Category: Tracy Million Simmons

#ReadLocalKS : Clocked Out: A Josie Posey Mystery by Anna St. John

9/1/2024

Member Tracy Million Simmons, Emporia, writes about her latest Kansas read, Clocked Out by member Anna St. John, Haysville.

Clocked Out is the second book in the Josie Posey Mystery series by Anna St. John. I had every intention of reading Doomed by Blooms, the first book of the series (a 2024 Kansas Notable title!) but I was shopping at Watermark in Wichita and this one, a signed copy, was on the shelf, so I grabbed it!

This is a cozy mystery, and the protagonist is very much the type of person I admire and can relate to. She's a journalist, retired from her big city job and now living in a small town in the great state of Kansas. As much as figuring out the mystery, watching Josie put her skills to work for the local police department when a talented young clock maker dies, I really enjoyed learning about the art of making clocks! Horology is a subject I had not spent a lot of time contemplating before this book. I love when a good read includes some educational bonus material.

I appreciated Josie's friends, her relationship with the police chief, and the fact that's she's got a blossoming love interest. This is a very enjoyable book and I look forward to seeing what else is in store for Josie in future editions.

--Tracy Million Simmons, Emporia,
author of Tiger Hunting, a novel,
and A Life In Progress and Other Short Stories.

Visit Anna St. John's Website

What are you reading? Help us lift and share the good news about Kansas literature. Tag your book loves and reviews on social media with #ReadLocalKS and submit here to be posted on the Kansas Authors Club website.

July Program Recording Now Available: The Case for Reading Local

7/24/2024

Tracy Million Simmons provided a well-received program on the importance of reading books by local authors. This post includes links that are mentioned in the recording, as well as links that were inadvertently left out. There was some excellent discussion at the end of the approximately 1/2 hour program which is summarized below.

Where to find books by Kansas Authors

Kansas Authors Club Website

Member Blogs & Websites
Member Book Announcements
Past & Present Book Awards (see menu bar on the left of our website: "Book Awards-->

Washburn University's Map of Kansas Literature

State Library of Kansas, Notable Books & 150 "Best" Kansas Books List

Regional Presses

Sign up for their newsletters & follow them on social media.
If you know of a regional press missing from this list, please send us a note via "submit news" (right menu bar).

Ambitious Stories

Anamcara Press

Author's Voice Publishing

Blue Cedar Press

Flint Hills Publishing

Kellogg Press

Lost Aardvark's Press

Meadowlark Press

Personal Chapters Publishing

Post Rock Press

Quiet Storm Services

Story Scribe

Time Honored Productions

University Press of Kansas

Discussion Notes from the July Meeting

Many local libraries have rooms or sections dedicated to Kansas literature, past and present.
Examples: Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Mabee Library on Washburn's campus

Most libraries have a process for suggesting new titles for library aquisition.

Member Ruth Maus has a page on her website with instructions for posting book reviews to Amazon & Goodreads.

Members are also invited to submit their book reviews to the Kansas Authors Club website. Posting reviews or even just "what am I reading now" photos on social media would work too.

Kansas Authors Club maintains a Resources for Writers database. This is in the "member" section of the website. Sign-in is required. Members may add themselves if they provide services to other writers and those looking for services can view the entries.

105 Meadowlark Reader maintains a Resources for Writers document that is updated twice a year and available to download for free.

IDEA: What about creating an award for members who read and/or review the most books by Kansas writers.

Social Media Hashtags: Let's all use #readlocalKS
and #kansasauthorsclub

Additional post ideas for the Kansas Authors Club website. Posts with book lists centered around a theme. Members are encouraged and welcome to submit these to our website.

Midwest Independent Booksellers maintains an Indie Road Map that includes Kansas bookstores.

Ideas to add? Please feel free to share them in the comments to this post.

Show Us Your Books! Members at the July Program on Zoom display books by Kansas Authors.

Join Us for our July Program: Tracy Million Simmons, Presenter

7/15/2024

Saturday, July 20, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

Join us on Zoom for this month's program: The Case for Reading Local, by Kansas Authors Club Executive Director, Tracy Million Simmons.

We are excited to bring monthly programs to our members across the state (and beyond) via Zoom. Some of our members combine this programming with monthly in-person meetings. Some attend from the comfort of their own homes.

