Current News from the Kansas Authors Club

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.

2023 Officers for D5

12/19/2022

Amy Ackerman (secretary), Ray (Griz) Racobs (treasurer), Sandee Taylor (president), Gretchen Eick (vice-president)

Fall Newsletter: Convention Issue

12/16/2022

The Fall/Winter 2022 Newsletter is now available. It can be read online at Issuu, or downloaded as a PDF file. The newsletter is also archived on the Member Pages of our website.

Thank you to Curtis Becker for taking charge of our newsletter publication, and to Kevin Rabas for taking photos of our convention this year. Curtis has worked to make sure our newsletter has original content rather than just a recompilation of the news members get online and on Facebook.

Watch for news about 2023 publications for Kansas Authors Club. We have some exciting updates coming!

Welcome New Member Samantha Morrison

12/15/2022

Today we welcome Samantha Morrison of Topeka (D-1)to the Kansas Authors Club!

Samantha shared a little bit about herself.

I am thrilled to be a part of the group. I have been writing all of my life, it seems, but am not published. I am hoping 2023 is the year. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories. I look forward to participating in the many events KAC hosts and meeting the wonderful people involved as well.

Welcome, Samantha!

Countdown to Renewal Time

12/15/2022

Click Here to Renew Today

D6 Member, Gina Laiso, Publishes Illustrated Children's Book

12/13/2022

Gina Laiso (D6) and Kim Martin have collaborated to published their first illustrated children's book, Braven, ISBN: 979-8-9873479-0-4. Braven is an inspiring story about a confident young boy from the mesas of New Mexico who overcomes personal challenges to find bravery and strength within his own voice.

Kim Martin is a community volunteer and activist in the Four Corners Region, a retired college educator, proud wife, mother, and loving grandmother of Braven and five other equally spirited grandchildren.

Gina Laiso is a graphic designer and nationally recognized book creator, illustrating from the heart of Kansas and beauty of Southwest Colorado.

This 24 page children's book is available by contacting Gina via email at [email protected] ($15.99 plus tax and S&H.)

November Publication News from D1 Member, Duane L. Herrmann

12/13/2022

Carrot Ranch blog, which boasts of “making literary art accessible 99 words at a time!” posted five responses of his to their weekly prompts; the Adirondack Center for Writing posted two responses of his to their weekly prompts; Topeka Genealogical Society fall 2022 issue of their quarterly carried a poem; the Literary Yard posted a brief essay using the existence of writers as proof of the existence of God; In Between Spaces, an anthology on and by disabled writers (with both visible and invisible disabilities) from Stillhouse Press, included two of his poems; Cyperwit, a publisher in India, released his eighth book-length collection of poetry; and he learned that his book of poems, Remnants of a Life, is now available on Hoopla.

Eight books of poetry: that sounds kind of serious. Plus a sci fi novel, plus a history book, plus another non-fiction. Then there are the three memoirs he wrote for others.

He wonders: WHAT is going on here???

Congratulations, Duane!

D6 Members Enjoy Signing Event in Wichita

12/12/2022

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.

Remembering Yvonne "Evie" Green

12/2/2022

Yvonne "Evie" Green
September 1, 1931 – November 23, 2022

Evie joined Kansas Authors Club in 2000. She served as Youth Contest Manager in 2004 and was an ongoing supporter, both as cheerleader and financial supporter of KAC’s youth programs. She served as Vice President of District 1 2004-2015. Evie was a frequent winner in the Haiku and Whimsy categories of the Kansas Authors Club annual literary contest. She led the Write Stuff group at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library for many years.

