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2025 Coffin Award for Fiction

10/13/2025

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Title: The Last Rancher
Author: Robert Rebein
​ISBN: 978-1-956578-59-1
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
“This is the sort of book to take to appointments, not minding at all if you get a few minutes of reading in a waiting room. From the start, it was the language that attracted me. Author Robert Rebein warns us: “this place is going to have its claws in you.” From the suburbs of Leawood, and the serenity of the homeplace, to the dusty river, roads of Dodge City, I felt I knew each place. I wanted to stand with Annie, cup of coffee in hand, on the porch of the homeplace and see the fields of grazing cattle and horses while listening to the croaking bullfrogs and bellowing calves. The places became so real that I found myself wanting to google the streets and restaurants of Dodge. But I didn’t have to.”
      -Cindy Roupe, Judge
Finalists:
•The Rhino Keeper by Jillian Forsberg
•The Pamela Papers by Nancy McCabe
•Clocked Out by Anna St. John
•Parent Imperfect by Paul Lamble
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Cindy Roupe served as coordinator for the State Library of Kansas Notable Books program for 15 years. She was a long-time Director of Reference for the State Libary and on several occasions served as the interim State Librarian.

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2025 Coffin Award in Nonfiction

10/13/2025

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Title: The Eleven Directions of Kansas
Author: Jim Gilkeson
ISBN: ​‎ 978-1892193025
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
​“. . . with a clear trajectory and an effective ending. Gilkeson introduces a wide variety of characters and experiences; one of the virtues of the book is frequent surprise. Another virtue is humor–Each piece is well-planned, Gilkeson laughs at himself and makes gentle fun of others who are generally depicted sympathetically. The book is both fun and thought-provoking.”
  – Kim Stanley, Judge
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Finalists:
•Walking Old Roads by Tammy Hader
•Shattered by Ginger Zyskowski

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Kim Stanley is a professor emerita of the Department of Modern Languages at McPherson College. She taught courses in English and world literature, composition, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Prof. Stanley has a varied academic background, with a B.A. in English and Spanish from Trinity University in San Antonio, an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Santa Fe, and a Ph.D. in British literature from the University of Texas. Her academic interests include storytelling in all its forms. Prof. Stanley enjoys using literature to help people talk and write about their lives and ideas. ​

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2025 Martin Kansas History Book Award

10/13/2025

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Title: Like What You Do: The Memoirs of Dr. Walt Menninger
Author: Todd Fertig, with Walt Menninger
​ISBN: 9781953583901
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
​“Todd Fertig’s Like What You Do is a well written book on the life of one of America’s premiere psychologists. With Fertig, Mr. Menninger’s writing gives great detail on the establishment of the Menninger Foundation, a Topeka landmark for 84 years. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about the advancement of American psychiatry.”
   –Keith Wondra, Judge
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Finalist:
​•A Captivating Cast of Characters by Mike Durall


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Keith Wondra is the curator at Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City. He is the former curator of collections and exhibits at the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degree in history from Wichita State University.

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2025 Nelson Poetry Book Award

10/13/2025

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Title: House of Grace, House of Blood
Author: Denise Low
​ISBN: ​9781953743374
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
​“A stunning work of poetic witness and imagination. Low’s poetry sings out of documentary texts, oral histories, family stories, and personal interrogation and reflection, illuminating the 1782 massacre by renegade western Pennsylvania militia of Native Lenape (including women and children) converted to the pacifist Moravian faith in Gnadenhutten, Ohio (literally house or hut of Grace).”
 