Membership in Kansas Authors Club is open to anyone with an interest in writing.

Members Access Zoom Link (sign-on required)

All members will also receive the link for attendance in the monthly email newsletter.

The Case for Reading Local

Presenter: Tracy Million Simmons, Executive Director of Kansas Authors Club

Location: Zoom

Presentation Category: Inspiration

As the owner of a small regional press, Tracy has spent the last ten years working with authors to bring books of prose and poetry to the public. As 24-year Kansas Authors Club member, she has learned the stories of hundreds of local authors. Tracy will give us an overview of the realities of the world of book publishing today, with a focus on the state of regional and small presses and independent authors.

This program will focus on the power of readers to shape and influence and make an impact. Please join us, and feel free to invite your book-loving friends.

Tracy Million Simmons had a twenty-year freelance career spanning work with entrepreneurs on newsletters, marketing materials, and website design, and published more than 500 articles and essays in niche to national publications. During that time she worked as an editor and on layout and design for assorted small press publishers and book packagers. She is currently the owner/publisher of Meadowlark Press, celebrating ten years in business in 2024. Meadowlark has published more than 70 titles, including six Kansas Notables. Meadowlark books have been recognized by the High Plains Book Awards, Midwest Book Awards, and every category of Kansas Authors Club book awards.

Tracy is the author of Green Bike (with Kevin Rabas and Michael D. Graves), A Life in Progress and Other Short Stories, and Tiger Hunting, the 2013 J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award winner from the Kansas Authors Club. Tracy currently serves as the Executive Director of the Kansas Authors Club.

June 2024 Program Now Available: Save the Date for July 20 Program

6/20/2024

The recording of the June program is now available for viewing by members at this link. (Member sign-on required.) This video will be available until replaced by the July program recording.

Join us for the July 2024 Program

Coming - July 20, 2024

The Case for Reading Local

Presenter: Tracy Million Simmons, Executive Director of Kansas Authors Club

Location: Zoom

Presentation Category: Inspiration

As the owner of a small regional press, Tracy has spent the last ten years working with authors to bring books of prose and poetry to the public. As 24-year Kansas Authors Club member, she has learned the stories of hundreds of local authors. Tracy will give us an overview of the realities of the world of book publishing today, with a focus on the state of regional and small presses and independent authors.

This program will focus on the power of readers to shape and influence and make an impact. Please join us, and feel free to invite your book-loving friends.

Free Summer Programs at Red Rocks Stat Historic Site

5/13/2024

Sunday, May 19, 2:00 PM
Red Rocks State Historic Site
927 Exchange Street, Emporia, KS

Writing & Publishing Creative Nonfiction
Presentation by Tracy Million Simmons
Meadowlark Press & 105 Meadowlark Reader

Tour Red Rocks FREE in 2024
Wednesdays through Sundays.

EMPORIA, Kansas - “Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction” will be presented on Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. at Red Rocks State Historic Site, 927 Exchange Street. Tracy Million Simmons, owner and publisher of Meadowlark Press based in Emporia, will present this program focusing on the writing and publishing of creative nonfiction.

Simmons, a native of Dodge City, founded Meadowlark Press in Emporia in 2014. In ten years of operation, Meadowlark has brought to print 70 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Five volumes have been named Kansas Notable Books, one was named a High Plains Book Award winner and three finalists, and many other Meadowlark books have been cited for various awards.

“In the beginning, I wanted to build the type of press I was looking for as an author, and as an author, I wanted a partner in the process of publishing. I wanted someone who could answer questions and advise me yet honor my story and my voice.” Simmons explained. “My focus was on writers with whom I shared deep roots, writers from Kansas, voices of the Midwest. Meadowlark publishes prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry because the best communities are the ones where all voices are heard. Maybe that’s the vision: to build a community with strong connections between writers and readers.”

In 2021, Tracy Simmons as publisher and Cheryl Unruh as editor launched 105 Meadowlark Reader: A Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction. The seventh edition of the semiannual journal with the theme of “Intersections” was released this May. The journal aspires to publish writers of true Kansas stories set in or references one or more of the 105 Kansas counties.

