read age-appropriate books to him, most recently the entire Harry Potter series. She is a retired preschool teacher whose favorite part of the job was reading to the children. She loves reading novels, poetry, and a variety of non-fiction.
*Noting Jason’s ability to analyze and comment on Rowling’s writing, Louis invited him to listen to the KAC submissions for his insight, comments, and teen POV. Jason is an eighth grader at Compass Montessori in Golden, Colorado. He likes Harry Potter, Pokémon, and Star Wars. He also likes to ride his bike and watch weird stuff on YouTube.
A Word from Louis Brown to the Writers:
It was a great pleasure to read your stories and articles and to see that you are interested in writing. In EVERY piece I saw the potential of the author as a writer, no matter where you may have “placed.” In my notes on your pages, I tried to indicate what really worked in what you wrote, and, for some, how I could see it becoming a larger work. I also added a few ways to fill out your pieces with details or make something clearer or flow better for the reader. I hope you become life-long writers, each of you!
Judged Fiction Grades 7-8, and Non-Fiction Grades 7-8
Jane Lewis was born and raised in the small town of Marysville, Kansas, along Route 36. After high school she attended Marymount College in Salina before moving to Denver. She now lives in Colorado and has raised a family of four daughters. Her career has been centered around working as a construction project manager and art consultant. Recently, Jane started her own company–Crowning Touch Art Consulting. Her passion has always been transforming spaces with art. Writing is a close second. Workshops and classes have helped Jane hone her writing skills. Jane says, “Friendships with other writers are important. We encourage each other to unlock the stories and poems waiting to spring forth from our imaginations and memories. Enough said. Now back to my writing …”
Judged Fiction Grades 9-12, and Non-Fiction Grades 9-12
Ronda Miller is a Life Coach and Poet who works with clients who have lost someone to homicide. She is a Fellow of The Citizen Journalism Academy, World Company; a Certified Life Coach with the Institute of Professional Empowerment Coaching; a University of Kansas graduate, Lawrence resident; and mother to son, Scott, and daughter, Apollonia. Miller created poetic forms loku and ukol. Miller is the state president (2018-19) of Kansas Authors Club (kansasauthors.org) and former vice president, poetry contest manager, convention host, and district president for the club. Miller gives presentations of grief, “Writing Your Trauma Without too Much Drama,” and end of life issues, “Talking to Crickets.”
Miller has published three books of poetry, Going Home: Poems from My Life, MoonStain (Meadowlark 2015), and WaterSigns (Meadowlark 2017). Her poems can be found in numerous anthologies, transformed into art, and at The Smithsonian Art Institute Archives.
When Miller isn’t coaching clients, volunteering time to Kansas authors, or writing poetry, she is busy learning life skills from children with special needs. She enjoys wandering the high plateau of NW Kansas where Arikaree Breaks whisper late into the sunset and scream the arrival of blizzards and thunderstorms. www.meadowlark-books.com/p/ronda-miller.html
Judged Youth Spoken Word
Curtis Becker teaches English at Emporia State University. He Watched and Took Note, Becker’s collection of poetry and short fiction, was released in August of 2018. In addition to teaching and writing, he operates Kellogg Press, which published three poetry collections in 2019. Becker earned a BA in English from ESU and an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a proud member of Kansas Authors Club and the Emporia Writers Group.
Judged Poetry Grades 3-4
Kerry Moyer joined Kansas Authors Club as a member of District 2 in late 2018. As a poet, Kerry has released two Chapbooks and a collection, Dirt Road through Kellogg Press over the last two years. Kerry writes about rural themes, addiction, mental health struggles, family life, and various musings. He also writes about topics as common as fishing and wrestling with the passage of time. Kerry is an active member of the Emporia Writers Group and calls Emporia, Kansas, home where he has worked in community mental health for twenty years. He resides there with his wife, Sarah, and their two boys, Edward and Miles.
Judged Poetry Grades 3-4
Marie A. Shepard is a graduate of the University of Utah with degrees in History and Education. She has taught in Alternative School in Salt Lake City. She volunteered at KRCL Listener’s Community Radio in Salt Lake City and read books over the air. She also has worked with disabled youth in Manhattan, Kansas. At the present time she is raising her great-grand niece and nephew.
