Category: Jerilynn Henrikson

2024 Kansas Authors Club Literary Contest: Prose Results

10/7/2024

Prose Contest Manager - K.L. Barron

Kristine A. Polansky, Anne Spry, and Janice Lee McClure

Prose Theme Contest: Words Take Flight: Choose Your Own Adventure (15 entries)

First Place: “The Cave” by Janice Lee McClure, D7

Second Place: “Up La Luz Trail With Penny” by Janice Lee McClure, D7

Third Place: “Encountering Hunger, Death, and Adventure in the Peace Corps” by Anne L. Spry, D1

Honorable Mention: “Bridge Over Cimarron” by Amy D. Kliewer, D5

Honorable Mention: “You Just Never Know” by Kristine A. Polansky, D4

Sandra Lou Talyor and S.L. Brown

Stories Written for Young Readers (14 entries)

First Place: “Catfish” by S.L. Brown, D2

Second Place: “Be Brave Bertie” by S.L. Brown, D2

Third Place: “Areon” by Sandra Lou Taylor, D5

Honorable Mention: “A Treasured Glow” by Abbi Lee, D5

Joe Bollig, S.L. Brown, and Julie A. Sellers

Short Story (14 entries)

First Place: “Sunflower State of Mind” by Julie A. Sellers, D1

Second Place: “Ficklin, Kansas” by S.L. Brown, D2

Third Place: “At the Roadside” by Robin St. James

Honorable Mention: “Just Another Day” by Ashley Masoni Huber, NM

Honorable Mention: “Dick Banal, Private Eye: Sticky Situation” by Joe Bollig, D2

Cynthia Mines, Janice Lee McClure, and Hazel Hart

Memoir/Inspiration (29 entries)

First Place: “Last One on the Line” by Don Money, D3

Second Place: “Students on a Stick” by Roger Heineken, D2

Third Place: “Breathe In, Release” by Cynthia Mines, D5

Honorable Mention: “Someone Else” by Hazel Hart, D2

Honorable Mention: “Idaho, 1950” by Janice Lee McClure, D7

Gretchen Cassel Eick and Julie A. Sellers

Humor (16 entries)

First Place: “Waiting for Daddy” by Kimberlee Bethany Bonura, D2

Second Place: “Local Professor Jailed for Crime of Fashion” by Julie A. Sellers, D1

Third Place: “The Brain Trade” by Gretchen Cassel Eick, D5

Honorable Mention: “How Gemma Changed My Life” by Margaret McKay, D5

Honorable Mention: “Brotherly Affection” by Amy D. Kliewer, D5

Sandra Lou Taylor, Hazel Hart, S.L. Brown, and Julie A. Sellers

Flash Fiction (8 entries)

First Place: “Distant Grief” by Kimberlee Bethany Bonura, D2

Second Place: “What She Ordered” by Hazel Hart, D2

Third Place: “Outlook” by Gretchen Burch, D2

Honorable Mention: “My Big Chance” by Sandra Lou Taylor, D5

Honorable Mention: “A Word Edgewise” by Hazel Hart, D2

Honorable Mention: “Deja New” by S.L. Brown, D2

Honorable Mention: “The Good Mood” by Julie A. Sellers, D1

Jerilynn Henrikson and Mike Graves (above her in the Zoom window)

First Chapter of a Novel (17 entries)

First Place: “The Yellow-Wellie Incident: An Inspector Wigford “Wiggy” Thorpe Mystery” by Kathleen E. Kaska, D2

Second Place: “A Mystery in Two Voices” by Michael D. Graves and Jerilynn Henrikson, D2

Third Place: “Birth of a Warrior” by Elmer Fuller, NM

Honorable Mention: “Shadows Deep” by Michael D. Graves, D2

Honorable Mention: “A History of Madness” by Alisha Davis, NM

Tracy Million Simmons and Julie A. Sellers

Playwriting (4 entries)

First Place: “The Magic Lamp” by Julie A. Sellers, D1

Second Place: “Community Meeting Chaos” by Cynthia Schaker, D5

Third Place: “The Heavenly Lounge” by Tracy Million Simmons, D2

S.L. Brown and Julie Ann Baker Brin

Prose Rural Voices (11 entries)

First Place: “Salt Plant” by Amy D. Kliewer, D5

Second Place: “Buried Treasure” by Julie Ann Baker Brin, D5

Third Place: “Stealing Dinner” by S.L. Brown, D2

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Kansas Authors Club Literary Contest Winners 2023: Prose

10/10/2023

Theme Contest
Judge: Kathie Buckman

First Place: A Lazy Sunday Morning by Julie A. Sellers
Second Place: Sacred Tuesdays by Lindsey Bartlett
Third Place: Writing From the Heart by Nancy Julien Kopp
Honorable Mention: Zounds! Sounds! By Connie Rae White
Honorable Mention: Just a Moment by Brett Wilkinson
Honorable Mention: Writing Moments by Sandee Lee

