TOPEKA – This year’s list of Kansas Notable Books continues the tradition of celebrating the rich stories and culture of Kansas.

“The 2022 Kansas Notable Books list recognizes 15 books written by Kansans or about Kansas,” said Ray Walling, Acting State Librarian. “Through their work, the authors take readers on a journey through the wetlands of the Cheyenne Bottoms to the baseball fields of the Kansas City Monarchs. Readers can be transported back in time to the 1887 election in Argonia or to the epic battle of twin sisters enabled with superpowers facing a sinister force. This year’s titles include something for everyone. I hope all Kansans will visit their local public library to check out these wonderful titles.”

Each year, the Kansas Notable Books list features 15 books, published during the previous calendar year, which are about or set in Kansas, or written by a Kansas author. This year’s selection committee includes representatives of public, university, and school libraries, teachers, academics, and writers.

Kansas Notable Books authors will be awarded their medals at the Kansas Book Festival on September 24 at Washburn University. The public is invited.

Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program at the State Library of Kansas which is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. The mission of the Kansas Center for the Book is to highlight the state’s literary heritage and foster an interest in books, reading, and libraries.

For more information or questions about Kansas Notable Books program, visit kslib.info/notablebooks
or contact the State Library of Kansas at 785-296-3296 or email [email protected].

2022 Kansas Notable Books

Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet by Mandy Kern (Great Bend), illustrated by Onalee Nicklin (Emporia), Meadowlark Press

Blue Collar Saint: Poems by Brenda Leigh White (Emporia), Meadowlark Press

Field Journal: Volume XIII, 2021, The Santa Fe Trail by Symphony in the Flint Hills (Cottonwood Falls)

From This Moment: A Novel by Kim Vogel Sawyer (Hutchinson), Waterbrook

The Greatest Thing: A Story About Buck O'Neil by Kristy Nerstheimer (Overland Park), illustrated by Christian Paniagua, (Queens, NY) The Little Fig

Haven’s Secret (The Powers Book 1) by Melissa Benoist, Jessica Benoist (Council Grove), Mariko Tamaki, Abrams Books

How to Resist Amazon and Why by Danny Caine (Lawrence), Microcosm Publishing

Killing Dragons: Order of the Dolphin by Kristie Clark (Jetmore), Delphi Imprint

Mad Prairie: Stories and a Novella by Kate McIntyre (Worcester MA), University of Georgia Press

Policing Sex in the Sunflower State: The Story of the Kansas State Industrial Farm for Women by Nicole Perry (Lawrence), University Press of Kansas

Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains by Lucas Bessire (Norman OK), Princeton University Press
Stormbreak: A Seafire Novel by Natalie C. Parker (Lawrence), Razorbill

A Vote for Susanna: The First Woman Mayor by Karen M. Greenwald (Rockville MD), illustrated
by Sian James (Cambridge UK), Albert Whitman & Co.

White Hot Hate: A True Story of Domestic Terrorism in America's Heartland by Dick Lehr (Belmont MA), Mariner Books

Words Is a Powerful Thing: Twenty Years of Teaching Creative Writing at Douglas County Jail by Brian Daldorph (Lawrence), University Press of Kansas

For more information about the State Library of Kansas, please visit https://kslib.info.

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Kansas Authors Club members on the 2022 Notable list:

Brenda Leigh White - District 2

Brian Daldorph - District 2

Kristie Clark - District 7

​Meadowlark Press - Member at Large

Kristie Clark is our newest KAC member. She's a physician and an author. Let's give her a good welcome to KAC and to D-7. 

Here's what Kristie Clark has been up to: 

Greetings fellow Kansas authors! I’m happy to have found you. My name is Kristie Clark, and I write sci-fi thriller sea adventures. I’m also a pediatrician, wife, and mom to two teen sons, two border collies and one very privileged cat named Bonsai. We live in west Kansas in a small rural town not far from Dodge City. I enjoy cooking, scuba diving, and practicing yoga. My books incorporate my travel, diving, and spearfishing experiences. They’re like a Jurassic Park of the Sea
 
The Order of the Dolphin series includes three books so far: Killing Dragons, Dragon Gold, and Dragon Clan. Book four: Dragon Song is currently with my line editor. Although I have a marine biologist protagonist, truly the stars of my novels are the dolphins who also have their own POV chapters. Exciting news is that both Killing Dragons and Dragon Clan made the short list for Chanticleer’s Global Thriller Award for High Stakes Fiction. The award-winning short story historical prologue to the series, Dragon of the Sea, is available free on my website for signing up for my newsletter; it was a finalist for the Chanticleer Short Story Awards in the Chaucer category. My newsletters share information I’m interested in, like animal communication and intelligence studies as well as news about dolphins rescuing lost swimmers, and I also let readers know about new releases.
 
These fun books are available wide wherever eBooks are sold, and print books may be found online at Barnes & Noble or Amazon. In Kansas, these independent bookstores carry my books: Ad Astra Books in Salina and Bookends in Hutchinson. Also, I believe that the Kansas library association bought my eBooks recently, so they should be available for free, at least to the South West Kansas library patrons. My books, both in print and eBook, are also available online directly from my website www.kristieclark.com which is a great way to support an independent author.  I also have signed copies available if anyone would like them—if so contact me directly please.
 
Many thanks, and I’m happy to connect with other authors in Kansas!
—Kristie

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