Simmons characterized the initiative this way, “When Cheryl and I began talking about publishing a journal, we knew we wanted to focus on true stories. We are both essayists, at heart. I think in the end, we both agreed that a publication like 105 Meadowlark Reader would serve our purposes of strengthening the Kansas literary community with a publication where people who were sharing their stories for the first time would be welcomed among more seasoned writers.”

“William Allen White was a prolific writer, published in all genres. He was an early member of the Kansas Authors Club, an inaugural judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club, and a true mentor friend to so many writers and journalists.” said Roger Heineken, White Community Partnership program chair. “Editor White would be delighted to know Meadowlark Press is based in his hometown of Emporia.”

The Sunday at the Site programs are free, and the public is invited to attend. Donations in support of the site are always appreciated. Tours of the site are free in 2024, Wednesday through Sunday.

The William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc. is the local organization that works in cooperation with the Kansas Historical Society to present Red Rocks State Historic Site, the legendary home of the White family. The Partnership helps fund operations of the historic site and, each year, presents a program series to interpret the White family story and associated history.

The entire selection of Meadowlark books can be viewed online at meadowlarkbookstore.com.

The Adventures of Bottle Calf at Volland

3/16/2024

Ann Vigola Anderson, D2 member, and artist, Sara Long, had a wonderful event for The Adventures of Bottle Calf at Volland-the place for art and music, in the Flint Hills, Sunday, March 3.

Kids and grown up of all ages enjoyed the story and the art!

Kansas Authors Club Executive Director, Tracy Million Simmons

1/19/2024

Tracy Million Simmons has been a member of Kansas Authors Club since 2000 where she joined as a D7 member from her then-home near Dodge City. She has been an active member of D1 (while residing in Topeka) and D2 (while residing in Emporia) and has served the club on the district and state level in a variety of capacities, starting with prose contest chair in 2004. She was the yearbook editor from 2006-2016, produced the newsletter for several years, became Assistant Financial Secretary 2017-2019, Financial Secretary 2018-2020, State Vice President in 2021, and State President in 2022. Tracy became the club's first (quarter-time) paid manager in 2022. In short, Tracy believes in the power of the literary community of Kansas and is proud to be associated with this 120 year-old organization.

Tracy celebrates a twenty-year freelance career spanning many aspects of the written word, from helping entrepreneurs with newsletters, marketing materials, and website design, to publishing more than 500 articles and essays in niche to national publications. She worked as an editor and on layout and design for assorted small press publishers and book packagers.

She is the author of Tiger Hunting, the 2013 J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award winner from the Kansas Authors Club, and A Life in Progress and Other Short Stories.

As the founder of Meadowlark Press (established 2014), Tracy has worked with more than 40 authors publishing books of poetry and prose, including five Kansas notable titles. Meadowlark is the home of the Birdy Poetry Prize and 105 Meadowlark Reader, a Kansas journal of creative nonfiction.

Visit Meadowlark Press Bookstore

Follow Meadowlark Press on Facebook

Learn About 105 Meadowlark Reader

Follow 105 on Facebook

Learn More: Birdy Poetry Prize

Group Enjoys Zoom Open Mic

1/13/2023

Each month on 2nd Tuesdays, District 3 & 4 members have been gathering on ZOOM to share their written work.

You are invited!

The featured reader in February is Duane Johnson (Topeka member and former state president, 2020-21). Duane will be reading poems from his 2022 award-winning chapbook. After the featured reader, attendees are invited to share their own work (prepare for reading 3-4 minute excerpts, please).

Updated: This event has been moved to March
Save the date: Tuesday, March 14, 7pm

Members Nila Jean Spencer (Maryland), Tracy Million Simmons, Kris Polansky, Duane Johnson, Vickie Guillot, James Kenyon, and Nancy Julien Kopp met in January on Zoom for an Open Mic. Districts 3 & 4 began hosting this 2nd Tuesday meeting in 2021. All members of Kansas Authors Club are invited to attend.

Appreciation for our 2022 State Executive Board Members

12/28/2022

Please take a moment to thank the officers who have shared their time and talent with writers across the state of Kansas and beyond. The following individuals served on our 2022 State Board.

