| SEPT | OCT |NOV |DEC |

    District 1 met at McFarland’s Restaurant in Topeka. The room was festively decorated by Evie Green. Each table had a little author’s Christmas tree, decorated with tiny books, tablets with pencils, and other tools of the trade, which were given as door prizes an at the end of the meeting. A salad-and-sandwich luncheon was served buffet-style. After the meal we were treated to a reading of the one-act play by Tom Kennedy, "Three Wise Men Looking for Trenton, New Jersey.” The satirical comedy was superbly presented by David Tangeman, Bill Meyers, and George Paris. The audience of about thirty members and guests enjoyed it very much. We thank the presenters and the author for this treat.
    A very brief business meeting followed the play. Myron Dunavan reported that the judging for the Lutheran Fine Arts Council Writing Contest is completed and the winners have been informed. The winners will be officially recognized at Barnes and Noble bookstore, where some of them will read their work. Myron is asking our club members to attend this event on Sunday, January 12, 2003, to support the young writers.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Submitted by Agnes Kazminski

DECEMBER NEWS:
Lutheran Fine Arts Council's Children's Writing Contest
2002–2003 Winners Announced

Winners of the contest will be honored at a reading and reception at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 6130 SW 17th St., Topeka, at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, January 12, 2003. Duane Herrmann will read selections for children. Some of the young writers will read their winning works. Members of Kansas Authors Club, District 1 are invited to attend the reception.

The contest was judged by members of Kansas Authors Club, District 1. Thanks to Barbara Lerma, Donna Rankin, John Gould, George Paris, Myron Dunavan, and Karen Brown, who served as judges. Prizes were awarded according to age categories.

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Member News

    Evie Green has received publication offers for two memoir pieces from Good Old Days Magazine. “The Spooks, the Wire, and the Ogre” will appear in the November 2003 issue.
    Tulora Roeckers, a junior psychology major at Washburn University and KAC District 1 Vice-President, has recently received an Undergraduate Research Award in Psychology from Psi Chi, the national honorary society for psychology. She has been awarded (and already received!!) a check for $740 for her proposal on "Effects of Hair Length, Hair Color, and Facial Symmetry on Perceived Attractiveness." This is only one of two research projects Tulora is currently working on.
    Congratulations to you both!

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Report of Meeting, November 9, 2002:
Election of Officers for 2003.
    Elections should have taken place in Sept. and officers included in the President’s Report to the Board at the Convention in October. The officers present were asked if they would consider continuing their duties for another year. All attending officers agreed. Tulora Roeckers, Vice President, was not present. Bob Lawson said he believed that she, too, would be willing to serve again. A motion was made and seconded that 2002 officers should be re-elected for another year. The officers were elected unanimously.
     Officers of Kansas Authors Club, District 1, for the year 2003

Lutheran's Fine Arts Council Writing Contest:
    Myron Dunavan reported on the work of setting up the rules and creating the tools to judge the entries. The contest is now closed. There were 27 entries, fewer than expected. Myron asked to set up a panel of about 6 judges. Judging should be completed by December 1. The presentation of the prizes and certificates will be on January 12, at Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

State Conference 2004:
    Karen Brown and George Paris checked options for accommodations for the state Conference. There was some discussion, and a consensus was reached to hold the convention at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. The convention rate for all sleeping rooms, 1-4 occupants, is $82.00. The hotel has excellent facilities. The question of how many rooms to reserve must be answered very soon. Volunteers were accepted for a planning committee:

--Submitted by Agnes Kazminski, Secretary

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NOVEMBER NEWS
Jack Heller, Poet and Children’s Author
Jack read from his poetry and discussed the writing, self-publishing and marketing of his new book, A, E, I, O, U, and Sometimes Y.
Noon Saturday, November 9, 2002, McFarland’s Restaurant

DISTRICT 1 KAC 2002 CONTEST WINNERS
    We can be really proud of the fine showing District 1 made at this year’s convention. It’s nice to be associated with so many fine writers. Congratulations to all our winners!
    Naomi B. Patterson, columnist for the Topeka Capital Journal, received the Kansas Authors Club Lifetime Achievement Award. Patterson has published 2 books of poetry, Thinking Out Loud and Living Out Loud. She is working on her third book. She has been a consistent winner in Kansas Authors Club contests. She was awarded Best of Show for Poetry based on total points in the 2001 contest. Patterson also won 1st place in Narrative Verse for “Quietus,” in Japanese Forms for “Harbinger,” and in Memoirs. She received honorable mentions in Classic Forms for “In Like a Lion,” in Rhymed Verse for “Nice Try,” in Whimsy for “Entomology,” and in Japanese Forms for “He Knelt at My Feet” (a Senryu).
    Max Yoho won the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award, which honors the best book by a Kansas Authors Club member published within the past two years, for The Revival, a humorous novel about a boy growing up in a small Kansas town. Max has recently published his second book, Tales from Comanche County.
    Robert N. Lawson was awarded Best of Show for Prose based on total personal points in the 2001 Kansas Authors Club Contest. In the 2002 contest, Bob won 2nd place in Narrative Poetry for “The Morning Paper” and in Historical Research for “Three Great Queens and Their Men,” and honorable mentions in Classic Forms for “The Other Brother” and in Short Story for “Bus Station.”
    Karen Sells Brown won 1st place in Free Verse, for “Corners.”
    Dale Vaughn was awarded 1st place in First Chapter of a Book for “The Chance.”
    Yvonne Evie Green won 3rd place in Song Lyrics for “Kansas State Day Song,” which has been performed by school children at the Capitol on past Kansas Days. Evie sang her song at the Saturday night read-around.
    Judie Miller received honorable mention in Memoirs for “Today We Made a Memory.”
    Dorothy Masters, Harveyville, District 4, won 1st place in Short Story for “My Aunt Minnie.”