  –Alison Hicks, Judge
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Finalists:
•Arteries by Laura Lee Washburn
•The Will to Punish by Michael Poage

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Alison Hicks has published four poetry collections, including the 2021 Birdy Poetry Prize from Meadowlark Press, a novella, and an anthology. Her work has appeared in Eclipse, Gargoyle, Permafrost, and Poet Lore, among other journals. She was named a finalist for the 2021 Beullah Rose Prize from Smartish Pace, an Editor's Choice selection in the Philadelphia Stories National Poetry Prize, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Green Hills Literary Lantern, Quartet Journal, and Nude Bruce Review. She is 1982 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, and received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction in 1987 from the University of Arizona, where she held a University Fellowship, the Anonymous Scholarship, and was a second-place winner of the Downs Award for Fiction. She is certified to lead creative writing workshops following the Amherst Writers & Artists method pioneered by Pat Schneider. In 1996, she founded Greater Philadelphia Workshop Studio to support writers in the development of their individual voices and in the practice of their craft. GPWS offers community-based creative writing workshops and personal consultation using the Amherst Writers & Artists method.

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2025 Kansas Authors Club Children's Book Award

10/13/2025

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Title: Ghost Town Treasure Hunt
Author: Abbi Lee
ISBN: ​9781953743374
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
​“A fun book that gives kids a chance to go on a treasure hunt through geocaching. This is a story of friendship and appreciating adventure.”
 
– Debra Rundus, Judge
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Finalists:
​•First Comes a Butterfly by Sherry Krehbiel
•Pirate Chickens Attackkk!! By Ashley Donegan

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Debra Rundus is a preschool teacher and has a heart for young families with small children. She is an owner of Middle Ground Books in Emporia, Kansas. 

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"It Looks Like a Million" Book Design Award by the Kansas Authors Club

10/13/2025

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Design Award: Adult Category
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​Title: The Rhino Keeper
Author: Jillian Forsberg, Wichita
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1963452037
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
“The cover of The Rhino Keeper is visually striking and manages to balance graphics and imagery that are thematically appropriate to the tone, topic, and time-period of the book with current popular aesthetic trends in the industry. The illustrative elements are colorful yet subdued which ensures the title is the most prominent element of the design. On the back cover, the text is clean, elegant, and easy to read with plenty of breathing room to avoid crowding.”
  – Rosalie Krenger, Judge


Design Award: Children's Category

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Title: Pirate Chickens Under Attackkkk!!!
Author: Ashley Donegan
ISBN: ​9798991038713
#ReadLocalKS - Buy Today
“Pirate Chickens Under Attack incorporates charming illustrations and small but effective touches throughout. The font is clean and easy to read and choosing to display the onomatopoeia in red is a simple choice that adds a big impact, helping young readers start to understand the process of differentiating stressed words and sounds. The illustrations are charming, and the addition of small pictures in the corners of the text-focused pages supplements the visual storytelling without being overly distracting.”
  – Rosalie Krenger, Judge

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Judge Rosalie Krenger is the owner of Well Lit Editing & Design. She has worked in publishing and design for the past decade, including work for several literary journals, a newspaper, a textbook company, several independent publishers and authors, a film festival, and other private clients. She has managed the Donald Reichardt Center for Publishing and Literary Arts and has mentored graphic designers, marketing interns, and writers in the Studio E Advertising Collective. 

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2025 Prose Contest Results

10/12/2025

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Thanks to Jaimie Kirby for serving as our 2025 Prose Contest Manager!
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Prose Theme: Mark Landon Jarvis & Janice Northerns
Category: Theme Prose
More Than a Manuscript: Words Take Root

First Place: ”The Garden Of Rejected Tales” by Julie A. Sellers, Atchison

Second Place: “Silent Reverie” by Mark Landon Jarvis, El Dorado

Third Place: “Uprooted—How I Became an Accidental Kansan” by Janice Northerns, Wichita

Honorable Mentions:
"From Tools to Roots” by Mason Taylor-Taite, Manhattan
”Roots” Julie A. Sellers, Atchison
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Stories for Young Readers: Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
Category: Stories Written for Young Readers

First Place: ”Pedro the Cat of Bee Mountain” by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Emporia

Second Place: “Tiny Mighty Eveliney” by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Emporia

