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2021 ConventionĀ Panel Presentation - The Future of Books: New Business Models, Post-Pandemic.

9/30/2021

 
When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, many Kansas businesses were slammed with mandatory closures. Libraries and bookstores scrambled to find ways to continue to serve readers and stay afloat and Kansas authors have felt the effects. The panelists will let us in on their innovative business pivots and tell us how their new operating procedures will affect authors and how we can help them as they continue to help us.

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RoundTable Bookstore – Andrew Howard
One of the busiest places in the North Topeka Arts District is Roundtable Bookstore. The family-owned and operated business opened just ahead of the pandemic and was the retirement dream for Dad Scott Howard. When lockdowns occurred, he decided to keep his day job driving a regional UPS truck. Son Andrew already had a demanding IT job with a local school district, while another son, Rain, works another job when he’s not serving as the store’s coffee barista and salesclerk. Andrew will tell convention viewers how the family pivoted from their original expansion plans because of the pandemic and about other exciting plans for the store’s future. Currently, the unique store has new and used books and an expanding local author section.

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Prospero’s Book Store – Will Leathem
Birthed on a bar stool less than fifty feet from its front door, Prospero’s fills an historic 1890 building originally housing a grocery store its first 20 years and a hardware store for the next 90 – very possibly the longest continually operated retail space in KC.

On a cold November 19th, Prospero’s opened on the anniversary of Silvia Beach’s famed Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company – the birthplace of the Moderns (Hemingway, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.). Prospero’s quickly earned a reputation as home to a significant portion of Kansas City’s literary, music and arts scene. 

During its off hours, Prospero’s maintains a selection of books outside on its sidewalks 24-7 for those visiting at the nearby KU Medical Center or traveling the bus lines, or those simply in need of a read. Individuals are encouraged to slip $ beneath the door. In addition, Prospero’s maintains free book boxes throughout the urban core. Prospero’s is co-owned and operated by Tom Wayne and Will Leathem, both of whom live in the neighborhood and one of whom is almost always behind the counter.

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Topeka Shawnee County Public Library – Thad Hartman
Topeka Shawnee County Public Library is not just a place for books. It’s a local cultural center with its Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery, its Millenium Café, Chandler Booktique and numerous exhibits and special events. The beautiful facility has free meeting rooms and before the pandemic, District 1 members met upstairs in one of them, after grabbing a bite to eat at the café.
During the pandemic the library transitioned to new services that included patron book pickups and even local deliveries. Interim Chief Executive Director Thad Hartman will be talking to convention viewers about how the library is being positioned for the future and about its relationship with local authors. He is responsible for leading the library in achieving its mission of sparking curiosity and connecting our community through literacy and learning.
Thad began his career as a shelving assistant at the library in 1993 and has worked in a variety of positions since then. He has led numerous projects throughout his career, including the implementation of the Library @ Work program, community center computer labs, and the facilities master plan.
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As a lifelong Topekan, Thad developed his love of the library by checking out Choose Your Own Adventure books, sports biographies, and books about bigfoot. Thad’s proudest moments at the library include being a member of the 2016 Library of the Year, being named an American Library Association Emerging Leader in 2006, and once managing the library softball team to a 1-11 record.​

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Robert Dean Reads for Poets4Haiti

9/30/2021

 
D5 Member Robert L. Dean, Jr., read his poem "This Floating Life" for the VALA Gallery's Convergence Project. a series of daily video posts through the month of September. Dean including an appeal for Poets4Haiti.com in his video, with instructions on how to help. The link for Poets4Haiti.com is also given below.
Poets4haiti.com


Welcome, New Member Chance Dibben

9/29/2021

 
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Today, we have the pleasure of welcoming Chance Dibben of Lawrence to the Kansas Authors Club! 

Name: Chance Dibben
Town: Lawrence, Kansas

What kind of writing do you do?  Poetry and short fiction. Many unfinished screenplays and odd items. I used to be a freelance music writer.

What writing projects have you completed or are currently working on? I am currently working on polishing up a short short fiction collection and a few poetry full-lengths. I've got a number of self-produced chapbooks and zines out. They can be viewed in full here: http://www.chancedibben.com/writing/chapbooks/
 
Do you have a website or a facebook page that you'd like us to share with other KAC members? 

Sure! It is chancedibben.com You can take a gander at what I'm up to in writing and other fields there.

