Current News from the Kansas Authors Club

Convention Housing Update

8/30/2026

August 31 - Early Bird Registration Ends

September 15 - Final Day to Register

For those who plan to attend the 2026 Writing Convention, please note that we are very near to full capacity for housing. The available slots will go to the first who register and you can request to be added to the waiting list in case their are cancellations.

But the good news is that you don't have to stay on campus to attend the convention!

Find Your Own Off-Campus Housing - Full Convention - $200 (Junction City is an easy drive to Rock Springs)

Single Day Ticket for Saturday - includes Lunch & Dinner - $120

Single Day Ticket for Sunday - includes Lunch - $40

NEW - Join us for a mini retreat DAY of writing at Rock Springs on Friday, October 2. The single day retreat pass is $65. Attendees may arrive as early as 8:00 a.m. with lunch and dinner included in the ticket price. Retreat Day for these tickets will end at 10:00 p.m. on Friday

Learn More and Register

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Member Event at Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita

8/26/2026

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Join Member Lakshmi Kambampati

on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 6pm
Watermark Books & Cafe
4701 E Douglas Ave
Wichita, KS 67218

RSVP

About the Book
In Uncharted Paths: A Memoir of Teaching and Learning, Wichita teacher Lakshmi Kambampati shares the most important lessons of her career: not the ones she taught, but the ones she learned from students and communities around the world.

About the Author
Lakshmi Kambampati is a Wichita-based educator, world traveler, and author of Uncharted Paths: A Memoir of Teaching and Learning. Born in India, she moved to North America as a young wife and mother and built a new life while adapting to unfamiliar cultures and circumstances. After settling in Wichita, she taught mathematics, history, and English in public schools, colleges, and alternative educational settings.

Her passion for teaching and learning eventually took her far beyond the traditional classroom. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in India, a two-time Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Liberia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a U.S. Department of State English Language Fellow in Tanzania. She has also participated in educational and cultural programs in Japan, Tajikistan, and other parts of the world. Along the way, she embraced unexpected adventures, including scuba diving and skydiving in her sixties.

In Uncharted Paths, Lakshmi shares her experiences with warmth, honesty, humility, and humor. Her memoir explores teaching, travel, immigration, cultural adaptation, resilience, family, personal growth, and the courage to pursue new opportunities at every stage of life.

The book will especially appeal to educators, travelers, immigrants and newcomers to the United States, women seeking new possibilities, and readers interested in other cultures. It also offers encouragement to young adults beginning their journeys and to older adults who believe—or would like to believe—that it is never too late to take a new path, accept a challenge, or discover a larger world.

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Invitation to Topeka Poets & Writers: Words in the Wind Open Mic

8/24/2026

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featuring

Kris Polansky

Wednesday, Aug. 26
at Round Table Bookstore
826 N. Kansas Ave., Topeka

Kris Polansky has authored two “provocative” books, published by Meadowlark Poetry Press. The first is a “poems only” book: Provocative Lines: Exploratory Poems. The second, Provocative Lines: The Art of Breaking and Arranging Lines into Poetry, utilizes those poems in delving into such topics as enjambment, meter choice, form choice (pantoums, sestinas, sonnets, etc.), and the creation of experimental forms.

Kris has been named Kansas Authors Club [“KAC”] Poet of the Year four times, most recently October 2025.
She served KAC for four years as Youth Contest Manager (2010-13) and, periodically, as a judge for the contest. She also has served as KAC District 4 treasurer, KAC Financial Secretary, KAC Vice President, and KAC President. She is currently leading the KAC Manhattan Writing Group. Kris and her husband, Adrian Polansky, enjoy traveling and dancing.

Kris will begin at 6:15 p.m.

March is poetry month.
Sign-up for open mic
begins 6 p.m.

Words in the Wind is sponsored by
Kansas Authors Club Topeka Chapter
& Round Table Bookstore

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Author-Publisher Melanie Bonner Thomas Walks Us Through Publishing

8/17/2026

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Presenter Name: Melanie Bonner Thomas

As an author-publisher, Melanie discusses her personal discoveries and the pitfalls encountered when deciding to self-publish after first trying traditional publishing options. This session addresses challenges for nonfiction writers, but the self-publishing experience applies to all genres. Melanie will share what motivated her decision to write her book and why she chose to self-publish. She will share the self-publishing options she researched, how the process worked, and the pros and cons of her decision. A checklist of self-publishing steps will be provided.

