Category: Ann Vigola Anderson

Ann Anderson Presenting to Wichita Area Retired Teachers on October 24

10/3/2022

Book News from D2 Member, Ann Anderson!

I am excited to be sharing stories from my book Posts of a Mid-century Kid, to the Wichita Area Retired Teachers and Personnel, October 24, in Wichita at 11:45 am! They will be meeting at the Riverside Christian Church, 1001 Litchfield. Teachers helped put me on my writing journey!

Invitation to Ann Anderson Book Signing: Posts of a Mid-Century Kid at Watermark Books

7/12/2022

Anderson takes us on a journey to 1950s and 60s Kansas and treats the reader to hometown cooking in her tasty memoir, Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. With humor and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, offering a sampling of another era.

Invitation to Attend D2 Monthly Meeting, February 19

2/12/2022

Please join us on February 19th, 2022
Third Saturday of Month
10:00am-12:00pm
Flint Hills Tech College
3301 W. 18th Ave
Emporia, KS
Live or Zoom meeting

Presenter: Ann Anderson
Ann Anderson is an author, tennis coach, and creator of the comic strip, “The Borrego Springs Sun”. With roots deep in Kansas, Ann’s led a rich career from the Governor’s Office of the Great State of Kansas to working with the American Cancer Society, to directing the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, CA. She is active in the Kansas Authors Club and the Lawrence Writers’ Group, supports dog and cat rescue organizations, and takes ukulele lessons. She lives with her husband, Vann, and three cats in Lawrence.

Book Marketing News from D2 Member, Ann Vigola Anderson

1/21/2022

Thank you for all of your support on my new book Posts of a Mid-century Kid! I did 18 events, signings, interviews in November and December. Here is a picture of me at Meadowlark in Lawrence. The side benefit of writing a book is meeting so many fascinating people like Clenece Hills at KLWN/KANU. Micki (Anamcara Press) and I had a great morning of book talks with her.

November 12 & 13 Member Events in Salina

11/9/2021

District 2 members Linzi Garcia and Ann Vigola Anderson will be in Salina with poetry and book events this weekend. All are invited to attend.

Hosted by Ad Astra Books & Coffee House
141 N Santa Fe Ave., Salina
Friday, November 12, 7:00pm
Click here for more information.

Hosted by Ad Astra Books & Coffee House
141 N Santa Fe Ave., Salina
Saturday, November 13, 4:00pm
Click here for more information.

Members Published in 105 Meadowlark Reader, Issue #2

11/2/2021

Carolyn Hall, D2 Member, is one of 21 Kansas Authors Club members published in the second issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader: Kansas Travel Stories.

The journal of Kansas creative nonfiction can be purchased at "Partner Bookstores" including Crow and Co Books (Hutchinson), Eighth Day Books (Wichita), Flint Hills Books (Council Grove), Raven Book Store (Lawrence), Russell Specialty Books & Gifts (Russell), and Watermark Books & Cafe (Wichita).

Subscriptions can also be purchased at Meadowlark Press.

Kansas Authors Club members featured in this issue include:

Ann Anderson (D2)

Curtis Becker (D2)

Sheryl Brenn (D7)

Annabelle Corrick (D1)

Gretchen Cassel Eick (D5)

Marie Baum Fletcher (D7)

Tammy Gilley (D6)

Michael D. Graves (D2)

Monica (Osgood) Graves (D2)

Carolyn Hall (D2)

Jerilynn Jones Henrikson (D2)

Sally Jadlow (D2)

Nancy Julien Kopp (D4)

Sandee Lee (D5)

Jim Potter (D6)

Julie A. Sellers (D1)

Mark Scheel (D2)

Tracy Million Simmons (D2)

Barbara Waterman-Peters (D1)

Brenda White (D2)

Editor, Chery Unruh (D2)

The journal is currently taking submissions for issue #3 to be published in the spring of 2022.

Theme: True Bicycle Stories
Guidelines can be found on the
105 Meadowlark Reader website.

Convention 2021: Award of Merit for Achievement in Writing

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

It is a pleasure to nominate Hazel Hart. She is a person who excels at her writing and editing craft but does not seek applause. I met Hazel when my manuscript of Posts of a Mid-century Kid was a 150,000-word rambling of posts.

We met at the coffee shop in Emporia and that began my appreciation of Hazel and the editing process. Hazel told me to cut 50,000 words from my book. That seemed daunting but as I marked off posts, I began to see a new story emerge.

For the next year, Hazel and I would meet for coffee and she helped me craft 92,000 words into a clean manuscript. The first time she sent me edits, she advised not to stress out with all of the red down the side. I did anyway. We made a style sheet and with each edit, I saw the final book emerge.

One of my favorite memories with Hazel is when she asked me if I knew how many times my kitties made biscuits in my book? No, I didn’t but, it turned out to be many times. We also discovered that I liked the word “tiny” which appeared 100 times and had to be reinvented.

Hazel is a gifted editor. She has also become a good friend and I am indebted to her for her wise guidance and knowledge. She always hears the writer’s voice.