Judged Poetry Grades 5-6
Melissa Riordan, LSCSW, is the owner of InnerVision Life Coaching and Counseling Services in the Kansas City area. Melissa has been a psychotherapist and Social worker for ten years, specializing in trauma therapy with children. She is also a freelance writer and wildlife photographer. She previously lived in Los Angeles where she was a stand-up comic, actress, and sketch writer at the world-famous Groundlings in Hollywood. Melissa currently lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with her dog, a Chiweenie named Jackson. She often visits Los Angeles where her two adult sons live.
Judged Poetry Grades 7-8
Lindsay Frank is a fifth-grade teacher in Eudora, Kansas. She’s a proud Jayhawk who’s working on her master’s in curriculum and instruction at the University of Kansas. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, going on walks, drinking coffee, playing sports, crafting, and spending time with her family and her dog. She’s excited to be a part of this process and read the excellent poetry submitted by students!
Note to the Writers from Lindsay: Wow, what an incredible collection of poems! It was such a joy to read each of these entries, and such a challenge to select finalists. These young authors submitted writing filled with powerful emotions, vibrant vocabulary, and beautifully orchestrated poetic devices. Every piece offered a unique and thought-provoking perspective. It was my privilege to read the excellent work submitted by each of these talented poets!”
Judged Poetry Grades 9-12
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - The Princess and Her Brother
H.M. - Amulya Kotipalli - The Magical Peacock
Fiction: Grades 3-4
1 - Addison Zerger - The Gnome
2 - Addison Zerger - Love In A Graveyard
3 - Reeya Chundury - Mia and Mom’s Invention
H.M. - Adain Smith - The Helpful Turtle
H.M. - Emma Yu-an Li - Why Crocodiles are Green
H.M. - Chelsea Rose Walden - Too Many Chickens
H.M. - Nina Wilson - Elisa and the New House
Fiction: Grades 5-6
1 - Aubrey Martin - Farm Thief
2 - Arielle Li - Chapter 1 of The Dihu Diamond
3 - Arielle Li - The Talent Show (Show Not Tell)
H.M. - Jethro Tang - The Prisoner of the Water Closet
Fiction: Grades 7-8
1 - Morgan Sinsel - Mother Nature
2 - Morgan Sinsel - The Void
3 - John Hudson – Fries
H.M. - A. W. Headley - Oscar and the Guardians
H.M. - Chloe Pontious - Just Call Me Jess
Fiction: Grades 9-12
1 - Deja Kuehn - The Bridge
2 - Penelope (Penny) Duran - When Pigs Swim
3 - Caitlin Bond - A Warrior’s Tale
H.M. - Gunner Jones - Average Teenage Students
H.M. - Morgan-Rae Paige - A Villain’s Suicide
H.M. - Jacquline Spahr - Conspiracy, Anyone?
H.M. - Amanda Zhu - Regretter
Non-Fiction: Grades 1-2
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - My Little Sister
H.M. - Blythe Van Dusen - J.K. Rowling
Non-Fiction: Grades 3-4
1 - Xander Pinto - The True Story of Amelia Earhart
2 - Aarav Rajput - The Dust Bowl
3- Penny Crabb - Amelia Earhart
H.M. - Brody Browning - Uranus
H.M. - Lauren Egelhof - The Homestead Act
Non-Fiction: Grades 5-6
1 - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Athens or Rome: Which had the better system?
2 - Ellen Malloy - My First Black Diamond
3 - Gentry Aichele - The Dance Competition
H.M. - Brodie Kuhn - Grandma!