 Twitter: twitter.com/chancedibben

What would you like to gain from your membership with the Kansas Authors Club?   I like the opportunity to connect with other writers in Kansas and to gain a sense of the great things going on.

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Welcome, New Member Carey Gillam

9/28/2021

 
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Carey sent her bio as her introduction. She's in District 2, from Overland Park. Welcome, Carey! 

Carey Gillam is a veteran investigative journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering corporate news, including 17 years as a senior correspondent for Reuters international news service. At Reuters, she specialized in covering industrial agriculture, including the products and practices of the world’s largest agrochemical companies and the related health and environmental impacts. Gillam joined the non-profit research group US Right to Know in 2016 where she researches and writes about pesticide issues. In addition to her work a research director for US Right to Know, Gillam works as a contributing writer for The Guardian and freelances for other publications. She is also a member of the Freedom of Information Task Force within the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Gillam’s ongoing reporting and writing have led her to become recognized as an international expert on corporate agriculture and the health and environmental impacts of a pesticide-dependent food system. She is the author of “Whitewash- The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science,” an expose of corporate corruption in agriculture. The book won the coveted Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists in 2018 as well as two other literary awards. 
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Her second book, a narrative legal thriller titled The Monsanto Papers, was released March 2. 2021. The book is described by one reviewer as blending “science and human tragedy with courtroom drama in the style of John Grisham.” Another said “Gillam has "written what I can only describe as a blockbuster, right up there with page-turning thrillers by John Grisham.”

Carey's website: CareyGillam.com. 
Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/CareyGillamAuthor
Twitter: @careygillam

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Dean Invited to Read Poems: Members Published in Latest I-70 Review

9/26/2021

 
D5 member Robert L. Dean, Jr., read at 100,000 Poets For Change on Sep. 25th, hosted by The Writers Place in KC via Zoom. This is an event that takes place annually on the same day all over the world. This was Bob's first time participating. Dean also read in the first of two Zoom readings by contributors in the new I-70 Review issue, also hosted by The Writers Place; this first contributors' reading was on Sep. 24th. There will be a second contributors' reading on Oct. 1st at 7pm. See their Facebook page for details. The issue is so big they had to schedule two contributor's readings.
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Kansas Authors Club members in this issue include:

Robert L. Dean, Jr. (D5)
Roy Beckemeyer (D5)
Skyler Lovelace (D5)
Boyd Bauman (D2)
Denise Low (D2)
Wyatt Townley (D2)

If you are not listed here, please contact us and we will update this list.

2021 Convention Opening Speaker: Thomas Fox Averill

9/26/2021

 
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"Trouble: the Backbone of Literature"

Opening Speaker: Thomas Fox Averill, retired WU English teacher, has published several books and is a radio commentator, using the name “William Jennings Bryan Oleander.” He donated a collection of books by Kansas authors to the Maybee Library at Washburn. The opening general session Friday Evening, October 8, starting at 7:00pm will focus on a quote from Eudora Welty, “Trouble, the Backbone of Literature,” and the way that trouble helps construct plot and character together as people move from difficulty to either overcome, or come to live with “troubles.”
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Buy Your Convention Ticket Today
If you are not already a member, take this opportunity to join with your convention registration!

You are Invited: D6 Meeting, Heidi Unruh & Gina Laiso Present

9/24/2021

 
Saturday, Sep. 25, @ 1:30 PM - via Zoom

If you want to understand the process of getting a book ready to print, then join the Kansas Authors Club this Saturday, September 25 at 1:30 PM on Zoom.

Heidi Unruh, developmental editor & writing coach, and Gina Laiso, book consultant & designer, will share their skill sets with writers interested in authoring a book.

Unruh will present, “From Idea to Manuscript.” Laiso will follow with “From Manuscript to a Book in Your Hand.” Questions will be welcomed by the speakers.

The meeting is free to the public. If you’re interested in attending this virtual meeting, contact Jim Potter via email at jim@copintheclassroom.com or by texting or calling 620-899-3144.
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Reserve a Copy of the 2021 Youth Award Book Today

9/23/2021

 
Are you looking for some hope for the future? A little dose of good to restore your faith in humanity?

Each year, Kansas Authors Club hosts a writing contest for youth. These entries, representing young writers third through twelfth grade, are a delightful look into the hearts and minds of today's youth.