On top of her gifts as editor, Hazel excels as an author. She has published 13 titles of her own, from how-to books on writing to suspense and historical fiction. In September, Hazel released the 5th volume in a series of historical fiction set in Kansas, The Pierce Family Saga. This series has had tremendous success on Amazon, with volume 1 consistently ranking in the top 100 in several categories including frontier fiction and literary sagas.

Hazel is a multi-year winner of the Kansas Voices contest out of Winfield, as well as a frequent winner in the prose division of Kansas Authors Club contests.

For her talent as an author, as well as her skill in guiding others to improve their manuscripts, I nominate Hazel Hart for an Achievement Award.

Nominated by: Ann Vigola Anderson

photo credit: Cheryl Unruh

October 24 Book Launch: Posts of a Mid-Century Kid, by Ann Vigola Anderson (D2)

10/18/2021

Book Description
This is Ann Vigola Anderson’s memoir of her 50s and 60s childhood in Kansas, her travels across the United States and her gentle return to her home state. With great warmth and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, bringing the reader back in touch with many memories of childhood toys, family festivities and the personal growth of a child to adulthood.

This book is beautifully written in a post format and is like reading a devotional book to childhood, home and family. The pages spill out like a box of black and white treasured photos for the reader to enjoy over and over again.

PRE-ORDER YOUR FAVORITE FORMAT FROM YOUR
FAVORITE BOOKSELLER TODAY!
ANAMCARA PRESS
YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BOOKSTORE
AMAZON

COME PARTY!
BOOK LAUNCH EVENT DETAILS
TIME: 5-6:30 p.m. DATE: October 24, 2021
PLACE: Jayhawk Tennis Center
233 Rock Chalk Lane, Lawrence, KS 66049

Ann Anderson is an author, tennis coach, and creator of the comic strip, “The Borrego Springs Sun”. With roots deep in Kansas, Ann’s led a rich career from the Governor’s Office of the Great State of Kansas, to working with the American Cancer Society, to directing the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, CA. She is active in the Kansas Authors Club and the Lawrence Writers’ Group, supports dog and cat rescue organizations, and takes ukulele lessons. She lives with her husband, Vann, and three cats in Lawrence, KS.

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.

Meet the Officers: Ann Vigola Anderson

4/27/2021

Kansas Authors Club is run by an all-volunteer board. Officers from across the state devote time monthly to everything from district programming to our annual writing contests and convention. Visit with your district representative about how you can contribute

Ann Vigola Anderson is a native Kansan and graduate of the University of Kansas. She is grounded in the sense of place and is committed to the preservation of mid-century Kansas memories.

Her work has appeared in Tennis Pro Magazine and Itty Bitty Writing Space. For six years her comic strip, “The Borregosons,” appeared in the Borrego Springs, California, weekly newspaper, The Borrego Sun. When she lived in Borrego Springs, she taught a class at the desert nature center featuring desert children’s books and art.

Ann is a featured writer on Kansas Foto Framed by Gwenna (Reich) with over 1,300 followers. Ann is also a contributor to Snapshot Kansas with over 17,000 on-line members. She is designated as a “virtual storyteller” with posting of her photos and descriptions of Kansas places.

She currently serves on the planning committee for The Museum on Main Street’s Crossroads: Change in Rural American New Growth from Deep Roots in Wabaunsee County, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institute and Humanities Kansas.

"Who could write a book without having read other books, particularly those we have read over and over again? Pens up to Harper Lee who wrote my all-time favorite book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Mom gave it to me for my tenth birthday, and I have read it every year since. Also, gratitude to Margery Williams for creating The Velveteen Rabbit, a story of friendship and belonging which stayed with me throughout my childhood. Then, as an early adolescent, I discovered a role model in Nancy Drew and saved my allowance every week to buy a new Nancy Drew book. I raise my magnifying glass to Carolyn Keene."

Ann is new to KAC and active with the District 2, Lawrence writers’ group.

Ann’s first book--Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. Doing my best. Having fun—will be published in 2021 by Anamcara Press. It is a memoir that chronicles Ann’s childhood in Kansas and the love of her family and place. Her book was edited by Hazel Hart (D2).

Ann spends her days writing and teaching tennis at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, where she inspires peewees and the “senior class” to explore their place at the net. She and her husband, Vann, live in Lawrence, Kansas with their three kitties, Jazzy, Queenie, and Muffy.

Member quoted in National Geographic Article

11/25/2020

Ann Vigola Anderson, D2 member, was quoted in the October 9, 2020 issue of the National Geographic article written by Sarah Smarsh. The article chronicles the challenges and history of the US Postal Service.

Ann writes, "I so admire her as a writer with Heartland and her newest book about Dolly Parton. If you can find a copy [of the National Geographic article], it's a great read. I'll even sign it for you! I thought about it today as I went to the post office to mail my boxes and buy stamps. I still love looking at the new stamps . . . Let's all go support your local post office!"