Meet the Author

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Simon Friedman has won our essay contest on the theme Family with his piece "The Limits of Compassion."

I am a faculty member at UMKC, who likes to write as a way of pondering philosophical questions, and as a way of amusing myself and others. I have previously been a winner of Science Magazine's "Visions of the Future" essay contest and have had creative work published by Nature Chemistry (Essay: "The Four Worlds of Carbon") and the Medical Literary Messenger (“The Inoculation”). Recently I was a winner of the Ulysses/Disney writing

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Theresa Kopper has won our short story contest on the theme Family with her piece "Unyielding."

Theresa lives in Olathe. By day she designs water & wastewater treatment systems. At night, she writes stories for her children and sisters. Sometimes they read them.

For the little creatures who keep us resilient

My name is Will. I am nine years old and tall for my age. Once, I ate so many mandarins I got scurvy. 

My mother is an artist who works odd hours and disappears for days. Most of our exchanges happen while she looms in a doorway with one foot

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Lindsey Prewitt has won our poetry contest on the theme Family with her poem "One Step Closer."

Lindsey Prewitt grew up in a small mid-Missouri town and lived a childhood running the quiet brick streets of her neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone and family was a very broad term in those parts. After graduating high school, she obtained her undergraduate and masters degrees in education at the University of Missouri. Upon completion, she moved to the Kansas City area where she taught high school English and creative writing. Currently, she's

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Boyd Bauman has won our writing contest in the open category on the theme Humanity with his poem "Tasks I Hope A.I. Can Never Accomplish, #117."

Boyd Bauman grew up on a small ranch south of Bern, Kansas, his dad the storyteller and mom the family scribe. His books of poetry are Cleave and Scheherazade Plays the Chestnut Tree Café, and his children’s book is The Heights of Love. After stints in New York, Colorado, Alaska, Japan, and Vietnam, Boyd now is a librarian and writer in Kansas City. Visit at boydbauman.weebly.com.

Tasks I Hope A.I. Can

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Natalie Wolf has won our writing contest on the theme Humanity with her story "A Study on the Nature of Companionship."

Natalie Wolf is a writer from the Kansas City area and currently pursuing an MFA in fiction writing at the University of Kansas. She is an editor for Ambidextrous Bloodhound Press and a former co-editor and co-founder of Spark to Flame Journal. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Popshot Quarterly, The Hooghly Review, I-70 Review, JAKE, and more. You can find her on her website (https://nwolfmeep.wixsite.com/nmwolf)

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Ashley Huber has won our writing contest on the theme Humanity with her story "Irreverence Justified."

Ashley Huber grew up in a small Kansas town and spent several years in different parts of the country pursuing higher education and surviving practicums. All of her family eventually moved away from the Midwest just in time for her to move back. She settled in the Kansas City Metro Area in 2003 and has spent her professional life serving in healthcare and also as a congregational pastor. She loves reading and writing, riding her mountain bike

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Katie Boord has won our writing contest on the theme Humanity with her poem "Liquor Store."  

Katie Boord is from Prairie Village, KS. She works in a geology lab by day, and sings in an indie rock band by night. You can find more of her writing on her Substack, Backyard Notes.

Liquor Store

There’s a liquor store down the road
That’s been here for decades
Chipping paint, handmade signs, classic rock
Make me feel like an outsider
In this town and this time.
The cashier’s old enough to be my father
But his tattoos are newer than mine
He hums along to Bon

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Annie Newcomer has won our writing contest on the theme The Reluctant I with her poem "Gray Cat In Ephesus." 

Annie Newcomer lives in Prairie Village with her husband, David and their Aussiedoodle, Summit. 2 Muses for 1 poet in 1 household-- such a deal. Annie created a not-for-profit for children called Kansas City Spirit. Currently she is a poetry editor for Flapper Press having launched their Poetry Cafe which offers a myriad of writing opportunities for poets. Originally from Syracuse, New York, she finds Kansas City a fascinating place to

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Morgan Schneebeli has won our writing contest on the theme The Reluctant I with her short story "An Occurrence at the Cafe." 

Morgan Schneebeli teaches and writes in the Kansas City area. She holds an English MA from Emporia State University where she received the 2022 Wild Outstanding Graduate Essay Award. Recently, one of her poems was selected for Johnson County Library's 2024 Art and Poetry Walk. This fall, she will be entering the Creative Writing and Media Studies MFA program at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. In her spare time

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Cody Shrum has won our writing contest on the theme The Reluctant I with his poem "Catfishing the Elk City Reservoir, ft. Bugs."

Cody Shrum is a writer and editor based in Kansas City. He holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Cody’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in  such journals as HAD, BULL, Cleaver Magazine, Harbor Review, Rust + Moth, and The Midwest Quarterly. He is also a fiction editor at Identity Theory. Cody's debut collection of poetry, Green Acre, was the top finalist in the 2024 Jonathan

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Samara Klein has won our writing contest on the theme What Remains Unspoken with her piece "David and Davey'."

