News for All Members

Kansas Poet Laureate at The Volland Store

9/16/2018

Kevin Rabas, Kansas Poet Laureate, will combine poetry with music during his reading at The Volland Store: A Place for Art and Community at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 22. The event is free and everyone is invited.

Kevin's program will be followed by an "open mic" where people will have the opportunity to share their poetry with the audience. If you are affiliated with an academic institution, this would provide students an excellent venue in which to read their poems.

For more information, contact The Volland Store at their address, 24098 Volland Road, Alma, Kansas, by phone, 785-499-3616, or on their website here.

KAC President 1000 Words

9/10/2018

KAC State President, Ronda Miller, will be presenting at Quincy Gallery in St. Francis, Friday, 9/21,@ 7 p.m. Miller will read 1,000 words from her upcoming memoir, Gun Memories, in keeping with the gallery’s theme, as well as reading from her latest book of poetry, WaterSigns.

KAC is on Social Media

9/5/2018

You can find current information about Kansas Authors Club and its members by following us on Facebook and Twitter. Look for @KansasAuthors on Twitter and Kansas Authors Club on Facebook. Just click on the "Follow" button and new information will appear in your feed.

Writing Classes & Speaking Events

8/19/2018

Sally Jadlow will teach a writing class beginning Sept. 20 for 6 weeks at Country Club Christian Church, 61 & Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO at 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Cost is $45 for the class. For more information please contact Sally at Sjadlow@aol.com.

She will also speak on memoir, poetry, and writing devotionals at Wordwrights- Oklahoma Christian Writers Retreat on Sept. 9 at Mulhall, OK. For more information contact Barbara Shepherd at http://www.barbarashepherd.com/wordwrights/

Sally Jadlow's books here
Sally Jadlow's blog http://sallyjadlow.com/blog/

Yearbook Submissions

8/19/2018

This is a good time to remind members that we are accepting yearbook submissions. Here is the link: https://kansasauthorsclub.submittable.com/submit

The guidelines are in the yearbook and at the submittable link, but here they are again for ease of sharing:
Due Between August 1 and October 15, 2018, electronic receipt or postmark

Every Member having paid current dues is invited to submit ONE literary contribution for the yearbook. That submission can be either prose or poetry. Prose is limited to one printed page (no more than 500 words). Poetry is limited to one printed page (no more than 40 lines including spaces between verses).
All literary contributions remain the property of the individual authors. Authors may continue to use or distribute their work without requesting permission from the Kansas Authors Club. No work printed in the KAC yearbook may be copied or distributed in any form without explicit permission from the author.
Yearbook Submissions are preferred via the online site, Submittable. There is NO CHARGE to submit a yearbook entry.
The Submittable Site will be open to accepting yearbook entries between August 1 and October 15, 2018.
Prepare your document as you normally would for print submission.
The link for submission is: kansasauthorsclub.submittable.com
Complete required information. (Name, address, etc.)
Select file and upload for submission.
Please do not submit 2019 yearbook entries before August 2018.

Kansas Time + Place Reading

6/28/2018

Watkins Museum of History (1047 Massachusetts St.) and Kansas Authors Club (https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/) will host the following reading, KANSAS TIME + PLACE: An Anthology of Heartland Poetry, in Lawrence, Saturday, July 28th, from 1 to 4 p.m. The anthology is the brainchild of Kansas’s third state poet laureate, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg. She, along with poet Roy Beckemeyer of Wichita, are co editors.
Poets who will be reading:

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Denise Low-Weso
Wyatt Townley
Roderick Townley
James Benger
Huascar Medina
Sarah Worrel
Lori Baker Martin
Julie Sellers
Annette Billings
Tara Rhiannon Bartley
Pat Daneman
Iris Craver
Ronda Miller
Diane Wahto
Lindsey Martin-Bowen
Michelle Pond
Dan Pohl
Roy Beckemeyer
Eve Ott
Matushka Elizabeth Perdomo
Anne Haehl
Kelly W. Johnston
Leah Sewell
Carolyn Hall
Diana Palka
Thomas Reynolds

Award of Merit Nominations

6/13/2018

Please nominate members for Awards of Merit. The nomination form and other information are on pages xv and xvi in the 2018 KAC Yearbook. Forms can be sent to Diane Wahto by email or by postal mail. The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2018.

The KAC Award of Merit is awarded to KAC members for achievement in writing, service to Kansas Authors Club, or a special accomplishment. Award winners are selected by ballot by a committee of Kansas Authors Club members.

