Category: Invitation To Attend

Writing Wisdom from Ronda

3/7/2022

Ronda Miller has 4 books of Poetry and a beautiful prize-winning children's picture book, I Love the Child. Ronda is a life coach whose specialty is helping others deal with trauma. Her work and life experience make her an amazingly helpful coach and writer and an effective critic of others’ writing. She will be both sharing some of her own work and talking about what she has learned about how to write memoirs and fiction that are powerful and moving and don’t ignore the traumas that shape us. You will not want to miss her presentation at 1:30-3:30, March 12 at Asbury Methodist Church on 15th Street West in Wichita. Come in person or watch online through Zoom.

Saturday March 12 at 1:30 either in person or via Zoom.
In Person: at Asbury Church, 2801 W. 15th St., Wichita.

Zoom link for D5 Meeting March 12 at 1:30

D3/D4 Zoom Open Mic Invitation

3/3/2022

D3/D4 is inviting KAC members to attend Open Mic! It takes place Tuesday, March 8, at 7:00pm via Zoom. Our featured reader is District 4 President and Representative to the State Board, Vickie Guillot. We look forward to this opportunity to get to know Vickie and her writing.

How does Open Mic work?
7:00-7:10pm – we check in, sign up to read, greet each other and celebrate victories
7:10-7:30pm – our Featured Reader presents
7:30-7:55 – Readers share in order of sign-up. Plan on 3 minutes. If there is plenty of time, attendees will get a 2nd opportunity to read.

District 1 plans open mic; seeks statewide input

3/2/2022

Spitting into the Wind could be the name of a monthly Open Mic event currently in the planning stages by a committee of District 1 members. At least that name suggests the overall community prose, poetry and performance elements of the event.
For now, the committee is hoping to expand participation in the planning stages and seeks input from members in other districts who have experience with Open Mic events. If you would like to comment on the graphic nature of the suggested name, or help guide the committee in any way (even to the point of joining the committee) please drop an email to D-1 President Anne Spry at personalchapters@gmail.com.
The next committee planning session will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, March 15 at 9 a.m. The goal is to begin the open mic by mid-April, possibly in partnership with another organization or Topeka business. The district committee also hopes to alternate prose and poetry and have guest authors as facilitators each month.

2022 Literary Contest & Book Awards Contest Guidelines Published

2/14/2022

Now Available!

2022 Guidelines for Adult Literary Contests, Youth Writing Contests, and Book Awards.

Stay tuned for news about our
New Special Category Announcement:

Poetry Chapbook Contest, coming 2022!

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.

Andy Farkas to present D-1 program on fiction writing Feb. 19

2/11/2022

Fiction writers in Kansas Authors Club will be treated to a look at the biggest pitfalls we face in the craft when Andy Farkas, a Washburn University instructor, provides the program for the February 19 meeting of District 1.
The meeting will kick off with the Farkas program at 1:00, followed by a business meeting to discuss the group's initial plans for a new open mic program. Any non district member is welcome to attend. Just send an email to D-1 President Anne Spry for the zoom link.
Andrew Farkas is the author of an essay collection: The Great Indoorsman (University of Nebraska Press and Blackstone Audio 2022), a novel: The Big Red Herring (Kernpunkt Press 2019), and two collections of short fiction: Self-Titled Debut (Subito Press 2009) and Sunsphere (BlazeVOX [books] 2019). His work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Cincinnati Review, The Florida Review, Willow Springs, and elsewhere. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (with one Special Mention in Pushcart Prize XXXV), Best of the Net, and Best American Essays (with a Notable Essay in 2013). He is a fiction editor for The Rupture (the re-brand of The Collagist) and an Assistant Professor of English at Washburn University.

The Work of Writing

2/7/2022

A Writing Workshop with Michael Poage.
Mike earned an MFA in creative writing (Poetry) from the University of Montana and went on to publish 13 books of poems with his collected works coming out soon from Spartan Press. His book Human Ink won the Nelson Poetry Prize in 2017.
He was been a Poet in the Schools in Montana, raised 400 sheep, taught in a two-room schoolhouse, pastored three churches, and has taught for the past ten years English literature, language and writing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Thailand and Wichita. He was Poet in Residence at Dzemal Bijedic University in 2017-18. Mike is founder and president of the board of Blue Cedar Press.

