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Roderick Townley is a local author of novels for young readers and poetry for all. His stories, though diverse in their settings and plots, might overall be described as elegant fantasies that balance whimsical and unsettling elements while exploring the nature of magic, dreams, reality, memories, identity, and stories. Townley worked as a journalist in New York before moving to Kansas in 1990 with his wife, poet Wyatt Townley. He has been honored with the Governor's Arts Award, Thorpe Menn Award, Peregrine Prize for Short Fiction, Master Artist Fellowship, Fulbright Award, Academy of American

We're so excited to share the Open Category winner of our #IHeartU contest: Heather McKenzie, for her work When Pluto was a Planet. We fell in love with its inventive and adept use of language as well as its creative imagery. Tell us what you love about When Pluto was a Planet in the comments!

A multimedia designer by day and photographer by weekend, Heather is usually the creator of visuals that connect in context with another's words. She is the publisher of a free interactive book app for iPads called Notions + Our Curious Culture of Consumption, an award winning app Kirkus Reviews named

The Read Local committee is pleased to announce Elizabeth Uppman has won Johnson County Library’s #IHeartU Essay contest with her entry Lucia's War. Uppman's essay was chosen for its response to the theme of love, and the juxtaposition of "war" in the title with Lucia's ultimate triumph. We also love the evolution of Lucia's attack, how her "storming the beaches of Normandy" approach slowly transitions to a blunt and irrefutable request.

Elizabeth Uppman is a freelance writer whose personal essays have appeared in Good Housekeeping, Tango magazine, salon.com, Brain, Child magazine, and

The Local Writers committee is pleased to announce Celeste Seay has won Johnson County Library’s #IHeartU short story contest with her entry A Good Fit. Seay’s story was chosen for its response to the theme of love and the quality of description. Of her writing she says:

I grew up among five siblings in a military family. Always the new kid, I retreated into books to find a way to belong. I learned to read when I was four, and the stories I read in books sparked stories in my head, so telling myself stories became the way I was comforted in the world. Writing down my perceptions is still the

From trapping and trading along the Missouri River to commerce at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, Civil War conflicts and dominance at the stockyards, Kansas City continues to be a major player in our country's history. The Shawnee Indian Missionis one of Kansas City's many historical treasures etched with story and a captivating history of its own.

Local historian and author Joe Vaughan will share the Mission's rich history, describe the life of its controversial founder, Thomas Johnson, and illustrate how he and the Mission influenced the region.

Sunday, October 11

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I don’t know who said “a writer writes” first (most believe it was Billy Crystal in Throw Momma From the Train), but I know who has said it the most - Celeste Seay.

Proving her point, Seay possesses a large body of marvelous work, mostly unshared beyond the privileged few. We’re fortunate to have Seay as a member of the Johnson County Library Creative Writing Group, where she produces amazing stories in response to assignments from The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction by Brian Kiteley.

Seay shares some thoughts on writing, as well as her response to #75

Linda Rodriquez has always wanted to be a writer. As for so many of us, life doesn't always give us what we want. At least not right away. Luckily for mystery and poetry readers, Linda has found her voice and created a successful writing life. You can hear Linda read at the Thomas Zvi Wilson Reading Series, co-sponsored by Johnson County Library and The Writers Place.

Thursday, July 21

6 - 8:30 p.m.

Oak Park Library

In anticipation of her reading, we asked Linda to share some thoughts on writing. We hope you'll find her as engaging as we do!

Poetry and mystery seem like an unusual

We are counting the days until we celebrate the launch of Claire Caterer's book The Wand and the Sea... with Claire Caterer herself!

Thursday, June 25

6 - 7:30 p.m.

Lackman Library

Claire was kind enough to give us a sneak peak and I know you will find her as charming as I do!

What are you working on now that The Wand and the Sea is finished?

I’ve got two things going at the moment. I’m outlining the third book in the series, titled (for now) The Spell & the Stone, and I’m also finishing up the manuscript of another, unrelated story for middle-grade readers that I’m very excited

It’s no secret that the landscape of publishing is rapidly evolving. With thousands of new books joining the marketplace every day, millions of bloggers vying for readers, and the ease of sharing words, how do writers connect with readers? In an environment where readers are either pigeonholed into selecting from an infinitesimal best-seller list, or bombarded with choice, how can one writer rise to the surface and capture the readers who will come back looking for more of the same?

There is no easy answer to this question, but with a little creativity and hard work, some authors can carve a

In one of my favorite books about writing, The Memoir Project, Marion Roach Smith says “[writing] is serious work. And it cannot be reduced to generic writing exercises and prefabricated prompts.” While reading, I was immediately offended, for I lead a prompt-based creative writing group. And my writers, as I like to call the members, produce wonderful work.

Mike O’Leary has been a long-time member of the Creative Writing Group and has agreed to share some of his stories here. We're working through the exercises in The 3 A.M. Epiphanyby Brian Kiteley. Mike chose "Evil" and "Goodness", two

Kansas City is blessed to be called home by many wonderful writers and creators. Thus, it is no surprise that three of our own are included in the collection Listen to Your Mother. In 2010, Ann Imig, through stage performances by writers in her community, gave voice to “the realities of mothers and mothering, of non-moms and caretakers, of sons and daughters … with stories so urgent they press from the hearts of people to the page and then to the LTYM Stage, a small selection which return again to the page.” It is no exaggeration to say the stories are urgent.

But don’t let the title fool you

Local writer Bridget Heos is the author of Mustache Baby, Mustache Baby Meets His Match, I, Fly, and more than 70 other children's books. Check out our review of the Mustache Baby books, then keep reading to learn all about Bridget and her experience as an author through her responses to our interview questions.

Your writing seems to cover a broad range of topics and styles. How has that come about?

Well, so much of what I write is “work for hire,” meaning the editor gives me a topic, and I write about it. Usually the editor also indicates the style (funny or serious, etc.) Now, I’m starting

This fall, Johnson County Library has been looking at race: stereotypes, self-awareness, and what it means to look beyond the surface. We’ve invited you to tell us how you have been affected by race. Justin Carter, in the following essay, shares his experience. As a suburban white woman, it’s easy to subconsciously, or otherwise, believe that issues of race don’t happen in my community, my city, or even my state. My country, sure, but that’s Missouri. That’s the other United States. But he dispels the myths I accept as truth and exposes the subtle, and not-so-subtle, ways race is still an