Tracy Million Simmons, President
Emporia, Kansas

Tracy Million Simmons enjoys writing about the people and places of her home state of Kansas, both real and imagined. Her writing resume includes more than 500 articles in print, from feature articles in national and niche publications to ghostwritten material for busy health professionals. She has worked with small press and book packagers on everything from book layout and design to editing. She is a past mini-fellowship winner from the Kansas Arts Commission and has been an honorable mention in the Kansas Voices contest (Winfield). Tracy is the author of Tiger Hunting (a novel) and A Life in Progress (short stories, fiction).

Tracy is the founder of Meadowlark Press, an independent publisher that focuses on stories and authors from the heartland. The press is the home of The Birdy Poetry Prize (since 2019) and 105 Meadowlark Reader: A Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction.

Tracy joined Kansas Authors Club in 2000. She has been a member and has served in various offices of Districts 7, 1, and 2. Tracy produced the Kansas Authors Club yearbook from 2006-2016. She has also served as Prose Contest Chair (2004), Newsletter Editor (2007-2010), Assistant Financial Secretary (2017-19), Financial Secretary (2018-20), and State Vice President (2021). In 2022, as well as fulfilling the role of president, Tracy served as the club’s first paid part-time manager.

Monica Graves, Financial Officer
Emporia, Kansas

Monica Graves is the Director of Dental Assisting and Division Chair of Health & Human Services at Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia, Kansas. She was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna of FHTC in 2017. Monica writes engaging stories about her upbringing in the rural Flint Hills where she lived with her parents, five sisters, one brother, and a couple of aunts in a farmhouse furnished with one bathroom and lots of love.

Monica has been published in 105 Meadowlark Reader. She has been a member of Kansas Authors Club since 2015.

Monica makes her home in Emporia with her husband, Michael D. Graves, author of the Pete Stone Private Detective series. Mike and Monica currently sponsor the First Chapter of a Book category of the annual literary contest.

Cathy Callen, Secretary
Lawrence, Kansas

Cathy Callen graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in English and elementary education, and from the University of Kansas with a master's degree in early childhood special education. She also attended the Kansas City Art Institute for two years, majoring in photography. Cathy spent her career with Topeka Public Schools as a teacher and later as coordinator of the district’s preschool special education program. Cathy has had poetry published in Inscape, a publication of Washburn University, and in Tallgrass Voices, a publication of poems by members of the Kansas Authors Club, edited by Gary Lechliter. Her non-fiction article, “Reconstituting Allen,” appeared in the Fall/Winter 2012 edition of Connections, a journal published by the Indiana Historical Society. Her non-fiction article, “Magic Mondays,” appeared in the Summer 2013 edition of UU World, the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Cathy’s article, “The Kansas City Daily Drovers Telegram and its leading role covering the livestock industry,” is included in the summer 2016 issue of the Jackson County (Missouri) Historical Society journal. In addition, she has written four books: Running out of Footprints (a family history), in 2013; Words in Rows, Poetry and Prose (a collection of poems and short prose), in 2016; Ginkgo Glen (a novel) in 2018; and Marble Shorts (essays) in 2022.

Cathy has been a member of the Kansas Authors Club since 2008 and was KAC state treasurer for 6 of those years. Cathy resides in Lawrence, Kansas.

Her website is: www.cathycallen.com

Kristine A. Polansky, Vice President
Manhattan, Kansas

As a writer, Kris Polansky, is best known for her poems, four of which were published in Tallgrass Voices edited by Gary Lechliter. She experiments with various poetic forms, studying how content and form shape each other. She grew up in Western Kansas (short grass country), writing puppet plays and short stories. She took a fiction writing class from James Gunn at the University of Kansas and went on to teach middle school English and social studies ten years before returning to school, the Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas, where (she jokes) she learned to write creative nonfiction. She has been named KAC Poet of the Year three times, most recently October 2021. Her poem, “Turning Points” won the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Art and Writing Contest, adult division, Manhattan, Kansas. She has served KAC for four years (2010-13) as Youth Contest Manager, 2021 as KAC Financial Secretary, and multiple years as District 4 Treasurer. She has also served as a judge for the youth contest.

2022 Convention: Connie Rae White Service Award

11/23/2022

Connie Rae White
Merit Award for Service to the Club
October 22, 2022

Nominated by Tracy Million Simmons, D2 (Emporia)

Connie Rae White joined Kansas Authors Club in 2014 and has been leading, in my eyes, ever since. Connie has served the last two years as president of District 5. Prior to that she filled the office of secretary. In 2019, Connie helped organize our convention in Wichita. She also sat on the committee that produced our first virtual convention in 2021.