He will teach participants his truths and tricks of the trade for writing and involve participants in exercises to strengthen specific areas of their own work.

Join us Saturday February 12 at 1:30 either in person or via Zoom.
In Person: at Asbury Church, 2801 W. 15th St., Wichita.

Zoom Link to Feb 12 1:30 presentation

You are Invited to Attend: Author Talk, by Dr. Gretchen Eick

1/31/2022

Tuesday, February 8 at 7pm

Our next 2nd Tuesday Meeting, hosted by Districts 3 and 4 via Zoom, will be a talk by Dr. Gretchen Eick, winner of the 2021 Coffin Memorial Book Award.

Register in advance to receive a link to this meeting.

Wedding Imagination and Passion with Historical Investigation

About the Author:
Dr. Gretchen Eick has been in love with the world since 1962 when she traveled to west Africa to attend Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone for six months. Since then she has traveled to or lived in over forty countries, which shapes her interests and her writing of history, biography, political commentary, and fiction. As a late blooming academic, starting a PhD in her 50s, she combined her international interests with a passion for the history of the US, which she taught at Friends University in Wichita for twenty years before retiring to have more time to write. With her husband, the poet Michael Poage, she runs Blue Cedar Press and edits and publishes “new voices from the prairie and the planet.” Her experience working on Capitol Hill for fourteen years and researching, writing, and teaching history provide grist for her prodigious curiosity. She has written seven books, two of them prize-winners, and all but one written in the past eight years.

Eick’s published books include:
They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans’ Story (University of Nevada Press, 2020)
The Set Up, 1984: Classified until 2064 (Blue Cedar Press, 2020)
The Death Project: An Anthology for These Times (Blue Cedar Press, 2020)
The Hard Verge, Britain 2025 (Amazon, 2019)
African Americans of Wichita (Arcadia, 2017)
Finding Duncan (Blue Cedar Press, 2015)
Maybe Crossings (Blue Cedar Press, 2015)
Herstories: Woman to Woman (Blue Cedar Press, 2014)
Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest, 1954-72 (University of Illinois Press, 2001/2007)

View the Coffin Award Winners

Invitation to January 22 Meeting Featuring Julie Sellers

1/17/2022

Hello D6 Members & Guests,

I hope your new year is progressing well.
We're already getting excited about our first D6 meeting of the year (as always, set on the 4th Saturday of the month beginning at 1:30 PM).

Julie Sellers, D1, published author, who writes poetry & prose, will be our guest speaker. I can't wait to learn from Julie how she created the title of her presentation: "The Two I's of Writing: Inspiration and Intentionality."

She will share with us her tips on looking for ideas, techniques she uses to be intentional about writing, and challenge us to participate in a short writing activity.
See two attachments: Julie's photo and her bio with contact information.

If you're a current KACD6 member, you'll automatically receive a link to this presentation. If you'd like to attend the zoom meeting as a guest, just contact me. The meeting is free and open to the public.
Happy writing,

Jim Potter

The Two I’s of Writing

Join Julie A. Sellers (D1) as she discusses the two i’s of writing: inspiration and intentionality, and reads from her recent publication, Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Julie will share tips for looking for inspiration (ideas), and techniques she uses to be intentional about writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to try out some of these techniques by participating in short writing activities.