Samara Klein is an attorney who specializes in representing children with disabilities.     

  David and Davey

            Grandpa took me to see Aladdin three times and the Lion King four times. He laughed with me when Aladdin first encountered the Genie and cried when I cried watching Mufasa die in the Lion King. He drove me around in his red Chevrolet Caprice. Dad called Grandpa’s car a jalopy, but proclaimed it was okay as long as

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Lauren Alison has won our writing contest on the theme What Remains Unspoken with her piece "Blue Letters'."

Art has been my first love and passion, since I was very young. But over the years I have come to realize, through personal loss, that writing is a very therapeutic addition to my art making. Through difficulties, the writer in me has come to life in new ways with poetry being the main focus. When I am not home educating my two youngest children, I'm scribbling away, noticing, doodling and reading. Snuggling with my husband and eating

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Theresa Kopper has won our writing contest on the theme What Remains Unspoken with her piece "Tea with Diamonds'."

Theresa Kopper is an engineer,

and at night a tale teller

to her two toddlers.

What remains unspoken

In a hole in the sky nestled in the milky way sit two women having tea. One wears a platok covering silky gray hair, and the other a netela wrapped around tight, bright coils. In Between them is a vase of pink Lilies and a platter of sweets. Their movements are slow and their gazes warm. Behind them, a rainfall of stars illuminates

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Jamie Lynn Heller has won our writing contest on the theme What Remains Unspoken with her piece "What I meant when I said, 'I'll remember you'."

Jamie Lynn Heller’s book Buried in the Suburbs was published in 2018 (Woodley Press) and received the 2019 Kansas Notable Book Award. Her chapbook Domesticated : Poetry From Around the House was published in 2015 (Finishing Line Press). She has 90+ poems published in literary journals and magazines (for a complete list of publications see jamielynnheller.blogspot.com).

What I meant when I said, ‘I’ll

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Sharon Beck-Doran has won our writing contest on the theme Mind Changes with her piece "Lights, Camera, Consent: How Women in Film Are Changing Our Minds About Sex."

Sharon Beck-Doran writes about faith and sexuality for her blog and podcast titled Relevant Faith Journey. She enjoys exploring ideas from a different perspective and invites her readers to join her in thinking deeper so that we might become better humans.

Lights, Camera, Consent: How Women in Film Are Changing Our Minds About Sex

In August of 2023, a monumental thing happened: Barbi

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Ruth Wu has won our writing contest on the theme Mind Changes with her piece "Driving Lessons."

Ruthie Wu is a '22 graduate from Wheaton College (IL) and a full-time paraoptometric technician. Ruthie has written a play, Under the Table, performed by KC Public Theatre in May 2023, a children's book, Kitty Learns a New Lesson, available for preorder on Duck Duck Books, a song, Alongside You in collaboration with Dash Reimer, which is available on all streaming platforms, and her artwork, Cycle Views, is on exhibit in the Central Resource Branch

Joy at the Green Guitar

Two hundred or so folks, we
don't much know each other.
We're here for Joy,

for her live singing and guitar.
The first notes drip from her fingers
and we sigh like a water dipper's
lifted to our lips. We're one room now:
listening.

Joy's voice rises like
biscuits in the oven as day
sings to darkness. Her light
goes everywhere.

Her hands on the guitar
untie the knots in us. Her song
sorts the loose strands of us,
begins to knit us back together,

a blanket made of each other.
We’re enfolded snug,
in last rippling notes, applause,
gifts of gratitude, a next tune,
friends, neighbors, community

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Lindsey Weishar has won our writing contest on the theme All Together Now with her piece "To Get Her."

Lindsey Weishar holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a contributor to a variety of outlets including Verily magazine, The Pitch, and the Ploughshares blog. Her chapbook, Matchbook Night, was published by Leaf Press (Canada) in 2018.

To get her

My sister’s nerves were disturbed by COVID
so I drove from Illinois to Kansas to get her.
The trick, said the red-headed girl
in my second-grade class, is to

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Steve Brisendine has won our writing contest on the theme of Cycles with his piece "Cyclone/cyclic."

Steve Brisendine is a writer, poet, occasional artist and recovering journalist living and working in Mission, Kansas. His most recent collections are Salt Holds No Secret But This (Spartan Press, 2022) and To Dance with Cassiopeia and Die (Alien Buddha Press, 2022). His work has also appeared in journals and anthologies including Modern Haiku, Flint Hills Review, Aji and Connecticut River Review. He holds no degrees, several longstanding

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Claire McMurray has won our writing contest on the theme of Cycles with her piece "In And Out of Our Lives."

Claire is a former academic who now writes about special needs parenting. You can her find posts, articles, and winning non-fiction essays on her blog, I Don't Know How You Do It (www.idontknowhowyoudoit.org).

