The Kansas Authors Club, supporting writers since 1904, announces the finalists for the 2026 Kansas Authors Club Book Awards. Each year the organization recognizes published books in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, Kansas history, poetry, children’s books, and book design. Finalists within each category are selected by a panel of readers made up of members, community members, and book professionals. The finalists from each category are then delivered to judges for the award decisions and announced at the 2026 fall gathering, this year taking place as the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention held at Rock Springs Ranch near Junction City, October 2-4, 2026.
J. Donald & Bertha Coffin
Memorial Book Award for Nonfiction – Three Finalists
Memorial Book Award for Nonfiction – Three Finalists
Rebel Heart: Against the Wind, by Marietta Anderson
What happens when a sharp-tongued girl from small-town Kansas dares to take on the forces of war, censorship, and injustice—and won’t back down? Set amid the cultural and political upheaval of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, Rebel Heart: Against the Wind is the riveting true story of Marietta Anderson, who grows up fighting bullies and defending the marginalized—and never stops. From a harrowing childhood confrontation with a kidnapper to standing on the front lines in Selma, her life is marked by courage and confrontation. As a young wife and activist, she joins the antiwar and civil rights movements, challenging authority at every turn. When a university suspends her for distributing antiwar leaflets, she mounts a First Amendment legal battle that reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. She and her husband face threats, blacklisting, and the burning of a cross on their lawn. Rebel Heart is a fearless account of love, betrayal, resilience—and the high cost of telling the truth. (Post Rock Press, 2025)
What happens when a sharp-tongued girl from small-town Kansas dares to take on the forces of war, censorship, and injustice—and won’t back down? Set amid the cultural and political upheaval of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, Rebel Heart: Against the Wind is the riveting true story of Marietta Anderson, who grows up fighting bullies and defending the marginalized—and never stops. From a harrowing childhood confrontation with a kidnapper to standing on the front lines in Selma, her life is marked by courage and confrontation. As a young wife and activist, she joins the antiwar and civil rights movements, challenging authority at every turn. When a university suspends her for distributing antiwar leaflets, she mounts a First Amendment legal battle that reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. She and her husband face threats, blacklisting, and the burning of a cross on their lawn. Rebel Heart is a fearless account of love, betrayal, resilience—and the high cost of telling the truth. (Post Rock Press, 2025)
The Magic Eye: A Story of Saving a Life and a Place in the Age of Anxiety, by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
The Magic Eye: A Story of Saving a Life and a Place in the Age of Anxiety is a memoir on journeying through a rare and deadly eye cancer in the middle of trying to save a fifth-generation Kansas farm. In this tender, humorous, poetic, wry, and courageous story, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg writes what author Harriet Lerner called "....a luminous, poetic meditation on survival, community, and resilience. With tenderness and humor, her memoir speaks to the fierce beauty of holding on to life, to land, and to hope when the odds seem insurmountable. A deeply human story, this book is a testament to courage and the power of place that will stay with you long after you turn the final page." (Mammoth, 2025)
The Magic Eye: A Story of Saving a Life and a Place in the Age of Anxiety is a memoir on journeying through a rare and deadly eye cancer in the middle of trying to save a fifth-generation Kansas farm. In this tender, humorous, poetic, wry, and courageous story, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg writes what author Harriet Lerner called "....a luminous, poetic meditation on survival, community, and resilience. With tenderness and humor, her memoir speaks to the fierce beauty of holding on to life, to land, and to hope when the odds seem insurmountable. A deeply human story, this book is a testament to courage and the power of place that will stay with you long after you turn the final page." (Mammoth, 2025)
Provocative Lines: The Art of Breaking and Arranging Lines, by Kristine Polansky
Two-time Poet of the Year for the Kansas Authors Club, Kristine A. Polansky shares more than a cherry-picking of her poems from the last three decades in Provocative Lines: The art of breaking and arranging lines into poetry. Polansky has given us—from fledgling poets to those delving deeper into their poetry writing practice—a course in poetic form, a book that is fine for front to back reading, but best experienced slowly, chapter by chapter, pen in hand, as the explorations into the “art of breaking and arranging poetry into lines” will make the reader want to stop and experiment with their own wordplay. More than just a book about writing poetry, this is a history lesson on language and poetic form. Polansky highlights the ever-evolving nature of language, the impact of poetry on words we speak in our everyday lives, and the influence speech has had on poetry over generations. Warning: Open this book with caution. Poetry may result. (Meadowlark Press, 2025)
Two-time Poet of the Year for the Kansas Authors Club, Kristine A. Polansky shares more than a cherry-picking of her poems from the last three decades in Provocative Lines: The art of breaking and arranging lines into poetry. Polansky has given us—from fledgling poets to those delving deeper into their poetry writing practice—a course in poetic form, a book that is fine for front to back reading, but best experienced slowly, chapter by chapter, pen in hand, as the explorations into the “art of breaking and arranging poetry into lines” will make the reader want to stop and experiment with their own wordplay. More than just a book about writing poetry, this is a history lesson on language and poetic form. Polansky highlights the ever-evolving nature of language, the impact of poetry on words we speak in our everyday lives, and the influence speech has had on poetry over generations. Warning: Open this book with caution. Poetry may result. (Meadowlark Press, 2025)
RSS Feed