Deadline for getting your entries submitted:
June 15, 2026 @ Midnight!
June 15, 2026 @ Midnight!
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2026 Literary Contests Please read the guidelines before entering! Are you new to entering our contests? See the "how-to video by member Sandee Taylor. Adult Writers Contest - 2026 guidelines now posted! Youth Writers Contest - 2026 guidelines now posted! Our Literary Contests are open to:
Contest opens April 1, 2026 and closes June 15, 2026 Submit online at kansasauthorsclub.submittable.com Awards will be announced at the annual fall gathering & streamed live via Zoom. Middle West Press LLC, an Iowa publisher, announced an open submissions window for Volume 2 of "Cryptid, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters."
Submissions close Jun. 2, 2026. Other details:
We are particularly motivated by works that inclusively explore modern Midwestern identities and experiences via a "monstrous" lens. We also enjoy exploring new ways to extend the practice and reach of poetry through popular media and tropes. Deadline for Proposals: March 15, 2026 We invite you to play an active role in our 2026 Kansas Authors Club convention by submitting your proposals for speakers and workshops. We are looking for 50-minute, participatory workshops on writing and/or discussion leaders on topics of interest to writers. We are also looking for potential panelists for moderator-led discussions. Presentations that explore the convention theme, "Writing Our History & Creating Our Future: Building Community Right," are particularly welcome. A Kansas connection is appreciated but not required for consideration. Speakers will be paid, but there is a limited budget for travel expenses and housing. The convention is being planned for in-person presentations. We are looking for an array of workshops that will address beginning writers through those with experience in writing and publishing. We will also plan for a balance of workshops covering fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Save the Date 2026 Kansas Writing Convention
October 2-4, 2026 Rock Springs Ranch • 1168 KS-157 Junction City, KS 66441 This is a reminder to all members who have published books in 2025 that the deadline for entering our Book Awards Contests is March 1, 2026. This is the contest for PUBLISHED books. Review the complete guidelines for answers to your questions
If you are looking for information about our Literary Contests (Writing Contests) (for all ages), that event OPENS for submissions on
April 1, 2026 and close on June 15, 2026. For clarification: Literary contest entries are for individual poems and shorter form prose entries that have never been published. The Book Awards contest is for books that were published (with a press or independently) in the previous year. The 2026 guidelines for our adult and youth writing contests are now available on the website. Review them today and mark your calendar for April 1, the opening day of the contest (no joke!) Contest Highlights
As with any contest, read the complete guidelines before submitting. Are you looking for information on the 2026 Book Awards? The deadline for entering the Book Awards (for published books) is March 1, 2026. Those guidelines can be found under "Book Awards" in the menu to the left, or the button below.
WHITEWATER, KS: The Frederic Remington Area Historical Society announces a call for submissions for their first Historical Writing Contest. Submission are due January 31, 2026.
“We want to encourage research and writing about the history of the Remington Area,” says President Eldon Esau. “This competition is open to anyone, but the scope of work must be concentrated on the area defined by the Remington School District. We are offering cash prizes for three different categories:” Categories and Prizes
Guidelines:
Deadline: January 31, 2026 Email Entries to: [email protected] For more information, contact Eldon Esau: Phone: (316) 284-4764 Email: [email protected] # # # About The Frederic Remington Area Historical Society The Frederic Remington Area Historical Society (FRAHS) is a membership organization and not-for-profit corporation, filed June 21, 1978. This corporation is exempt from federal income tax under 501(c)(3) Revenue Codes of 1954. Membership runs from September to May; dues are announced at meetings. The primary purpose of FRAHS is to collect, preserve, and share the Frederic Remington USD206 School District area’s rich history and culture with its residents, students, and other interested persons. A majority of the society’s programs each year are to fulfill that purpose, while other programs should inform attendees of state and national topics of historical and cultural interests.  Julie Stielstra of D6 reports:
The English department of Barton County Community College runs a writers workshop during the academic year, and every spring issues their anthology Prairie Ink. My short story “Duet” appears in the 2025 issue, and as a bonus, a dramatic photo I took of an incoming evening storm graces the cover. Have a look! They welcome submissions from the Barton 7-county service area. Visit https://bartonccc.edu/community/getinvolved/prairieink for info and a link to submission guidelines. And consider dropping in on the writers group when it resumes meeting in September, if you’re within reach of Great Bend. Instructions for purchasing Quarter Page Book Ads and other sizes for 2025-2026 are now available on the website. Place your order by August 15 for the Early Bird Rate. Those who meet the Early Bird deadline will also be published in Writing from the Center, 2025 edition. Sample Member Book Ads from 2024 Thank you to all who have supported our fall event and programs! A local donor has offered the following challenge to Kansas Authors Club members. Every #ReadLocalKS submission to our website from now through December 1 will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Bookshop.org.  The Heartland Review Press, located in Kentucky, invites poets to enter the Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize. It's $10 for a submission of 3 poems. The top prize is $400 in a Visa gift card. There's a second and third place prize as well.