Third Place: “The Story of Alex the Cat” by Mason Taylor-Taite, Manhattan

Honorable Mentions:
“The Case of the Missing Ears” by Julie A. Sellers, Atchison
“Get Outta My Womb by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Emporia
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Prose Memoir/Inspirational: ​Mark Landon Jarvis, Sandra Lou Taylor, & S.L. Brown
Category: Memoir/Inspirational

First Place:  “Anomalies” by Mark Landon Jarvis, El Dorado

Second Place: “The One We Usually Find When He’s Dead” by Sandra Lou Taylor

Third Place: “You’re Enough” by S.L. Brown

Honorable Mentions:
“The Yellow Gingham Sundress” by Aimee L. Gross, Topeka
“My Dad, Not a Father” by Marilynn Hope Lake, Columbia MO
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Humor: Linda Cook & Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
Cateogory: Humor

First Place: “By the Numbers” by Julie A. Sellers, Atchison

Second Place: “Start of the Week Goes Down the Toilet at Local College” by Julie A. Sellers, Atchison

Third Place: “Shit Happens” by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Emporia

Honorable Mention: “Wilde Ride to the Delivery Room” by Mason Taylor-Taite, Manhattan

Honorable Mention: “Rebound Date” by Linda Cook, Manhattan
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Flash Fiction: Marion J. Bollig, Cheryl Unruh, Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
Category: Flash Fiction

First Place: ”Doctor VanFleet” by Marion J. Bollig, Baldwin

Second Place: “WAGONS,HO!” by Cheryl Unruh, Emporia

Third Place: “You Do What You Can” by Martha Wherry, Wichita

Honorable Mentions:
“Fight Like A Girl” by Katherine St. John, Shawnee
“A Prairie Puzzlement” by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Emporia

Category: First Chapter of a Book

First Place: ”Ravens of the Never Wood” by Aimee L. Gross, Topeka

Second Place: “Legacy and Lies” by Deborah Linn McNemee, El Dorado

Third Place: “Muscular Love” by Gretchen Cassel Eick, Wichita

Honorable Mentions:
“Disaster at Dawn” by Mary-Lane Kamberg, Olate
”A Senator is Missing” by Peg Nichols, Olathe
“The Cane” by Roger Keith Droz, Topeka

Category: Playwriting

First Place: A Shampoo and a Set by Julie A. Sellers, Atchison

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Rural Voices: Sandra Lou Taylor & Lindsey Bartlett
Category: Rural Voices

First Place:  “Spikes of Light” by Hildebrand Wesley, 

Second Place: “Don’t Do That Again” by Sandra Lou Taylor, Towanda

Third Place: “Lost in the Wilderness” by Mason Taylor-Taite, Manhattan

Honorable Mentions:
“Snake Acres” by Janice Lee McClure, Sublette
“Rural Girl Goes to University” by Lindsey Bartlett, Emporia

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2025 Poetry Contest Results

10/12/2025

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Thanks to Janice Northerns for serving as our 2024 and 2025 Poetry Contest Manager!
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Contest Manger Janice Northerns and Theme Honorable Mention, Jeanice Eagan Davis
Theme Category in Poetry
More Than a Manuscript: Words Take Root

First:  High Plains Childhood, Janice Lee McClure, Sublette

Second: Summon the Muse,  Arlice W. Davenport, Wichita

Third: The Beginning of All Things, Arlice W. Davenport, Wichita

HMs:
Cutting Wood,  Jeanice Eagan Davis, Clearwater
How Few Know the Way,  Arlice W. Davenport, Wichita
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Whimsy: Kristine A. Polansky & Julie Ann Baker Brin
Category: Whimsy

First:  The Two Hemispheres Of My Brain in The Middle Of The Night Are Like, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City

Second: Hidden in Plain Sight, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City

