I teach composition, creative nonfiction, and poetry writing at a small regional university in Claremore, Oklahoma (and yes, it is a long commute). I am also working on creating a website, but that will have to be added later! Thank you so much for making me feel welcome!
Jeanice lives outside Clearwater, KS. She has this to say about herself and her writing: I have had works published, mostly poetry, and I am currently attempting to get a poetry collection (or maybe two) published. I write pieces of creative nonfiction in addition to poetry. I also have the bones of a book about modern dying, death, grief, and eulogy, but it has been a bit side-tracked by life and work. I inherited my small family farm a couple of years ago and my husband and I are building a small home on the property. I teach composition, creative nonfiction, and poetry writing at a small regional university in Claremore, Oklahoma (and yes, it is a long commute). I am also working on creating a website, but that will have to be added later! Thank you so much for making me feel welcome! Welcome, Jeanice - we're glad to have you!
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Patrick lives in Topeka with his wife Lisa; they have three adult children. Here's what Patrick has to say:
I grew up in the heart of wrestling country in northern Iowa and have been a wrestling enthusiast since my earliest memories (think high school, college, Olympics, and not the chair-throwing, predetermined outcome type of wrestling). I was introduced to the sport early and competed throughout my college years. Along the way, I read about every book about the sport and kept up with current happenings by subscribing to wrestling magazines and reading daily newspaper articles. After college, I became a teacher and coach. In the fall of 2024, I will embark on my thirtieth year in the classroom. In 2022 I retired from coaching at the high school level and began to devote more time to researching and writing about the sport, which I have dabbled in through the years. I have written articles for several wrestling publications and currently write a monthly article for WIN Magazine, a nationally circulated wrestling publication. Shortly after my coaching retirement, I began researching the Kansas State University wrestling program, which operated from 1922 until it was dropped in 1975. I found the stats and stories fascinating and worthy of a broader audience. I am putting the final touches on the manuscript of a book with a working title of The Undertold Story of Kanas State University Wrestling. I look for it to be out in late fall 2024. Let us know when the book is out and we'll post a Member Book News notice here! Welcome, Patrick. Meet K.P. Kollenborn, new member from District 2. She has this to say about herself and her writing: Greetings! I go by my pen name, K.P. Kollenborn, a name designed as tribute to my mother's maiden name. And as a writer who has a passion and respect for history, it's only natural to write with historical context. While I’ve been writing since childhood, I have a BA in History. I love studying history as much as wanting to evoke stories. I like to believe that after decades worth of introspection we have learned, hopefully more wisely if not conscientiously, what happened yesterday with a critical eye. Social consciousness is a process learned through observation and experience. Although writing can educate as well as entertain, yet what makes art incredibly amazing, to that of paintings, photographs, and music, it transposes emotion into another form of humanity, and therefore, it is our humanity which keeps all of us striving for an improved future.
Aside from writing, I have several YouTube channels that are either presented in mini documentary format or cultural awareness: Main one: https://www.youtube.com/user/kollenborn/featured, Kansas City Treasure Troves: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV01oSYL4Y3CbhRV--tYUJw, The Buster Clan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh8WxiPvQh8PCMU55RuJZwg Always remember, Get Your History On! https://www.kpkollenborn.com Say hello to Mari Dietz, new member from Dodge City (District 7)! Mari teaches full-time, so writes when she has the spare time. She mainly writes fantasy, and just had a book release this week. "After a long writing dry spell," she says, "it is wonderful to finally publish again." Look for her book, Torment (The Dragons of Tenghua, Book One), in paper or as an e-book, HERE or HERE. Welcome to KAC, Mari! We're happy to have you.
