Topeka Capital Journal education reporter Rafael Garcia covered the Kansas Book Festival grant winners of 2023. Click the link below to read the full story and get a glimpse of what the festival does to support Kansas communities.

https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/state/2023/04/23/kansas-book-festival-grants-support-rural-small-town-libraries/70075201007/

LAWRENCE – Paper Plains Literary Festival, Inc., a nonprofit committed to showcasing the diverse literary landscape of the Midwest through a variety of free programs for all ages, has officially dissolved, transferring $11,736.08 in remaining assets to the Kansas Book Festival.

Paper Plains Literary Festival, Inc. was founded in 2019 with the goal of hosting a biennial collaborative, cross-media, diverse and inclusive literary festival celebrating authors and artists from the Great Plains and beyond in Lawrence, Kansas. Though the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with plans to host an in person festival in April of 2020, Paper Plains was able to host virtual festivals in both 2020 and 2021 and an in-person festival in April 2022, featuring award-winning authors Colson Whitehead, Sarah Smarsh, and Angeline Boulley. The Paper Plains Board of Directors decided to dissolve the Festival in 2022 so that festival organizers could focus on other priorities.

“The Paper Plains Literary Festival faced unexpected challenges,” said Festival Director Danny Caine. “But in the end, thanks to the incredible community support we received, we were able to host some pretty amazing events that brought our community together around a love of books, reading, and thoughtful conversation.”

The Kansas Book Festival, founded in 2011, takes place every September in Topeka, Kansas, and is currently hosted by Washburn University’s Mabee Library. Under the direction of Festival Director Tim Bascom, this year’s festival hosted more than 60 authors, including New York Times bestselling author and keynote speaker K.J. Dell’Antonia, with more than 1,600 people in attendance.

“We’re excited to carry on the good work done by the Paper Plains Literary Festival,” said Bascom. “This gift will make the Kansas Book Festival stronger in 2023 and more sustainable in the years to come.” “The Kansas Book Festival is such an exciting opportunity to bring our whole state together around literature and literacy,” shared Paper Plains Board Chair Sarah Bishop and Board Vice Chair Emily Ryan. “We can’t wait to see it continue to grow and expand, and we’re proud that Paper Plains could play a small part in its sustainability and success.”

“We also could not be more grateful for the many, many donors, sponsors, partners, and people who made Paper Plains the joyful experience that it was,” Bishop and Ryan continued. “We loved working with all of you, and we look forward to the opportunity to bring our Lawrence community together around literary events again in the near future.”

More information about the Kansas Book Festival can be found at: https://www.kansasbookfestival.com/

Highlights of 2022 Kansas Book Festival

The 2022 Kansas Book Festival was a great success. The attendance was a grand total of 1,635, which includes the pre-festival Lawrence event, the festival itself, the post-festival poetry event, and the visits to elementary schools. The festival received lots of positive feedback, including a comment from poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg who said “having been to many of these festivals in the past, I found this the warmest, most inclusive, and most community-building of them all.”

At the festival itself we had a lot of attendees who had lots of feedback. The constant conversation between authors and readers formed a positive community that was seen all day. Author Nancy McCabe said “It was so well-organized with panels featuring great synchronicity among panelists, and the sessions I went to were well-attended, with lively audiences.”

There were a few children’s authors that went to elementary schools the week of the festival as well, including John Hare, Alastair Heim, and Jimmy Beason. The festival received lots of positive feedback from participating school librarians. Karin Thompson at Meadows Elementary said “Alastair Heim was just fantastic! The kids and teachers were so enamored with him, and I’ve received nothing but compliments on his session.” Alice Reinert, Media Specialist at Wanamaker Elementary, reported similarly, saying, “The author visit was awesome! Seventy-five 5th graders gathered in the library on the day of the visit! We had spent 2 library classes becoming familiar with John and his books, and the kids loved putting a face (and personality) with his name. John spent about 30 minutes explaining what his life as an illustrator/author is like, how he got started in his career, and the art techniques he uses.”

In addition to these elementary school visits, the poet Gary Jackson led a workshop for high school poets from three schools: Highland Park, Topeka High, and Topeka West. A number of the participating students then came to the Kansas Book Festival and joined a High School Poetry Slam organized by Jess Karns, Media Specialist at Topeka West.

The festival is also proud to announce that the donation goal of $2,500 for the EnvistaCares challenge was met, plus another $500 pledged! The goal of $2,500 means that Envista will match that donation to support the festival and their grant fund to help needy libraries across Kansas.

Keep your attention on the festival’s website and Facebook page. The date is set for the 12th annual Kansas Book Festival on Saturday, September 16th of 2023!