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Report of Meeting, October 5, 2002:
    Kansas Authors Club met at McFarland’s Restaurant at noon. Carol Yoho introduced the new KAC web site she has developed and passed out bookmarks with the web address: www.skyways.org/orgs/kac. Gary Clarke, president of Cowabunga Safaris, discussed his book I’d Rather Be on Safari. Gary began journaling in 1974 because so much happens on safari that he wanted to keep a record. He had to winnow from the journals what he thought would be of interest to people who had not actually been on safari. He discussed the process of preparing the book for publication, especially the difficulty of proofreading. He described some of his memorable experiences on safari, including his visit to Victoria Falls and his initiation as a Masai elder. Planning for the 2004 Convention was discussed. Cooperating with the public library, Kansas State Historical. --Submitted by Katrina Clark, Acting Secretary

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OCTOBER NEWS
GARY CLARKE. New Member and Author of
I’d Rather Be on Safari
Noon, Saturday, October 5, 2002, McFarland’s Restaurant

KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB STATE FAIR & WRITE-A-WAY
    Kansas Authors Club State Convention, October 11-13, 2002, held in Hutchinson at the Hutchinson Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. The convention offers an opportunity to meet other writers from across the state, interesting speakers, helpful workshops, readarounds, a bookroom where members may offer their books for sale, and much more fun and excitement. We are hoping for an especially auspicious awards ceremony honoring many of our 1st District members. Plan now to attend, share rides and rooms, etc.

Bluegrass Fall Festival, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Sunday, October 6, 2-8 p.m.
    Max Yoho reads his humorous poetry from 3:00-3:45 p.m.

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Report of Meeting, September 14, 2002:
    Kansas Authors Club met at McFarland’s Restaurant at noon. There was much exchanging of ideas. Agnes Kazminski had hip replacement surgery on Wednesday and was to move to Rehabilitation Unit on Saturday. A card was signed for her. Karen Brown will mail convention brochures to those who request them. Carol Yoho has established a new web site for Kansas Authors Club at http://www.skyways.org/orgs/kac. Planning for the 2004 Convention was discussed. Cooperating with the public library, Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas Arts Commission, and possibly Washburn University was suggested. Parking, transportation between sites, and affordability to members need to be considered. Hotel accommodations are a priority. We will plan for approximately 200. Contact Karen Brown, Pres., if you have ideas or would like to help with planning. Carol Yoho of Dancing Goat Press presented the program on self-publishing and several members shared their experiences. Some of the information Carol shared is available on her web site at http://members.cox.net/cyoho/tww/. --Submitted by Genitha Clark, Acting Secretary

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SEPTEMBER NEWS
Carol Yoho, Dancing Goat Press, on Publishing.
Noon, Saturday, September 14, 2002, McFarland’s Restaurant

Report of Meeting, August 10, 2002:
    Our group of 20 people enjoyed meeting at Myron Dunavan's home. The delicious potluck buffet was served pool side in the attractive backyard. After dinner Karen Brown reported about the State Board meeting today in Wichita. Our District will host the State Convention in the year 2004, the 100-year anniversary.This occasion should be marked with a more elaborate convention. Karen inquired about funds for this purpose. Some seed money available, but actually a rather limited amount. We will have to look into that more carefully. If is possible we should have some fund raising event ahead of the convention. Planning for the convention need to start early, especially to find hotel appropriate accommodations. Myron suggested having some of the early illustrious members of Kansas Authors Club portrayed by actors as part of the program. We will hear about this more in the near future. Contact Karen with ideas and assistance.
     Myron Dunavan reported on the writing contest for children sponsored by the Lutheran Church's Fine Arts Council. The Council accepted the proposal of the Authors Club. The contest will take place in Sept./Oct. of this year. We have agreed to judge the entries. Myron will be contacting people to judge.
    After the official meeting several of the members read some of their creations. We enjoyed a wide variety of poems and prose. We would like to thank Myron and his wife for their great hospitality. It was truly enjoyable to have the meeting in such a pleasant setting. -- Submitted by Agnes Kazminski, Secretary.