A western Kansas native, Melanie Bonner Thomas is the youngest child of paleontologist Marion Bonner, the subject of her scientific biography / family memoir Old Man of the Fossil Beds, published in October 2025. Thomas spent most of her career as an editor and writer in Austin, Texas, and currently lives on the Texas coast. She has written biographies of famous people for young readers, as well as magazine articles on paleontology, archeology, and history for Texas Monthly and Hispanic magazines. A companion book, Fossils of the Rock Chalk, an introduction to Kansas paleontology, was published in April 2026.

Lean More & Register Today!

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Anne Spry Presents on The Power and Purpose of Memoir

8/14/2026

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Presented by: Anne Spry

You are already a writer. But have you considered the genre of memoir, either for your own personal history or that of a loved one? This workshop by author and publisher Anne Spry will outline an easy path to capturing personal life stories by furnishing a free system of writing prompts to get you started. She will also provide illustrations of the powerful effects of the genre of memoir in healing, self-discovery, perspective and purpose.

Anne Spry is the immediate past-president of Kansas Authors Club. Her first career as a weekly newspaper editor and publisher lasted 27 years. Her retirement career began in 2014 when she transitioned to an author and book publisher in the early days of print-on-demand. Since then she has published more than two dozen client books and in 2025 saw the publishing of three personal memoirs–one by her own firm of Personal Chapters Publishing and two by friend Thea Rademacher and her company, Flint Hills Publishing. Finishing those projects helped her heal and forgive herself for what she considered her many mistakes and missteps. She is now motivated to help others discover the powerful benefits of memoir.

Writing Our History & Creating Our Future

Building Community Right

2026 Kansas Writing Convention

Save the Date
October 2-4, 2026

Bonus Writing Retreat Day - October 1 (optional)

Rock Springs Ranch • 1168 KS-157 • Junction City, KS 66441

Learn More & Register

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Presenter: Amanda Little - 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

8/10/2026

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Per Aspera Poet Project: Building a Creative Community that Lasts

Presenter Name: Amanda L. Little

Per Aspera Poet Project: Building a Creative Community that Lasts explores the power of creative communities and their impact on artists. Beginning with a brief look at the history and influence of artistic communities, the session then shares the story behind the founding of the Per Aspera Poets of Salina and how shifts within that group shaped its growth. Drawing on these experiences, the program concludes with practical ideas for cultivating a thriving creative community—emphasizing the importance of actively inviting others into the creative process.

Amanda L. Little, Salina, is a former teacher turned librarian. She enjoys exploring the world through the windows and mirrors of words put on a page. Her work is published in several anthologies and won the KAC Poetry Performance Category in 2022. Most recently, she assisted in self-publishing the anthology Per Aspera: Poetry through Difficulties (2025) as an organizing member of Salina's Per Aspera Poets Group. When she isn’t writing poetry, she enjoys spending time with her family, serving at her church, and crocheting.

Meet the 2026 Convention Presenters

Early Bird Registration Saves 10%

Deadline for "Sponsor" Ads - August 15, 2026

Advertising in the 2026 Convention Program

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Four-time "Poet of the Year" Taking about Conflict & Sonnets at the 2026 Writing Convention

8/8/2026

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Got Conflict? Think Sonnet.

Presented by: Kristine A. Polansky

The 250-year history of our country is one of conflict—from its revolutionary inception to today’s political turmoil. No doubt conflict will be part of our future, too. The sonnet format works well for exploring conflicts. Kris Polansky invites you to experience the unique power of sonnet writing. The word play sums up her approach: Play with topics. Play with images and details. Play with potential building blocks—quatrains, couplets, sestets, octaves. Play with sounds—rhymes, other “echoes,” iambic “taDUM’s.” Come experience the satisfaction of presenting a conflict and resolving it in 14 lines or less.

Kristine A. Polansky is the author of a poetry collection, Provocative Lines: Exploratory Poems, and a “how to” book, Provocative Lines: The Art of Breaking and Arranging Lines into Poetry, published by Meadowlark Press. Although she is a practicing attorney, her roots are in teaching, having taught middle-schoolers for ten years. She prefers the “discovery method” approach to teaching and utilizes it in her presentations about poetry. The Kansas Authors Club named her “Poet of the Year” four times, most recently in 2025.

Learn More & Register to Attend!

Save the Date
October 2-4, 2026Bonus Writing Retreat Day - October 1 (optional)

*Early Bird Registration saves 10%

Deadline for "Sponsor" Ads = August 15, 2026

August 31 - Early Bird Deadline!

Final Deadline for 2026 Ads = September 1, 2026

September 15 - Final Registration Deadline & Final Day to Cancel for a Full Event Refund.