Third: Father Love, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

HMs:
Stopping by Woods for a Tasty Morsel, Mary-Lane Kamberg, Olathe
Little Miss Muffet Noir, Conrad Jestmore, Wichita
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Classic Forms: Kristine A. Polansky
Category: Classic Forms

First: For the Love of Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Janice Lee McClure, Sublette

Second: 2025, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

Third: The Vinegar Works, Janice Lee McClure, Sublette

HMs:
Full Moon IV and Gage Park Carousel, Janice Lee McClure, Sublette
Only I Know, Duane Johnson, Topeka
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Japanese Forms: Kristine A. Polansky & Julie Ann Baker Brin
Category: Japanese Forms
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First: Autumn’s coming soon, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

Second: Study Abroad Day 2: Panteon Municipal Santa Rosa, Beth Gulley, Olathe

Third: A gentle fall rain, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

HMs:
[Music Everywhere], Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City
I wake to bird songs, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan
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Rural Voices: Kristine A. Polansky & Julie Ann Baker Brin
Category: Rural Voices
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First: Firewatch, Kelly Johnston, Wichita

Second: Highway 40 Snowfall, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

Third: High Plains Childhood: Summer, Janice Lee
McClure, Sublette

Honorable Mentions:
Flint Hills Elegy, Tim Keane, Manhattan
Cattle Control 2, Kelly Johnston, Wichita
Idyllic, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City
Night at the Farm, Brenda White, Emporia
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Free Verse: Julie Ann Baker Brin
Category: Free Verse

​First: Easter Morning, Brenda White, Emporia

Second: Mesmerized, Judy Oliver, Wichita

Third: Full Moon II, Janice Lee McClure, Sublette

Honorable Mentions:
Underground, Arlice W. Davenport, Wichita
Ten Years Before Cyberspace, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City
Meeting New Colleagues in Mexico, Beth Gulley, Olathe

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New Poets: Mark Landon Jarvis & Joseph Zalewski
Category: New Poets

First: Filling Up, Deborah Linn McNeemee, El Dorado

Second: A Day Cutting Firewood, John Joseph Brown, Lawrence

Third: Bones He Can’t Grow Back, Mark Landon Jarvis, El Dorado

Honorable Mentions:
Tribe of Dan, Joseph Zalewski, Manhattan
Christmas Morning Poem, Cynthia C. Schaker, El Dorado
CJ, Until We Meet Again, Cynthia C. Schaker, El Dorado

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Narrative Poems: Kristine A. Polansky, Mark Landon Jarvis, Jeanice Eagan Davis
Catagory: Narrative Poetry

First: Diving Lesson, Kristine A. Polansky, Manhattan

Second: Rick Webb, Barber, Mark Landon Jarvis, El Dorado

Third: Time Travel, Julie A. Sellers, Atchison

HM: Old Sheldon: Here is Hope, Jeanice Eagan Davis, Clearwater
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Ekphrastic: Julie Ann Baker Brin
Category: Ekphrastic

First: Memento Volare, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City

Second: Here I Come, April Pameticky, Wichita

Third: Safe as Houses, Julie Ann Baker Brin, Park City

HM: Hesse and I Have Coffee, April Pameticky, Wichita


​2025 poet of the year

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Kristine A. Polansky
​presented by Poetry Contest Manager, Janice Northerns
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/29/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/28/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/26/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/24/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/23/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/22/2025

 
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2025 Youth Contest Results

9/20/2025

 
The annual Youth Contest Awards were presented this year at the Kansas Book Festival at Washburn University in Topeka on September 20. We had a great turnout this year, both in youth entries, and in ceremony attendees. Many thanks to Tim Bascom and the Kansas Book Festival committee for collaborating with us to celebrate our young writers.