A native of Kansas, Julie A. Sellers earned Bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and French, a Master’s in Spanish Literature from Kansas State University, a Master’s in International Studies and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Wyoming. Julie is the author of three academic monographs on Dominican music and identity, and her creative prose and poetry have appeared in publications such as 105 Meadowlark Reader, Cagibi, Wanderlust, The Very Edge, Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies, Unlost, and Kansas Time + Place. Julie was the Kansas Author’s Club’s 2020 Prose Writer of the Year. Her book Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables (Blue Cedar Press) was released in 2021.

https://julieasellers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julieasellersauthor
Instagram: @julieasellers
Twitter: @julieasellers
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7785927.Julie_A_Sellers

District 2 Invites All Members to Attend January 15, 10am (Zoom) Meeting with Nelson Poetry Book Award Winner, Janice Northerns

1/10/2022

Saturday, January 15, 2022, starting at 10:00am

District 2 Monthly Meeting - Members of any district are welcome to attend.

Members of other districts who would like to attend should email Curtis Becker for a Zoom invite.

Janice Northerns will read and discuss work from her award-winning poetry collection, Some Electric Hum, followed by a Q&A session. Dr. Sandra Cox, judge for the Nelson Poetry Book Award, had this to say about Janice’s book: “Some Electric Hum reads … like a treatise on the ways communities are crafted by wanting, having, and then letting go. … This book exemplifies her skill in giving language to those fragile and ephemeral experiences of connection, as well as her determination to understand how connection might be felt in the barely perceptible hum of a completed circuit, closed but still alive with alternating electric currents.“

Janice Northerns, of Liberal, is the author of Some Electric Hum, winner of the 2021 KAC Nelson Poetry Book Award and the KU Byron Caldwell Smith Book Award, and a WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Poetry.

The author grew up on a farm in rural West Texas and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Tech University, where she received the Robert S. Newton Award for Creative Writing. Her work has been widely published in literary journals. Honors include a Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts residency, a Sewanee Writers’ Conference scholarship, and numerous awards for individual poems.

Janice and her husband moved to Liberal in 1998, where she taught English at Seward County Community College before retiring in 2019 to write full-time. The landscapes and people of West Texas and southwest Kansas are a steady source of inspiration for her poetry.

Janice is a District 7 member of the Kansas Authors Club.

January 11 Open Mic (Zoom) with Featured Reader Mike Matson

1/4/2022

Districts 3 and 4 invite any and all district members to the January 11 Open Mic with featured reader, Mike Matson. The event starts at 7:00pm via Zoom. Complete the form below for link to attend.

How does Open Mic work?

7:00-7:10pm – we check in, sign up to read, greet each other and celebrate victories
7:10-7:30pm – our Featured Reader presents
7:30-7:55 – Readers share in order of sign-up. Plan on 3 minutes. If there is plenty of time, attendees will get a 2nd opportunity to read.

About our Featured Reader:
Mike Matson is a lifelong Kansan who succeeded in a professional career touching various aspects of communications: Radio deejay, radio news, TV news, press secretary to a governor, systems advocacy, leadership development and newspaper columnist.

This career success paralleled an addiction-related downward trajectory highlighted by much of the drama one would associate with such behavior. This dichotomy is the premise of Courtesy Boy: A True Story of Addiction. Courtesy Boy comes on the heels of Matson’s first book, Spifflicated, a family memoir chronicling his father’s troubled, yet colorful childhood with alcoholic parents.

His motivation in writing the book is to help those suffering and their loved ones connect the dots between the destructive traits and behaviors – and the potential for addiction. In so doing, infuse some fresh air into the oppressive stigma that clings to addiction and mental health.

Matson lives where he was born, in Manhattan, Kansas, with his wife and two Australian Shepherds.

www.mikematson.com/

A Special Treat January 8

12/31/2021

Author Aaron Fowler will bring his therapy dogs, the main characters in his books, to the D5 meeting January 8 at 1:30. Aaron can regularly be found in schools and libraries accompanied by Bella and Choco as he performs his music. His healing music and 4-footed companions help kids deal with trauma. Being YOU-Neek is the first book in his series. It addresses the importance of being unique. The Boat, the second book, covers belonging on this great planet. An alphabet book, highlighting Wichita businesses, will be released this spring.

A short business meeting to elect 2022 officers will be conducted immediately after the presentation.

D5 meetings are conducted both in-person and on Zoom. D5 in-person meetings are held in the Fireside room at Asbury Church, 2801 W. 15th St., Wichita. Enter on the St. Paul Street side (southern most door).