When 2020 stopped our in-person meetings, Connie made no excuses. She got right to work finding a way to continue D5 meetings virtually. Connie never used fear of technology as an excuse. She signed up D5 for its first Zoom account and took the attitude of "I've got to learn these things," and learn she did.

Connie also served as a member of the restructuring committee, always with an eye to the future of our organization.

Connie has published children's books and a fascinating book called It's All Show Business, a story she collected while caring for a man named Lee in her profession as a nurse. Connie also works as a editor for hire.

I nominate Connie Rae White for a merit award for service to the Kansas Authors Club.

-Tracy Million Simmons, D2 Member (Emporia)

2022 Convention: Gretchen Eick Service Award

11/19/2022

Gretchen Eick
Merit Award for Service to the Club
October 22, 2022

Nominated by Tracy Million Simmons, D2 (Emporia)

Gretchen Eick is an accomplished author, publisher, and educator. She joined our organization in 2016.

Gretchen has served District 5 as vice president and program manager. If you are curious, take a look at the terrific lineup of 2022 speakers on the D5 portion of our website.

Gretchen service on the Committee to Restructure Kansas Authors Club, taking time out of a busy writing schedule to learn more about our organization. Gretchen's questions often brought about immediate improvement. Our website features several enhancements and/or clarifications that came about via discussions with Gretchen.

I nominate Gretchen Eick for a merit award in service to Kansas Authors Club.

-Tracy Million Simmons, D2 Member (Emporia)

2022 Convention: Gretchen Eick Service Award

11/12/2022

Gretchen Eick
Merit Award for Service to the Club
October 22, 2022

Nominated by Tracy Million Simmons

Gretchen Eick is an accomplished author, publisher, and educator. She joined our organization in 2016.

Gretchen has served District 5 as vice president and program manager. If you are curious, take a look at the terrific line-up of speakers in 2022 on the D5 portion of the website. Gretchen served on the committee to restructure Kansas Authors Club, taking time out of a busy writing schedule to learn more about our organization and examine our processes and procedures. Gretchen's questions alone often brought about immediate improvements. Our website features several enhancements and/or clarifications that came about via discussions with Gretchen.

I nominate Gretchen Eick for a merit award in service to the Kansas Authors Club.

-Tracy Million Simmons, D2 member (Emporia)

Tracy Simmons Speech on KAC Future Plans

10/15/2022

Tracy Million Simmons presented likely changes that will be happening with KAC in the next year and what KAC might look like in the years to come. She gave this information at the D5 meeting today. The link below is for the recording of that speech.

You Tube Link for Tracy's Speech

Tracy Million Simmons to Speak at D5 Meeting October 15 at 1:30

10/5/2022

We are blessed to have Tracy Million Simmons presenting at the October 15 D5 meeting. She has a wealth of information and experience in writing. Not only is she grounded in KAC history, but she has won awards for her writing. Her novel Tiger Hunting won the Coffin Book Award in 2013. She worked professionally in publishing before forming her own press—Meadowlark Press. She is the publisher for 105 Meadowlark Reader, a journal by Kansas writers about Kansas which is published twice yearly.

Tracy serves as manager of Kansas Authors Club for the KAC 2021-22 year. The club developed this paid position in hopes of finding ways to make our organization more effective. She will share how the year as KAC manager has gone, what she has learned, and how the organization’s more streamlined structure is working.

District 5 meetings are available on Zoom or in person.

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). All meetings start at 1:30 pm.

Zoom link: D5 meeting Oct 15 1:30

KU's Spencer Research Library

6/19/2022

The Kansas Authors Club Library is stored within the Kansas Authors Collection at KU's Spencer Research Library.

Tracy Million Simmons (state president) and Kristine Polansky (state vice president) were able to deliver books to and tour the Kenneth Spencer Research Library in May.

The Kansas Authors Collection at Kenneth Spencer Research Library in Lawrence, includes the Kansas Authors Club Library. Memorabilia stored there, including books published by Kansas Authors Club members, has been collected by the club since 1907.