Playwriting
Judge: Kari Bowles

1st: Gene Stratton-Porter The Birdwoman by Cynthia J. Ross
2nd: Murder by the Books by Julie A. Sellers
3rd: Cold Sweat by Sandee Lee

Stories for Young Readers
Judge: Michaela Karr

1st: The Eggnog Thief by Linda Ahrens-Brower
2nd: The Mystery of the Hundred Dollar Bill by Marcia Young
3rd: The Singer and the Storyteller by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: The Haird by Heather Taylor
Honorable Mention: Shake and Settle by S.L. Brown

Flash Fiction
Judge: Lydia Kautz

1st: Doubt Thou The Stars are Fire by Julie A. Sellers
2nd: Missed by Heidi Unruh
3rd: Curiosity Bites by Sandee Lee
Honorable Mention: A Surprise on my Bed by Sandee Lee
Honorable Mention: Uninvited Delivery by Gloria Zachgo
Honorable Mention: The Wish by Julie A. Sellers

Rural Voices
Judge: Ryan Dennis

1st: Landscape of My Childhood by Lindsey Bartlett
2nd: Laneway Landmarks by Julie A. Sellers
3rd: The Bull is Out by Kristine A. Polansky
Honorable Mention: Finding Home by Linda Heggestad
Honorable Mention: In My “Hay” Day by Gloria Zachgo

First Chapter of a Book
Judge: Amy Sage Webb-Baza

Feast or Famine by Marlana Marts

Irish protagonist with pregnant wife and kids in feudal lord’s estate attempts to whore himself for family but is rejected and then is met by vampire on the road and turned into vampire. Captivating in the ways that Outlander mixes historical truth with character situation, mixed with genre. Suggests a suspenseful and exciting character arc.

The Penny Paige Shannon Home for Unwanted Books by Julie A. Sellers

Recently divorced woman returns to bibliophile Aunt’s house. The aunt has cancer and the woman is controlled by ex-husband and the memories of a mother recently deceased. She opens free book library with Aunt. Solid world-building and point of view. Multiple things going on immediately. Captivating and suggests a redemptive and emotional character arc.

Kentucky Blood by Ashley Thomas Sheikh

Brings the reader immediately into the POV of Rhonda who has been capturing sexual predators and torturing them in the garage. The build to reveal who is being captured and why is just slow enough to cause reader discomfort and chilling true crime engagement with the story. We’ll never look at a garage the same way.

Honorable Mention: Overcoming by Hazel Hart
Pre-suffragist female character in MO finds herself a target of the times in social and gendered ways. She is accused of behavioral crimes and there’s tension and excitement right away. Good context building.

Honorable Mention: One Throw Pillow Too Many by S.L. Brown
Reader is catapulted into the POV of a woman on a reality show about to be rejected. It’s immediately dramatic and likely to become moreso, with humorous insights along the way.

Memoir
Judge: Kim Horner McCoy

First Place: The Curse of the Catalpa Tree--Learning about Bees by Roger Droz
Second Place: Football Mom by Shawn Renee Hood
Third Place: Vultures on the Roof by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention: Chien for the Win by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: New Arrows for Christmas, Or The Extent of My Injury by Roger W. Heineken

Short Story
Judge: Michelle Zumbrum

First Place: The Spelling Bee by Sarah Jane Crespo
Second Place: The Sunflower Dance by S.L. Brown
Third Place: Slipping Away by Stacy Thowe
Honorable Mention: Reflections by Jeanette Carter
Honorable Mention: Empty by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: Donnie and the Great KA-BOOM by Marion Joseph Bollig

Humor
Judge: Marcia Lawrence

First Place: Have a Drink and a Pen by Marion Joseph Bollig
Second Place: It Pays to Save the Receipt by Deborah Shouse
Third Place: Ten Little Birds: A Tragic Tale of Attrition by Jerilynn Henrikson

Thank you to our 2023 Youth Contest Judges

9/22/2023

Kansas Authors Club is grateful to our member volunteers who gave the gift of time to judge our youth contest entries. We couldn't have done this without them! Please help us thank these individuals. Get familiar with their work. Share your appreciation!

Fiction Grades 3-4
Onalee Nicklin is best known for her fantasy or “storybook” pencil drawings, often depicting children as mermaids, elves, or characters in a story. She works mostly with graphite pencils, colored pencils, and sometimes does a little mixed media. “I hope my work inspires people to use their imagination, to dream, to read,” she says.

Onalee lives in a small cottage on a farm near Emporia, Kansas, with her husband, two cats, and numerous species of wildlife. She is the illustrator of the Kansas Notable Book (2022), Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet, story by Mandy Kern, and the author/illustrator of To Hide a Hazelnut (2023).