"I am always struck by these essays. Kids tend to write a little bolder than adults. They have fun with the fantastical, and they make some seriously profound observations about the serious. Putting together this collection of essays, poems, and stories is a highlight of my year."
                                         Tracy Million Simmons
                                         2021 VP, & Youth Contest
                                         Book Project Volunteer
                                         (many years running)

Each child published in the book gets a free copy courtesy of Mennonite Press, our contest sponsor. Donations for the extra copies go to support Kansas Authors Club Youth Programs.
2021 Youth Contest Book

2021 Youth Contest Book

$10.00 - $42.50

Buy now

2021 Convention: Keynote Speaker, Tim Keane

9/19/2021

 
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Keynote: "Pardon My Pentameter: A Descent Into Cowboy Poetry." 

Tim Keane is a three-time champion in the Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest. He also has won multiple events at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo, where he was overall reserve champion in 2016 and 2018. While this all sounds quite pretentious, he attempts to remain pragmatic, half-handy, and on occasion, entertaining. He describes himself as a “green broke”* cowboy poet, although he has “slipped past various judges a few times.”
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Dr. Keane is Professor of Landscape Architecture and Distinguished Graduate Faculty, in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Kansas State University, where he has served since 1984. His research involves the study of rivers, creeks, gullies and erosional or depositional processes.

​He lives with his wife, Sharon, and a couple of bird dogs in northwest Wabaunsee County.


“Green broke”: has had a saddle on, been ridden a few times, has lots of vices, needs tons of work; is liable to spook, bolt, kick, rear, crow-hop, and refuse simple situations; basically unpredictable.

Buy Your Convention Ticket Today
If you are not already a member, take this opportunity to join with your convention registration!

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2021 Convention:Ā Panel on Small Kansas Independent Book Publishers

9/17/2021

 
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There is still time to purchase your ticket for the 2021 Kansas Authors Club Convention! These four accomplished children's book authors are among the great speakers and workshops you will have access to at the virtual event, which will take place October 8-10.

Purchase your ticket through Submittable. Use the button below!
Register for the Convention
Kansas boasts an amazing array of talented and dedicated independent book publishers. Their owners are the folks who promote and publish the poetry and prose of talented wordsmiths who might never land or seek a contract with any of the big New York publishers. Meadowlark, Blue Cedar, One Voice and Spartan are all racking up some impressive title inventories and many of them are KAC members’ books. How and why do these small publishers deal with the little fish? What is their vision for their companies and the talented authors they recruit? Do they accept submissions? What do they charge?
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The members of this panel will give us a brief history of their dedicated service to Kansas authors. They include:
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Tracy Million Simmons of Meadowlark–
Owner/Publisher of Meadowlark Press, enjoys reading and writing about the people and places of her home state of Kansas, both real and imagined. She started Meadowlark Books in 2014 with the publication of Green Bike, a group novel, with Kevin Rabas and Michael D. Graves. Since that time, Meadowlark has published books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including the 2016 Kansas Notable Book, To Leave a Shadow by Michael D. Graves, the 2020 Kansas Notable Book, Headwinds, by Edna Bell-Pearson, and the 2021 Kansas Notable Book, All Hallows' Shadows, by Michael D. Graves. Opulence, Kansas, by Julie Stielstra was the winner of the 2021 Midwest Book Award in YA fiction.

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Gretchen Eick of Blue Cedar–
After fourteen years as a foreign and military policy lobbyist in Washington, Gretchen Eick became a professor of history. Awarded two Fulbright Scholar awards (to Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) and a Fulbright Hays travel grant to South Africa, she is the author of seven books, two scholarly histories, four novels, and a book of short stories. Her books include  
Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest, 1954-1972 (U of IL Press, 2001/2007) and They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans’ Story (University of Nevada Press)

Blue Cedar Press published its first books in 2015. Michael Poage, the founder, wanted to start a press that would focus on poetry written by new voices that he believed should be published and heard. His wife, Gretchen Eick, a published writer of nonfiction, had begun writing novels and wanted the press to publish fiction and nonfiction from new voices also, particularly the voices of today’s “other America”—people of color, immigrants, young people, people of nontraditional sexual orientation, as well as people from other countries.