Meet Abbi Lee of District 5! Abbi says: I'm in Wichita and I write for young readers. The first book in my debut middle grade series, Geocache Club: Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, will be released October 1, 2024 with Chicken Scratch Books. It's a contemporary adventure story about eleven-year-old Layton Clark. When his best friend moves away, Layton doesn’t know if he’ll ever have another adventure again. Then he meets Sherry who introduces him to the treasure-hunting world of geocaching. The thrill of adventure sends them hunting in an abandoned Kansas ghost town where they find deserted shacks, unmarked geocaches, an old diary, and more. Layton and Sherry must work together to unlock these mysterious geocaches, solve a century-old mystery, and convince Layton’s father not to move the family away. I'm also published in Kansas Country Living magazine and Spider magazine. Currently, I work as a copywriter for a local marketing agency. Prior to that I taught high school English and Social Studies. I also worked at a local museum as the Education Manager conducting tours, creating programs, and using stories to bring history to life. I'm happy to be a part of KAC and can't wait to make connections with fellow local authors. And we're glad to have you join us! Check out her website too: https://abbileebooks.wordpress.com/
District 1 welcomes Abby Bayani-Heitzman! Abby sends us this introduction:
I am a Filipino American writer born and raised in Northeast Kansas. I’m currently based in Topeka and working as a grant writer. My main passion is short fiction, and I primarily draw from magic(al) realist influences — I’m particularly inspired by Nick Joaquin and his “tropical gothic” stories. I’ve also got a novel in mind and hope to start writing it soon! Apart from writing, I enjoy making visual art and playing bass. I’m also a very active member of Malaya Kansas, a Filipino American community organization that focuses on political education and legislative advocacy for the Philippine Human Rights Act. My most recent writing success has been my essay on Bienvenido Santos for The New Territory magazine (forthcoming) as part of Humanities Kansas’ “Literary Landscapes in Kansas” project. An audio version will air on High Plains Public Radio, along with the other essays that were selected. Welcome to KAC, Abby - and do let us know when the radio piece airs! District 6 welcomes Rob! To introduce myself: I grew up in Dodge City, where my father's family has farmed and ranched since the 1920s. Before that, the family farmed near Ellinwood. My mother's people are originally from Maple Hill, on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills, and I have a lot of family in the Salina area, as well. I attended KU as an undergraduate, majoring in English, and Washington University in St. Louis, where I earned my MFA. I also have a PhD from SUNY-Buffalo and an MA from Exeter University in England. My books include a forthcoming debut novel, The Last Rancher, which will be published by Meadowlark Press this summer. I've also published two memoirs, Dragging Wyatt Earp: A Personal History of Dodge City (Swallow Press, 2013) and Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home (U P Kansas, 2017); and a work of criticism, Hicks, Tribes, & Dirty Realists: American Fiction after Postmodernism (U Kentucky P, 2001, 2009). Both Dragging Wyatt Earp and Headlights on the Prairie were named Kansas Notable Books, and Headlights was a finalist for the High Plains Book Award in the Creative Nonfiction Category.
I live in Indiana with my wife Alyssa Chase and a pair of ornery beagles. I teach creative writing at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Say hello to Jeffrey D. (J.D.) Cole, new member in District 6!
A writer of fiction in Harper, KS, he has published two novels with a military bent: Shadow Guard (2017) Enemy Crossing (2020) ...and he is working on a third, which he hopes to have in final draft by early summer. He is looking forward to meeting people in the KAC, and we're glad to have him join us! Meet Larry Toerber, new member from District 5! I'm new to authoring books, with a focus on history, memoir, and nonfiction. In June of 2023, I published my first book: Exercise Tiger: The Silent D-Day “Link” of World War II. The book is a "never been told story" of how the Toerbers, an Iowa farm family in the 1940s, lost a member: son, brother, husband, and soldier, and how their families were influenced by their "Missing in Action" loss. The truths of an eerie nighttime practice before the D-Day invasion known as "Exercise Tiger" were never told to the affected families. The exercise went horribly wrong when seven German E-Boats savagely attacked the undefended American Forces aboard amphibious Landing Ship Tanks, killing my uncle Mearl and at least 749 troops. The Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided to cloak the terrible event as a National Security issue, and make sure all the information on the episode was buried with the 749 bodies. There were more American soldiers killed during Exercise Tiger than on D-Day! To this day, over 80 years later, there is speculation that the government deliberately falsified information forwarded to the next of kin. My parents and grandparents went to their graves not knowing the true story. On April 14, 2010, two military historians researching the first Naval officer fatality of WW II contacted me and set my investigative energies on an 11-year mission to explore this very secret military event. These two historians who discovered the Toerber link suggested I write the "untold story" of this secret military event. I accepted the challenge and never looked back. A link to preview the book is here: https://issuu.com/mennonitepressinc./docs/toerber-exercise_tiger; more details are here: https://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Tiger-Silent-D-Day-World-ebook/dp/B0CK2Z5H69. During my Exercise Tiger journey, I was employed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, traveling throughout the continental United States conducting investigations into railroad accidents, incidents, and safety concerns. I and my beautiful bride Zelma raised our family and still reside in rural Harvey County near Newton, Kansas. Glad to have you join us, Larry!