Here are the 2025 Results:


Fiction: Grades 3-4
1st - Fingal and the Famine by Joy Kelbe
2nd - A Surprising Tale by Minyan Hao
3rd - Apple Grove by Natalia Powell
HM - The Dog Who Changed My Life by Ira Gholap
HM - Trip of Beaches by Mithra Gobinath

Fiction: Grades 5-6
1st - Risk by Sophia Sun
2nd - Legends of Rohr (Chapter 1) by Emma Sauber (JM)
3rd - The Revolt by Myra Upadhyay
HM - The Shrieking Dragon by Ivy Sun
HM - Just Another Day by Bowen Carr
HM - Window to the World by Brek Levin

Fiction: Grades 7-8
1st - Artistic Expression by Aubrey Nelson
2nd -  I shouldn't have woken up . . . by Avery Cao
3rd - Fairy Cake by Aubrey Nelson

Fiction: Grades 9-12
1st - Uprooted by Madeline Male (JM)
2nd - Thicker than Water by Garrett Li
3rd - Another Busy Day by Madeline Male (JM)
HM - Reflection by Maanya Mohan
HM - Mowaki by Arielle Li

Nonfiction: Grades 3-4
1st - The Mysteries of Outer Space!
         by Rajvardhan Yerraguntla
2nd - WW1: Eastern Front vs. Western Front
          by Vihaan Mohan
3rd - The House on Flint Street by Justyn Jacewitz
HM - Mexico by Olivia Wesp

Nonfiction: Grades 5-6
1st - The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
         by Sophia Sun
2nd - Native Americans and Bison by Ivy Sun
3rd - The Battle of Passchendaele by Corbin Barney
HM - Adopter by Madelyn Schroeder
HM - Manatees by Cassidy Simons
Nonfiction: Grades 7-8
1st - Performing Piano at Carnegie Hall by Eli Sun
2nd - Tennis by Avery Cao (JM)

Nonfiction: Grades 9-12
1st - What’s Left of Him and Me by Abigail Cox
2nd - A Beginner’s Guide to Modern Manners
         by Madeline Male (JM)
3rd - How Greed Ruins the Characters in Fargo
         by Adain Smith
HM - MLK Today by Maanya Mohan

Poetry: Grades 3-4
1st - Rainbows by Annie Han
2nd - Oceans at Dawn by Amelia Ellis
3rd - Magician by Kritika Upadhyay
HM - Hamara Bharat by Taksh Pidara
HM - The Beach by Avishi Roy

Poetry: Grades 5-6
1st - Art Gallery by Ezra Northerns
2nd - Cry by Myra Upadhyay
3rd - Endings by Kendall Falls
HM - School’s Out by Kendall Falls
HM - Snack Attack by Benjamin Carter

Poetry: Grades 7-8
1st - Beginnings by Cassie Northerns
2nd - Fall by Cassie Northerns
3rd - At the Beach by Elin Scherrer (JM)

Poetry: Grades 9-12
1st - sichuan hot pot by Arielle Li
2nd - Poetry Squared by Jonathan Agard
3rd - Grocery Store by Prisha Dalal
HM - My Dad is Calling by Andrew Smith
HM - A moment to myself by Adain Smith
HM - Old Scar, New Tar by Madeline Male (JM)

Art: Grades 3-4
1st - “Brushes” by Amelia Ellis
2nd - “Mimosa Tree” by Elizabeth A. Hayes
3rd - “Todos Los Colores” by Alice Northerns
HM - “The Mysteries of Outer Space”
         by Rajvardhan Yerraguntla
HM - “A Walk at the Park” by Elizabeth A. Hayes
HM - “Unknown” by Alice Northerns
HM - “Scratch Into Steel” by Taksh Pidara

Art: Grades 5-6
1st - “World Flowers” by Madelyn Schroeder
2nd - “Giraffe Sketch” by Cassidy Simons
3rd - “A Farmer’s Day” by Tabitha Metcalf
HM - “Summer Bouquet” by Claire Denton
HM - “Santa Cow” by Cassidy Simons
HM - “Eiffel Tower” by Tabitha Metcalf
HM - “Raising ‘Em Right” by Corbin Barney
HM - “Theseus and the Labyrinth” by Ezra Northerns