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Jason Ryberg of Spartan Press–
Jason Ryberg is the author of fourteen books of poetry, six screenplays, a few short stories, a box full of folders, notebooks and scraps of paper that could one day be (loosely) construed as a novel, and a couple of angry letters to various magazine and newspaper editors. He is currently an artist-in-residence at both The Prospero Institute of Disquieted P/o/e/t/i/c/s and the Osage Arts Community, and is an editor and designer at Spartan Books. His latest collection of poems is Are You Sure Kerouac Done It This Way!? (co-authored with John Dorsey, and Victor Clevenger, OAC Books, 2021). He lives part-time in Kansas City, MO with a rooster named Little Red and a Billy goat named Giuseppe and part-time somewhere in the Ozarks near the Gasconade River, where there are also many strange and wonderful woodland critters. 
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Will Leathem founded Spartan Press in the late 1990s as a vehicle to bring awareness to the stunning writing talent Kansas City has to offer. As part-owner of Prospero’s Books, he has been an endless champion for small presses and local and national poetry, hosting hundreds of events.

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Jan Gilbert Hurst of Author’s Voice–
In her business--Author’s Voice Publishing—Jan’s mission is to help aspiring writers become published authors. She provides all the services needed to shepherd manuscripts through editing, design, production, and print, to become polished books that authors are proud to present to the world. She appreciates one adoring husband, two grown sons, and three delightful grandchildren. Her spare time overflows with volunteering as a leader in Outdoor Ministry. She sporadically works on her own historical novel, regularly attends MacNovelists, a writers’ group in McPherson, and enjoys meeting new people as a member of the Kansas Authors Club. 

2021 Convention Page
2021 Convention Workshops

Finding Inspiration in Everyday Objects - District 2 Meeting Presenter, Beth Gulley

9/16/2021

 
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Updated meeting location!!
District 2's September meeting will be in Ronda Miller's backyard at 214 Lawrence Ave. in Lawrence from 10:00 - 12:00 on Saturday September 18, 2021. Due to Covid, there will not be a bathroom available, but Ronda will have water.

Our featured presenter will be District 2 Member, Beth Gruver Gulley.

Finding Inspiration in Everyday Objects

She will use her book, The Sticky Note Alphabet, to illustrate the ways mundane objects can trigger memories that in turn can lead to meaningful poems. Sometimes setting parameters for our writing, for example writing daily or trying new forms, can push us to notice the beauty in everyday objects as well.

Beth Gulley lives in Spring Hill, Kansas and teaches writing at Johnson County Community College. She has an MA from UMKC and a PhD from the University of Kansas. When not writing about teaching, Beth primarily writes poetry.

Her latest book, The Sticky Note Alphabet (from Alien Buddha Press), reminds us that small things are not always unimportant things. In December, her book Dragon Eggs will be published by Spartan Press. Her older work includes the 2018 chapbook, $!*# Hole Countries: A Find and Replace Meditation.

Her poetry and stories also appear in the Bards Against Hunger Anthology, From Everywhere a Little: A Migration Anthology, the Thorny Locust, and The Gasconade Review Presents: Storm A’Comin’, Kansas Letters to a Young Poet, and the 105 Meadowlark Reader. She has been a proud member of the Facebook group 365 Poems in 365 Days since 2015, and her poems appear in all three of the 365 Poems in 365 Days anthologies.
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Beth serves on the Riverfront Reading Committee and is a Writer’s Place board member. She loves thrift store shopping, traveling, and drinking coffee.
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D5 Member, Gretchen Eick, Speaking at Kansas Book Festival

9/16/2021

 
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Gretchen Eick will be speaking on a panel at the Kansas Book Festival about writing books that treat controversial subjects and/or historical material that is little known by the general public. She will be using her latest book as her case in point: They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans' Story (University of Nevada, 2020).

She has had two articles accepted for publication in the first two issues by 105 Meadowlark Reader: A Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction.

She is revising the sequel to her historical novel Maybe Crossings for publication in early 2022. The sequel is set in 2019 with a working title When the Road Splayed.

She will be speaking to the District 5 KAC group Saturday, October 16 at 1:30 on researching and writing historical fiction and nonfiction.
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2021 Convention Workshop:Ā Panel of Children’s Authors

9/16/2021

 
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Updated 9/16/2021

There is still time to purchase your ticket for the 2021 Kansas Authors Club Convention! These four accomplished children's book authors are among the great speakers and workshops you will have access to at the virtual event, which will take place October 8-10.

Purchase your ticket through Submittable. Use the button below!

register
Publishing Children’s Books during Challenging Times
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Kim Luke has published two continuing series of books: three fantasy books and three children’s books. She is serious about the craft of writing and taught herself to record audio for her books. Kim and her husband operate a Christmas tree farm, which is the setting for the children’s series she has published. She has some amazing methods for organizing and getting into the heads of the characters in her fantasy books by picturing them as celebrities or actors. And her imagination brings the fictional animal characters in her children’s books alive with personality. Kim has other books to write but had to work around the pandemic, the family’s tree and elderberry operation and a newly built event venue on the farm. It’s not easy to balance all the work, but Kim does it somehow.

