Fiction Grades 3-4 & 7-8
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.
Fiction Grades 5-6
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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