Art: Grades 7-8
1st - “Free to Improvise” by Cassie Northerns
2nd - “Angela” by Cassie Northerns
3rd - “The Cutest Rabbit of All Mankind”
         by Eleanora Agard
HM - “Robin in a Tree” by Eleanora Agard

Art: Grades 9-12
1st - “Angel” by Abigail Cox
2nd - “Winding Stream” by Adain Smith
3rd - “Sunflower Farm” by Madeline Male (JM)
HM - “Cherries” by Adain Smith
HM - “I shall call him Herbert” by Jonathan Agard

Bajaj Youth Writer of the Year: Cassie Northerns
Order Copies of the 2025 Youth Contest Book

Thank You to our 2025 Youth Contest Judges

9/20/2025

 
Fiction Grades 3-4 & 7-8
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​Samantha Barrett is the author of the speculative short story collection, The Bus to Adventure City, and is the writer of The Dissociation Gazette on Substack. Her fiction has appeared in 10/ten, Cities of Dust Planes of Light, Polis, NeverWas Earth, and elsewhere. She occasionally writes poetry, and was a semi-finalist in Lefty Blondie Press’s Editors’ Choice Broadside series, in addition to placing in the Kansas Authors Club’s Annual Writing Contest (Poetry: New Voices). Sam runs youth writing workshops in the Wichita area. She is originally from Pittsburgh, PA.
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Fiction Grades 5-6
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Jolene Haas grew up in Southeast Kansas listening to the many stories of her extended family members. Some stories were true, but most were creatively told with twists and turns in the events, depending on who was telling the story. As a young girl, she began writing her own stories. She loves to read and write middle grade and young adult fiction. Jolene has taught students in Pre-K through eighth grade for thirty years. She is a member of Kansas Authors Club and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
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Fiction Grades 9-12
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​Cynthia Mines
An award-winning author of three nonfiction books and hundreds of journalism articles, Cynthia Mines’ debut novel will be published by Meadowlark Press in 2026. Her fiction has been published in Mikrokosmos and won first place for historical fiction from Pikes Peak Writers. She is the author of For the Sake of Art: A Kansas Renaissance, a Kansas Notable Book for 2015 and the basis of a 2025 “Cottonwood Connections” documentary on Smoky Hills PBS.

The current publisher/editor of Travel Kansas magazine, her professional career started as alumni-magazine editor at Wichita State University, where she earned a master’s degree in English. She won a national award for column writing while at the Wichita Business Journal, and her freelance travel articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Kansas City Star, and many other publications. She lives near Lindsborg with her husband and dog.

Nonfiction Grades 3-4 & 7-8
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Ashley Donegan lives in her childhood home in small-town Kansas, where she’s sur-rounded by the love of family and the joy of farm life. Her days are filled with the company of animals that aren’t just pets, they’re cherished companions and the heart of the whimsical stories she writes. Ashley’s gentle spirit and deep connection to nature shine through in her work, creating stories that feel like a warm hug for young readers.

Her creative journey is a true family affair. Ashley teams up with her daughter, Macie, whose imagination and artistic talent bring their stories to life. Together, they share a love for storytelling and art and have many more ideas waiting to bloom into future children’s books.

Ashley has self-published two titles, including their latest adventure, Pirate Chickens Under Attackkkkk!!!, co-written and illustrated by 10-year-old Macie. The book is a finalist in the Kansas Author Club book awards, has been featured on KidLitTV, and will be showcased at the prestigious Frankfurter Buchmesse book fair in Germany this October.


Nonfiction Grades 5-6
 
Connlyn Sinclair’s first published piece was a pastiche of Ovid in his high school’s literary magazine. He has gone on to write a number of short story collections and novellas based upon his love of pulp adventure stories and fairytales. He is currently working on both his teaching certificate and a retelling of Aesop. 
 