Fiction Grades 5-6
Lisa D. Stewart is a commercial writer in Prairie Village, Kansas, who writes magazine articles, feasibility studies, business plans, grant writing, and marketing. Between 1984 and 1999, she and her former husband created and grew Ortho-Flex Saddle Company, after a three-thousand-mile horse-back trip that taught them about the relationship between saddles and the biomechanics of the horse. The couple produced and sold patented saddles and tack in more than thirty countries. She has published more than one hundred articles on the topic of saddle fit. Lisa lives with her husband, Robert Stewart, editor emeritus of New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the author of The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home. (2020)

iction Grades 7-8
K.L. Barron is a writer of place: poetry and prose. Her prize-winning fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction has been published in New Letters, The Bennington Review, Little Balkans Review, terrain.org, ChickenBones (Library of Congress), among others, and in several anthologies. She has taught writing and literature at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas for nearly twenty years and lives and writes in the Flint Hills.

Her debut novel Thirst came out in November from Sea Crow Press.

Note from K.L. about the youth submissions:
I enjoyed reading the 7th and 8th grade fiction contest submissions and I applaud KAC for encouraging creativity in young writers and offering a supportive space to share it.

Fiction Grades 9-12, Non-Fiction Grades 9-12, and Poetry Grades 9-12
Curtis Becker, a Topeka-based writer, editor, and publisher, teaches English at Washburn University and Emporia State University. He is also a licensed Realtor® with Keller Williams One Legacy Partners, serving the Topeka and Emporia areas. Becker is the editor of Kansas Authors Clubs “Writing from the Center” literary zine. Most recently, his article “Giving Effective Feedback to Young Writers” appeared in Kansas English, a publication of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English. Becker is also a member of the Emporia Writers Group and The Writers Place of Kansas City. He is a frequenter of open mics, coffee shops, and bookstores across Northeast Kansas.

Curtis is the author of He Watched and Took Note (2018).

Non-Fiction Grades 3-4
Jolene Haas grew up in Southeast Kansas listening to the many stories of her extended family members. Some stories were true, but most were creatively told with twists and turns in the events, depending on who was telling the story. As a young girl, she began writing her own stories. She loves to read and write middle grade and young adult fiction. Jolene has taught students in Pre-K through eighth grade for thirty years. She is a member of Kansas Authors Club and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Non-Fiction Grades 5-6
Ronda Miller is a Life Coach and published author of five books of poetry. She teaches The Importance of Voice for Trauma Transformation in concert with Johnson County Library, School of Trades and The Department of Corrections. Miller sits on the board of The Writers Place and is a former state president of Kansas Authors Club, 2018 - 2019. She is the poetry editor for zine, The Write Bridge. Ronda is the author of To Love the Child (2019) and three books of poetry.

Note from Ronda about the youth submissions:
I was impressed with the submissions I had the opportunity to judge. Each one was interesting and well written. I was especially impressed with the depth of research, passion and knowledge that was shared. My decisions were difficult to make.

Non-Fiction Grades 7-8
Carolyn Hall is an award winning author and her book Prairie Meals and Memories was named to one of the top 150 books on Kansas. Her writing has appeared in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Christian Science Monitor, several anthologies, the Kansas City Star, Produce Merchandizing Magazine, and The Best Times.

Poetry Grades 3-4 and 5-6
Jerilynn Henrikson has spent her life in Emporia, Kansas, which she considers her front porch to the rolling Flint Hills and expansive skies of East Central Kansas. Here she and her veterinarian husband Duane have raised four kids, who also love being half way to everywhere. Jerilynn has loved teaching English, collecting friends, and telling tales. Remembering Martha is her favorite, so far.

Poetry Grades 7-8
Linda Heggestad started writing poetry at about the age of the 7th and 8th grade poets in our contest. Her first volume of poetry, Cloud & Wind, was completed in 2020. Her second volume of poetry, Blooms & Glory, came out in July.

She loves poetry for its unique ability to capture a moment, a feeling, an image, an unforgettable experience. There is such freedom in this unique art form that is suspended between words and pictures, song and story.

Note from Linda about the youth submissions:
I want to celebrate each of you young artists and your efforts here. There were so many powerful images you have created in your poems – snakes wrapping around their next meal stealing the very life from it; being treated like trashy contraband; feeling trapped in a school situation from which you long to escape. There’s a girl in a mysterious castle exquisitely drawing maps, and someone lying awake at night hearing the songs of the stars in the sky. You’re doing beautiful work. Please keep writing. Please keep going in the struggles that you are experiencing now. It will get better, the road will widen, you will have other opportunities and fresh air. Just keep going, don’t give up. And lean into your writing: keep writing the beautiful things and the hard things and the things that are wrong and unjust and that hurt, and also the things that make it wondrous to be alive. Keep writing them – and keep living.

