Judge:
Eric McHenry, Assistant professor of English at Washburn University. Eric holds a B.A. from Beloit College and an M.A. from Boston University. His book of poems, Potscrubber Lullabies (Waywiser Press, 2006), won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award.

Judge:
Amy Sage Webb, Associate Professor, Co-Director of Creative Writing Program at Emporia State University. Amy has edited several literary journal, which include Kansas Quarterly, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Flint Hills Review. She serves on the editorial board of the Woodley Memorial Press and is a reviewer for the Kansas Arts Commission. Her poetry appears in several literary journals such as Fourth River and Clackamas Literary Review. Her first collection of short stories, Save Your Own Life, was completed in 2010.

Judge:
Denise Low, Poet Laureate of Kansas 2007-2009. Denise Low is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. She has published several books of poetry and essays, including Ghost Stories of the New West, which won the 2011 Kansas Notable Book award from the State Library of Kansas and Kansas Center for the Book.

Judge:
Jim Haines is a lawyer and retired CEO. His poems have appeared sporadically over the last 45 years. Recently, his poems have appeared in Inscape and Naugatuck River Review. Poems are forthcoming in Evening Street, Little Balkins Review, and Blue Island Review. Jim and his wife, Cynthia, live on a small farm outside Lawrence, Kansas.

Judge:
Jeannie Gish graduated from Emporia State University in 1974 with a degree in Music Education. She taught music in the Tonganoxie, Abilene, Topeka, and Lyndon public schools for 33 years, retiring in 2007. For most of her life she has also been a songwriter and a church musician. She is currently the Minister of Music at Lowman United Methodist Church in Topeka, where she plays the organ and directs the Children's Chime Choir, Adult Bell Choir, and Adult Chancel Choir. Music has been her career, her past time, and her passion!

Judge:
Stacy Lierz-Ziegler has BAs in elementary and English education and a MA in secondary curriculum/instruction from Kansas State University. From 1998-2005 she was employed by the Kansas Dept. of Education as the writing consultant for the state of Kansas, since returning to the classroom to teach American history and English at Seaman Middle School, Topeka.

Judge:
Denise Low, Poet Laureate of Kansas 2007-2009. Denise Low is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. She has published several books of poetry and essays, including Ghost Stories of the New West, which won the 2011 Kansas Notable Book award from the State Library of Kansas and Kansas Center for the Book.

2011 Prose Categories
Poetry Contest Manager: Mike Watson, D5
See also: Prose Winner Photos