Note from Connlyn: There have been many good submissions to the grade 5-6 essay contest this year. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them and appreciate the care the contestants took in their writing. I totally think everyone who entered has a future as a writer if they keep it up.
 
Nonfiction Grades 9-12
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Dr. Rickye Heffner is Professor Emeritus of Neuro-science. She spent 50 years studying the evolution of hearing in mammals and birds. In addition to courses in introductory psychology and graduate neuroscience, she taught scientific communication.
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Poetry Grades 3-4
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Beth Gulley has published three chapbooks and four full-length collections of poetry. Her most recent books include Picking Fights in Book Club (Bottlecap Editions) and Frog Joy (Anamcara) and The Secret Life of Bubble Wrap (Alien Buddha). Some of her writing is included in The Gasconade Review, The Best of Alien Buddha, Tiny Spoon, Thorny Locust, and The Write Bridge. She teaches English at Johnson County Community College. Beth serves on the Riverfront Reading Committee and the Writers Place board. Most people recognize her from her coffee addiction and messy hair. She currently resides in Spring Hill, Kansas, which gives her easy access to Hillsdale Lake where she enjoys trail running and open water swimming. More information can be found on her blog at https://timeeasesallthings.wordpress.com/.
 
Note from Beth: The poets who submitted in the 3-4 grade contest made delightful use of imagery to transport the reader to places and seasons from the poets’ memories. I enjoyed the variety of forms amongst the submissions including haiku and acrostics. The poems also relied on end rhyme and internal rhyme to create music for the reader. It is encouraging to see so many emerging poets. I hope they all continue to write.
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Poetry Grades 5-6
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Linzi Garcia lives in Emporia, where she serves as the publicist and poetry editor for Meadowlark Press and as a board member for House of Morrow. While earning her MA in creative writing from Emporia State University, she worked as the graduate assistant to Poet Laureate Emeritus of Kansas Kevin Rabas and as an editorial assistant with Bluestem Press and Flint Hills Review. During that time, she also worked as a composition professor at the university, a reporter for The Emporia Gazette, and a bartender at Mulready's Pub, where she still works. Linzi is the author of Thank You and Cravings, and the co-author of Live a Great Story and While Away: Travel Poems. Linzi is a recipient of a 2023 NextGen Under 30 Kansas Award. 
 
Poetry Grades 5-6
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Linda Heggestad Wilson has written two volumes of poetry, Cloud & Wind and Blooms & Glory. She loves poetry for the way it lingers at the intersection of visual art, music, and writing, and is able to touch the heart and express things that nothing else can. This year she was honored to co-judge this category with her daughter, Amy. She loves to see the young people’s poetry and urges them to please keep writing.
 
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Amy Beth Wilson was KAC's Bajaj Award Youth Writer of the Year in 2020 when she was in the 7th Grade, the same group she's now judging. She has since gone on to win other awards and to continue her writing, including a column in her hometown newspaper, Yours, Amy. She's so excited to see what the upcoming writers are doing and to see the legacy continue.
Poetry Grades 9-12
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​Al Ortolani is the Manuscript Editor for Woodley Press in Topeka, Kansas, and has directed a memoir writing project for Vietnam veterans across Kansas in association with the Library of Congress and Humanities Kansas. He is a 2019 recipient of the Rattle Chapbook Series Award. He has been a Kansas Notable Book recipient in 2017 and 2021. His poetry has appeared in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry and in Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Alma-nac. After forty-three years of teaching English in public schools, he currently lives a life without bells and fire drills in the Kansas City area with his wife Sherri and their rescue dog Stanley.


Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/19/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/18/2025

 
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We are looking forward to hearing George as our 2025 Keynote Speaker!

Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/17/2025

 
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Thank you to the Supporters of the 2025 Writing Retreat

9/17/2025

 
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