H.M. - Addysen Patrick - Epic Softball
H.M. - Cade Strathman - My trash talker experience
Non-Fiction: Grades 7-8
1- Tina Yu-tian Li - Walking a Mile in His Shoes
2 - Luke Hui - Alzheimer’s Disease
3 - Morgan Sinsel - Dog Behaviors
H.M. - Morgan Mae Hixson - Terror and Torture: Hitler’s Infamous Secret Police
H.M. - Joshua Zyzak - Proof that the Time is Always Right
Non-Fiction: Grades 9-12
1 - Penelope (Penny) Duran - Life’s Merry-go-round
2 - Bethany Choriego - Lee’s and Washington’s Views on Slavery
3 - Bethany Choriego - William “Boss” Tweed’s Corruption
Poetry: Grades 1-2
H.M. - Blythe Van Dusen - Beagles and Dachshunds
H.M. - Harper Lynne Falls - Nabraska
Poetry: Grades 3-4
1 - Rachel Rohrback - St. Louis
2 - Kinsley Scholl - 4th of July Fun
3 - Mila Pinto - Do Not Hide
H.M. - Sir Davis - Caliber
H.M. - Xander Pinto - The Ache
H.M. - Adain Smith - The Happy Squirrel
H.M. - Xander Pinto - The World
H.M. - Sophia Young - Haiku
Poetry: Grades 5-6
1 - Arabella Gipp - The day you left
2 - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Beyond What We See
3- Hadley Morrow - 我爱你 汉堡包 Wǒ ài nǐ Hànbǎobāo (I Love Hamburgers)
H.M. - Nithish V. Aravinthan - Thank you Amma (In my native language, Tamil, Amma means mother)
H.M. - Maya Reddy - Haiku For All Seasons
Poetry: Grades 7-8
1 - Morgan Sinsel - California Dreamin’
2 - Eddy Jiang - The Garden Path
3 - Isobel Li - You Are The Greens
H.M. - Audrey Caleb - Colored Pencils
H.M. - Chloe Pontious - You Taught Me how to Love
H.M. - Morgan Sinsel - Dying Hopes
Poetry: Grades 9-12
1 - Bethany Choriego - A Maybe Truth
2 - Jacquline Spahr - Shatter
3 - Carly Markovich - He Will Come Knocking
H.M. - Sarah Flora Chocron - The Distance Formula
H.M. - Penelope (Penny) Duran - Crossing
H.M. - Katherine Kallas - Houdini Days
Youth Spoken Word Poetry Winners:
1 – Chloe Pontious - Please Do Better
2 – Emily Montandon – Giving Up
Bajaj Youth Award Winner
Morgan Sinsel
Youth Judges
Ann McWhite was born and raised in Marysville, Kansas, and moved to Colorado in 1969. She finished college in Denver and then worked as a nurse at P/SL from 1975 to her retirement in 2014. At sixty-nine years old, she enjoys attending writing book club, paddle boarding, astronomy, gardening, reading, climbing in the mountains with her son Joe, baking, and just being with other retired friends keeping friendships open.
Judged Fiction Grades 1-2 and Non-Fiction Grades 1-2
Emporia Writers: Formed in 2010 by three writers, the Emporia Writers Group has grown to about forty members, with two dozen “regulars” who meet weekly for write-in sessions, to discuss writing and publication and to encourage and support each other in the writing process. Members of the group write novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry, plays, non-fiction, memoir, and essays. In addition to numerous self-published authors, there are three small-press publishers in the group.
Judged Fiction Grades 3-4 and Non-Fiction Grades 3-4
Connie Rae White had dreamed for years of writing, someday, but life was busy. Instead, she spent fifty years working in medicine, first as a Medical Technologist, and then for eighteen years as a Physician Assistant in Family Practice. Upon retirement, in 2011, she joined the Kansas Authors Club to learn to write. Since then, under her author name Connie Rae, she has published three children’s books: Lizzie’s Life Adventures, What WILL We Do On A Rainy Day, and Camo, the Polka-Dot Pup. Her latest book, It’s All Show Business, is the memoir of a friend who grew up in his family’s circus. Connie Rae co-chaired the 2019 KAC State Convention for District 5.
Judged Fiction Grades 5-6
Diane Wahto: After her three sons left for college, and after nine years of teaching high school journalism at Winfield High School, Diane Wahto entered the Wichita State University MFA program in 1983 and started writing poetry. She taught English Composition at Butler Community College from 1985 to 2009. She has co-edited two editions of the anthology, 365 Poems. Her book of poetry, The Sad Joy of Leaving, was published by Blue Cedar Press in 2018. Her blog, “Poet of a Certain Age,” may be found at poetofacertainage.wordpress.com. Diane is President of the Kansas Authors Club, District 5, and is the Awards Chair for the state. She is also the co-chair of the 2019 KAC State Convention. She and her husband, Patrick Roche, live in Wichita with their dog Annie, a waif Diane found running loose on the Kansas Turnpike.