Click Here for 2023 Youth Results

D2 Members Invite You to a Double Book Launch Celebration

7/13/2023

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:

Congratulations to the Kansas Authors Club Members Published in 105 Meadowlark Reader, the Animal Issue

5/29/2023

The spring 2023 issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader features the following essays by Kansas Authors Club members:

A Cryptid Sighting in Kansas
by Denise Low (D2)

Love Bears All Things
by Amy D. Kliewer (D5)

Nocturnal Nuisance
by Elizabeth R. Schmidt (D5)

The Right Man for the Job
by Brenda L. White (D2)

Little Owl
by Lindsey Bartlett (D2)

My Heron
by Michael D. Graves (D2)

You Dirty Bird
by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson (D2)

Blessed is the Peacemaker
by Cheryl Suzanne Heide (D2)

Introducing the Black Tornado
by Cynthia Schaker (D5)

Buddy the Bookstore Beagle
by Linda Crowder (D6)

Princess With an Attitude
by Thomas N. Holmquist (D4)

Skiing in Kansas
by Boyd Bauman (D2)

Not a Playmate
by Carolyn Hall (D2)

Broken Heart
by Ann Vigola Anderson (D2)

I Did. I Saw a Camel!
by Marilyn Hope Lake (D2)

Invaders Via My Pre-vet Roommate
by Annabelle Corrick (D2)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Pamela Yenser (D7)

This Is Not About Dogs
by Julie Ann Baker Brin (D5)

Congratulations to our members! 105 Meadowlark Reader is currently (through June 30, 2023) taking submissions on the theme of Landmarks.

Submission Guidelines

Subscribe to 105 Meadowlark Reader

2022 Convention: Member Recognition

11/17/2022

The following Members were recognized for
Length of Membership at the 2022 Convention

40 Years
Doris Schroeder

20 Years
Barbara A. Brady
Tom Mach

15 Years
Judy Keller Hatteberg
Joan Breit
Hazel I. Hart
Sally Jadlow

10 Years
Raj Bajaj
Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
H. John Sanders

Octogenarians
Marilyn Hope Lake, Ph. D.
Connie Rae White

Jerilynn Henrikson Presents at D2 Monthly Meeting in Emporia

11/3/2022

You are Invited to ATtend

KAC District 2
Please join us on November 19, 2022
Third Saturday of the Month
10:30 am-12:00 pm
Flinthills Tech College
3301 W. 18th Ave
Emporia, Ks
Live or Zoom meeting

As a retired English teacher, Jerilynn has always loved teaching, telling, reading, watching, and writing stories. To date, Jerilynn has published nine children's picture books, an adult memoir, and a Young Adult historical fiction novel. She is currently working on a story loosely based on her grandmother’s childhood in the early 1900s. Her work reflects her sense of humor, love of words, and eye for detail.

Jerilynn finds her inspiration in the rolling hills of East Central Kansas. No matter the subject of a current work, she is motivated by the people, history, and changing seasons of this place.

As a student of history and language, she enjoys traveling to beautiful places. But ultimately, she finds the greatest joy in travel is coming home.

We have so many opportunities to participate and support other authors.

Other News to share:

We had a wonderful convention full of learning and growing in our craft.
We encourage you to go to the KAC website and watch the slideshow and read about the contest winners.
Also, check out the new members and all of the new writings of our members.
Remember to find new information and events in your area news and on our Facebook page!

Happy Writing!
Deb Irsik
District 2 Co-Chair

Congratulations to the following members who will be published in Issue #4 (the food issue) of 105 Meadowlark Reader: A Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction

10/25/2022

Lindsey Bartlett teaches composition and literature at Emporia State University. An Emporian by choice, she lives in the Flint Hills region of Kansas where she spends her days writing in various coffee shops, holed up at home with a good book, or driving the countryside for good photo opportunities. You can find her wherever there is a sunset. Bartlett has published one poetry collection, Vacant Childhood. Her writing and photography have appeared in The Write Bridge, Flint Hills Review, 105 Meadowlark Reader, and The Wyandotte Window.

Boyd Bauman grew up on a small ranch south of Bern, Kansas, with his dad the storyteller and his mom the family scribe. He has published two books of poetry: Cleave and Scheherazade Plays the Chestnut Tree Café. After stints in New York, Colorado, Alaska, Japan, and Vietnam, Boyd now is a librarian and writer in Kansas City, inspired by his three lovely muses. Visit him at boydbauman.weebly.com.

Cathy Callen was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Since then, though, she has lived mostly in Kansas. Her father worked for Southwestern Bell, and every time he was promoted, the family got to see more of Kansas. They lived in Sunflower, Manhattan, Hays, Salina, Topeka, and Wichita. Her career as a teacher and special education coordinator with Topeka Public Schools kept her in the state for more than thirty years. After retiring, she moved to Lawrence with her soon-to-be husband, Barry, and it is her current favorite Kansas location. She likes the Lawrence Busker Festival, the Art Tougeau parade, the library, The Raven Bookstore, the political environment, the summer pooch swim, Liberty Hall, Wheatfield’s Bakery, and walking on the KU campus and in her friendly neighborhood.

