​
For Immediate Release

The Volland Foundation, 24098 Volland Road, Alma, Kansas

Saturday, October 14, 2023
Concert at 7pm | Doors at 5pm
An Evening with Bombino 
Tickets at Eventbrite | $25 www.vollandfoundation.org

Tuareg guitarist Bombino's folk-rock, blues music has long brought people together around its distinct sound. Marrying the guitar-focused music he gravitated to in his teens - Dire Straights, Jimi Hendrix, and others - with local inspirations like Tinariwen and Ali Farka Toure, plus Berber rhythms, Bombino's music is enthralling and abiding. 

His acoustic concert at Volland comes at an exciting time for the "Sultan of Shred," who's latest album Sahel - one of the artist's most politically minded and personal works yet - arrives in mid-September. Born in a nomadic Tuareg encampment in 1980, Bombino's early life was shaped in large part by the political upheaval happening in the Sahara Desert. By the mid-90s Bombino was showing real promise as a guitarist. "Working as a herder in the desert near Tripoli, Libya, [he] spent many hours alone watching the animals and practicing his guitar." In the late 2000s and early 2010s he hit the international stage, recording in the United States, participating in documentaries, and sharing the blues, all while witnessing another period of conflict among tribes in his homeland.

The concert at Volland will be the final US performance on Bombino’s 2023 World Tour. 

The concert begins at 7pm at The Volland Ruin, 24098 Volland Road, Alma, Kansas. Doors open at 5pm with food trucks and the Manhattan Caravan Co. bar truck. Setting the tone for the evening, live camels will make an appearance on the grounds, and Flint Hills camel rancher Valeri Crenshaw will be available to talk about camels and answer questions. 

Inside the gallery, local author K.L. Barron will be available for conversation about her first novel, Thirst. Set in the Sahel Desert and informed by her time in Niger with the Peace Corps, Thirst is the inspiration for bringing Bombino to Volland. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author. 

Make sure to bring a lawn chair and dress for the weather. The concert will be outside at the Ruin. No outside food or drink and no pets. Admission is $25 + tax. Tickets are limited and may be purchased through a link at www.vollandfoundation.org.

Inside the gallery, local author K.L. Barron will be available for conversation about her first novel, Thirst. Set in the Sahel Desert and informed by her time in Niger with the Peace Corps, Thirst is the inspiration for bringing Bombino to Volland. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author. 

Friends,
Thanks to all those who have read Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas. It’s found a wide and terrific reception. The Midwest and Northeast book tours were excellent, including packed-house events in Wichita and then a week later in Udall on the 68th anniversary of the tornado. Thanks to so many for coming to these events, reading the book, gifting it to others, and/or sending comments. More events—in person and online—listed below.
 
Events: (All events are free and open to the public.) For details, please visit www.jim-minick.com.

--Sept 7, 7:00, Blacksburg (VA) Public Library with Blacksburg Books
Author Talk with Jim Minick - Library Calendar - Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library (libcal.com)

--Sept. 13, 7:30 EST, 6:30 CST. Virtual Lecture for Kansas Historical Society.
Zoom Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IAIsrEA4Ta6SK_tctdD94w
The webinar will also be streamed live on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/kansashistorical  
Afterwards it will be archived there in the Museum After Hours playlist.

--Sept. 14, 6:00 PM, Floyd (VA) Public Library
            Author Talk with Jim Minick - Library Calendar - Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library (libcal.com)

--Sept. 21, 5:00 PM, Radford University McConnell Library

--Oct 19, 6:00 PM, UNC-Greensboro, with Corrie Lynn White.
Preceded by a reception. UNCG Alumni House, College Ave.
Jim Minick and Corrie Lynn White Alumni Fiction and Poetry Reading (uncg.edu)

--Nov 15, East Tennessee State U, Johnson City, TN. Details TBA.

--Lastly, Blacksburg Books has signed copies in stock. If you can’t make any of these events, please support this super, indie bookstore.
 
New Media:
--Recently I was interviewed for Kansas Public Radio’s “Kansas Presents” program. The episode should air sometime in late September or early October and be available and archived here:
            KPR Presents (kansaspublicradio.org)

--I was also interviewed for PBS Kansas for their Positively Kansas (kpts.org) program. Again, it should air sometime in September or October, and afterward, it’ll be available on their webpage.