Judged Non-Fiction Grades 5-6
Louise Brown has lived most of her life in Colorado, currently Arvada. She treasured her chance, years ago, to take adult education classes from Colorado poet Carolyn Campbell which launched her efforts in writing poetry. She has been a member of Columbine Poets of Colorado, a branch of National Federation of State Poetry Societies, for many years. Most recently she participates in Hard Times Writers at the Arvada Library. Louise has a 16-year-old granddaughter and a 13-year-old grandson* whose family lives with her. Since her grandson Jason was three, she has read age-appropriate books to him, most recently the entire Harry Potter series. She is a retired preschool teacher whose favorite part of the job was reading to the children. She loves reading novels, poetry, and a variety of non-fiction.
*Noting Jason’s ability to analyze and comment on Rowling’s writing, Louis invited him to listen to the KAC submissions for his insight, comments, and teen POV. Jason is an eighth grader at Compass Montessori in Golden, Colorado. He likes Harry Potter, Pokémon, and Star Wars. He also likes to ride his bike and watch weird stuff on YouTube.
A Word from Louis Brown to the Writers:
It was a great pleasure to read your stories and articles and to see that you are interested in writing. In EVERY piece I saw the potential of the author as a writer, no matter where you may have “placed.” In my notes on your pages, I tried to indicate what really worked in what you wrote, and, for some, how I could see it becoming a larger work. I also added a few ways to fill out your pieces with details or make something clearer or flow better for the reader. I hope you become life-long writers, each of you!
Judged Fiction Grades 7-8, and Non-Fiction Grades 7-8
Jane Lewis was born and raised in the small town of Marysville, Kansas, along Route 36. After high school she attended Marymount College in Salina before moving to Denver. She now lives in Colorado and has raised a family of four daughters. Her career has been centered around working as a construction project manager and art consultant. Recently, Jane started her own company–Crowning Touch Art Consulting. Her passion has always been transforming spaces with art. Writing is a close second. Workshops and classes have helped Jane hone her writing skills. Jane says, “Friendships with other writers are important. We encourage each other to unlock the stories and poems waiting to spring forth from our imaginations and memories. Enough said. Now back to my writing …”
Judged Fiction Grades 9-12, and Non-Fiction Grades 9-12
Ronda Miller is a Life Coach and Poet who works with clients who have lost someone to homicide. She is a Fellow of The Citizen Journalism Academy, World Company; a Certified Life Coach with the Institute of Professional Empowerment Coaching; a University of Kansas graduate, Lawrence resident; and mother to son, Scott, and daughter, Apollonia. Miller created poetic forms loku and ukol. Miller is the state president (2018-19) of Kansas Authors Club (kansasauthors.org) and former vice president, poetry contest manager, convention host, and district president for the club. Miller gives presentations of grief, “Writing Your Trauma Without too Much Drama,” and end of life issues, “Talking to Crickets.”
Miller has published three books of poetry, Going Home: Poems from My Life, MoonStain (Meadowlark 2015), and WaterSigns (Meadowlark 2017). Her poems can be found in numerous anthologies, transformed into art, and at The Smithsonian Art Institute Archives.
When Miller isn’t coaching clients, volunteering time to Kansas authors, or writing poetry, she is busy learning life skills from children with special needs. She enjoys wandering the high plateau of NW Kansas where Arikaree Breaks whisper late into the sunset and scream the arrival of blizzards and thunderstorms. www.meadowlark-books.com/p/ronda-miller.html
Judged Youth Spoken Word
Curtis Becker teaches English at Emporia State University. He Watched and Took Note, Becker’s collection of poetry and short fiction, was released in August of 2018. In addition to teaching and writing, he operates Kellogg Press, which published three poetry collections in 2019. Becker earned a BA in English from ESU and an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a proud member of Kansas Authors Club and the Emporia Writers Group.
Judged Poetry Grades 3-4
Kerry Moyer joined Kansas Authors Club as a member of District 2 in late 2018. As a poet, Kerry has released two Chapbooks and a collection, Dirt Road through Kellogg Press over the last two years. Kerry writes about rural themes, addiction, mental health struggles, family life, and various musings. He also writes about topics as common as fishing and wrestling with the passage of time. Kerry is an active member of the Emporia Writers Group and calls Emporia, Kansas, home where he has worked in community mental health for twenty years. He resides there with his wife, Sarah, and their two boys, Edward and Miles.