Annabelle Corrick was born and raised in Topeka, lived in five other Kansas towns and three other states, returned to Topeka the last decade, and currently resides in Columbia, Missouri. She earned advanced degrees from Emporia State University and Kansas State University and was the Kansas Authors Club 2015 Prose Writer of the Year. Her writings have appeared in The Poet’s Art, 2016 Kansas Voices Writing Contest, Well Versed, and other publications. Her most awesome Kansas experience has been standing against the wind and viewing the vast vista of western Kansas where her paternal grandparents pioneered.

Michael Durall grew up in the thriving metropolis of Pawnee Rock, Kansas, population 250. He was the champion sentence diagrammer in his sixth grade English class, which eventually led to his writing nine books about his work as a consultant to nonprofit organizations. He lives in Salina and writes a weekly column for the Salina 311 newspaper and has recently published a book of essays from local residents for the Salina Arts and Humanities Commission on the theme of The Day That Changed My Life Forever.

Mark O. J. Esping first lived in a Swede-Town in Pottawatomie County. He graduated from Bethany, a Swedish-Lutheran College. He reprinted NEQUA, a feminist sci-fi novel first published in Topeka, Kansas, in 1900. Mark directed www.folklifeinstitute.com, a nonprofit, and two N.E.A. Folk Art grants. His work has appeared in The Clarion Folk Art, Country Living, Scandinavian Review, Victorian Homes, and Hemslöjden. He is an Eagle Scout and a veteran. He and his wife share a home in Merriam, Kansas, with three near-feral cats. Twin deer occasionally graze in their backyard. Mark tells stories, true stories, with a humorous nature and a hint of morality. In collection they are packets of maps that are Near Invisible, Like Footprints in Ever Shifting Sand.

Beth Gulley first moved to Newton, Kansas, when she was two. Her family moved to Latin America, but Beth returned to the Olathe area for college where she met her husband. They moved to Paola, Kansas, to raise their family. Beth has advanced degrees from UMKC and the University of Kansas. She teaches writing at Johnson County Community College. Her recent writing is included in Kansas City Voices, Dragonfly Magazine, Kansas Speaks Out, and The Write Bridge. She has published three full-length poetry collections: The Sticky Note Alphabet, Dragon Eggs, and The Love of Ornamental Fish. She currently resides in Spring Hill, Kansas, which gives her easy access to Hillsdale Lake where she enjoys trail running and fishing.

Carolyn Hall is an award-winning author who grew up on a farm outside Olmitz, Kansas. Her childhood on the farm provided wonderful memories which she shared in her book, Prairie Meals and Memories: Living the Golden Rural. It was named to the Kansas Sesquicentennial’s Best 150 Books list. Her stories and poems have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Christian Science Monitor, The Kansas City Star, and various anthologies. She lives in Lenexa, Kansas.

Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, a retired English teacher, has always loved teaching, telling, reading, watching, and writing stories. To date, Jerilynn has published nine children’s picture books, an adult memoir, and a young adult historical fiction novel. Her work reflects her sense of humor, love of words, and talent for detail. Jerilynn finds her inspiration in the rolling hills of east central Kansas. No matter the subject of a current work, she is motivated by the people, history, and changing seasons of this place. As a student of history and language, she enjoys traveling to beautiful places. But ultimately, she finds the greatest joy in travel is coming home. www.prairiepatchwork.com

Thomas N. Holmquist is a fifth-generation farmer and rancher near Smolan, Kansas. He also is a retired teacher in the Smoky Valley School District having taught music, American History, and agriculture for forty-four years. He has also published three books, including Pioneer Cross, Swedish Settlements Along the Smoky Hill Bluffs, Bluestem, a novel, and Salemsborg, A History of the Salemsborg Church and Community, Volume 1, 1869-1939, for which he won the Award of Commendation for Lutheran Church History from the Augustana Historical Association. Tom has several writing projects in the works in between feeding cows, putting up hay, and planting and harvesting crops.

Deb Irsik was the owner of Makin’ Waves Salon in Emporia, Kansas, and retired from the beauty industry after twenty-five years. She is a Kansas girl and shares her life with her husband Mike, and children John and Emily. Deb is a member of the Kansas Authors Club and Emporia Writers Group. Deb’s favorite thing about Kansas is the people. “Most people in Kansas have a strong work ethic and family values. The beautiful Flint Hills and Kansas sunsets are second to none. What’s not to like?” Poetry and lyrics have always been part of her life, but she felt a call to write middle-grade Christian fiction after her daughter found it difficult to be “that God girl” in eighth grade. “It is my hope that my books will encourage young people to hold onto values and faith as they navigate their teen years.” Deb’s “Heroes by Design” series was completed in 2020, and she hopes to dedicate her time to creating a book of poetry and continuing to write essays, prose, and fiction. Deb can be found online: facebook.com/D.A.Irsikauthor, Twitter:@Writerwannabe1, www.dairsik.com, amazon.com/author/dairsik, https://instagram.com/debirsik/

Miriam Iwashige lives on a three-acre property outside of Partridge, Kansas, near where her preacher-farmer dad and mom raised twelve children. She aims to live large from this small place, just as the land and sky around the property suggest. Reading, earning a bachelor’s degree, teaching, conversing, and traveling have often fostered large living, as did homeschooling her children and investing deeply in many aspects of homemaking, gardening, animal husbandry, nature study, and church and community life. She and her Japanese-immigrant husband parented three sons who all live nearby right now. Those who have joined their sons’ families through marriage or birth (nine grandchildren!) spent childhood years in such diverse places as Bangladesh, Kenya, El Salvador, and Washington state.