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​Kimberly Stringer is the owner and operator of a unique school in Wichita centered on an outdoor learning space. She is also a talented artist and early childhood curriculum developer. Her latest children’s books, Bully, Bully Blue Jay and I Swallowed a Bubble, were published this year after she made some dramatic changes to her school in the wake of the pandemic. Her book Leonard the Leprechaun, contains an appendix with daily curriculum ideas centered around a story she has used for years. She has much to tell us about how children react and interact with the contents of a book, as well as the challenges of keeping her school alive during a pandemic.

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​Author Dustin Wilgers is a native of Wichita and has spent most of his life in the state. He received a B.S. in Biology from Southwestern College, M.S. in Biology from Kansas State University, and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Nebraska. It was at Nebraska where he fell in love with spiders. After getting over a mild case of arachnophobia, he became fascinated by these creatures and has studied their behaviors for more than a decade now. he enjoys sharing his passions with others through teaching students of all levels. Since 2011, he has been a faculty member in the Natural Sciences Department at McPherson College. During his spare time, Dustin holds outreach events across the state. Writing books has enabled him to communicate science with a broader audience. He writes stories in ways that educate kids effectively, entertains them so they come back for more, but most importantly, excites the next generation to change the world.

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Lila Bartel, a local Topeka watercolor artist and author, is a retired teacher of gifted students from Topeka High School. She teamed up with author Kimberly Stringer to produce Kim’s first book, Loving Lauren, about a physically challenged student who gets to go to a local fair in her wheelchair. The illustrations are beautiful. Lila also produced her own book, What Was God Thinking, that shows the depth of her lifetime work as a watercolor artist, as well as some of the questions all of us have about universal questions children might have about how the universe operates. This year, Lila has teamed up with KAC President Duane Johnson to illustrate a book of poetry. She has much to tell us about collaborating with authors to bring their words to life.


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Important Update:

On Friday, August 28, members of the District 1 Kansas Authors Club, hosts for the 2021 State Writing Conference and Convention scheduled for October 9 and 10 at the Ramada Inn in Topeka announced a switch from an in-person event to a virtual one.
 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we shift to Plan B for the convention. We promise that it will still contain the same motivational and informative workshops and speakers. It will perhaps be even more intimate in the webinar setting, as no one will have to strain to see or hear speakers. You’ll be able to look into their eyes and feel like you’re sitting in the same room with them. And, actually, you will be… in the same zoom room!
 
We look forward to seeing you in October on Zoom! 

View convention details on this page: 2021 Convention
Registration deadline: October 7, 2021

Literary Submissions for 2022 Yearbook Deadline Approaching

9/12/2021

 
Members, don't forget to claim your page in the 2022 yearbook!

Deadline: October 15, 2021
Due Between August 1 and October 15, 2021, electronic receipt or postmark


  • Every Member having paid current dues is invited to submit ONE literary contribution for the yearbook. That submission can be either prose or poetry. Prose is limited to one printed page (no more than 500 words). Poetry is limited to one printed page (no more than 40 lines including spaces between verses).
  • All literary contributions remain the property of the individual authors. Authors may continue to use or distribute their work without requesting permission from the Kansas Authors Club. No work printed in the KAC yearbook may be copied or distributed in any form without explicit permission from the author.
  • Yearbook Submissions are preferred via the online site, Submittable. There is NO CHARGE to submit a yearbook entry.
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  1. Prepare your document as you normally would for print submission.
  2. The link for submission is: kansasauthorsclub.submittable.com
  3. Complete required information. (Name, address, etc.)
  4. Select file and upload for submission.


submit

August Publishing Updates from D1 Member, Duane L. Herrmann

9/10/2021

 
​In August I have had my response to two prompts posted by Adirondack Center for Writing, five at Carrot Ranch, five poems posted on the Literary Yard, one published in an anthology commemorating 9/11, five reasons to stay positive accepted for an anthology by Wingless Dreamer, five poems accepted for the 10 Sept edition of Page & Spine, and an article and a poem appeared in the Topeka Geneological Society Quarterly.

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If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form.