Meet District 1's Anamarie Davis-Wilkins (Ana Wilkins for short): a proud mom, grandmother, Birth Doula, writer of fiction and short stories and poet, who lives in Topeka, Kansas. She has enjoyed reading, writing, and art since childhood and continues to do so. She has published three books, one novel and two books of poetry, the recent one released 2024, entitled To See My Own World. She recently had a piece published by the Poet Laureate of Kansas and numerous anthologies and online magazines. She is an active participant in Speak Easy Poets of Topeka, The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas, National Federation of State Poetry Societies. We're glad to have you join us, Ana!
We are pleased to introduce Julie Stielstra, our 2024 Welcome Wagon Chair. Thank you for sharing your time and talent with Kansas Authors Club, Julie! Julie Stielstra (District 6) has been a KAC member since 2019. After a few years as a long-distance member based in the Chicago area, she is now (finally!) happily settled in an old Kansas farmhouse on seven acres with partner Forest, six cats, two dogs, and a whole lot of visiting birds. The state has nourished many of her several dozen published stories and essays, and an award-winning youth novel (Opulence, Kansas from Meadowlark Press). Now she is buckling down to finish a historical novel inspired by a World War One-era drama in her adopted town of Ellinwood.
Today I have the honor of introducing Jillian Forsberg of Wichita to the Kansas Authors Club! Jillian Forsberg is a historian and author with a master’s degree in public history from Wichita State University. Her first novel, The Rhino Keeper, will be published by History Through Fiction in the fall of 2024. Former editor of the The Fairmount Folio at WSU, Jillian’s history research has been published in academic journals. She’s also a frequent contestant in the NYC Midnight short story competitions. See more about Jillian’s upcoming novel here: https://www.historythroughfiction.com/the-rhino-keeper Learn more about Jillian and read her short stories on her website: https://www.jillianforsberg.com/ Welcome, Jillian! [cu] Today we welcome new member Thaddeus Dugan. We've asked him to tell us a little about himself.
Hi my name is Thaddeus A Dugan and I live in Topeka. I am a junior at Washburn University studying English/Writing with a minor in Philosophy. My debut collection of poetry surfaces in April 2024 through Anamcara press and is called A Record of Change. It explores the evolution of the soul through love, grief, and loss, all while never losing sight of my collective humanness. You can follow me on Facebook at Thaddeus A Dugan, Author. Welcome, Thaddeus! Today we welcome Karen Miller of Overland Park to the Kansas Authors Club! I grew up in Arkansas and have lived in two other countries and various Midwestern states and Colorado, where I worked in social service agencies. I eventually obtained a PhD in English and taught writing at the University of Minnesota Crookston for many years. Two years ago, I moved with my husband to Overland Park, Kansas, to be closer to family. I love living here and the easy access it offers for long walks in nature, coffee shops, and great bookstores. I primarily write fiction. My stories have been published in The Baltimore Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, Scrivener Creative Review, Snake Nation Review, and other literary journals. One story waspublished in Tartts: Incisive Fiction from Emerging Writers and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I’m currently working on editing my collection of stories with a goal to get that published. I’m excited to be part of the Kansas Authors Club. We're happy to have you with us, Karen! Today, we have the honor of welcoming Roger Heineken to the Kansas Authors Club!
