Books

ESU Art Department: Inking & Thinking is the result of months of work and collaboration between Emporia State Universtiy, Emporia High School, and House of Morrow. Thanks to the generosity of the anonymous donor of the PK Inspirational Art Fund at ESU, ESU and EHS students had the opportunity to create art together, publish it, and exhibit it in a professional gallery exhibition space. This project was part of a course taught in Spring 2026, AR 402: Print and Gender, which explored print culture since the Renaissance and the ways in which it intersects with gender. The works of art covered a broad range of material, from print workshops that published pamphlets to contemporary artists who work in the medium of printmaking. In terms of gender, students examined and challenged understandings of gender in Western culture, studying how gender impacts an artist's ability to create, access, or view printed materials.

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Historical fiction by Cynthia Mines An Oz-infused story set on the Kansas prairie that explores the search for home. Kristin Thorsen struggles to put down roots on the Kansas prairie after she is sent ot live in a country parsonage with her father, a stern Lutheran pastor so fixated on hi sown salvation that he barely notices his only child. To escape her lonely existence, Kristin retreats into her imagination where she finds solace in books, Swedish folktales, and stories of hte 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Set against a backdrop of emerald-green winter wheat, Kristin's story take on Oz overtones as she is befriended by a neighbor widow and a local seed merchant on a journey to learn to trust her heart and summon the courage to venture beyond the horizon. After her husband leaves for World War II and Kristin confronts her past, she learns ne truths about the prairie as she writes memories to pass on to her daughter. Her recollection of world wars, devastating droughts, a global epidemic, and persecution of immigrants are topics that will resonate with readers more than a century later. Cynthia Mines is an award-winning writer of nonfiction and fiction whoes work ahs appeared in dozens of publications, including Los Angeles Times. She was publisher/editor of Travel Kansas magazine for more than three decades, and her book, For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance, was named a Kansas Notable Book in 2016. This is her first novel.

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Memoir by Lakshmi Kambampati In Uncharted Paths, a teacher discovers that the most important lessons of her career were not the ones she taught, but the ones she learned from students and communities around the world. Lakshmi Kambampati is a global educator whose teaching journey has taker her from classrooms in Wichita to communities across India, Liberia, Tanzania, and the Caribbean. A Fullbright Professional Excellence Award recipient, two-time Peace Corps volunteer, and a U.S. State Deparment English Language Fellow, she brings a lifetime of cross-cultural expereince to her work in education.

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Poetry by Beth Gulley Beth Gulley teaches English at Johnson County Community College and serves on the Riverfront Reading Committee and the Writers Place board. She lives in Kansas and enjoys trail running and swimming.

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Poetry by Kent Leatham If you could say anything to a parent you'd never met, where would you start? How about "Dear Dad..." Modern Man offers an initmate outreach to Kent Leatham's anonymous sperm-donor father: a ghost whose absence represents the best and worst of contemporary masculinity. Combining wry humor and raw grief, and with references ranging from Reddit and Rob Zombie to Shakespeare's sonnets and the Song of Songs, these poems deconstruct toxic gender tropes while lamenting the traumas inflicted on those expected to "take it like a man." As Leatham's unknowable father is asked:      I wonder what you would most have wished     for me to learn that you still hold as self-evident     if when I was a dependent     little pink American boy     you'd been there? Kent Leatham is a pet, translator, public educator, proud member of the LGBTQIA+ family, and the child of an anonymous sperm donor. Kent's work has appeared in journals and anthologies aroudn the world, including multiple appearances in Best New Poets. Kent lives on California's Central Coast.

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Poetry by Carol Kapaun Ratchenski Carol Kapaun Ratchenski has previously published two books of poetry, A Beautiful Hell and A Certain Kind of Forgiveness. She is the recipient of the Mnay Voices Project Award and the Birdy Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in Oakwood Magazine, North Dakota Quarterly, Wintercount, among others, and has been featured in numerous anthologies. Carol is a Licensed Professional Counselor and owner/operator of The Center for Compassion and Creativity in Fargo, ND, where she also lives and writes.