The collection was initially housed at the home of George Morehouse, an officer of the club. In the 1920s and 30s, part of the collection was displayed at the Kansas Free State Fair in Topeka, and became a permanent display at the Mid-West Exposition, which became the Kansas State Fair. In intervening years, the collection was housed at the Salina Public Library and at the Topeka Women's Club. The club's arrangement with Spencer Research Library began began in 1986.

Simmons and Polansky visited to clarify the arrangement. Books that have been submitted by members to the clubs book contests each year will be donated to the collection, as well as annual yearbooks and newsletters. This is a non-circulating collection, available for research and viewing upon request.

History of the collection is detailed in Donald Stewart Pady's History of the Kansas Authors Club, 1904-2014 (page 99-102) The publication is available for online viewing by members on the "member pages" of this website and for purchase here.

Recent titles in the Kansas Authors Club Library in the Kansas Collection at the Spencer Research Library in Lawrence.

Belated Celebratory Gathering of Last Year's (2021) Virtual Convention Zoom Team

6/16/2022

Carol Yoho (D1), Duane Johnson (D1 and 2020-21 State President), and Tracy Million Simmons (D2 and 2022 State President) finally managed to meet in person to celebrate a second successful virtual convention. (Click here for highlights from the 2021 Convention.) Missing: Thea Rademacher (D1).

News for the 2022 Convention, to be held in person in Lawrence, Kansas, with a virtual component, is pending announcement... soon. Meanwhile, members can go ahead and reserve a hotel room and purchase advertising in the convention program.

MEMBERS: Purchase a quarter page advertisement before July 8 for only $25!

2022 Convention
October 21-23

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.

Convention 2021: Award of Merit for Service to the Club

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

Anne Shiever joined Kansas Authors Club in 2004. She is a familiar face at our annual conventions, as well as at state board meetings, where the real work of the club gets done. She always has a smile on her face and kind words for her fellow KAC members. She has served as a past D4 president, as well as many years running on the state board including positions of publicity, assistant recording secretary, and now Awards Chair. I am honored to call Anne Shiever friend and fellow writer, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you, Anne, for all you do for our organization.

Nominated by: Tracy Million Simmons

2021 Length of Membership Awards

10/9/2021

Jeff G. Guernsey – 10 years
Ronda Miller – 10 years
Ray “Griz” Racobs – 10 years
Gloria Zachgo – 10 years
Michael D. Graves – 10 years

Susan Hill – 15 years
Arlene Rains Graber – 15 years
Betty A. Laird – 15 years

Tracy Million Simmons – 20 years

Joann Williams – 25 years

Maryann Barry – 30 years
Lorine A. Gleue – 30 years
Cynthia J. Ross – 30 years

Frankie Roland – 35 years

Millie Horlacher – 40 years

Octogenarians
Carol Katsantoness
Frank Powers*
Susan Hill

*has reached 5 years of membership

2021 Convention: Panel on Small Kansas Independent Book Publishers

9/17/2021

There is still time to purchase your ticket for the 2021 Kansas Authors Club Convention! These four accomplished children's book authors are among the great speakers and workshops you will have access to at the virtual event, which will take place October 8-10.

Purchase your ticket through Submittable. Use the button below!

Kansas boasts an amazing array of talented and dedicated independent book publishers. Their owners are the folks who promote and publish the poetry and prose of talented wordsmiths who might never land or seek a contract with any of the big New York publishers. Meadowlark, Blue Cedar, One Voice and Spartan are all racking up some impressive title inventories and many of them are KAC members’ books. How and why do these small publishers deal with the little fish? What is their vision for their companies and the talented authors they recruit? Do they accept submissions? What do they charge?

The members of this panel will give us a brief history of their dedicated service to Kansas authors. They include:

Tracy Million Simmons of Meadowlark–
Owner/Publisher of Meadowlark Press, enjoys reading and writing about the people and places of her home state of Kansas, both real and imagined. She started Meadowlark Books in 2014 with the publication of Green Bike, a group novel, with Kevin Rabas and Michael D. Graves. Since that time, Meadowlark has published books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including the 2016 Kansas Notable Book, To Leave a Shadow by Michael D. Graves, the 2020 Kansas Notable Book, Headwinds, by Edna Bell-Pearson, and the 2021 Kansas Notable Book, All Hallows' Shadows, by Michael D. Graves. Opulence, Kansas, by Julie Stielstra was the winner of the 2021 Midwest Book Award in YA fiction.

