Category: Iris Craver

Two Lawrence Area Writing Group Opportunities from Member Iris Craver

12/12/2023

The Sunrise Project Writing Group meets on the 4th Thursday of each month from 6-8pm at 1501 Learnard. Participants are from the community and people can register through the Events page on the Sunrise Project website at https://www.sunriseprojectks.org/

I am also leading a group at The Senior Resource Center for Douglas County each month on the 2nd Thursday from 2-3pm. The Group is called The Power of Poetry. The Senior Center is located at 746 Vermont in Lawrence, Kansas. Anyone considering themselves to be a "senior" is welcome to attend. More information can be found on their website at https://yoursrc.org/home/news-events/

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 Literary Contest Winners 2023: Poetry

10/10/2023

Theme Contest - 27 entries
Judge: Amy Sage Webb Baza

1st - [there she is], by Ashley Clayton Kay
2nd - How to Write a Poem, by Arlice W. Davenport
3rd - Once You Have Rounded the Sun, by Arlice W. Davenport
HM - To Tim, by Brenda White
HM - Aubade: Trying to Decide the Kind of Poet She'll Become, by Laura Lee Washburn

Free Verse - 68 entries
Judge: George Franklin

1st - Why Blue Eyes Cry, by Janice Northerns
2nd - Ever Topeka, by Ruth Maus
3rd - The Wilding of Cynthia Ann Parker, by Janice Northerns
HM - Mike London's, by Janice Lee McClure
HM - You Are Not Diminished, by Janice Northerns

Classical Poetry - 15 entries
Judge: Jeanine Hathaway

1st - Some Things Can't Be Taken Back, by Kristine A. Polansky
2nd - Great-Great-Grandma and the Kitchen Wall, by Kristine A. Polansky
3rd - To the Stars, by Janice Lee McClure

Japanese Forms - 14 entries
Judge: David Romanda

1st - Cottonwood Seeds Land, by Ashley Clayton Kay
2nd - Railroaded, by Julie Ann Baker Brin
3rd - Pick-Up Sticks, by Iris E. Craver
HM - Prairie Wind, by Perry L. Shepard
HM - lavender splashes, by Duane R. Johnson

Narrative Poetry - 29 entries
Judge: Aida Dziho-Sator

1st - Trout Valley, W.Va., March 31, 1886, a found poem from family letters, by Roland Sodowsky
2nd - His Gentle Hands, by Cynthia J. Ross
3rd - Prairie Return, by Linda Beth Wilson

Whimsy - 26 entries
Judge: David Romanda

1st - Renaming Yoga Poses for Greater Accuracy, by Julie Ann Baker Brin
2nd - What am I made of? by Julie Ann Baker Brin
3rd - Slicing a Cantaloupe, by Janice Northerns
HM - Prescribe, by Julie Ann Baker Brin
HM - Manypaws, by Janice Lee McClure

Performance Poetry - 8 entries
Judge: Avery A. Marshall

1st - The Music of You, by Ronda Miller
2nd - Money, Money, Money, by Amanda Little
3rd - Prairie Song, by Mary Powell
HM - Full Moon at Noon, by Mary Powell
HM - Reason to Call, by Duane R. Johnson

New Poets
Judge: Ed Harkness

1st - Death, by Madison Morrill
2nd - The Laundry Brigade Marches On, by Heather G. Taylor
3rd - Death Warps Time, by S.L. Brown

Rural Voices - 30 entries
Judge: Sam Jack

1st - April 11, Again, by Laura Lee Washburn
2nd - Redneck Tornado, by Kelly Johnston
3rd - Wash House Memories, by Aimee L. Gross
HM - Mesquite and God, by Roland Sodowsky
HM - Landmarks, by Linda Ahrens-Brower

Chapbooks - 11 entries
Judge: Sam Jack

Published Chapbooks
1st - Since Corona Ruined Our Trip to the Library, by Beth Gulley
2nd - Nurdles and Other Poems, by Allison deFreese

Craft Chapbooks
1st - Neighborhood Crazies, by Martha Wherry
2nd - A Common Yearning, by Cammie Funston
3rd - Skysong, by Julie A. Sellers
HM - Unfolding, by Iris E. Craver

July 1 Book Release Event in Toronto, KS

6/7/2023

"Do Lizards Have Lips? And Other Tall Tales From Toronto Kansas" by Iris Craver - District 2

Book release and reading event on July 1st at noon at Lizard Lips in Toronto, Kansas, during Toronto Days Independence Celebration! Come enjoy all the festivities and check out this new book from a Kansas Authors Club member.

