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2020 Adult Poetry and Prose Contest Winners
2020 Youth Contest Winners
2020 Writers of the Year - Kristine Polansky (Poetry) and Julie Sellers (Prose)
2020 Book Award Winners
Membership Recognition
2020 Adult Poetry and Prose Contest Winners
2020 Youth Contest Winners
2020 Writers of the Year - Kristine Polansky (Poetry) and Julie Sellers (Prose)
2020 Book Award Winners
- J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award - Michael D. Graves, All Hallows' Shadows
- Nelson Poetry Book Award - Jon Kelly Yenser, The News as Usual
- Martin Kansas History Book Award - Chuck Warner, Birds, Bones, and Beetles
- "It Looks Like a Million" Book Design Award - Chuck Warner, Birds, Bones, and Beetles
- Children's Book Award - Ronda Miller, I Love the Child
Membership Recognition

Kevin Willmott—Keynote Speaker
Writing about Race, History, America and the Urgency of Now
Willmott will discuss writing Blackkklansman, Da 5 Bloods, Jayhawkers, and CSA Confederate States of America. Exploring what these films say about our lives as Americans and how writing can create a more democratic nation.
Kevin Willmott won an Academy Award and the BAFTA (British Academy award) for co-writing with Spike Lee the feature film Blackkklansman. The film also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes film Festival.
He also co-wrote and is the Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed film, Chi-Raq also directed by Spike Lee. The film is on numerous “Best of 2015” lists, including best film and best screenplay by The New Yorker Magazine.
Award winning Films written and directed by Willmott include Ninth Street, CSA-Confederate States of America, the Battle for Bunker Hill, Jayhawkers, and Destination Planet Negro. Documentaries directed by Willmott include: From Separate to Equal: The Creation of Truman Medical Center, Gordon Parks Elementary, Fast Break: The Legendary Coach John Mclendon, and William Allen White: What’s the Matter with Kansas.
He co-wrote with Spike Lee the feature film, Da 5 Bloods for Netflix. He recently co-wrote and directed the feature film The 24th, about the Houston Riot of 1917.
Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas, and attended Marymount College, receiving his BA in Drama. After graduation, he returned home, working as a peace and civil rights activist, fighting for the rights of the poor, creating two Catholic Worker shelters for the homeless, and forcing the integration of several long-standing segregated institutions. He attended graduate studies at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, receiving several writing awards and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing. Willmott is a Professor in the Media and Film Studies Department of Kansas University.
Writing about Race, History, America and the Urgency of Now
Willmott will discuss writing Blackkklansman, Da 5 Bloods, Jayhawkers, and CSA Confederate States of America. Exploring what these films say about our lives as Americans and how writing can create a more democratic nation.
Kevin Willmott won an Academy Award and the BAFTA (British Academy award) for co-writing with Spike Lee the feature film Blackkklansman. The film also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes film Festival.
He also co-wrote and is the Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed film, Chi-Raq also directed by Spike Lee. The film is on numerous “Best of 2015” lists, including best film and best screenplay by The New Yorker Magazine.
Award winning Films written and directed by Willmott include Ninth Street, CSA-Confederate States of America, the Battle for Bunker Hill, Jayhawkers, and Destination Planet Negro. Documentaries directed by Willmott include: From Separate to Equal: The Creation of Truman Medical Center, Gordon Parks Elementary, Fast Break: The Legendary Coach John Mclendon, and William Allen White: What’s the Matter with Kansas.
He co-wrote with Spike Lee the feature film, Da 5 Bloods for Netflix. He recently co-wrote and directed the feature film The 24th, about the Houston Riot of 1917.
Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas, and attended Marymount College, receiving his BA in Drama. After graduation, he returned home, working as a peace and civil rights activist, fighting for the rights of the poor, creating two Catholic Worker shelters for the homeless, and forcing the integration of several long-standing segregated institutions. He attended graduate studies at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, receiving several writing awards and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing. Willmott is a Professor in the Media and Film Studies Department of Kansas University.

Huascar Medina—Keynote Speaker
May Our Voices Ring True
Poetry is a lens that can be both microscopic and telescopic, representing the “. . . clear expression of mixed feelings,” as poet W.H. Auden suggests. Poetry creates space where we can discover ourselves, find our place, and revel in beauty and truth. But through poetry we can also find connection with one another. Poet Mahmoud Darwish said it like this: “Poetry and beauty are always making peace. When you read something beautiful you find coexistence; it breaks walls down.” This presentation will use poetry to help us find our voices, share our words, and discover what truly connects us. May our voices ring true and may our truth have the grace of beauty.
Huascar Medina is a poet, writer, performer, and Literary Editor for seveneightfive magazine who lives in Topeka. He is the current poet laureate of Kansas (2019 - 2021).
May Our Voices Ring True
Poetry is a lens that can be both microscopic and telescopic, representing the “. . . clear expression of mixed feelings,” as poet W.H. Auden suggests. Poetry creates space where we can discover ourselves, find our place, and revel in beauty and truth. But through poetry we can also find connection with one another. Poet Mahmoud Darwish said it like this: “Poetry and beauty are always making peace. When you read something beautiful you find coexistence; it breaks walls down.” This presentation will use poetry to help us find our voices, share our words, and discover what truly connects us. May our voices ring true and may our truth have the grace of beauty.
Huascar Medina is a poet, writer, performer, and Literary Editor for seveneightfive magazine who lives in Topeka. He is the current poet laureate of Kansas (2019 - 2021).
Workshops
All presentations will be recorded and will remain available to registered attendees to view online for a period of time after the convention. Click here for list of full workshop descriptions.
Full workshop descriptions will be delivered on our Member News page during the month of August. You can also view our Convention program at Issuu for a complete description of workshops and author bios.
Thank you to our 2020 Convention Committee
Chair: Ronda Miller
Carol Yoho, Connie White, Maryann Barry, Sheree Wingo, Howard John Sanders, Frank Powers, Reaona Hemmingway, Marilyn Johnson, Kristine Polansky
Chair: Ronda Miller
Carol Yoho, Connie White, Maryann Barry, Sheree Wingo, Howard John Sanders, Frank Powers, Reaona Hemmingway, Marilyn Johnson, Kristine Polansky