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Per Aspera Poets Featuring Poetry at Theatre Salina

8/8/2026

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Image Text Reads: Amanda Little and Kevin R Peterson, members of the Kansas Authors Club, are among Salina’s per Aspera Poets that will be featuring poetry at Theatre Salina between September 4 - 20. The display is a collaboration between the Per Aspera Group and the local Kansas Figure Drawing Group. Poets were assigned an individual painting or drawing to write about. Their poetic art will be displayed beside each painting or drawing. The display is open Tuesday – Friday, 11:30 am – 5:30 pm.

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Programs you can look forward to at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

8/7/2026

Campfire Algorithms

Presented by: Mark Landon Jarvis

Humans invented story algorithms long before computers did. For millennia, storytellers have relied on narrative patterns of tension, repetition, and transformation passed from ancient campfires to folklore to modern novels. As a novelist and teacher of children's literature, I use AI tools as creative partners to explore these same patterns. Come learn how ancient storytelling wisdom and modern AI can work together to spark ideas, break through blocks, and deepen craft while the human storyteller remains firmly in charge.

Unleash the Autobiographical Engines!

Presented by: Mark Landon Jarvis

Every writer possesses one: a remarkable engine powered by memory, observation, and lived experience. Turn the crank and even the most outlandish fiction casts the author’s shadow upon the screen. Some writers claim every character springs from some corner of their own life. Why not mine our personal histories for buried treasure? In this session we’ll fire up our Autobiographical Engines and explore practical techniques for surfacing memories, details, and life’s moments you can channel into richer characters, settings, and stories. Come turn your past into powerful fuel for your writing.

Mark Landon Jarvis writes science fiction for underdogs, dreamers, and anyone who's ever been told their story doesn't fit the mold. He is a Kansas State University graduate and a college instructor of children's literature. He is also an estate sale junkie, ephemera collector, Spam connoisseur, and relentless optimist. Jarvis believes stories can exorcise self-doubt and inspire the best in everyone.

Learn more

More to look forward to at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

8/5/2026

Writing Our History &

Creating Our Future

Building Community Right

2026 Kansas Writing Convention

Save the Date
October 2-4, 2026
Bonus Writing Retreat Day - October 1 (optional)

Rock Springs Ranch • 1168 KS-157
Junction City, KS 66441

Now Taking Registrations

Where our Voices Meet: Writing Community Into Being

Presented by: Lisa Hase-Jackson

We will focus on the role storytelling has in building community by exploring how personal and collective histories work in tandem with creative writing to imagine, and experience, a connected and mutually supportive culture. Through prompts and collaboration, participants will draft poems that expound upon the emotional truth of lived experiences to discover meaningful and metaphorical narrative threads that invariably connect us all.

Lisa M. Hase-Jackson is the author of two poetry collections: Insomnia in Another Town (Clemson University Press) and Flint & Fire (The Word Works). In addition to acting as editor for such journals as South 85 Review, Hase-Jackson has facilitated writing and artistic workshops in academic and community settings and has has spent her adult years teaching and writing in such places as Kansas City, Missouri, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Anyang, South Korea, and Charleston, South Carolina. Her current perch is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is an Assistant Teaching Professor in creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

Learn More & Register Today!

The people you will meet at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention!

8/3/2026

Registration is now open!

Early Bird Rates Apply until August 31

On Friday we will kick the convention off with a Nature Writing Workshop by Wichita Authors Chapter President, Jeanice Eagan Davis.

Wild Words: Nature Writing Workshop

Presented by: Jeanice Eagan Davis

This workshop invites writers to bridge the gap between the human experience and the wild world. By blending personal reflection with deep observation, participants will use concrete, sensory details that breathe life into both prose and poetry. After examining the evocative styles of masters, writers, and poets, participants will transition into immersive, interactive activities designed to hone analytical and descriptive skills such as sound-mapping or sensory sit-spots, or engage in a Writing Walkabout. The session will conclude with a collaborative sharing circle, celebrating the diverse ways we witness and interpret our environment through the written word.

Jeanice Eagan Davis is a poet and writer whose writing voice was shaped by the open plains of Kansas. She has a proclivity for writing about nature, especially birds and trees. Her writings have been published in several literary journals, including Cantos, Lady Blue, The Talon, Writing from the Center: Literary Zine, and most recently, 105 Meadowlark Reader, among others. She is president of the Wichita Authors Club. When she’s not teaching students the joys (and frustrations) of writing, she’s walking through grasslands and woodlands, shooting photos, and writing poetry, essays, and short stories.

