- Our youth and adult contests are open April 1 through June 15 of each year.
- Writing from the Center Zine submissions are accepted March 1 through April 30.
- Member literary contributions for the yearbook are accepted August 1 through October 31.
- Guidelines for contests can be found in the current yearbook and online here, https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/writing-contests---all-ages.html
- Learn more about Kansas Authors Club at KansasAuthorsClub.org or visit us on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/KansasAuthorsClub/
NEW in 2025 (any medium) must be submitted as an image, JPG or PDF preferred. Note: All art submissions will be considered for the cover of the Youth Awards Book, regardless of place awarded.
Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
NEW in 2025 (any medium) must be submitted as an image, JPG or PDF preferred. Note: All art submissions will be considered for the cover of the Youth Awards Book, regardless of place awarded.
Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
NEW in 2025 (any medium) must be submitted as an image, JPG or PDF preferred. Note: All art submissions will be considered for the cover of the Youth Awards Book, regardless of place awarded.
Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
NEW in 2025 (any medium) must be submitted as an image, JPG or PDF preferred. Note: All art submissions will be considered for the cover of the Youth Awards Book, regardless of place awarded.
Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
Kansas Authors Club Annual Book Awards
— Published Book Awards • Eight Categories • Cash Awards —
For the 2025 Award Year
Eligible books: published between June 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024
Submissions Accepted: Upon publication of guidelines through
March 1, 2025 (encouraged), June 15 (final)
You must read the guidelines on our website before entering this contest:
Guidelines: https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/book-awards.html
What is a Chapbook?
For the purposes of this contest, a chapbook is a small publication of no more than 50 pages, not including cover. Expected entries could fall into two categories:
- Craft Chapbooks: “Homemade,” limited-edition chapbooks using printers or copy machines or hand-lettering and design or other forms of print making. Hand-binding techniques (including stapler) and custom cover designs and artwork (including collaborations) are encouraged. (32 pages is common)
- Published Chapbooks: Printed for distribution via a small press, local printer, or Print-on-Demand (POD) such as KDP, Ingram, or other.
Please keep in mind that a chapbook should have some unifying thread, yet each poem should be strong enough to stand on its own. Criteria for judging will include content (50%) and package/overall presentation (50%).
Only chapbooks published in the last two years (since January 1, 2023) are eligible for entry.
This special contest will require an entry fee of $4.00 per entry (same rate for members and state of Kansas residents), payable at the Submittable website. Instructions for mailing chapbooks to the contest manager will be provided upon payment.
Note: This is not a “blind” contest. It is expected that Chapbooks will contain author names and credit any collaborators.
This contest is open to members of Kansas Authors Club (regardless of residence) AND non-members who are residents of the state of Kansas. Awards will be presented at the 2025 state awards event in October. The top winner in each category (Craft and Published) will be given $25 with additional honorable mentions or other recognition based on merit as determined by the judge.
Each entrant may enter up to 5 entries.
Mail entries with copy of entry fee receipt to:
Kansas Authors Club
PO BOX 333
Emporia, KS 66801
Final postmark date for entry: June 15, 2025
*Note: Contestants need not go to excessive expense on mailing services to deliver these chapbooks. Media mail rates or standard first class mail in a regular envelope is fine. We will confirm receipt via the details you supply with your entry at Submittable.
The 2025 KAC Contest Theme is "More than a Manuscript—Words Take Root.” Any written poem that utilizes and expands this theme may enter. Classical and Japanese poems have specific forms, free verse and narrative poetry have a 40-line limit. Whimsy is limited to 20 lines. Please note the contest guidelines prohibit the same entry from being entered in multiple categories.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Classic forms include, but are not limited to, the sonnet, blank verse, and the sestina.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
FREE VERSE: Poems without a set rhyme or rhythm requirement. 40-line limit.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines prior to entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Poems that tell a story. 40-line limit.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Light, humorous poetry, including limericks, shaped poems, and nonsense poems. 20-line limit.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Japanese forms include haiku, tanka, and renga.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
Poems written in response to visual art. Each entry should relate to the artwork in some way, but the poem should not have to depend on the art to be understood. Limit 40 lines per poem. Include a photo of the artwork on the same document as the poem (it can be page 2 of the document). Do not submit the art as a separate entry. Include title and artist of artwork.
A category for poets who are beginning to write poetry. Entries are limited to poets who have not previously won a top-three place in the KAC State Poetry Contest. All forms accepted; 40-line limit.
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Any written poem that utilizes and expands this theme may enter. 40-line limit. Note that contest guidelines prohibit the same entry being entered in multiple categories.
Rural people and life are often stereotyped and overlooked in writing and other forms of media, but rural life is more complex and diverse than what is often portrayed. We want to change that with the addition of this category in our contest. Write a piece that tells a story about rural living and that represents the many diverse ways of being and living rural.
