Kansas authors gather in Dodge

Nearly 100 writers from around the state of Kansas will convene in Dodge City today through Sunday for the 2008 Kansas Authors Club (KAC) Convention at the Dodge House Hotel and Convention Center.
    “We have members from every corner of the state attending the convention,” said Lorena Joyce Hermann of Offerle, who has been a member for 16 years.
    “People are coming from Topeka, Salina, Wichita, Emporia and Coffeeville, to name a few, and I’m still receiving calls from members who want to attend,” she added. “We have 80 people already registered, but quite a few registered late for last year’s convention in Wichita.”
    Latecomers will pay $75 for the weekend’s activities, which include an awards banquet this evening and a luncheon Sunday at noon. The convention is open to the public as well as to members of the club and their spouses.
    The KAC is celebrating nearly 105 years of bringing writers together to read each other’s work and award excellence in writing. The club is composed of seven Kansas districts. District 7 (Dodge City and nearby towns) and District 6 (Great Bend and Hutchinson) are co-sponsoring the event.
    A state board meeting will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. today. Registration will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The first workshop block will meet from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Other workshop blocks are scheduled from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Each workshop block offers a choice of three speakers.
    Dodge City Marshal Allen Bailey will present an hour of entertainment, singing and reciting poetry from 4 to 5 p.m. today.
    Hoxie-native Charlotte Hinger will deliver the keynote address at tonight’s awards banquet. Hinger recently received a master’s degree in history from Fort Hays State University. Her thesis was “African American Activists: the Pioneer Politicians of Nicodemus, Kansas, 1877-1880.”
    Hinger will also speak on historical writing and mystery writing during two workshops. Other workshop presenters will include Prem Bajaj, Gary Kraisinger, Jane Holwerda, Eunice Boeve, Mark Simmons and Amy Becker.
    The convention opened Friday afternoon with early registration. Awards were distributed Friday night to winners of the KAC youth writing competition, and a read-around of authors’ works was held.
    “The read-around is an open mike sort of thing for any member of the Kansas Authors Club who wants to read their writing, but anyone can come to listen,” said Hermann.
    Another read-around for KAC authors from around the state will be held from 8 to 10 p.m. today.
    The Rev. Andrew Becker, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church at Offerle and Our Redeemer Church at Kinsley, will lead a worship and meditation service at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
    Don Pady, KAC archivist, will preside at Rosemary Time, a remembrance of club members who have died during the past year.
    A general business meeting for all members will be held at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, followed by a panel of small book publishers at 10:30 a.m. A workshop on science fiction also will be given by Mark Simmons at 10:30 a.m.
    KAC writing contest awards will be presented following the luncheon at noon. The Karnowski youth poetry awards, separate youth awards instituted by William J. Karnowski, will be announced.
    District 1 will issue an invitation to the 2009 KAC convention, which will be held in Topeka, where the club was organized in early January, 1904.