Roy Bird was born in Herington, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history. Roy received his master’s in library science from Emporia State University. He has worked at the State Library of Kansas for 21 years and taught composition at Washburn University for 20 years. He is now Director of the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library. He has published 14 books of Kansas and Western history and over 200 articles and reviews. Titles of his books now in print include Kansas Day By Day, In His Brother's Shadow: The Life of Thomas Ward Custer, and Civil War in Kansas. His book Civil War and the Indian Wars will be next in a series by Pelican Publishing Company. Roy's collection of articles titled "In God We Trusted" is being considered by a Kansas publisher. He lives on a small farm southwest of Topeka.
"How to Write About Kansas History
"Current Trends in Publishing Among KS Authors"

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Sandra Detrixhe, a member of District 4, is the author of 12 published books: Seven (7) Harlequin Historicals, one ( 1) Leisure Romance and four (4) nonfiction books on sewing and quilting for Adams Media. Her most recent work is Zen and the Art of Needlecraft. She lives on a farm with her husband, who is retired. They have three grown children. She tries to work in a little writing around her hobbies: quilting, sewing, woodworking, furniture refinishing, gardening and, of course, reading. She claims to have a black belt in Sudoku. At one time or another she been involved in several different critique groups including one by mail and one by e-mail, as well as traditional face-to-face groups.
"Critique Group"

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Jonathan Holden, appointed first Kansas Poet Laureate on July 1, 2005, has been recognized as one of America's foremost poets. He is a University Distinguished Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. Jon Holden has won numerous awards, with prizes ranging up to $20,000. Twice he has received a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship. In 1995, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa chose Holden's poetry collection, The Sublime, for the Vassar Miller Prize.
    Jon Holden has published 17 books, all monographs, in addition to more than 190 poems published in professional journals. In 1986, he received the Kansas State University Distinguished Faculty Award. In 2000, he was a member of the committee that selects the Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry.
    Holden earned his bachelor's degree in 1963 in English from Oberlin College, his master's degree in 1970 in English with creative writing from San Francisco State College, and his doctorate in 1974 in English from the University of Colorado. He has been at Kansas State University since 1978.
"Poetry Writing Workshop: 'Athletes of the Mind'"

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Nancy Julien Kopp, a member of District 4, writes to reflect both her growing-up years in Chicago and many years of living in the Flint Hills of Kansas. She has published stories, articles, essays, children's stories and poetry in magazines, newspapers, online, and in anthologies including Chicken Soup For the Father and Daughter Soul. Nancy hosted “Tips For Writers and Wanna-be Writers” at Women With Heart website. She is a former teacher who still enjoys teaching via the written word.
"How to Sell/Publish Online"

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Linda Madl has written ten novels, eight novellas, several short stories, and nonfiction articles. The settings of her books are as varied as her own travels. England, Scotland, the Rockies, and the Kansas River banks have all served as locales for her historical romances. Her awards include two Romantic Times Readers’ Choice finalists and the Desert Rose Romance Writers Golden Quill Award for Excellence finalist. “When I see Linda Madl’s name on a book, I know I’m in for a very rare treat!” writes an Old Book Barn Gazette reviewer.
    Her nonfiction work includes feature stories, book reviews, newsletters, and technical project profiles. She is active in professional and community organizations. Currently, she is at work on some ghost stories and her eleventh novel.
    Besides a good story, she relishes chocolate, classical music, and a good bookstore or library. Born and raised in Kansas, Madl is a graduate of Paola High School and Baker University. She resides with her husband, dog, and parakeet in the Kansas Flint Hills. Family, friends, and travel fill her non-writing hours. Find more information and a list of her book titles at her web site.
"Great Beginnings; Romantic and Otherwise"
"Your Setting Is More Than a Stage"

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LeNore Stumpf has been published in a dozen magazines and two dozen newspapers. She wrote on assignment for two newspapers for 25 years, and wrote a weekly humor column for 18 years. It ran in one newspaper for that length of time, in a second paper for 14 years, and in a third paper for about five years. She has been a member of Kansas Authors Club since 1986.
    LeNore has published three books. Her poetry book is called Wise and Otherwise, and the title of her novel is Branded With Love. Her most recent book is called Life, I Think, Is Like a Watermelon, based on some of her columns. It was selected winner of the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award for Kansas Authors Club in 2005. She grew up on a Kansas farm, lived in seven states, visited four continents, and lived in New York City for one summer and in the suburbs of Tokyo for two and a half years. She will speak about how to turn your background into column material and how to sell work to a regional newspaper.
"Writing a Hometown Newspaper Column"

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