Live music by the Howard Mahan band!

Great Deli food at Lizard Lips!

153 US-54, Toronto, KS 66777

Hope to see you there!

Buy the Book at Ice Cube Press

Book News from Iris Craver

1/20/2023

My latest book titled "Do Lizards Have Lips? And Other Tall Tales From Toronto, Kansas" is in publication with Ice Cube Press. Early orders are available through the publisher's website at:

Order from Ice Cube Press

Based loosely, or tightly (who knows for sure) on some real truths about life in and around the small town of Toronto, Kansas. These Lizard Lips stories will leave you smacking your own lips and wanting more–sweet romances and spicy adventures. You will learn about the importance of chocolate and what to do with old cans of Spam. There are local recipes for serving up a good time and Rumpledethumps. Why there’s even a remedy for using cow dung mixed with molasses for curing headaches! You might discover where to find lunch for $1, the tallest stack of pancakes, and dinner-plate-sized cinnamon rolls. And, of course, a whole menu of characters likely to show up on a Sunday afternoon at the Lizard Lips Gas Station Deli and Bait shop in Toronto, Kansas. Pick up a copy of this book and head on over to your nearest lake and discover some tall tales.

“In a casual, down-home, winking voice, Iris Craver spins her tall tales in Do Lizards Have Lips? Toronto, Kansas, a real place, is made more genuine and true for the tales told here, stories of character and characters, of missed chances, and odd romances. Craver preserves place and people by presenting fictions.”
--Thomas Fox Averill, Professor Emeritus, Washburn University, author, Found Documents from the Life of Nell Johnson Doerr

“Pack your bags and head to tiny Toronto (Kansas) in this rambunctious romp that mixes fact and fiction and a sense of old-time Kansas in the 21st century! Nonsense and common sense combine (or maybe collide?) Do Lizards Have Lips? offers up a thoroughly enjoyable read. Iris Craver’s true and maybe-not-so-true characters will stay in your imagination long after you put this book down.”
--Priscilla Howe, storyteller, author, Clever, Kind, Tricky and Sly

“Iris Craver’s fascinating collection of local folktales brings together vivid vignettes, tender humor, and lively portraits of small-town life with plenty of memorable and quirky characters. All circling around Toronto, Kansas, these tales will delight, surprise, and move readers while making visible the magic and promise of a place somewhat off the map. These stories, which make the mythical visible and sometimes whimsical, is also an homage to the enduring power of making art, making friends, and making community.”
--Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, author, The Sky Begins At Your Feet

Iris Craver grew up in a family of storytellers. As she says, “Well, some people would call us liars. The bigger the exaggeration, the better!”

The Write Bridge, by Anamcara Press

5/8/2022

The newest issue of The Write Bridge, by Anamcara Press, includes the work of many Kansas Authors Club Members: Amber Fraley (D2), Peg Nichols (D2), David Hann (D2), Kathleen Kaska (D2), Boyd Bauman (D2), John L. Swainston (D2), Lindsey Bartlett (D2), Beth Gulley (D2), Debra Irsik (D2), Fred Applehanz (D1), Brenda L. White (D2), Brian Daldorph (D2), Iris Craver (D2), Ronda Miller (D2), Perry Shepard (D2), Micki Carroll (D2)

View the issue here

Anamcara Press will begin accepting submissions for the Next edition of The Write Bridge June 1, 2022. Topics: Fortitude & Toploftiness

Two Lawrence Area Writing Group Opportunities from Member Iris Craver

Kansas Authors Club Literary Contest Winners 2023: Poetry

July 1 Book Release Event in Toronto, KS

Book News from Iris Craver

The Write Bridge, by Anamcara Press

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