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"A Family of Quilters" (I call it a mini-memoir) was published in the Aug/Sept 2023 issue of The Country Register, a quilters tabloid distributed "across the USA & Canada". Congratulations, Peg! 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.
My personal essay, "Touching the Lives of Others", won an Honorable Mention in The Cisco Writing Club Contest in Cisco, Texas. One of the best parts of placing in this contest was a half page of comments from the judge. Congratulations, Nancy! 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.
 The next issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader includes essays by the following Kansas Authors Club Members.
The theme of this issue is Landmarks, and expected ship date for this publication is early November, 2023. Congratulations writers! Lindsey Bartlett, Emporia Boyd Bauman, Overland Park Linda Cook, Manhattan Ann Christine Fell, Winfield Monica Graves, Emporia Carolyn Hall, Lenexa Cheryl Heide, Baldwin City Thomas Holmquist, Smolan Nancy Julien Kopp, Manhattan Marilyn Hope Lake, Columbia, MO Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Lawrence Julie A. Sellers, Atchison Julie Stielstra, Ellinwood Sandee Lee, El Dorado Barbara Waterman-Peters, Topeka Jon Kelly Yenser, Albuquerque, NM Sept. 16, 2023 Wichita's Chester I Lewis Park will be dedicated. It honors the Black lawyer who was nationally known for his work to bring full enforcement of the 14th Amendment to Kansas and the nation.
Gretchen Eick wrote the information accessed via QR codes on each of the beautiful tall glass panels painted with images of Lewis' work for access to equal public accommodations, housing, swimming pools, education, and employment. The paintings on glass are the work of artist Ellamonique Bauccus. Visit the park with her work and Gretchen's background information when you are in Wichita and bring the whole family. Lewis was a great and courageous man about whom all Kansans should know. Opulenece, Kansas, by Julie Stielstra (district 6), was selected as First Runner-Up in the Legacy Fiction category, which is fiction of any type published more than two years ago - because "unlike many in the industry, [they] think good books last more than a single season."   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.
Awards for achievement in writing, service to Kansas Authors Club, or a special accomplishment are presented to deserving Kansas Authors Club members at the Annual Conference. Nominations should be sent no later than July 1st of the year to be considered. Forms may be sent either by e-mail or by regular postal mail. Award winners will be selected by ballot by a committee of Kansas Authors Club members chosen by the Awards Chair. The Awards Chair will present the names of those members nominated to a selection committee before reporting final results to the KAC board as soon as possible after the deadline for nomination. Please give careful consideration to your reasons why the nominee is worthy of an award. If this person is to be considered for the achievement in writing award, then please list publications of the person’s writing, either published and/or self-published. For the service award, list what services were done both on the district and state level, how long the person held an office, etc. For the special accomplishment award, list when, where, and what this was, and describe the accomplishment. Contact the Awards Chair, Anne Shiever, if you have questions. Nominations may be made by any individual member of the Kansas Authors Club, by a group or a district. Note: This is a district-sponsored contest, not to be confused with the state contest. Entering one contest does not preclude a member from entering the other. ADULT CONTESTDistrict 7 of the Kansas Authors Club is sponsoring a writing contest for all writers, 18 and older, living in Kansas or members of KAC living in another state. The contest runs from May 1 to August 15, 2023. You do not need to be a member of District 7 to enter the contest. Writers should follow the Literary Contest rules on the website www.kansasauthorsclub.org and click on contests. The theme of the contest is “A Moment to Write.” Writers of prose or poetry are encouraged to follow the theme but do not have to adhere to it. There are only 4 categories for this contest: Prose Theme and Non-Theme, Poetry Story-form and Non-Story-form. Writers may not enter more than two entries in any one category. The fee for each entry is $5.00 and only typed copies will be accepted; do not send e-mail. Prizes in the amount of $25, $15 and $10 will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners in each of the 4 categories. Honorable Mention in each category will receive certificates. Mail entries to: Sheryl Brenn, 892 Country Road O, Levant, KS 67743. YOUTH CONTESTDistrict 7 of the Kansas Authors Club is sponsoring a writing contest for all children from Grades 5 through high school. The age categories are grades 5-6, 7-8, 9-12. The contest runs from May 1st through August 15th. Writers should follow the requirements for the Youth Literary Contest on the website www.kansasauthorsclub.org and click on contests.