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Juvenile fiction by Carol Murray Cloverleaf is the story of a girl and the horse that she loves. Angie Pinkerton dreams of winning a cloverleaf barrel racing championship with her horse Lucky. Along the way she must navigate the sudden death of her Grandma Millie, a broken relationship with her father, and the arrival of a stranger to town. Carol Murray loves black and white cats, horses of all stripes, and kids of all ages. She is the author of scads of poetry and several picture books, including Cricket in the Thicket, a Kansas Notable Book. This is her first novel.

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Children's picture book by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson Pedro was a cat who decided when he would eat, where he would sleep, and who he would hang out with. When a frightened family comes to Bee Mountain, Pedro decides to make them feel at home.

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Journal of true Kansas stories.

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Author Ann Vigola Anderson takes us back in time to her grandparents’ farm where Bottle Calf was born during an early spring blizzard. With illustrations by the talented Sara Long, this gorgeous book will be your go-to for holiday gift giving and beyond. Grab a copy to reminisce or to share the stories and gorgeous art with your kids and grandkids. You are going to love Bottle Calf!

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Join Bramble, a little pup with a big heart, and his dad on this sunny beach adventure! When Bramble learns how a lighthouse helps boats find their way safely home, he wants to helpful, too. Switching on his trusty "Bramble Beam," he sets off across the sand to help his playful beach friends in need. With every cheerful, "thank you," Bramble discovers that helping others make shis own heart shine with happiness.  A splashy story about kindness, helping others, and letting your inner light shine! Joanie Hulse is a retired kindergarten teacher with over 40 years of classroom experience. Known for her silly, interactive storytelling, she inspired generations of young learners to laugh, move, and fully participate in the joy of reading. Her playful writing and whimsical illustrations spark imagination while offering simple practical tools to help children recognize and manage emotions. Through her books, Joanie brings warmth, patience, and joy to homes and classrooms everywhere.

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A finalist for the 2025 Birdy Poetry Prize, Huascar Medina’s highly anticipated third book of poetry, Protest as Love Poem, is a four-part expression of love through defiant truths and collective survival. An urgent rebuttal to apathy, Protest as Love Poem is a plea for intimate authority and a call for a revolution. It is both political and personal, endearing and indignant—a direct request to feel more, not less, in this present moment. Huascar Medina is a father, poet, and editor living artfully in Topeka, Kansas. He’s the author of three books of poetry, How to Hang the Moon (Spartan Press, 2017), Un Mango Grows in Kansas (Spartan Press, 2020), and Protest as Love Poem (Meadowlark Press, 2026). He served as Poet Laureate of Kansas from 2019-2022. His work has appeared in Flint Hills Review, Gasconade Review, Green Mountains Review, KANSAS! Magazine, Latino Book Review, The New York Times, and elsewhere.

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Unfolding as a coming of age memoir, 20 essays reveal Kansas as formative landscape of resilience and hope.

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Journal of true Kansas stories.

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Hadley Heffner is a 6th grade local author from Woodson County. "Saving Black Beak" is her story of raising a goose. There is joy and peace, but also the tragedy that often comes when raising baby animals. The girl takes quick action despite her own fear and turns to her dad who has the knowledge and willingness to help save the day--and the goose.

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There are five different versions of the cover of this book! When buying online, you will recieve a random selection of the cover choices. Linzi Garcia comes from a beautiful family of Rocky Mountain artists. She moved to Kansas a decade ago to earn degrees from Bethany College and Emporia State University. She stayed in Emporia and now serves as the publicist and poetry editor for Meadowlark Press, a bartender at Mulready's Pub, and the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for House of Morrow. She is the author of Thank You and Cravings and the co-author of Live a Great Story and While Away: Travel Poems. Linzi is a recipient of a NextGen Under 30 Kansas Award.

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Kansas journal of creative nonfiction.