A Zoom link to the meeting will be emailed by President Connie White to all D5 members using the email address on record. All KAC members are welcome. If you have not received an email by December 7 or are not a D5 member, contact Connie through the link below.

Contact D5 president for Zoom link

Member Survey

12/15/2021

Member Survey: As we plan for 2022 and beyond, we’d like for all members (and departing members if you have decided not to stay) to take a moment to complete our membership survey. We estimate that this will take about 10 minutes to complete, more or less depending on how much you choose to write in the spaces for feedback! We are not collecting email addresses or membership details for this survey.

Member Survey

Saturday, December 18 D2 Meeting - Lawrence

12/14/2021

District 2: Holiday Party, Presentation and State Convention Planning Meeting
Saturday, December 18th
Lawrence Public Library: 10 to noon

The Two I’s of Writing

Join Julie A. Sellers (D1) as she discusses the two i’s of writing: inspiration and intentionality, and reads from her recent publication, Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Julie will share tips for looking for inspiration (ideas), and techniques she uses to be intentional about writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to try out some of these techniques by participating in short writing activities.

A native of Kansas, Julie A. Sellers earned Bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and French, a Master’s in Spanish Literature from Kansas State University, a Master’s in International Studies and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Wyoming. Julie is the author of three academic monographs on Dominican music and identity, and her creative prose and poetry have appeared in publications such as 105 Meadowlark Reader, Cagibi, Wanderlust, The Very Edge, Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies, Unlost, and Kansas Time + Place. Julie was the Kansas Author’s Club’s 2020 Prose Writer of the Year. Her book Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables (Blue Cedar Press) was released in 2021.
https://julieasellers.com/
Facebook: @julieasellersauthor

A Weekday Meeting Option for Members: All are Invited to Attend

12/11/2021

Tuesday, December 14

7:00pm via Zoom (request link below)

Program by:
Nancy Julien Kopp
Writing the Personal Essay, with a side light for poets.

(Important: The presentation will be followed by a quick assessment of plans for Districts 3 & 4 in the coming year, including the selection of officers for the coming year. ALL D3 and D4 members are encouraged to attend.)

Nancy is the author of Writer Granny’s World, a blog of tips and encouragement for writers—writergrannysworld.blogspot.com. She is a 20+ year member of the Kansas Authors Club and 2013 Prose Writer of the Year. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and many anthologies, newspapers, magazines, and ezines. A former teacher, Nancy continues to teach through the written word.

This meeting is open to all Kansas Authors Club members. If you are looking for an alternative to weekend meetings, the 2nd Tuesday Zoom meeting hosted by Districts 3 & 4 might be the answer you are looking for.

Come write with us!

Deadline for Yearbook Entries Extended

11/22/2021

The deadline for submitting entries to the 2022 yearbook has been extended. Members now have until December 31 to enter.

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.

Invitation to attend D6 Monthly Meeting: Speaker Jared Vaughn, Time Honored Productions

11/22/2021

Saturday, November 27
1:30pm - Zoom Event

District 6 Meetings are held on the 4th Saturday of each month (except December), online via Zoom at 1:30 p.m. Questions? Contact Jim Potter for a meeting link.

Jared Vaughn started writing stories at the age of nine, including terrible sequels to Back to the Future. By 2014, he'd written stories, songs, skits, and just about anything but a book. So he set out to write The Longest Time, a story that had been in his mind for fifteen years. He released it in 2017, dressed as Marty McFly at his first booth at a comic con. The Longest Time received unanimously positive reviews from readers of all ages who appreciated the story's nostalgic appeal, heart, humor, and positive message as well as a genre-bending twist that takes everyone by surprise. Through his company, Time Honored Productions, he next published a collection of short stories called Free Time Tales. It featured nine other local writers including Shoshanna Aaliyah, a young lady who also wrote Tobias' Travels, which is releasing soon as a kid's book. Another Time, the sequel to The Longest Time, was released in 2020 to reviews that compared it as equal in quality to the original or even better. The Time Honored team can be seen at many events throughout the year sharing their creativity and the Power of Love. They continue to grow with artists, cosplayers, actors, and authors including the recent addition of acclaimed author Lynn Main.