The theme of the contest is “A Moment to Write.” Entries should be separated into these categories in each age group: Poetry, Fiction and Non-Fiction. Any youth should have no more than 3 entries. There is no charge for entering but prizes in these amounts will be awarded $25, $15 and $10 will be awarded to the first, second and third place and Honorable Mention winners in each category. Only typed copies will be accepted. Do not send entries by e-mail. Mail entries to: Sheryl Brenn, 892 Country Road O, Levant, KS 67743.  News from District 6 Member, Ginger Zyskowski. Here are some photos from the event on April 1, 2023 at the Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens in Everett, Washington. My poem was selected as 1 of 20 from over 100 entries for the contest "Out on a Limb: Poetry in the Trees" to celebrate 60 years in the Arboretum and Gardens. The chosen poems were put on ceramic plaques and hung on tree limbs throughout the arboretum for the month of April. Poems were to reflect nature or trees. My poem: The tree stands silent In its winter nakedness Waiting for spring frocks. The opening reception was held in the classroom of the arboretum and featured readings by Washington State Poet Laureate, 2021-2023, Rena Priest, and Pulitzer Prize Winner and judge, Rae Armantrout. 
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.  Prize Announcement: The Converse Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing and Clemson University Press are pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Converse MFA Alumni Book Prize as selected by this year’s judge, Claire Bateman. For 2023, Bateman has selected Insomnia in Another Town, by Lisa Hase Jackson. In selecting this year’s winner, Claire Bateman stated that all the manuscripts distinguished themselves and that each writer possessed a “wonderfully distinct voice.” As for the winner, Bateman shared the following comment: Insomnia in Another Town is a peripatetic exploration of place and displacement; animal life and strange weathers; the exigencies of race, class, and gender as childhood memories emit a dark radiance by which to navigate the present. These poems are quietly perceptive, unflinching: There is no small grief…/for all are/interconnected. One touch/sends tremors through our core/like the fly in the web/that wakes the spider at its center. Nevertheless, there’s significant courage here with grace notes of buoyancy as readers are reawakened to joy in bird song along the power lines/and between the tunes/on the radio,/the interstices/of thoughts/no one thinks about. The full list of finalists is below: Lisa Hase Jackson, winner, Insomnia in Another Town (Poetry) Zorina Frey, Runner-up, Redline U.S. A Story (Poetry) Hannah Marshall, The Shape Good Can Take (Poetry) The Converse MFA Alumni Book Prize is awarded every two years to a Converse MFA alumna who has entered an original book-length manuscript to its contest. All submitted manuscripts are judged anonymously by a writer of national distinction, and the author of the winning manuscript(s) is awarded a standard royalty book contract, publication by Clemson University Press who will edit, publish, and distribute each prize-winning book, plus the winner is invited (expenses paid) to give a public reading from the winning manuscript at the Converse MFA program’s residency session. The Converse MFA Alumni Book Prize is part of a publishing partnership between the low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Converse and Clemson University Press. The Clemson-Converse Literature Series publishes a diverse and distinguished body of contemporary poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction essay collections. While the series will occasionally feature an outstanding anthology, the majority of the books will be selected through two competitions, each of which will run biennially: a national poetry prize for a full-length book, an award open to all poets publishing in English, and the Converse MFA Alumni Book Award Series, open to alumni of the Converse Low Residency MFA. About the winner: Lisa Hase-Jackson is author of the poetry collection Flint & Fire (The Word Works, 2019), which was selected for the 2019 Hilary Tham Capital Collection Series. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals including Cimarron Review, South Carolina Review, and Mom Egg Review. Awarded residencies at the Kimmel Harding-Nelson Center for the Arts and Vermont Studio Center, her work can also be found in Ice on a Hot Stove (Clemson University Press) and The Crafty Poet (Terrapin Press) anthologies. She has taught at universities and writing workshops across the U.S. Lisa Hase-Jackson is a District 3 member of Kansas Authors Club. 
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.  WRITING FROM THE CENTER Accepting Zine Submissions April 10 - May 31 Kansas Authors Club has a new zine! Writing from the Center, an opportunity for members and non-members of Kansas Authors Club to share their creativity with the world. The first issue is set to be published this fall, 2023. From the Arikaree Breaks to Little Jerusalem to the Flint Hills to the Kansas and Arkansas River valleys, Kansas is a diverse state full of interesting people and communities. We want our first issue to scream Kansas! Please send us your words and pictures that are unabashedly about the great state of Kansas. We are accepting
Eligible Writers/Artists: Any current member of Kansas Authors Club may submit at no cost. Non-members must pay a $5 reading fee for their work to be considered. By entering, you grant Writing from the Center permission to print in the next edition. You attest that your entry is your original work. Thank You to our Members who have volunteered their time to make this project possible.