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Barbara Waterman-Peters is an artist living in Topeka, Kansas. She has become well-known for her oil and watercolor paintings and for arts advocacy in her community. Her paintings have been exhibited worldwide and can be found in numerous galleries and museums. In part one of this book, children will learn about Barbara in this book through her fascination with crows. In part two of this book, we learn more about Barbara in her own words. This book contains more than 27 full-color images of Barbara’s work, including watercolor, oil on canvas, and sketches.

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From the author of STEAL AWAY HOME and EDDIE WHATEVER Twelve-year-old Zeb Finley, a New York street urchin, is half dare-devil and half day-dreamer. He’s the last boy off the Orphan Train deep into the Midwestern prairie, sweating in his itchy new clothes when he meets the lonely young widow, Idella Spurlock, waiting at the train stop. She’s alone, he’s alone, and so the two trudge off together. Neither imagines what will soon season their lives, including a train robber named Tucker, a stash of booty from Tucker’s heist, an encounter with a grey wolf, and swarming grasshoppers that darken the sun, level crops, stop trains in their tracks, and chomp wool off the shirts on their backs. And then there’s the murderous Bender family. Kate Bender promises, “Cross my palm with coin, and I’ll reach your pa in the World Beyond.” Can she, or is she a total fake? Zeb hankers to hop on a train back to New York where life was free and simple—except for freezing, starving, and sleeping in muddy gutters. But maybe he’ll make his peace with Idella, with a prairie girl named Lucy who teaches him how to shoot a cottontail, with Osage Indians, and with the lovable scoundrel, Tucker. Or maybe not. Before Zeb nearly loses himself on the vast Kansas prairie, he must find his heroic self in the story he’s secretly writing about  Montague Mortis, and the Hornswoggled Horse Thief. Living Fire is a rollicking novel with humor and heart, in harmony with the Kansas motto, “To the stars through difficulties.” 

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Michael D. Graves created the character of Pete Stone as a memorial to his grandfather. The author lives with his wife in Emporia, Kansas. When life conjures its riddles, Mike turns to baseball and back roads for answers.  Pete Stone, Private Investigator- Volume 6. When an old pal, Ellis Waldo, calls on Pete Stone to locate his missing son, the private eye's investigation leads him to a dead body, followed by a brutal beating that comes with a warning---"Back off gumshoe, or you're next." Fed by anger and a dogged determination for justice, Pete tracks clues to Dodge City, Kansas, where citizens are braced for the biggest event in the cowtown's history. A trainload of Hollywood stars is due to arrive for th opening of the eponymous movie, Dodge City, and the town is swollen to ten times its size be excited visitors. Amid the hoopla and celebration, Pete Stone must find and rescue one man while avoiding another man---the lone killer out to get him. During the chase, Pete encounters a mysterious beauty who knows more than she's willing to tell, reencounters a nemesis, and narrowly survives an assassin's bullet, all while honoring the code etched in his brain---a friend deserves loyalty, and every man deserves an even break.    Meadowlark Books, LLC meadow-larkbooks.com Copyright (c) 2025 Michael D. Graves Cover photo by Dave Leiker

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Co-authored by Kevin Rebas, Linzi Garcia, and Brett Seaton. How someone lives while away can tell you a lot about them: What's home? What's to return to, and what's to escape? Where can you go? How long can you afford to be away? Who am I, while away?

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When the lands of Kestrel Veil are disrupted by the holiest of all pwers, the fractured remains of the Skyh Warriors must locate the concealed evil which shadows itself behind a mask of righteousness. Once news of a mysterious newborn power appears, Lightning and Night embark on a path that will either make or break the world of civilzation as it exists. When a hackneyed scroll reveals a more sinister plan, will the duo overcome, or will its words prove true to the destruction of a vast realm? With little to no guidance fromt he Sky Prism, will the Sky Warriors and their counterparts save an already ceasing world, or will the vengeful obscenity claim the victory? The only way to find out if hte scroll's words were true is to open to chapter one and beign the final quest.   About the author: Hunter lives just outside Emporia, Kansas, with his family. He loves writing fantasy and other fiction. His love for writing started when he was in fourth grade, and he began his first book in fifth grade. Hunter is now a junior in high school, and his fouth novel, Rising Tide, is the two-part final installment of th efantasy series Sky Warriors. In an immersing tale of wrong and right, meanings will morph and truths die.