Learn More & Register Today

Early Bird Registration for 2026 Covention Until August 31!

8/1/2026

Have you registered for the 2026 Writing Convention yet? Our Convention committee is planning for a writing good time and looking forward to hosting you at Rock Springs Ranch in October. Join us!

2026 Convention Planning Committee: Ann Vigola Anderson (Lawrence), Lindsey Bartlett (Emporia), Linda Cook (Manhattan), Hannah Dapogny (Russell), Linzi Garcia (Emporia), Sandra Taylor (Towanda)

Learn More

Advertise in the 2026 Convention Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Wichita Public Library Local Author Event, Saturday, August 8

7/30/2026

Stacy Thowe, Women's Contemporary Fiction and Romantasy writer, will be at the Wichita Public Library author's event on Saturday, August 8th. The event will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the Advanced Learning Library. Please stop by and check out some great local Kansas writers. The event is open to the public.

Local Author Day

August 15 Program - Classics Inspired Writing with Deborah Linn McNemee

7/30/2026

We look forward to hosting Deborah Linn McNemeee for the next state program. Zoom link is available to members via the email newsletter and/or the new membership site.

The recording of the July program by Catherine Menefee is now available for viewing by members at this link. (Member sign-on required.) State programs remain online for viewing by members for approximately one month. Take a moment to watch today so that you don't miss it!

Program: Classics Inspired Writing
Presented by Deborah Linn McNemee

Reimagining of classics literature is having its day, and why not? The great writers pen the story of humanity. Those stories educate us and inspire us. It’s no wonder readers and writers want to revisit those worlds over and over.

This session will explore specific approaches to classics inspired writing for poetry and prose. Come with your favorites in your head and you’ll leave with tools to reimagine, retell, and reintroduce those stories to yourself and to your readers in meaningful and unique ways. Classics inspired writing goes beyond regurgitating characters and plots and encourages writers to grow our own stories from the best parts of classic literature.

Deborah Linn McNemee’s poem, “Jem Touches the Wall”, was published in Kansas English and retells an iconic scene from To Kill a Mockingbird. Her young adult novel, Just Daisy: A Gatsby Retelling, explores for a modern audience why women stay in toxic relationships. She does her part to keep classics relevant at her blog, KeepingClassics.com.

Introducing our 2026 Kansas Writing Convention Speakers

7/22/2026

Writing To Publish Without Selling Your Soul

Presented by: Maureen "Micki" Carroll

“Writing to Publish Without Selling Your Soul” is an engaging workshop for emerging authors led by a seasoned publisher. The session explores key topics including Hot and Cold Genres, Putting Your Best Foot (and Words) Forward, Writing for Your Reader, and Editing for Appeal—offering practical strategies for navigating the publishing world while staying true to your voice. Participants will take part in a collaborative activity identifying genres and audiences for sample book ideas, followed by a short writing exercise crafting a compelling opening hook or book pitch. Writers will leave with tools to strengthen their work, connect with readers, and approach publication with confidence.

Maureen Carroll is a writer, educator, photographer, graphic designer, and all-around cat herder! She founded Anamcara Press LLC to celebrate art and community and loves helping authors bring their stories to life. Her books include A Wyoming Cowboy in Hitler’s Germany, combining WWII correspondence and historic photos, and The Tree Who Walked Through Time, a collaboration with 17 artists. Carroll has also published children’s books, nonfiction articles, and training programs. A longtime Kansas Authors Club leader, she enjoys hiking, gluten-free baking, and studying quantum mechanics.

Learn more about Micki
and other convention presenters.

Early Bird Savings ends August 31.

Details & Registration Information

Members Reading in Dodge City on July 31

7/21/2026

Members Robert Rebein and Leslie VonHolton will be in Dodge City on Friday, July 31, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Boot Hill Distillery, 501 West Spruce Street promoting the anthology Kansas Matters: 21st Century Writers on the Sunflower State. The public is invited to this free event.

Rebein, a Dodge City native, is also the author of The Last Rancher, recently selected by Kansas Center for the Book and the State Library to represent Kansas in the 2026 Great Reads from Great Places program. The novel follows Leroy and Caroline Wagner, who run the Bar W Ranch near Dodge City. After Leroy is seriously injured, he can no longer work the land. Their three children return home to help save the ranch and rebuild family relationships.

The Great Reads from Great Places program highlights one adult and one youth title from each state to celebrate local authors and encourage reading. Visit library.ks.gov/KSGreatReads for more information.