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines prior to entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 1,500 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Limit 1,500 words. May be written in any genre so long as it relates to the conference theme. Demonstrates creativity in the form of new viewpoints, fresh writing techniques and captivating content.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 1,000 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Humor (fiction or non-fiction) - Limit 1,000 words. A story that produces amusement or laughter using any number of established or invented literary devices, styles and tones.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines prior to entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 1,500 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Memoir or Inspirational (non-fiction) - Limit 1,500 words. A story based on personal experience that tells of a significant experience in one's life. The piece evokes a special time, place and memory, and is told in literary rather than merely chronological fashion. The piece should demonstrate an intellectual, spiritual or emotional turning point.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 500 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Flash Fiction (fiction) - Limit 500 words. A complete story in a much-abbreviated form, often told in vivid scenes. Usually involves three or fewer characters engaging in inner or outward conflict. Some aspects remain unspoken or imply a larger story. The ability to show, rather than merely tell, is one of the form's literary qualities.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 1,000 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines prior to entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font, and
- is no longer than 2,500 words
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Short Story (fiction) - Limit 2,500 words. An invented narrative shorter than a novel but with a fully developed theme, usually including only a few characters involved in the plot. All genres are allowed.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Playwriting (fiction or non-fiction) – A total of four pages for Act 1, Scene 1 and additional information (can be single-spaced). Script must include title and descriptions of cast, scenes, time/era, settings, curtain rise, dialogue, actions, stage directions and more. See details on format under Guidelines for Entering online. (Category sponsored by Roy Beckemeyer, KAC State Past President .)
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete contest guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your manuscript is double-spaced and in a standard 12 point font
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
First Chapter of a Book (fiction or non-fiction) – Limit 2,000 words. Must be from an unpublished work, e.g., a manuscript or work-in-progress. Author may include a separate 500-word book synopsis. (Category sponsored by Mike and Monica Graves, D2 members.)
Limit 1,500 words. Rural people and life are often stereotyped and overlooked in writing and other forms of media, but rural life is more complex and diverse than what is often portrayed. We want to change that with the addition of this category to our contest. Write a piece (fiction or nonfiction) that tells a story about rural living and that represents the many diverse ways of being and living rural.
- Review the complete guidelines before entering. https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/adult-literary-contest-guidelines.html
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
800 word limit; short story or chapter of a novel.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is fiction. Fiction is NOT a true story. It is a made up story from your imagination. If your story is a true story, something that actually happened to you or a report based on fact, it belongs in the non-fiction category.
800 word limit; essay, research paper, factual narrative or drama based on real events and real people.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is non-fiction. Non-fiction is a true story. If your story is not something that actually happened, or not a report based on fact, it belongs in fiction category.
40-line limit, any form, including rhymed verse, free verse, haiku, classical form, or song lyric.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before you enter.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
800 word limit; short story or chapter of a novel.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is fiction. Fiction is NOT a true story. It is a made up story from your imagination. If your story is a true story, something that actually happened to you or a report based on fact, it belongs in the non-fiction category.
800 word limit; essay, research paper, factual narrative or drama based on real events and real people.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is non-fiction. Non-fiction is a true story. If your story is not something that actually happened, or not a report based on fact, it belongs in fiction category.
40-line limit, any form, including rhymed verse, free verse, haiku, classical form, or song lyric.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
800 word limit; short story or chapter of a novel.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is fiction. Fiction is NOT a true story. It is a made up story from your imagination. If your story is a true story, something that actually happened to you or a report based on fact, it belongs in the non-fiction category.
800 word limit; essay, research paper, factual narrative or drama based on real events and real people.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is non-fiction. Non-fiction is a true story. If your story is not something that actually happened, or not a report based on fact, it belongs in fiction category.
40-line limit, any form, including rhymed verse, free verse, haiku, classical form, or song lyric.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines prior to entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
800 word limit; short story or chapter of a novel.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is fiction. Fiction is NOT a true story. It is a made up story from your imagination. If your story is a true story, something that actually happened to you or a report based on fact, it belongs in the non-fiction category.
800 word limit; essay, research paper, factual narrative or drama based on real events and real people.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your story is in a standard 12 point font.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
- Before you enter, ask yourself if this story is non-fiction. Non-fiction is a true story. If your story is not something that actually happened, or not a report based on fact, it belongs in fiction category.
40-line limit, any form, including rhymed verse, free verse, haiku, classical form, or song lyric.
Prior to entering:
- Review the complete guidelines before entering.
https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/youth-contest-guidelines.html
- Make sure that your poem is in a standard 12 point font and fits on one page.
- Your name should NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name of the document you submit.
Writing from the Center, the zine of Kansas Authors Club is an opportunity for members and non-members of Kansas Authors Club to share their creativity with the world. The expected publication date of Volume 3 is fall 2025 with the zine to be launched at the 2025 Writing Retreat.
Open for Submissions: March 1 - April 30, 2025
2025 Theme: Balance
We are accepting
- Poetry (up to 6 poems)
- Fiction (1 entry, up to 3500 words)
- Creative Nonfiction (1 entry, up to 3500 words)
- Visual Art (up to 3 pieces)
Please submit each individual piece on a separate document with the title of the piece as the name of the file. If you submit poetry, please put each piece on its own document. Please submit written work using a DOC or DOCX file. The author’s name or any identifying text should not appear anywhere in the document. Please submit visual art as a JPG file.
Please include a biography of 50-100 words, written in 3rd person. There will be a space on the submission form to type this or paste it.
We will not be accepting previous KAC winners through Submittable.
Eligible Writers/Artists: Any current member of Kansas Authors Club may submit at no cost. Students enrolled in secondary or post-secondary schools in Kansas may also submit at no cost. Non-members who are not students must pay a $5 reading fee for their work to be considered.
By entering, you grant Writing from the Center permission to print in the next edition. You attest that your entry is your original work. Unpublished work is preferred. By submitting previously published work, you are signifying that you can assign Writing from the Center permission to print. Please disclose the publication status when submitting.
Note that work submitted to the zine in 2025 is also eligible for the 2025 Kansas Authors Club writing contest, as the zine will not be publicly available until the organization’s fall event. It is also true that pieces published in the zine in 2025, would not be eligible for the contest in 2026.