Roger, fondly known as "Mr. Emporia" for his passion in discovering historical facts about the town and its people, has been an active member of the Emporia Writers Group since 2012. Roger Heineken grew up in rural Atchison County and has lived his adult life in Emporia. He earned a BFA in Art and retired from a career at Emporia State in the Student Affairs Division. Roger is fascinated with local Emporia history, particularly the legacy of William Allen White. While some call him a historian, he prefers “storyteller.” Heineken mostly writes creative nonfiction but dabbles in fiction prompted by facts and experiences. His work has been published in several issues of 105 Meadowlark Reader and has received recognition in past KAC contests. He enjoys being part of the informal Emporia Writers Group. Welcome, Roger! Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Nancy McCabe to the group! I was born and grew up in Wichita, but now live in northwestern Pennsylvania, where I direct the writing program at a campus of the U. of Pittsburgh and teach in the low-residency graduate writing program at Spalding University. I've published seven books with two more forthcoming; my most recent creative nonfiction titles are Can This Marriage Be Saved? a memoir, and From Little Houses to Litlle Women: Revisiting a Literary Childhood. Both deal with my Kansas childhood and young adulthood. This summer I published my debut YA novel, Vaulting through Time, and my middle grade novel Fires Burning Underground (also drawing on my Kansas childhood) is due out in 2025. My website is https://www.nancymccabe.net. ~~~ We're glad to have Nancy with us! Also check out these short videos about her books! Little Houses to Little Women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbL-vzvnBbg Vaulting Through Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCk6fu1oqzc Following Disasters https://vimeo.com/196031555 Today we have the honor of welcoming Robert Stewart of Prairie Village to the Kansas Authors Club!
Robert Stewart's 2023 book of poems, Higher, won the 2022 Prize Americana. Other books include The Narrow Gate: Writing, Art & Values (essays, Serving House Books); Working Class (poems, Stephen F. Austin University); Outside Language: Essays (Helicon Nine Editions, finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Awards, and winner of the Thorpe Menn Award); and Plumbers (poems, BkMk Press, in revised 2nd edition). He won a National Magazine Award for editing from the American Society of Magazine Editors, and served for many years as editor-in-chief of New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He founded Midwest Poets Series in 1983 and directed the series for 36 years, on behalf of Rockhurst University in Kansas City; the series featured readings by four nationally prominent writers per year. Welcome, Robert! This is a picture of my desk where I just finished a collection of stories about Bigfoot. Today we welcome Conlan Murphy of Lawrence to District 2 and to the Kansas Authors Club.
My name is Conlan Murphy under the pen name Connlyn Sinclair. I write children’s fantasy stories. My book of fairy tales based on the works of Francis James Child is currently being published by Anamcara Press, I also am teaching myself to write detective stories for adults. Today we welcome Peggy M. Phillips of Valley Center to District 5 and to the Kansas Authors Club.
Peggy M. Phillips is an author writing in the Christian Fiction-Metaphysical genre. Peggy debuted her first work of fiction in November 2022 with the poignant and powerful epistolary novella, “Letters to the Little Flower The Gift of Spiritual Companionship with St. Therese of Lisieux.” Born in Wichita, KS, United States, Peggy grew up in a large Catholic family in a small Kansas town. Formerly a staff writer for the Salina Journal, Peggy is a Registered Nurse who works in mental health services. Her Catholic formation, along with her healthcare vocation, inform her writing. In her free time, Peggy enjoys hiking the beautiful nature trails of Kansas, watching Kansas sunrises and sunsets, and spending time with her family. CU Welcome, K.L. Barron to District 4 and to the Kansas Authors Club! I am a writer of place: poetry and prose. My prize-winning fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction has been published in New Letters, The Bennington Review, Little Balkans Review, terrain.org, ChickenBones (Library of Congress), among others, and in several anthologies. I earned an MFA from Bennington in 2005 and have taught writing and literature at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas for nearly 20 years. I live and write in the Flint Hills. My debut novel Thirst came out in November from Sea Crow Press. Welcome, Karen! |
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