Please give careful consideration to your reasons why the nominee is worthy of an award and list them on the nomination form. Nominations may be made by any individual member of the Kansas Authors Club, by a group or a district.

fINANCIAL sECRETARY nEEDED

6/8/2018

To All KAC Members:

The Kansas Authors Club is in need of a Financial Secretary to fill the vacant position. If you are interested, or know of someone who would be interested, please contact KAC President, Ronda Miller at 785-840-4150 or by email.

Kansas Storytelling Festival Turns 25!

4/13/2018

The Downs Arts Council invites you to share in the magic of storytelling at the Kansas Storytelling Festival April 27 and 28, Downs, Kansas. The KSF opens on Friday afternoon and closes Saturday evening.

The Kansas Storytelling Festival brings five nationally-renowned storytellers April 27 and 28 to Downs, Kansas, the Storytelling Capital of Kansas. There's something for everyone: Homespun Tales, Historical Portrayals, Poetry, Swapping Grounds, Workshops, Puppets, Stories for Children, and Music. Storytelling sessions will be held at multiple venues, all within comfortable walking distance.

The nationally recognized Uncalled For Trio, comprised of Andy Offutt Irwin, Kim Weitkamp, and Bil Lepp, will entertain individually and in cahoots with each other.

Using dramatic interpretations, Pippa White will tell of the heritage and traditions of our communities and families.

Dino O'Dell will be delighting with his stories and music for the young and not-so-young.

Bil Lepp www.leppstorytelling.com
Kim Weitkamp www.kimweitkamp.com
Andy Offutt Irwin http://www.andyirwin.com/
Dino O'Dell www.dinoodell.com
Pippa White www.pippawhiteonecompany.com/

“The Downs Legends are residents from the area portraying Historical Local Legends. Festival-goers in past years have enthusiastically received the stories of early citizens in the community who made unique and valuable contributions,” said Kenneth Lee, Master Storyteller.

Sherry Knouf, Downs Carnegie Library, tells that this year’s legends will feature Jesse "Buffalo" Jones (a frontiersman and wildlife preservationist), Howard Herman Ruede (an early Osborne County homesteader), Elsie Reasoner Ralph (America's first female war correspondent), and Sarah Jane (as a tribute to the women and girls who homesteaded the prairies).

With Friends University, KSF invites teachers and librarians to enroll in Storytelling in Education Special Opportunity: Graduate College Credit. “This is an opportunity to pick up one graduate credit hour while attending the Festival and enjoying all the fun of the weekend,” said Glennys Doane, KSF Chair.

We save stories. “Step into the welcoming mini workshop-like Story Shed which is really a specially-designed sound booth. Inside the Story Shed, you can tell and record your own personal stories or tales which will be archived for all to remember,” said Brett Doane, Story Shed designer.

Each April since 1994 we honor stories by hosting the Kansas Storytelling Festival.

Complete schedule at:
http://www.kansasstorytelling.com/information/dates_and_schedule

Contacts:
Glennys Doane Chair, Kansas Storytelling Festival, Downs, KS
785-454-6648 or kansasstorytelling@gmail.com

Brenda Gutierrez, Volunteer Marketing & Communications
785-577-5421 or brenda.gutz@gmail.com

"ARISE Up Together"

11/13/2017

Led by Choral Director, Shawn Chastain, ARISE will present the annual holiday concert of African-American Spirituals and Stories this Sunday, November 19, 2017, at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas. Kansas Authors Club District 5's new member, Dr. Sharon Hill Cranford, is a member of ARISE.

As stated in the flyer:
"Approximately 8 to 10,0000 African-American Spirituals were created when enslaved people came to American shores, carving out a way to survive, in spite of the hostile environment. With music already in their hearts, language barriers could not stop the sweet sounds emitting from their souls. Those sounds embedded themselves in the Underground Rail Road and eventually helped pave the way to understanding and freedom. ARISE believes that they can do the same for the world today."

What: "ARISE Up Together" Holiday Concert
When: Sunday, November 19, 2017, 7pm
Where: Calvary United Methodist Church, 2525 North Rock Road, Wichita, Kansas

For more information, call 316-685-0452, or check out their website at www.ariseensemble.com.

Complimentary tickets are available.

Yearbook Submission Deadline!

10/5/2017

Submission Deadline: October 15, 2017!