--Poets & Writers Podcast host Henry McCarthy interviewed me in August. Listen here or wherever you find podcasts.
 
Other News:
--The Makery Online Class. I’ll be teaching an online, three-session class on creative nonfiction this fall about essays in their various and lovely forms. Info here: The Makery: Essays that Open Doors with Jim Minick - Hindman Settlement School. Dates: Oct 28th, Nov 11th, and Nov 18th, all 3 classes from 10:00-12:00 AM. Hindman Settlement School offers several other cool classes through this program. Check them all out.

--The Intimacy of Spoons, my newest book of poetry, is coming together with a beautiful cover by Suzanne Stryk. It’ll be available in March of 2024.
 
Gratitude and Help:
Without Warning has been in the making for over 12 years, which also means that MANY people helped in its creation. A huge thanks to all.
There are still many ways you can help in the book’s success. Specifically:

--If you’re on social media, spread the word and post about the book. Reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and elsewhere make a difference.

--If you’re a writer, podcaster, journalist, reviewer, radio/TV host, etc. interested in this book, let’s talk.

--If you are part of a school, bookstore, library, museum, etc. and interested in hosting an event like a reading, conversation, slideshow, etc., again, let’s talk. 

--Same with book clubs. If you’re part of one, suggest this book. I’ve had terrific conversations via Zoom with book clubs all over the country.

--Ask your local libraries (public and/or university) to order the book.
 
Lastly, these email newsletters are very occasional, but even if they still clog up your inbox too much and you no longer want to receive them, I understand. If so, please respond by adding REMOVE to the subject line, without deleting the rest of the subject line.
 
The cedar waxwings are gorging on the red holly berries here in Virginia; I wish you such a bountiful and beautiful fall.

​Thank you and all kind regards,
 
Jim
www.jim-minick.com

Kansas Authors Club and many of our members will be at the Kansas Book Festival on Saturday, September 16. We would love to see you there! Join us for a day of literary festivities, including the Kansas Authors Club Youth Contest Awards Ceremony, which will take place at 2:00pm in the Mabee Library Lounge. We are excited to celebrate our young writers in Topeka this year!

Members presenting at the festival this year include Janice Northerns, K.L. Barron, Jenn Bailey, Barbara Waterman-Peters, Julie A. Sellers, Traci Brimhall, Maryfrances Wagner, Maureen Carroll, Brian Daldorph, Marcia Cebulska, and many, many more!

​Join us!

Help launch the book!

Come chat with Ann and take a look at Firestorm Sonata.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Noon until 2:00 pm

​College Hill Coffee, Winfield, Kansas 403 Soward Street

​About Firestorm Sonata:
In peak condition, scout Sharenda Kamine is certain her field skills will insure her safety as she seeks supplies needed by the fortress she calls home. She must, however, prove her worth to the authoritarian commander of this isolated pocket of survivors. With reluctance, he grants her request to work alone and she heads across dust dunes of what once was southern Kansas, confident she will master any challenge she meets. But she is unprepared to find a window into the past, which simultaneously offers a future ripe with possibilities. She must decide whether she will honor her commitment to the Fort, or escape to freedom with Gran, the only family she knows.
 
Firestorm Sonata is the third in a series of dramatic stories featuring pianos and their families. It follows Sundrop Sonata (2016) and Sonata of Elsie Lenore (2020). Book 3, Firestorm Sonata, is the first book in the series which is set in a future with very different landscapes than we know today. A Climate Fiction tale, it explores the roles of pianos and musicians in a changing environment such as those predicted by today’s climatologists.

About Ann Christine Fell

Known to many as the local piano tuner, few people realize that Ann Christine Fell has been a naturalist all her life and taught science in the Winfield schools before she opened her piano business. As a musician, piano technician, photographer, mother, and grandmother, she has gleaned details from a lifetime of wide-ranging experiences that bring her fictional stories to life for Kansas friends and neighbors. She lives a few miles north of Winfield with her husband Mike, her grandson Donte, and her pianos.

​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.

Kansas Authors Club is trying something entirely new this year. Instead of hosting a big hotel-based convention in October, we are gathering for "A Moment to Write" at Rock Springs Ranch near Junction City, Kansas.