New D2 Member Book Optioned for Television and Film Projects

9/10/2021

 
After her first book won the coveted Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists, former Reuters journalist and Kansas native Carey Gillam has released her second book, The Monsanto Papers- Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption and One Man's Search for Justice (Island Press, 2021). The nonfiction book has been optioned for television and film projects. Contact Carey at carey@careygillam.com
Congratulations, Carey! And welcome to Kansas Authors Club!
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Two Members Published in New Chicken Soup for the Soul Anthology

9/10/2021

 
From Nancy Julien Kopp, D4 member:

"I have a story titled “The Four-Legged Nanny” in a 
new Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology. The book title is “My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog.” This is the 24th Chicken Soup book in which I have a story."
Yvonne "Evie" Green, of D1, also has an essay in this anthology.

Congratulations to Nancy and Evie! 
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Not Your Ordinary Presentation

9/6/2021

 
Chelsea Monroe-Cassel--author, artist, and designer. This multi-talented lady will be presenting ideas about how to use our reading interests and writing talents to create successful cookbooks. To get an idea of her creativity, visit her website Inn at the Crossroads. She designs beautiful cookbooks that include luscious photos, images, and recipes from popular video games and classic works of fiction. Her Official Cookbook for The Game of Thrones was her first big success, followed by World of War Craft, and Star Wars. She will speak to us from her 200+ year old Vermont farmhouse. Her presentation will be the first item on the D5 meeting agenda September 11.

D5 will meet in person at Asbury Church on 15th Street and St. Paul Street. Enter through the southwest door. The meeting will start promptly at 1:30 with Chelsea Monroe-Cassel presenting immediately after introductions. There is no need to preregister if you are attending in person. For those of you who will attend via Zoom, click on the registration link below.
Register for September 11

Show KAC Support for Kansas Cowboy Poetry

9/6/2021

 
Cowboys and cowboy poetry are significant and unique parts of the cultural landscape of Kansas. Only a handful of other Western states can claim to be influenced and enriched by this art form and its underlying values. Perhaps no other state has such a dynamic and vital cowboy culture today.

For example, one of the most important events in the United States is the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo, is held in Abilene each year, hosted by cowboy poet Geff Dawson of Alma, although Covid has interfered during the last two years. Some of the most distinguished cowboy poets in the United States call Kansas home. One of those is Tim Keane, who will be our keynote speaker at this year’s convention. Tim is a three-time champion in the Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest and winner of multiple events at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo, where he was overall reserve champion in 2016 and 2018.

It has been a goal of mine during the past several years to develop a connection between Kansas Authors Club and the cowboy poetry community in Kansas. To be honest, I only have a vague notion of what that connection would be.

It could entail inviting cowboy poets to district and/or state meetings to give tutorials on writing cowboy poetry. It could involve contests. It would probably start with providing cowboy poets with a broader, more ā€œmainstreamā€ audience, beginning with KAC members as that audience. It could eventually broaden to include the visual arts, depicting the daily and family cowboy life.

But the greater purpose would be to develop relationships and to create a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the values and way of life of the modern cowboy.

As a way to demonstrate Kansas Authors Club’s desire to reach out to our state’s cowboy poets, I would like to invite members to join me in contributing to the District 1 fund to pay the costs of bringing cowboy poet Tim Keane to our annual writers convention in October. We will announce the results of that contribution during the convention as a statement of our support for and appreciation of Kansas cowboy poets and their contribution to Kansas arts and culture.

You can send check to District 1 treasurer Reaona Hemmingway at 115 SW Courtland Ave./ Topeka, KS 66606. Please write ā€œcowboy poetā€ in the Memo line. Or if you prefer you can use the donation button below.
--

Duane R Johnson
president, Kansas Authors Club
Donation

Donation

$1.00 - $100.00

Buy now

Invitation to Attend - D3/D4 Joint Meeting - Tuesday, September 14

9/6/2021

 
Date: September 14, 7:00pm CST
Leader/Moderator: Nancy Julien Kopp (Featured Reader)
Program Description:

Featured reader followed by “open mic” readings
  • Featured reader reads for a maximum of 20 minutes. Less time is fine.
  • Open mic readers divide remaining time by number of readers
About D3/D4 Meetings:
  • Monthly meetings are held via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each and begin at 7:00pm Central Time
  • Zoom details are the same every month (Contact KAC email for meeting link)
  • This information shall be posted on the website for anyone to access
  • If a program leader or featured reader wishes, they may send a reminder email to district 3&4 members a couple of days in advance using the group email list.
  • All KAC members are welcome
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