In and Out of Our Lives

My daughter, JJ, has a rare progressive genetic disorder. It has taken away her ability to speak, walk on her own, or use her hands in a purposeful way. She also struggles with epilepsy, eats through a feeding

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Theresa Kopper has won our writing contest on the theme of Cycles with her piece "Someone Forgotten."

I am just beginning my creative writing quest. I write as a hobby, in between taking care of my two children, and working as an environmental engineer. This story is about the harmful cycle of beauty, and how it impacts those most vulnerable. As well as, how our society rewards those who continue this cycle.

Someone Forgotten

It was small reminders, really— like how in groups, when someone tells a joke and people lock eyes and laugh, no one looks

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Lori Stratton has won our writing contest on the theme of Cycles with her piece "Seasons."

Lori Stratton is a high school English teacher, writer, mother, grandmother, wife, and daughter. Find more of her work on Medium at https://medium.com/@ljstratton50, and at lorijstratton.com.

Seasons

I appreciate the way the seasons melt together



and the way we never really know where



one starts and another ends



or which one comes first in the cycle.



The way March’s green first peeps



then shoots through



February’s remaining muddy white.



The

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Sandra Revelle has won our writing contest on the theme of Ekphrasis with her piece "Diamonds." "Diamonds" is a written response to the image of Ruth Wilson Gilmore by Patricia Streeper which can be seen in "Patricia Streeper: Women's Work, Portraits of Strength and Contribution."

Sandra Revelle is primarily a textile artist and short story writer. Her art can be found at Remnantsarise.com

Diamonds



You ask why I stand with head erect; arms crossed in defiant confidence?



What kind of shields cascade down my body, these locs of redeeming

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Heather G. Taylor has won our writing contest on the theme of Ekphrasis with her piece "The Pieces."

Heather G. Taylor is a life-long fan of poetry. Her greatest poetry-related achievements include meeting former US Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, and winning $5 in a dental-themed poetry contest. But she doesn't like to brag. She lives in Olathe, Kansas, with her husband, Rion, and their Golden Retriever, Jasper.

The Pieces

Inspired by Patti Streeper’s Ruth Wilson Gilmore



We are each our own puzzle.

Framed by our circumstances,

And missing so

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Vicki Kohl has won our writing contest on the theme of Ekphrasis with her piece "I Am Become a Name."

Vicki Kohl is a retired high school English and journalism teacher. Much of her writing for 30+ years were comments to students on their writing, letters of recommendation and emails. She did have an essay on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" win recognition from the Jane Austen Society of North America several years ago, so there's that. And she wrote the Olathe Community Theater's newsletter for several years. Other than that, she's

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Ian James Fannin-Hughes has won our writing contest on the theme of Oceans of Possibility with his piece "All You Wanted Was the Ocean."

Ian is an environmental scientist, grower of too much okra, father of human children, and an aspiring fiction writer from the Kansas side of the Blue River Watershed.

All You Wanted Was the Ocean



You wouldn't shut up about the ocean, either of you.



Long before we set the trip in stone, before we showed either of you on a map, before you understood that the ocean was horizon-spanning, endless water. You

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Amber Dawkins has won our writing contest on the theme of Oceans of Possibility with her piece "Oceans of Possibility."

Amber loves jellybeans, morning snuggles, and new adventures. Personality tests peg her as 93% extroverted. She loves to write, but most of the time, you’ll find her behind her camera lens. Amber left her teaching position in 2016 to turn her passion into a full time photography career. She now spends time photographing homes for real estate agents and creating branding imagery for businesses by capturing their spaces

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Molly Hopkins has won our short story writing contest on the theme of Oceans of Possibility with her piece "Dead or Alive."

Molly Hopkins is a feisty individual, who lives out adventures in her mind as there is little she can do with her body. Driven to writing due to a severe chronic illness, Molly finds purpose, intrigue, and joy in the world of her imagination and the art of storytelling. For more of her work, visit www.goldinthegray.com.

Dead or Alive

I didn’t die the day I stepped on that landmine, but I might as well have. After

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Marcia Hurlow has won our writing contest on the theme of Oceans of Possibility with her piece "On Old Silver Beach with Jane."

Marcia L. Hurlow is a poet, fiction writer and journalist. She has a full-length book of poetry, Anomie (Edges Prize, WordTech) and five award-winning chapbooks of poetry. Her individual poems have appeared in Poetry, Wax Paper, Chicago Review, Poetry South, Louisville Review, River Styx, Poetry East and others. She is co-editor of Kansas City Voices.

ON OLD SILVER BEACH WITH JANE

As a child, Jane once asked her

Johnson County Library is pleased to announce that Jack Vandeleuv has won our writing contest on the theme of The Unknown with his piece "Exhibit."

Jack Vandeleuv is a longtime Kansas City resident and former employee of Johnson County Library. He has not yet published any works of fiction.

Exhibit

Natalie was uncharacteristically quiet. Her classmates stomped their feet in anticipation, but she was careful with each step, almost reverent. The hall was simply designed, with black marble walls and a high ceiling. Spherical chandeliers cast light on the sea of craning heads above her. Billy