This is the All-Inclusive Writing Vacation You've Always Dreamed of! 

JOIN US FOR

A MOMENT TO

WRITE

THE 2023 FALL GATHERING
OF THE
KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB
​
—A WRITING RETREAT--

Click Below to learn more:

Since the beginning of time, humans have told stories. Whether painted on cave walls, etched on soft clay, or tapped on a cell phone, we try to share our unique lives. For a lasting transcription, it is valuable to go beyond the diary or journal. Crafting our stories by using strategies of good writing and rewriting opens our memoirs and life stories to be accessible for all. Not just for those who love us. A good story told well is a gift to humanity.  It’s time to get started. ​
​
Join Nancy Kopp, writer and blogger, and Cathy Hedge, writer and editor, to explore the scope of memoir writing. We will share techniques to bring your stories to life and publication strategies. Cathy and Nancy are co-leaders for the Prairie Star Writing Group at Meadowlark Hills in Manhattan. This group was begun by the late Charley Kempthorne, founder of the LifeStory Institute. ​

Members should receive the Zoom link via their monthly news email or from their district president. The link is also available via the member pages of our website. 

Local Author Day is back for another year! Meet Wichita's diverse array of local authors at Wichita Public Library's Local Author Day. Authors will be on hand with copies of their books available for sale, including both adult and children's titles. This event showcases the talents of our literary community and fosters dialogue between authors and their readers.

Schedule of Events
Writer's Panel - 10:30-11:30 am
Featuring D5 member, Danielle Ramirez!

Local Author Day - 2:00-4:00 pm

Quiet Storm is honored to be speaking on the Wichita Public Library's "Writer's Panel" this year! We will also be hosting a booth with Being Wichita Women books at the Local Author Day expo. Hope to see you there...

Local Author Day is back for another year! Meet Wichita's diverse array of local authors at Wichita Public Library's Local Author Day. Authors will be on hand with copies of their books available for sale, including both adult and children's titles. This event showcases the talents of our literary community and fosters dialogue between authors and their readers.

The presentation by Amy Sage Webb Baza is now available on the member pages of our website for viewing. It will remain available until replaced by the August presentation.

Members must have a sign-on to view from this page.

2023 Retreat Committee members toured Rock Springs Ranch today. Most of them had not been there before and they were impressed. Several have promised to write a note about what they saw, which I will share, but I heard words like "top notch," "stellar accommodations," and "wow!"

All were in agreement, by the end of the tour, that this is going to be a wonderful venue for a writing retreat. (Can we stay longer? Can we come back every year?)

I took three videos to help give attendees a better idea of the rooms where we will be staying. We will assign at least three people to a room and no more than four. Note in the video how each room is divided into two sleeping sections, a ground level sleeping area with beds and a loft area with beds. There is a door that can be closed between the two sleeping areas within each room.   


Take a Moment to Write with us! We are looking forward to hosting our first writing retreat at Rock Springs Ranch, October 6-8, 2023.

An ADA Compliant room.
Please mention in the "roommates" portion of the form if you will need one of these rooms. 

​
Wheat Fields  . . . an alluring story of unexpected love and clashing cultures set in America’s rural heartland, Lawrence, Kansas, home of Kansas University and its celebrated NCAA Champion Jayhawk basketball team. 

JULY 27

• Red Fern Booksellers, Salina, KS - 106 S Santa Fe Ave, Salina, KS 67401
• 6:00 p.m.

 
​
AUGUST 25

• The Made in Kansas City store at Corinth Square - 8231 Corinth Mall, Prairie Village, KS 66208
• 3:00-6:00 p.m.
• In conjunction with “KU Kickoff,” Corinth Square’s annual KU pep rally hosted by KU Athletics and the KU Alumni Association

On Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, the 12th annual Kansas Book Festival will take place at Washburn University, hosted by the Mabee Library.

The 2023 Festival will bring an amazing line up of 50 authors. Their presentations cover fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s fiction. The festival will also feature outdoor performances, a book-art exhibit, food trucks, and exhibitor tents with 35 publishers, nonprofits, and individual authors.
​
This year, the headliner is Ling Ma, author of the new collection of short stories Bliss Montage, which won the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award, plus Severance, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR as well as one of the “Books We Loved” at the New Yorker. Other featured authors...