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By Robern Rebein; contemporary Western set in Dodge City, Kansas. Robert Rebein grew up in and around Dodge City, Kansas, where his family has farmed and ranched since the 1920s. He is the author of two award-winning collections of memoir essays. The Last Rancher is his first novel.

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Poetry by Kevin Rabas Past Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019) Kevin Rabas teaches at Emporia State University, where he leads the poetry and playwriting tracks and chairs the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism. He has fourteen other books, including Lisa's Flying Electric Piano, a Kansas Notable Book and Nelson Poetry Book Award winner. He is the recipient of the Emporia State President's and Liberal Arts & Sciences Awards for Research and Creativity, and he is the winner of the Langston Hughes Award for Poetry. His plays have been performed across Kansas and on both coasts.

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By Jerilynn Henrikson; Martha grew up in the small town of Neosho Rapids, Kansas, at the turn of the 20th century.

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Travel memoir by Lisa D. Stewart. At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her high-strung horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

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Kansas journal of creative nonfiction.

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Young Willie has big dreams of becoming amazing things, with none bigger than becoming a Kansas State Wildcat! Featuring colorful storybook artwork, this lighthearted rhyming tale is a spirited celebration of Kansas State University, an exciting preview of college life, and helps instill the value of higher education. 

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An enthusiastic young Jay has big dreams of becoming amazing things, with none bigger than becoming a Kansas Jayhawk! Featuring fun storybook artwork from a KU alumnus, this lighthearted rhyming tale is a spirited celebration of the history and tradition of The University of Kansas, as well as an exciting preview of college life and the value of higher education. 

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Journal of true Kansas stories: collected, published, and printed right here in Kansas

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Author, Gretchen Schreiber (an Emporia native) Ellie, a high schooler with a rare genetic condition, navigates the divide between her "hospital-life" and "home-life," as a hospital stay brings her closer to Ryan, who challenges her perspective and makes her consider the extraordinary possibilities of her life.

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In May 1962, a plane fell from the sky over the heartland of America, disrupting the peace of the little towns of Centerville, Iowa, and Unionville, Missouri, and shaking the confidence of airline passengers nationwide. The story was shocking, puzzling, frightening . . . and in following years, was almost completely forgotten by the world at large. Enfys McMurry has spent countless hours poring through accident investigation reports of the Federal Aviation Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reviewing newspaper accounts, and interviewing those who were there, those who still live in Iowa and Missouri and have memories of the horrific events that brought these communities together at a time of crisis.  

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Sellers explains that the novel is not an adaptation of Montgomery’s classic novel, but a story of the way books and reading impact readers. “The title character, Ann Alwyn, is an avid reader, and when she comes to live with the grandparents she never knew at Sunflower Lane farm, she discovers a kindred spirit in an old edition of Anne of Green Gables. Her reading of that and other texts frames her experiences as she integrates herself into life on the farm and in the small-town community of Storey, Kansas.” “Ann of Sunflower Lane is a love-letter to books and reading, and especially to the power of Anne of Green Gables to reflect and to shape life,” says Elizabeth Rollins Epperly, Professor Emerita and founder of the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island. Sellers was the Kansas Authors Club 2020 Prose Writer of the Year and the Overall Poetry (2022) and Prose (2017, 2019) winner of the Kansas Voices Writing Contest sponsored by the Winfield Arts and Humanities Council. She is the author of Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables (Blue Cedar Press, 2021).

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This is a Limited Edition, Hard Cover, 9x9 book, that is numbered and signed by the Author & Illustrator. Author Ann Vigola Anderson takes us back in time to her grandparents’ farm where Bottle Calf was born during an early spring blizzard. With illustrations by the talented Sara Long, this gorgeous book will be your go-to for holiday gift giving and beyond. Grab a copy to reminisce or to share the stories and gorgeous art with your kids and grandkids. You are going to love Bottle Calf!

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