This poetry contest has existed for over 20 years and typically receives about 80 entries. They plan to publish the top 5 and if they have room, they will publish the top 10. More details here: A very important Kansas Authors Club deadline is coming up. We would like to encourage you to submit nominations for our annual Awards of Merit. You may complete the form online.
Each year awards are presented to members for:
Please take a look at your fellow members and help us recognize those who go the extra mile for the literary community of Kansas. These awards are presented during the Annual Meeting of the General Membership in October. Here again is the link to the nomination form online: https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/awards-of-merit.html On the third Saturday of October, an Annual Meeting of the General Membership is held via Zoom. All members are encouraged to attend. Invitations will be sent via member email newsletters and posted on the website. Kansas Authors Club Annual Writing Contests Open for Submissions April 1 through June 15 All residents of the state of Kansas are invited to enter the annual literary contests of the Kansas Authors Club. Entries in 18 categories of prose and poetry are accepted April 1 to June 15 with cash prizes presented at the Kansas Authors Club Writing Retreat on October 5, 2025. Winners who cannot attend the awards ceremony will receive awards by mail after the event. All residents of the state of Kansas are welcome to enter, and those who are members get discounted entry fees. Members of the club may reside anywhere in Kansas and beyond. Read the guidelines.  2024 Participants in the Annual Writing Contests Garner Awards
GRINNELL, Kan. (KSNW) — When a tornado ripped through the small town of Grinnell last month, it left behind shattered homes, a ruined church, and the loss of another vital piece of the community — the school library.
In a social media appeal from the State Library of Kansas, the Moore Family Library and the Northwest Kansas Library System are calling on Kansans to help restock the shelves with gently used children’s picture books, chapter books, and young adult titles. The donations will be used to rebuild the school’s library and classroom collections ahead of the fall semester, when students return to class in a temporary building. Organizers say donated books won’t just fill shelves — they’ll help restore a sense of stability for children returning to school after disaster. Book donations can be sent to: Northwest Kansas Library System 2 Washington Square Norton, KS 67654 Thanks to member Mary-Lane Kamberg for bringing this notice to our attention. Kansas Authors Club
Annual Writing Contests Open for Submissions April 1 through June 15 All residents of the state of Kansas are invited to enter the annual literary contests of the Kansas Authors Club. Entries in 18 categories of prose and poetry are accepted April 1 to June 15 with cash prizes presented at the Kansas Authors Club Writing Retreat on October 5, 2025. Winners who cannot attend the awards ceremony will receive awards by mail after the event. All residents of the state of Kansas are welcome to enter, and those who are members get discounted entry fees. Members of the club may reside anywhere in Kansas and beyond. New in 2025
Read the complete guidelines for details.  Poets, The Heartland Review Press is hosting a free open call. We're read up to 80 submissions or until June 13, 2025. Poets can submit up to 3 poems. No shape poems. Any style. Any genre. Any topic.
Fiction writers: The Heartland Review Press is hosting a free open call. THRP will read the first 60 submissions or close at the deadline of August 1. Last year, the fiction category reached capacity in 14 days. 5000 word max. Flash is acceptable, but put a couple flash piece in one file. Any topic, subject, style, or sub-genre. Creative Nonfiction Writers: The Heartland Review Press is hosting a free open call. THRP will read the first 50 submission or will close the call on August 1. Last year it filled in 4 weeks. Flash is acceptable, but put a couple of flash pieces in one file. Any topic, subject, style, or sub-genre. The formatting guidelines are on our website: https://elizabethtown.kctcs.edu/community/theheartlandreviewpress/open-calls-for-journal.aspx 18 Categories in Prose and Poetry  Poetry Categories in our Adult Writing Contest
Prose Categories in our Adult Writing Contest
 Issue #9, the Luck issue, of 105 Meadowlark Reader has stories taking place in 31 Kansas counties and features 30 authors. Eleven stories in this issue are by authors new to 105. This issue will be available for purchase in Kansas independent boosktores and via the Meadowlark website in May 2025. Kansas Authors Club members with essays in the Spring 2025 issue are: Boyd Bauman Brian Daldorph Beth Gulley Roger Heineken Jerilynn Jones Henrikson Duane L. Herrmann Vicki L. Julian Amy Kliewer Kerry Moyer Robert W. Phillips Robert Rebein Cynthia C. Schaker Mason Taylor-Taite Alicia Troike Brenda L. White Sheree L. Wingo Open Reading Period for Issue #10
May 1 - June 30, 2025 Theme: Work This poetry contest is inspired by a quote from Gordon Parks, "I feel it is the heart, not the eye, that should determine the content of the photograph. What the eye sees is its own. What the heart can perceive is a very different matter."   Our contest for young writers, grades 3-12, includes categories in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and—new in 2025—visual art. There are no fees for youth entries. The awards ceremony for young writers will take place this year at the Kansas Book Festival in Topeka on September 20, 2025.
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