Sally Jadlow grew up in Ft. Scott, Kansas. After marriage, she and her husband moved to Overland Park. Teaching creative writing for the Kansas City Writers Group is one of her joys. She writes historical fiction, inspirational stories, devotionals, and poetry. Sally has published thirteen books. Her work has appeared in many compilations including Chicken Soup for the Soul and many other publications. Her books are available on Amazon.com. Sally also loves to bake, cinnamon rolls, her specialty. Family Favorites from the Heartland contain her favorite recipes. The eastern Kansas countryside with its gently rolling hills claims Sally’s most favorite area of the state. She believes what Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home,” is true—if you live in Kansas.

Amy Deckert Kliewer has lived her entire life in Kansas. She grew up in Pawnee Rock, Kansas, and went to high school in Larned. After attending Bethel College and graduating from the University of Kansas, Amy lived and worked in the Kansas City metro area as a civil engineer. Recently retired, Amy and her husband moved to North Newton to enjoy the smalltown feeling and be close to family. She is enjoying exploring her Next Chapter.

Nancy Julien Kopp grew up in the Chicago area and moved to Kansas, her adopted state and home, in 1975. She started writing in her mid-fifties, realizing a long-held dream. She has been published in many anthologies, including twenty-three times in Chicken Soup for the Soul books, in addition to publication on websites, in magazines, and in newspapers. She writes creative nonfiction, including personal essays and short memoir pieces, and also poetry, short fiction for children, and articles on the craft of writing. Nancy and her retired husband live in Manhattan, Kansas, and are strong supporters of all things K-State. She is mother to two and grandmother to four. She is a voracious reader and enjoys playing bridge. www.writergrannysworld.blogspot.com

Marilyn Hope Lake, PhD, writes short fiction, poetry, plays and children’s picture books. She has many awards for writing, including through the Kansas Authors Club contests. Dr. Lake’s first-place story, “Harry’s Stone,” was published in Words Out of the Flatlands; Kansas Writers Association. Lake has been published in Rock Springs Review, STIR, Well-Versed: Literary Works, the Gasconade Review, and the Mizzou Alumni Magazine. Marilyn lived in Hutchinson, Kansas, from 2002-2017, is a Kansas Authors Club ten-year member, and was a facilitator of the 2014 Annual Conference. Her Kansas favorites are the Wichita Art Museum, State Fair, Underground Salt Mine, Delos V. Smith Senior Center, Hutchinson, and others. Although she misses her Kansas friends, she is happy to live with her dog, Hugo, and near family in Columbia, Missouri.

A Kansan through and through, Sandee Lee celebrates being published in every edition of 105 Meadowlark Reader. Her favorite writing topic for nonfiction and fiction is Kansas. The turmoil of the mid-1800s in the Lawrence area is the topic of her current fiction project. Relaxing on her porch with her two border collies lying by her feet and watching cattle graze on the hillside is where you’ll find Sandee most evenings except in the winter months. From that porch she can observe the homestead where her family has lived since 1925.

Errin D. Moore, an emigrant from Montana, has called Kansas home for eight years. She lives in the Flint Hills near Leon with her husband, infant son, and eighteen-year-old stepson—along with their menagerie of chickens, turkeys, geese, pigs, and an overabundance of cats. She fell in love with the unique beauty Kansas offers, most especially the magnificent sunsets. Errin and her husband own Able and Ready Appliance Repair. She runs the office from home while raising Oliver. She was a teacher and administrator for nineteen years, and she owned and operated a bookstore in El Dorado. Her humorous, touching, and unique sense of voice is especially effective when she writes about the joys and challenges of being a first-time mother at the age of forty-four.

Audrey Phillips is a Kansan through and through. She grew up in Overland Park, attended the University of Kansas, and is now living in Kansas City, Missouri. Audrey loves to represent her favorite parts of being a Kansan by cheering on her Jayhawks or Chiefs or Sporting Kansas City. Audrey loves Kansas because of the way everyone feels like family here. She is a proud midwesterner and strives to promote the kindness that midwesterners possess. She has always loved to write, even from a young age. She was and continues to be inspired by her famous Aunt Mary-Lane Kamberg who has published many books in her time as an author. Even though now she lives right across the state line, Kansas will always be her home.