According to Tracy Million Simmons, we have only received 10 entries for the yearbook via Submittable! Please remind your members that the deadline is coming. We'd love to see every member take advantage of their yearbook page to share some prose or poetry.

https://kansasauthorsclub.submittable.com/submit

This is a wonderful opportunity to have your work published! Now is the time to take advantage of this KAC member benefit!

In Memoriam - M. Max Yoho

5/28/2017

M. Max Yoho, District 1, Topeka, 82, died on April 22, 2017. He had been under hospice care and died of kidney failure. His memorial service celebrated his life as a husband, father, machinist, labor union member, world traveler, volunteer, and as the beloved author of poetry, humorous fiction and coming-of-age stories set in Kansas.
   A long-time member of Kansas Authors Club, Max had his work published in a variety of Midwest literary journals including The Midwest Quartely, The Little Balkans Review (whose editors nominated his short story, "The Passing of the Old Snnokertorium," for a Push Cart Prize) and in many issues of Washburn University's Inscape. His poem "1942" was published in 2011 by then-poet-laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, in the book Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems. Several other of Max's poems were also published on the Kansas Poems & Poetry web site.
   Max had five novels published. They were The Revival, Tales from Comanche County, The Moon Butter Route, With the Wisdom of Owls, and Me and Aunt Izzy.
   Felicia, These Fish Are Delicious was his published collection of poetry, essays and short stories.
   Both The Revival and The Moon Butter Route won KAC J. Donald Coffin Awards. The Moon Butter Route was also selected by the Kansas State Library as a 2006 Kansas Notable Book. Max is the only Kansas author to have two titles, The Moon Butter Route and The Revival, chosen for the Kansas Center for the Book's "Favorite Kansas Books" list. (Other books from this list include Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Robert Day's The Last Cattle Drive, and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.)
   Max was honored at the KAC state convention in Wichita with a 2013 KAC Achievement Award for his career as a writer.
   At the time of his passing, he was honored with a story in the Topeka Capital-Journal, "Max Yoho, Topeka author, remembered for his creativity, zest for life," by Angela Deines, published May 1, 2017, the day of his memorial service.
   His obituary, with photo tribute and a video of his memorial service, is available online.
   Max also has a page on the Map of Kansas Literature web site and a Wikipedia page.

Amazon sets up Retail Store

5/24/2017

“Amazon Sets Up in the Heart of the Publishing Industry,” by Alexandra Alter, New York Times

2017 notable books

5/14/2017

Read a listing of 2017 Kansas Notable Books on the Kansas State Library web site.

Kevin Rabas is the new Poet Laureate of Kansas

5/14/2017

Kevin is a poet, jazz musician, and professor who teaches poetry and playwriting at Emporia State University. Read about Kevin and about how to book him as a speaker in your community on the Kansas Humanities Council web site.

In Memoriam - LeNore Stumpf

3/10/2017

LeNore Stumpf, District 1, Topeka, formerly of Axtell, died at the age of 84 on March 9, 2017. She was a long-time member of KAC.
LeNore was born March 15, 1932, in Baileyville, Kansas. Survivors are husband of 64 years, Walter, children Barbara (Elias) Pimentel, Elaine (Richard) Hatch, Richard (Evan) Stumpf, Brenda (Mike) Leonard, Dan (Diane) Stumpf, Roger (Kim) Stumpf, 14 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, siblings Mary Mueting, Rozella Ronnebaum, Kathleen Gravenstein, Albert Kuckelman.
LeNore was known for her work as a journalist. She joined KAC in 1986 as a member of D1 and in 1990 transferred to D4. She lived in numerous states and overseas as her husband was in the service, making her experiences varied. She had a colorful writing career as columnist and author.
In 2002 her novel Branded With Love was published by PublishAmerica. In 2005 she received KAC's J. Donald Coffin Award for her book Life, I Think, Is Like a Watermelon, a collection of 90 humorous columns, many of which originally appeared in the Marysville Advocate. At the 2006 state Writers Conference in Junction City, LeNore was a workshop presenter. Her topic was "Writing a Hometown Newspaper Column." and in 2008 Writers Conference in Dodge City LeNore won a KAC "Award of Merit" for Life Achievement, when she was noted for her career as "columnist and published author."
LeNore's complete obituary is available online.

2017 News & Yearbook Guidelines

3/1/2017

Timely information: 2017 News & Yearbook Guidelines (3 pages, select as a downloadable PDF file)