In 2021, Jared joined the Kansas Authors Club and was introduced to a new circle of talent. He was invited to be the guest speaker for the November 27th Zoom meeting for District 6 and enthusiastically accepted. Jared will share tips about what he feels is the most important part of writing-- the art of storytelling. His fun and informative presentation has been utilized at writing workshops and author panels and proven effective for all ages and levels of experience.

Have an Amazing Poetry Experience

11/10/2021

Huascar Medina, the Poet Laureate of Kansas since 2019, and Annette Hope Billings are presenting during the D5 meeting this Saturday. You won't want to miss experiencing the creativity of these gifted people.

D5 will meet on Saturday, November 13. We 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. The presentation is the first thing on the agenda. 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.

Cheryl Unruh to Speak at D2 November Meeting

11/9/2021

Cheryl Unruh is presenting at the next District 2 Meeting, Saturday, November 20, 2021 from 10:00-12:00pm at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont, lower level.

For 11 years, Cheryl Unruh wrote a weekly newspaper column, Flyover People, for The Emporia Gazette. She has twice received the Kansas Notable Book Award for her collections of Kansas essays, Flyover People and Waiting on the Sky, both published by Quincy Press. Meadowlark Press published her collection of poetry, Walking on Water, as well as her brand new book, Gravedigger’s Daughter, a memoir. She is the editor of 105 Meadowlark Reader, a Kansas journal of creative nonfiction. Cheryl lives in Emporia, Kansas.

Cheryl's book launch for Gravedigger's Daughter is scheduled for November 13, at 1:00 p.m. at the Lyon County History Center, 711 Commercial, Emporia.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., is D3/D4 “OPEN MIKE NIGHT” via Zoom.

11/7/2021

Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., is “OPEN MIKE NIGHT” via Zoom. Kris Polansky will start off by reading the poems that made her “Poet of the Year” for Kansas Authors Club. There are six of them, but they are short. So we need many more readers. Come sign in at 7:00. Sharing is what writing is all about!

Do you have an award-winning entry to share from the 2021 KAC Literary Contest? Or one from an earlier contest? Or a “should-have-won” of which you are proud? Or something you are working on? We want to hear it!

This and other 2nd Tuesday Zoom Meetings jointly provided by KAC Districts 3 and 4 are open to all KAC members. The Zoom link has been sent to members via email through your district president or district email announcement list.

<<Previous

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Writing Wisdom from Ronda

D3/D4 Zoom Open Mic Invitation

District 1 plans open mic; seeks statewide input

2022 Literary Contest & Book Awards Contest Guidelines Published

Invitation to Attend D2 Monthly Meeting, February 19

Request Zoom Link for remote attendance

Andy Farkas to present D-1 program on fiction writing Feb. 19

The Work of Writing

You are Invited to Attend: Author Talk, by Dr. Gretchen Eick

Invitation to January 22 Meeting Featuring Julie Sellers

District 2 Invites All Members to Attend January 15, 10am (Zoom) Meeting with Nelson Poetry Book Award Winner, Janice Northerns

January 11 Open Mic (Zoom) with Featured Reader Mike Matson

Get a Link to Attend

A Special Treat January 8

Member Survey

Saturday, December 18 D2 Meeting - Lawrence

A Weekday Meeting Option for Members: All are Invited to Attend

Request Zoom Invitation

Deadline for Yearbook Entries Extended

Invitation to attend D6 Monthly Meeting: Speaker Jared Vaughn, Time Honored Productions

Saturday, November 27
1:30pm - Zoom Event

Have an Amazing Poetry Experience

Cheryl Unruh to Speak at D2 November Meeting

Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., is D3/D4 “OPEN MIKE NIGHT” via Zoom.

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Saturday, November 271:30pm - Zoom Event

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Saturday, November 27
1:30pm - Zoom Event