July 23 Book Talk with Susan Armstrong - Watermark Books

7/20/2026

You are invited to join the authors at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23, 2026, for a Book Talk, at Watermark Books & Café, 4701 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67218. The event is free, but reservations are requested.

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Cynthia Mines Upcoming Book Events in Wichita, Russell, & McPherson

7/14/2026

KAC member Cynthia Mines launched her historical novel HEAVEN IN A WILDFLOWER (Meadowlark Press, 2026) on June 20 during Midsummer's Festival in Lindsborg, the prototype for the Swedish community in the book.

Upcoming author events include a book signing at Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, from 2-3 p.m. on July 19; Coffee & Kolaches with the author (in honor of the book's Czech character) at Russell Specialty Books & Gifts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 25; and a book signing and art exhibit opening featuring pieces connected to the prototype for the feed and art dealer character in the book, from 2-5 p.m. on Aug. 1 at McPherson Museum & Arts Foundation.

More info at cynthiamines.com.

Social Media for Authors: Saturday State Program

7/12/2026

We look forward to hosting Catherine Menefee for the next state program. Zoom link is available to members via the email newsletter and/or the new membership site.

If you have not yet signed into the new membership site, here are the instructions for members with dues current:

Since this is a new website, you will need to create a new password. It is not connected to the password you had previously with Kansas Authors Club.

Go to this page: https://kansasauthorsclub1904.wildapricot.org/
Put in your email
Check the "I am not a robot" box
select "forgot password"
and it should email you instructions for creating a "new" one, which is in fact your first for this website.
Once there, take a moment to update your profile and your preferences if you would like.

If your dues are not current, simply register to join at Wild Apricot and we'll get you back on the member roster!

The recording of the June program by Laurie L. Dove is now available for viewing by members at this link. (Member sign-on required.) State programs remain online for viewing by members for approximately one month. Take a moment to watch today so that you don't miss it!

Program: Social Media for Authors

Presented by Catherine Menefee

Social media is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for authors—but with so many apps to choose from and so much conflicting advice, how can you best spend your time and effort online? This session will explore the benefits social media offers to authors, the options for building a social media presence, and the practice of incorporating social media as an effective tool for community building, networking, and marketing. Perfect for any writer who wants to make better use of social media, either to expand their network or to find new writer friends.

Catherine Menefee is a poet and fiction writer who lives in Bel Aire with her husband, kids, and pets. After completing her MFA in Creative Writing: Poetry at Wichita State University, she spent several years teaching at a variety of local colleges and universities before leaving academia to homeschool her kids. In the past fwe years, she has leveraged social media to stay connected to other artists and writers, and her debut poetry book, Witness: One American Year, took inspiration and subject matter from her online community.

Catherine on Tik Tok

Catherine on Facebook

Catherine on Instagram

Introducing our 2026 Kansas Writing Convention Speakers

7/6/2026

Just Like Selling Girl Scout Cookies:
How to Create Your Community

Presented by: Ann Vigola Anderson

Remember selling Girl Scout cookies? You probably identified your audience (friends, family, teachers), practiced a little sales pitch for those Thin Mints, and closed the deal!

In this session, we will elevate those concepts to help promote you and your book.

Identify your target audience
Create your wish list/goals
Create your elevator speech

Plus some fun stuff, too!

Learn more about Ann and other convention presenters.

Early Bird Savings ends August 31.

Details & Registration Information

<<Previous

Convention Housing Update

Member Event at Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita

Invitation to Topeka Poets & Writers: Words in the Wind Open Mic

Author-Publisher Melanie Bonner Thomas Walks Us Through Publishing

Anne Spry Presents on The Power and Purpose of Memoir

Presenter: Amanda Little - 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

Four-time "Poet of the Year" Taking about Conflict & Sonnets at the 2026 Writing Convention

Per Aspera Poets Featuring Poetry at Theatre Salina

Programs you can look forward to at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

More to look forward to at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention

The people you will meet at the 2026 Kansas Writing Convention!

Early Bird Registration for 2026 Covention Until August 31!

Wichita Public Library Local Author Event, Saturday, August 8

August 15 Program - Classics Inspired Writing with Deborah Linn McNemee

Introducing our 2026 Kansas Writing Convention Speakers

Members Reading in Dodge City on July 31

July 23 Book Talk with Susan Armstrong - Watermark Books

Cynthia Mines Upcoming Book Events in Wichita, Russell, & McPherson

Social Media for Authors: Saturday State Program

Introducing our 2026 Kansas Writing Convention Speakers

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