Judged Poetry Grades 3-4
Marie A. Shepard is a graduate of the University of Utah with degrees in History and Education. She has taught in Alternative School in Salt Lake City. She volunteered at KRCL Listener’s Community Radio in Salt Lake City and read books over the air. She also has worked with disabled youth in Manhattan, Kansas. At the present time she is raising her great-grand niece and nephew.
Judged Poetry Grades 5-6
Melissa Riordan, LSCSW, is the owner of InnerVision Life Coaching and Counseling Services in the Kansas City area. Melissa has been a psychotherapist and Social worker for ten years, specializing in trauma therapy with children. She is also a freelance writer and wildlife photographer. She previously lived in Los Angeles where she was a stand-up comic, actress, and sketch writer at the world-famous Groundlings in Hollywood. Melissa currently lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with her dog, a Chiweenie named Jackson. She often visits Los Angeles where her two adult sons live.
Judged Poetry Grades 7-8
Lindsay Frank is a fifth-grade teacher in Eudora, Kansas. She’s a proud Jayhawk who’s working on her master’s in curriculum and instruction at the University of Kansas. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, going on walks, drinking coffee, playing sports, crafting, and spending time with her family and her dog. She’s excited to be a part of this process and read the excellent poetry submitted by students!
Note to the Writers from Lindsay: Wow, what an incredible collection of poems! It was such a joy to read each of these entries, and such a challenge to select finalists. These young authors submitted writing filled with powerful emotions, vibrant vocabulary, and beautifully orchestrated poetic devices. Every piece offered a unique and thought-provoking perspective. It was my privilege to read the excellent work submitted by each of these talented poets!”
Judged Poetry Grades 9-12
Seminars and Opportunities at the Convention
Seminar & Activity Titles Below or CLICK HERE for Full Details of Seminars and Speakers
Seminar & Activity Titles Below or CLICK HERE for Full Details of Seminars and Speakers
Seminar |
“Murder and Mayhem for Writers” by Paul Bishop |
Seminar |
“Getting the Words Right” by Paul Bishop |
Seminar |
"Writing in the Crossroads: Where Craft and Creativity Meet" by Clare Vanderpool |
Luncheon (tickets available to purchase with registration) |
"Books I Have Loved and I Swear Loved Me Back: The Transformative Power of Story" by Clare Vanderpool |
Seminar |
|
Seminar |
"Fiction on Trial: Can Writing About Law Be Both Accurate and Interesting?" by Curt Bohling |
Seminar |
"Lost in the Middle: How to Shore up the Middle of Your Manuscript" by Claire Caterer |
Panel |
"The Life of a Blogger" featuring Nancy Julien Kopp Joy Hathaway Lenz Jim Potter Sara Severance Weinert click on each name to reach their blog |
Seminar |
"Interviewing Celebreties--Great and Small" by Dan Close |
Seminar |
"Wringing that Last Drop of Blood from Your Words: Learn to use an Emotion Color Wheel in Writing" by Tracy Edingfield Dunn |
Seminar |
"A Life in the Shadows" by Michael D. Graves |
Trolley Tour |
A tour of the historical places in Wichita that appear in the novels, To Leave a Shadow and Shadow of Death, by Michael D. Graves |
Seminar |
"And I Cried Too: Memoir of Murders" Mike Hartnett |
Seminar |
"A Who-dunit/Why-dunit Approach to History" by David A. Nichols, biographer of Presidents |
Seminar |
"Let Poetry Inform Your Prose: Telling a Tale" by April Pameticky, River City Poetry |
Seminar |
"Poet as Farmer: Planting Creativity Seeds" by April Pameticky, River City Poetry |
Seminar |
"Getting Your Writing Done: Time Management" by Kevin Rabas, Kansas Poet Laureate, 2017-2019 |
Panel |
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Panel |
Writing a Winner: How I Did It Recent winners of the KAC Donald Coffin Best Book Award will share tips on writing a winning book. |
Poetry & Music Event |