Gretchen Eick of Blue Cedar–
After fourteen years as a foreign and military policy lobbyist in Washington, Gretchen Eick became a professor of history. Awarded two Fulbright Scholar awards (to Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) and a Fulbright Hays travel grant to South Africa, she is the author of seven books, two scholarly histories, four novels, and a book of short stories. Her books include
Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest, 1954-1972 (U of IL Press, 2001/2007) and They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans’ Story (University of Nevada Press)

Blue Cedar Press published its first books in 2015. Michael Poage, the founder, wanted to start a press that would focus on poetry written by new voices that he believed should be published and heard. His wife, Gretchen Eick, a published writer of nonfiction, had begun writing novels and wanted the press to publish fiction and nonfiction from new voices also, particularly the voices of today’s “other America”—people of color, immigrants, young people, people of nontraditional sexual orientation, as well as people from other countries.

Jason Ryberg of Spartan Press–
Jason Ryberg is the author of fourteen books of poetry, six screenplays, a few short stories, a box full of folders, notebooks and scraps of paper that could one day be (loosely) construed as a novel, and a couple of angry letters to various magazine and newspaper editors. He is currently an artist-in-residence at both The Prospero Institute of Disquieted P/o/e/t/i/c/s and the Osage Arts Community, and is an editor and designer at Spartan Books. His latest collection of poems is Are You Sure Kerouac Done It This Way!? (co-authored with John Dorsey, and Victor Clevenger, OAC Books, 2021). He lives part-time in Kansas City, MO with a rooster named Little Red and a Billy goat named Giuseppe and part-time somewhere in the Ozarks near the Gasconade River, where there are also many strange and wonderful woodland critters.

Will Leathem founded Spartan Press in the late 1990s as a vehicle to bring awareness to the stunning writing talent Kansas City has to offer. As part-owner of Prospero’s Books, he has been an endless champion for small presses and local and national poetry, hosting hundreds of events.

Jan Gilbert Hurst of Author’s Voice–
In her business--Author’s Voice Publishing—Jan’s mission is to help aspiring writers become published authors. She provides all the services needed to shepherd manuscripts through editing, design, production, and print, to become polished books that authors are proud to present to the world. She appreciates one adoring husband, two grown sons, and three delightful grandchildren. Her spare time overflows with volunteering as a leader in Outdoor Ministry. She sporadically works on her own historical novel, regularly attends MacNovelists, a writers’ group in McPherson, and enjoys meeting new people as a member of the Kansas Authors Club.

2021 Convention Page

2021 Convention Workshops

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#ReadLocalKS : Clocked Out: A Josie Posey Mystery by Anna St. John

July Program Recording Now Available: The Case for Reading Local

Join Us for our July Program: Tracy Million Simmons, Presenter

Saturday, July 20, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

June 2024 Program Now Available: Save the Date for July 20 Program

Free Summer Programs at Red Rocks Stat Historic Site

The Adventures of Bottle Calf at Volland

Kansas Authors Club Executive Director, Tracy Million Simmons

Group Enjoys Zoom Open Mic

Submit Your Email Here to Get a Zoom Invitation to the Next 2nd Tuesday Open Mic

Appreciation for our 2022 State Executive Board Members

2022 Convention: Connie Rae White Service Award

2022 Convention: Gretchen Eick Service Award

2022 Convention: Gretchen Eick Service Award

Tracy Simmons Speech on KAC Future Plans

Tracy Million Simmons to Speak at D5 Meeting October 15 at 1:30

KU's Spencer Research Library

Belated Celebratory Gathering of Last Year's (2021) Virtual Convention Zoom Team

2022 Convention
October 21-23

Members Published in 105 Meadowlark Reader, Issue #2

Convention 2021: Award of Merit for Service to the Club

2021 Length of Membership Awards

2021 Convention: Panel on Small Kansas Independent Book Publishers

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Saturday, July 20, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

Submit Your Email Here to Get a Zoom Invitation to the Next 2nd Tuesday Open Mic

2022 Convention​October 21-23

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2022 Convention
October 21-23