Editor: Curtis Becker Assistant Editor: Lindsey Bartlett Editorial Board: Barbara Waterman-Peters Brenda White Toni Cummings Nancy Kopp Janice Northerns Marilyn Bolton Linda Brower Miriam Iwashige Kansas Authors Club holds annual contests for writers of all ages. All residents of the state of Kansas are invited to enter. Members of Kansas Authors Club may reside anywhere (and get a reduced entry fee). ALWAYS read the guidelines before entering writing contests. Our guidelines can be found at https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/writing-contests---all-ages.html
We accept entries April 1 – June 15. Yes, we do charge fees for our adult writing contests. We are a 501(c)3 organization and our fees go to cover awards, honorariums for judges, and youth contests (there are no fees for our young writers to enter our contests). We welcome Marie Asner of Overland Park to District 2 and to the Kansas Authors Club! M.A. Asner is an entertainment reviewer, poet, and journalist. Her reviews are on www.tollbooth.org. She is a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle. Marie is a past member of Kansas Arts on Tour, and currently a member of the Missouri State Poetry Society. In 2022, Marie’s poems were published in Calliope, Grist, Pegasus, The Rockford Review, and Distilled Lives, Volume 6. In January 2023, Marie was a Zoom guest speaker of the Rockford Writers Guild on the topic of film and book reviewing.D6 Member Cat Webling announced today that she will be releasing a new poetry collection on June 5, 2023. The description of the collection is as follows: Stars in their beauty only last a short time, and when their lives end, what's left is nothing more than a void. This collection explores the stars, supernovas, and voids left behind that shape us and change us as we live our lives.   Via Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens. District 6’s Ginger Zyskowski is proud to announce that her poem, “The tree stands silent,” will appear in the “Out on a Limb” project at the Evergreen Arboretum in Everett, WA in April of 2023.
This project, co-sponsored by the Everett Public Library, takes two dozen poetic works from authors of all ages and inscribes them on clay tablets that will hang from the branches of the trees in the arboretum to “create and maintain an inspirational” setting, according to the management of the facility. The exhibit will run for the month of April in 2023, which coincides with National Poetry Month. There will be a grand opening event on April 1, 2023, and additional events throughout the month that have yet to be announced.  Julie Ann Baker Brin is thrilled to have three pieces published in the Flying Ketchup Press Night Forest: Folk Poetry & Story anthology, launched January 21, 2023 after a long wait (submitted in February, 2020 and accepted in April, 2020 … take a wild guess at what caused the publication delay)! Excerpts and purchasing info are in the “lament” section of Julie's portfolio site (link below). For lack of a better category—they were actually submitted for a “love” theme call for entries, but fall lopsidedly toward the unrequited and/or imperfect side of that topic.
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. The Adirondack Center for Writing posted three of my responses to their weekly prompts. Reiter's Block, the personal blog of Jendi Reiter posted a poem of his which he wrote in response to a comment. A review of Zephyrs of the Heart was posted on the Pegasus Literary site – a surprise to Herrmann. A poem of his from an anthology published by Poet's Choice appears in the compilation: PostCards, vol.2. Heron Clan X. An annual anthology of poetry, published his poem, "Feeding Cattle." Herrmann's poem, "Open the Door," is included in the first ever anthology of spiritual themed poems, entitled Offerings, published by Tiferet journal. And, on the very last day of the month, Kansas Public Radio invited him to come to their studios in Lawrence, Kansas, to record readings of several poems on disabilities that he had sent them in response to their call for such poems.  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. Mark Scheel's essay "The Empty Road" appeared on the online publication The Milk House on January 5, 2023. It relates the childhood memory of a farm hand who suffered from alcoholism and is an excerpt from a memoir-in-progress. https://www.themilkhouse.org/the-empty-road-by-mark-scheel/  click image to visit The Milk House website  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.
Have you made any writing-related resolutions for 2023? Here's a challenge for our members. Share your writing goals with us in the comments section. (Now open for the first time!) “Dip your pen into your arteries and write.” ― William Allen White "Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window." ― William Faulkner "The first lesson to be learned by a writer is to be able to say, 'Thanks so much. I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m working.'" ― Edna Ferber Several members of District 6 made appearances this weekend at an author event hosted by At The Market! in Wichita. This retail and development center hosts an annual event for the community which connects local authors to readers and each other with independent booths and readings throughout the day. This year's event featured eight authors including D6 members Jared Vaughn, Karis Ens, Melody Cole, Julie Stielstra, and Cat Webling. The day's event was held in collaboration with a local bookstore event for children. Those looking for more information about the event and future events can visit At The Market!'s website. |
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