Cynthia Schaker (Cindy), a retired Kansas educator of thirty-seven years, grew up on a farm outside of Hamilton, Kansas, in Greenwood County. Cindy taught grades six through eight at Towanda Grade School and served as school counselor at Circle Middle School in Butler County. One of her favorite places in Kansas is the Flint Hills because they remind her of going home. She currently resides in El Dorado, Kansas, with her rescue dog Moxie. Cindy does volunteer work in the Gift Shop at Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital in El Dorado. She serves as President of the SBAMH Auxiliary. She loves humorous writing and penning stories from her childhood. She recently had her humorous murder mystery play performed at Cardinal Creek Farm in Butler County.

Julie A. Sellers was raised in the Flint Hills near the small town of Florence, Kansas. She currently resides in Atchison, Kansas, where she is an Associate Professor (Spanish) and Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Benedictine College. Julie’s creative work has appeared in publications such as Cagibi, Wanderlust, Unlost, The Write Launch, and Kansas Time + Place. Julie was the 2020 Kansas Authors Club Prose Writer of the Year, and the Overall Poetry Winner (2022) and Overall Prose Winner (2017, 2019) of the Kansas Voices Contest. She is the author of Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables (Blue Cedar Press, 2021) and the novel, Ann of Sunflower Lane (Meadowlark, 2022).

Perry Shepard is a Vietnam veteran who has written two novels: The Hero versus Me and Monkey Jo, and Hard Love. He co-wrote two plays in the anthology titled Annabelle. He won a second-place award in Eber and Wein’s Best American Poetry of 2013, and an honorable mention in Writer’s Digest 84th annual Poetry Competition. Perry is a member and former District 2 president of Kansas Authors Club. He makes his home in Eudora, Kansas.

A month after the sudden death of her second husband, Anne L. Spry had a mystical dream that detailed a new business based on capturing personal history for writing memoir. She had already begun publishing books through Createspace for herself and others following a twenty-seven-year career as a newspaper publisher and editor. Since the fortuitous dream, Spry and partner Cheri Battrick have developed a DIY Memoir Kit and Spry has expanded her book publishing to some two dozen titles under the Personal Chapters LLC banner. They include children’s books, memoir and fiction, and a few titles authored by Spry. Anne serves as President of District 1 of Kansas Authors Club and produces a newsletter for that group and another for a local Sweet Adelines group. She is married to a retired military pilot, and they live on a family acreage south of Topeka where Anne spent her first five years.

Chuck Warner is a lifelong Kansan. After growing up in Wichita, he has lived in Lawrence since first attending the University of Kansas in the 1960s. With business and law degrees, he embarked on a nearly forty-year career in business and banking. After he retired in 2008, he began writing about his maternal grandfather and in 2019 Birds, Bones, and Beetles: The Improbable Career and Remarkable Legacy of University of Kansas Naturalist Charles D. Bunker was published by the University Press of Kansas. In 2020 his book was recognized as a Kansas Notable book, and also won awards for the best Kansas history and best book layout from the Kansas Authors Club, and was a finalist in the High Plains Book Awards.

Barbara Waterman-Peters is an artist by training and a writer by chance. Both pursuits have come together over the years in her articles about art and artists for such publications as Topeka, Kansas, and New Art Examiner magazines, in her book cover paintings for authors such as Marcia Cebulska’s Watching Men Dance, and in her collaborations with poets, most recently, Two Ponders: A Collaboration with Dennis Etzel, Jr. Co-owner of Pen & Brush Press with author Glendyn Buckley, Waterman-Peters illustrated their first two children’s books, The Fish’s Wishes and Bird which won awards from Kansas Authors Club. She co-wrote and illustrated their third book, TING & the Caterbury Tales, which came out this spring. Recently her fiction piece, “The Critique,” appeared in The Pen Woman and her creative non-fiction and poetry have been included in several anthologies. She lives in Topeka and her studio is in the NOTO Arts & Entertainment District. She spent five years living in rural Jackson County and Holton.

Cat Webling is an actress and author based in Kansas. She loves everything mad and macabre, philosophical and silly, so that’s exactly what she writes! Scifi, fantasy, and poetry are her mainstays when she’s not writing about literature, theater, gaming, or fan culture. She currently has a novel, a couple of short story collections, and several poetry collections under her belt. She works as an editor for SUPERJUMP Magazine, is an active member of the Kansas Authors Club, and daylights as a copywriter for hire. Cat writes from her home in Russell, which she shares with her loving partner, adorable son, and several very cute cats. You can find her work at www.catwebling.com.