Topeka, KS: Yvonne (Evie) Green was born Sept 1st, 1931, in Oklahoma City, OK to Mark and Florence Casas Elsea. She passed away on Nov 23, 2022. Evie graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City and received her bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK, where she met and later married Phillip Green. She then worked as an elementary school teacher, helping to put her husband through medical school. Evie and Phillip had three children and the family relocated to Topeka, KS in 1960, where Phillip became an air force psychiatrist and later a resident psychiatrist at the Menninger Foundation. Evie continued to teach in Topeka for the 501-school district and retired in 1975. She also led school field trips for Environmental Education. Evie volunteered throughout her life as a beloved docent and zoo schoolteacher at the Topeka Zoo. She was a member of a small writing club in Topeka called “Write Stuff.” Evie was also a long-time member of the Kansas Authors Club and received KAC writing awards for her haikus and poetry. Evie had (2) short stories published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, most recently in 2019. She is survived by her children: Elizabeth Green (Topeka, KS), Leslie Green Renzelman (Los Angeles, CA), Jeffrey Green (Eudora, KS) and four grandchildren: Amy Green Esplund (Lawrence, KS), Caroline Renzelman (Los Angeles, CA), Daniel Green (Eudora, KS), Jessica Renzelman (Portland, OR).

Per Evie’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. Instead, her family and friends will have a memorial dedication at the Topeka Zoo in the spring - to honor her love of animals and her many years of volunteer service at the zoo. The family requests in leu of sending flowers, donations be made in her name to the Topeka Zoo or to the local Humane Society (ASPCA).

Evie's Obituary at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home

Kristine Polansky, Tracy Million Simmons, Evie Green--Convention in Hutchinson, 2015.

What can I say? Evie was so many things to me—a friend, a teacher, another mother. If she had a superpower, it was her ability to encourage. Those of us who joined the Write Stuff group which met Tuesday mornings at the public library knew how effective she was not only encouraging us to write but also encouraging us to push for excellence. We also knew some of her own personal story and caught glimpses of how effective she was encouraging others to meet their own problems head-on. I had the honor of seeing her interact with youth when I taught social studies in the U.S.D. 501 system and she taught in the outdoor education program, encouraging seventh graders (as well as other youth) to take an interest in the Topeka community as well as the wonderful outdoors world she loved so much.
- Kristine A. Polansky

I went to my first KAC convention alone. I must have Iooked lost, as this tiny dynamo of a woman grabbed my arm and said, “You can sit with us.” Evie Green introduced me to Trudy McFarland, Barbara Brady, Sam Pierson and likely many more KAC members who I eventually l counted as friends. When I moved from Dodge City to Topeka, it was wonderful to have this network of support already in place. Evie welcomed me to Topeka where I enjoyed monthly meetings of Kansas authors for the first time. She took my kids fossil hunting, a trip they still talk about to this day. She was such a natural teacher, and Evie often told the story of my son with a bag of fossils in hand declaring, “This is the best day ever!” After that field trip, I remember my son musing, "So there's an Evie Green and an Evie Simmons. Do you think there is a Kaman Green? A Maddie Green?"

I often addressed Evie Green as “my 2nd favorite Evie” because she and my daughter shared the nickname. One day, we were visiting Evie's house where she had introduced my kids to her pet turtle, and then advised them to think long and hard before getting a turtle. “They live long lives!” She told my kids. “You have to think about who is going to take care of them when you are not able to do so.”

Evie carried a notebook of her favorite writings with her, and I was thrilled one year when she pulled it out at the convention and showed me that she had put some of my work in her book. She said it was full of favorite pieces that made her feel good and she would sit down and read it whenever she needed a lift. I enjoyed correspondence and phone calls from Evie over the years, and always loved reuniting at the conventions once I’d moved on to Emporia. Her gracious welcome left a big impression. She is missed.
- Tracy Million Simmons

Submit a note about Evie to add to this page.

Welcome new member Jeanette Carter

12/1/2022

Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Jeanette Carter of Wichita to the Kansas Authors Club and to District 5.

Hello to all! My name is Jeanette Carter, and I am a retired school psychologist.

I have always enjoyed writing and was a reporter for my college newspaper staff.

I have stacks of humorous stories I have written about my family, friends, as well as my musings on life. I write in the style of Erma Bombeck.

I am looking forward to becoming acquainted with you all!

Welcome, Jeanette Carter!