If you were not able to come to the 2024 Kansas Book Festival and if you would like to hear the talk by our keynoter, NYTimes Bestselling Crime Writer Sara Paretsky, then click here. She regales the audience with personal stories about her early life in Lawrence and the recent loss of her husband, describing how such factors influence what she writes in the popular series featuring detective V.I. Warshawski, including the recent novel Pay Dirt.
For the past13 years, the Kansas Book Festival has granted funding to Kansas libraries that are under-resourced, distributing $114,000 in assistance, often for school libraries and youth sections at community libraries. 19 applications were received this year, and the Festival will distribute $8500, funding three book requests and one technology request. The 2024 grant recipients are Circle Oil Hill Elementary School Library, Burr Oak Community Library, Logan Elementary Library, and Hill City Junior Senior School Library. All four libraries will be
honored at the State Library of Kansas at 2 pm on Friday, September 6.
Over the last 12 years, the Kansas Book Festival has accepted grant applications from needy Kansas public and school libraries, either for books or reading-related technology, and we are open again for applications, with a deadline of April 24, 2024. The Festival typically awards at least two grants of no more than $2000 for book acquisition. The Festival also awards at least one grant of no more than $2500 for the purchase of technology that is reading-related.
In 2024, our grant application period is from March 14 to April 24, and the necessary forms are available at the website for the Kansas Book Festival: https://www.kansasbookfestival.com/outr…/library-grants-1/ A digital copy of the application should be sent by email no later than the April 24 deadline, to our grant coordinator Beth Dobler (bethdobler9@gmail.com). This file can be in the form of a Word Document or PDF, but no faxed or mailed applications will be accepted.
NOTE: Special consideration is given to those with greater financial need, and a library cannot win a KBF grant in consecutive years. Requests may be funded only in part. Also, a progress report, including an accounting of funds, is expected by December 31 of the grant year.
Kansas Book Festival is being honored by ArtsConnect with the 2023 Literary Arty Award for their “commitment to providing access to authors, educational opportunities and more that would not otherwise exist in Topeka.” The award will be presented on December 6 (6 pm) at the Beacon in Topeka, when all Arty Award winners will be recognized. This year the literary award goes to the Festival because, as ArtsConnect states, “Events like this are critical in the arts ecosphere because they give Topeka writers access to renowned authors and experiences, fostering their growth and development as writers.” If interested in the award winners and/or attending, go to the ArtsConnect website: https://artstopeka.org/artyawards.
The Kansas Book Festival held a reception at the Kansas State Library on Monday, April 24th to recognize the six under resourced libraries who received a grant in 2023. WIBW stopped by to capture some shots as well as interview director, Tim Bascom. Watch the video to see what the festival does to support Kansas libraries in all corners of the state!
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.
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/
Kansas Book Festival and Envista Credit Union are pleased to announce Kansas Book Festival will receive the EnvistaCares Challenge gift of $2,500 from Envista as a match to the generosity of the community’s donations of $2,900. In total, the Kansas Book Festival received $5,400 in donations during the month of September.
The Kansas Book Festival is the premier literary festival for Kansas. Every year, the Festival brings over 50 authors to Topeka to make presentations based on newly released books, including authors of Kansas Notable Books (selected by the State Library of Kansas) and authors who are former Kansans but have established themselves outside the state, gaining national recognition. In addition, the Kansas Book Festival foundation provides $10,000 in grants to needy Kansas libraries each year.
“The Kansas Book Festival, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary, encourages a lifelong love of reading and supports Kansas libraries and aspiring writers, promoting literacy across the state,” said Tim Bascom, executive director for Kansas Book Festival. “We give grants to needy Kansas libraries annually, and due to the support of the EnvistaCares challenge and the community we will provide another $5,000 in library grants this coming year.”
“Our goal at Envista is to lead, inspire and make an impact with our giving,” said Tara Dimick, chief business development officer for Envista. “We are honored to support the Kansas Book Festival and are inspired by their commitment to honor the rich literary heritage of the state and support libraries in underserved parts of Kansas.”
The EnvistaCares Challenge was created in April of 2019 and has helped raise more than $600,000 for local organizations. The Challenge includes an in-kind gift to the organization of a media buy that is valued at more than $12,000 and a $2,500 challenge grant. The media buy includes radio, emails, online ads, billboard, social media and interviews. The challenge gift provides a dollar-for-dollar match up to $2,500 for gifts given during the month that the organization is spotlighted. In 2021, Envista added the production of a storytelling video that the organization could use beyond the EnvistaCares Challenge experience.
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!