Theme for Issue #5 (Nov 1 - Dec 31, 2022 Submission Period):
Animal Stories

Remember that our themes are simply prompts to spur your essays. There are so many directions you can go. Surprise us. Engage us. Help us remember what it was like to tame a nest of wild kittens. How did mom react when those kits turned out to be skunks? Ever snuggle with a turtle? Communicate with an owl? Swim with your pet snake?
Personal essays are welcome, but we are also looking for interviews, journalistic pieces, and more. Do you know a veterinarian who deserves the spotlight? Is there an animal shelter leading the way whose operations deserve to be highlighted? There are so many true stories that need to be told.
Remember, It must be a true story that happened, all or partially, in Kansas. Can your story leave the boundaries of Kansas? Sure! But you must show us that Kansas connection!

Learn More

The Bicycle Issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader: A Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction

4/25/2022

105 Issue #3 Cover Photo by Scott Branine, flickr.com/photos/scott_branine/

Congratulations to Kansas Authors Club members with essays in the “True Bicycle Stories” issue (#3) of 105 Meadowlark Reader.

(D2) Bicycles: A Love Story by Boyd Bauman

(D5) Where I Like by Julie Ann Baker Brin

(D1) BlueBoy by Annabelle Corrick

(D2) A Green Bike by Monica Graves

(D2) The Bucket List by Beth Gulley

(D2) Going to C’ago by Carolyn Hall

(D2) Whoa by Jerilynn Henrikson,

(D2) Blue English Racer by Deb Irsik

(D2) My First, Last, and Only Bike by Sally Jadlow

(D5) What I Learned from Riding the Bicycle by Amy Deckert Kliewer

(D5) Bicycles in Kansas Yards by Sandee Lee

(D2) Dust on My Shoulders by Kerry Moyer

(D2) A Rolling Start by Peg Nichols

(D6) I Didn’t Have a Bicycle but I had a Paper Route by Jim Potter

(D5) Country Biking in Kansas by Cynthia C. Schaker

(D1) They Traded My Horse for a Bicycle by Anne Spry

(D1) The Race by Barbara Waterman-Peters

(D2) Bicycles: Bane or Boon by Brenda White

(D2) On Shaky Wheels by Mary Kate Wilcox

(D7) Bike Ride by Sheree Wingo

The Bicycle Issue will be delivered to Partner Bookstores and Subscribers beginning in May.

The submission period for the Fall 2022 issue is May 1-June 30. The theme is (True) Food Stories.
Learn more at 105MeadowlarkReader.com

About 105 Meadowlark Reader

Our Mission
To create a forum for sharing the work of Kansas writers.
To build and uplift the community of Kansas writers.
To share and promote resources for Kansas writers.

105 Meadowlark Reader will strive to represent the diversity of writers in Kansas.

105 Meadowlark Reader is a journal of creative nonfiction by and for writers who live or have lived in Kansas.

Each issue will contain a directory of area resources for writers. Publishers, printers, editors, book designers, cover/interior artists, bookstores, writing clubs, and anyone who provides services to writers is invited to submit details for our directory at no charge.

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.

Three Members Make 2020 Midwest Book Awards Finalists list

4/27/2021

Three Kansas Authors Club members were named finalists in the 31st annual Midwest Book Awards. The awards program, which is organized by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MiPA), recognizes quality independent publishing in the Midwest.

Michael D. Graves, District 2, made the Fiction: Mystery/Thriller list with All Hallows' Shadows, the 3rd book of the Pete Stone, Private Investigator series.

Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, District 2, made the Fiction: Young Adult list with A Time for Tears.

Julie Stielstra, District 6, made the Fiction: Young Adult list with Opulence, Kansas.

All three titles are published by Meadowlark Press of Emporia, Kansas, owned by Tracy Million Simmons (D2).

The 31st annual Midwest Book Awards was open to books published and copyrighted in 2020 in MiPA’s 12-state Midwestern region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

This year’s competition garnered 241 entries in 35 categories, submitted by 74 independent publishers and judged by a panel of nearly one hundred librarians and booksellers from throughout the Midwest.

Historically, an awards gala is held in Minneapolis to announce the winners, but this year, as in 2020, winners will be announced and celebrated online, first in a Zoom webinar open to MiPA members and finalists, and shortly thereafter in a social media premiere that can be shared with friends and family. A period of book giveaways and winner highlights will accompany the social media premiere.

“This shift to celebrating online has enabled us to engage with a larger publishing community throughout the Midwest,” said Jennifer Baum, executive director of MiPA. “The number of entries received in 2020 grew by about 25% compared to the prior year, which can be attributed to our greater online presence.”

Following the conclusion of the gala celebrations, winners will be encouraged to participate in MiPA’s second season of the Virtual Reading Series, a limited series launched last year on MiPA’s YouTube channel.

Finalist books will also be for sale in MiPA’s affiliate shop on Bookshop.org, a website that shares proceeds with independent booksellers. Buyers can opt to select which independent store will receive the commission, or to leave it in a general pool to be distributed among independent booksellers.

For a complete list of finalists, visit www.mipa.org/midwest-book-awards. Follow @MIPAMidwestBookAwards on Facebook for updates on the gala’s social media premiere and book giveaways.