Kansas Authors Club
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 club’s writing retreat on Oct. 8. 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.
The contest for young writers, grades 3-12, includes categories in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. 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 Sept. 16.
A new category in this year’s writing contest for adults is “Rural Voices.” Category description: Rural people and life are often stereotyped and overlooked in writing and other forms of media, but rural life is more complex and divers than what is often portrayed. We want to change that with the addition of this category to our contest. Write a piece (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) that tells a story about rural living and that represents the many and diverse ways of being and living rural.
“A Moment to Write” is the topic for the 2023 theme contest. In prose, theme entries can be fiction or nonfiction, with a limit of 1,500 words, any genre. In poetry, the theme entries can be of any poetic form. Full guidelines and all category descriptions for adult and youth contests can be found at www.kansasauthorsclub.org (menu – Writing Contests – All Ages).
Anyone with an interest in writing is invited to become a member of Kansas Authors Club. Organizations such as libraries and businesses that have services for authors may also be interested membership and monthly programs, which are available via Zoom with accessible recordings for those who are not available to attend during the live program. Learn more at kansasauthorsclub.org.