Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award nominations will be accepted until May 1, 2018. The award, presented by the American Association of University Women-Kansas City Branch and the Kansas City Public Library, is presented to a local author in recognition for their excellence in writing. The award will be presented at a luncheon in October 6, 2018 and includes a $500 check, certificate of recognition, and listing on the library’s website.

NOMINATION GUIDELINES:

• Nominated materials must be received no later than May 1, 2018.

•  Nominations may be published works of fiction, non-fiction, children’s books or poetry.Text books, guide books, and how-to manuals are not eligible. Blogs and compilations of blogs are considered pre-published and are not eligible to be considered for the Thorpe Menn Award. Previous first-place winners are not eligible.

•  Nominated authors must reside in the greater Kansas City area – Jackson, Cass, Clay, Lafayette and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. 

•  All nominations must be initially published in 2017.

• Two (2) copies of the nominated book must be submitted to the address below or an eBook must be submitted to the email below.

•  EBooks must be submitted in PDF (Portable Document Format) format only. (Judges must be able to view your eBook on any device, print it, and make a backup copy.) EBooks must not contain any DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. If the eBook is sold in DRM format only, most publishers will be able to provide a non-DRM file for use in a judging competition. If the publisher is not able to provide a non-DRM format, many formats can be converted to a PDF using free conversion software available online.

• All submissions must include a contact name, mailing address, email, and telephone number. 

Two copies of the nominated printed book should be mailed to:

Thorpe Menn Nominations

Attn: Jane McClain

P.O. Box 8831

Kansas City, MO 64114

EBook nominated files should be emailed to: thorpemenn@gmail.com

For more information, please call Jane McClain at (816) 444-2152 or email thorpemenn@gmail.com.

Local authors and guests gathered at the Kansas City Central Library for the 38th Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award on October 1. The award was established in 1979 by AAUW-KC to honor Thorpe Menn, longtime book editor of The Kansas City Star, who supported all aspects of Kansas City’s cultural life, especially local authors and artists.

The 2016 Literary Excellence Award was presented to Patrick Dobson for his book Canoeing the Great Plains: A Missouri River Summer. The finalists were: Andrea Warren for The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas and James P. Muehlberger, The 116: The True Story of Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Guard.

Special thanks to our keynote speaker Barbara Stuber, award-winning author and museum docent, Vivien Jennings and Roger Doeren of Rainy Day Books, and the Kansas City Public Library.

We are already making plans for the 39th event in October 2017. If you would like to nominate an author, go to the Thorpe Menn page under “Events” for guidelines and instructions. The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2017.

Marian McClellan, President
Linda Berube, President-Elect
Stephanie Holthaus, Past President
Sara Pedram, Co-Program Vice President
Judith McGonegle, Co-Program Vice President
Stefanie Hatfield, Membership Vice President
Wanda Perkins, Secretary
Nicky Stanke, Finance Officer and Communications Chair
Doretta Perna, Funds Chair
Kay Engler, Funds Co-Chair
Ellen Johnson, Finance Chair, 100 High School Girls/Thorpe Menn Co-Chair and Irene Wagy Fund Chair
Patti Jachowicz, College/University Chair, Re-Entry Chair and Women’s Center Liaison
Carrie Maidment, Newsletter/Website Designer and Editor, Thorpe Menn Co-Chair
Janice McIntyre, AAUW-KCKCC Liaison
Teri Wichman, 100 High School Girls Co-Chair
Riva Capellari, Public Policy Co-Chair
Carol Cowles, Public Policy Co-Chair

Please contact marianmcclellan@mac.com or 630-659-7748 if you would like to volunteer for future events to support and promote women in STEM career fields.

After a morning of meetings, inspiring speakers and marching, we set about as citizens’ lobbyists to visit with legislators. We distributed copies of AAUW’s booklet, The Simple Truth, while requesting their support to close the gender pay gap. To our surprise, we learned of the convening Senate committee hearing. We attended and witnessed bill SB 144 Equal Pay Legislation pass out of committee. The bill will next move to the floor of the Senate for debate.

SB 144 requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to establish guidelines relating to gender pay equality. Once this bill becomes law, we women’s advocates will push for an amendment stipulating penalties to be applied to employers in violation.

Equal Pay Legislation is on the move in Missouri! What more fitting close to an exciting, productive day at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri.

While our AAUW sisters were in Jefferson City, Patti Jackowicz and Winnie Weinrich went to UMKC to help set up for an Equal Pay Day event on campus in the Miller Nichols Library. Each of the four participating sponsors met with students and explained their connection and commitment to fighting the gender pay gap. Of the 139 students who visited our booth, 110 of them signed up to receive more information about AAUW and the free student membership. We have since followed up with these new young contacts and look forward to them joining us soon!