​... read the rest at KansasBookFestival.com.

Note: Kansas Authors Club will have an informational table, but members who wish to display and sell their own books at the festival will need to reserve individual author tables. ​

We are now accepting 2023 advertising sponsors for our fall event, our first state-wide Writing Retreat at Rock Springs Ranch. As with recent years, our event sponsors will enjoy the following:

New in 2023: For $10 more, we will help you create your advertisement. Select "KAC Assistance" for your purchase option. 

Meadowlark Press Announces Double Book Launch Featuring Emporia Authors

EMPORIA, KS - Emporia’s Meadowlark Press will celebrate the release of Remembering Martha by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson and Human Shadow, by Michael D. Graves on July 26, 2023, at the historic Granada Theater, 807 Commercial Street, in downtown Emporia from 6-8 p.m.

Henrikson and Graves have written books inspired by their grandparents. As part of the launch, each author will read short selections from their new books. The audience will have some time to ask questions about their writing processes and inspiration.

Remembering Martha, a novella, is inspired by an interview Henrikson did with her grandmother for a class at ESU. Martha grew up in the small town of Neosho Rapids at the turn of the 20th century. This book captures the grueling life on the Kansas prairie, but does so with humor, as the reader follows Martha’s life amid its challenges and joys.

Emporia State University professor, Amy Sage Webb-Baza calls Henrikson’s book “a feast for the soul and the sense: hilarious, heartbreaking, rich with detail.”

Human Shadow by Mike Graves is book number five in the Pete Stone Private Investigator series. Stone is a private detective in 1930s Wichita. Oft-champion of the downtrodden, Stone takes on a case to prove the innocence of a shell-shocked war veteran accused of arson and murder. Graves created the Pete Stone character as a memorial to his grandfather. His first and third Pete Stone novels, To Leave a Shadow and All Hallows’ Shadows, were Kansas Notable Books.
​
Come to socialize, eat some apple pie, and celebrate family legacy, Kansas roots, and books with Jerilynn, Mike, and Meadowlark Press. Books will be available for purchase at this event. Learn more at www.meadowlarkbookstore.com.
 
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Click the cover image below to learn more:

D2 Member, Iris Craver, shares this invitation with us:

Join us for a ride that will awaken your senses and creative spirit!

Friday, July 7 • 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. • Meet in the library lobby at 5:30 p.m.

Join Lawrence Transit, poet and professor Megan Kaminski and the Lawrence Public Library in our kickoff for Lawrence Transit’s new Poet Laureate program, a Summer Ride and Write.

For more information and to register: Summer Ride and Write | Events | Lawrence Public Library (bibliocommons.com)

We will travel through Lawrence via Route 10 on Lawrence Transit’s new electric bus and find inspiration together in the sights, sounds, and connections we make as we traverse the city. Guided by prompts to help us see our everyday lives through fresh eyes, we will write together and have opportunities to share our words. Participants will leave with a poem and prompts to inspire ongoing writing, as well as an invitation to submit poems for the Lawrence Transit poet laureate program. Led by poet and professor Megan Kaminski.

This event will be suitable for adults, teens, and youth alike!

“The library is thrilled to collaborate with Lawrence Transit and Megan Kaminski for Summer Ride and Write,” said Ruby, LPL Information Services Technician. “As librarians, our mission is to connect people to resources and inspiration, building relationships throughout our community. Reading, writing, and sharing our stories brings us all closer together - can't wait to see you on the bus!”

The Lawrence Transit Poet Laureate program offers the chance for local poets (of any age) and their poems to be featured on Lawrence Transit electric buses. To be considered, submit a transit related poem by November 1, 2023.

“Poetry doesn’t just live in books or in quiet rooms—it lives and breathes with us as we travel through our day,” said Kaminski. “By writing and sharing our words, we connect to each other, to ourselves, and to our larger communities. I’m excited to collaborate with the Lawrence Public Library and Lawrence Transit to make space for the beauty and poetry in our everyday lives.”

For more information, visit www.lawrencetransit.org or call (785) 864-4644. Find Lawrence Transit on Facebook: @LawrenceTransit and on Twitter: @TransitLawrence.

Contact: Adam Weigel, Lawrence Transit, (785) 832-3464