Kansas essays, stories, articles Where we live, how we live. Tracy Million Simmons & Cheryl Unruh publisher & editor of 105 Meadowlark Reader Greetings, gentle (or wild) reader: Picture, if you will, a journal devoted completely, heart and soul, to true Kansas stories. Good job on the picturing, my friends, because there is such a journal. By collecting stories from across the state, 105 Meadowlark Reader documents our lives and our times in Kansas. How does it happen? Twice a year we invite Kansans and former Kansans to send us their best, true stories, essays, and articles on a specific theme, such as Luck. If you pick up a copy of 105 Meadowlark Reader, you just might find an essay entitled: Disasters At the Rodeo Intersecting With the Mob The Bat that Flew Into Hell The Great Schwan’s Ice Cream Escape Some pieces are funny. Some pieces are heartwarming. Some are heartbreaking. You’ll read pieces that will stick with you long after you close the book. Issue #10, Work. Cover art by Barbara Waterman-Peters We publish twice a year (May and November). Each issue packs in about 30 essays and true stories. You can subscribe for one year (two issues). Or if you'd like to take a peek at a single copy of 105 Meadowlark Reader, we are offering back issues (#1-8) at only $10 each. Choose the theme(s) that you'd like to explore.  Or - order the whole kit and caboodle! For $160, you will receive the ten issues already published, and you will be subscribed to our two upcoming 2026 issues. We'll ship the first ten issues when you order. In May we'll ship issue #11, and in November, issue #12 will head your way. You’ll pay only once for twelve issues. This has been such a joyful project for us—and for our writers and readers. We’d love to have you join us. Tracy & Cheryl  shop now Above: The hardest part—selecting which 105 submissions to publish. Tracy pictured, photo by Cheryl. Below: Our growing stack of 105 issues. Ten so far!

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Before you submit to the "Borrowed" issue (#12) of 105 Meadowlark Reader . . .

 Please take a moment to read our guidelines. We have made some updates and adjustments since the time we started publishing 105 Meadowlark Reader. It helps smooth the process of reading and reviewing essays when our guidelines are followed.

Open Reading Period for Issue #12

May 1 - June 30, 2026

Theme: Borrowed

We can't wait to read your true stories. 

Meet the Authors for our WORK issue, shipping in November 2025

Issue #10 - WORK - November 2025

 Lindsey Bartlett, "Dollar a Bucket"

Shawna Bethell, "Trickster's Path"

Julie Ann Baker Brin, "I Dream About Spreadsheets"

Alyssa Chase, "The Call of the Current"

Brian Daldorph, "Daring to Write"

Scott Dawson, "The Luck of a Cowboy"

Angel Edenburn, "Girl Friday"

Mark O.J. Esping, "How to Get a Job"

JL Evenson, "Crisco"

Carolyn Hall, "Saved for Retirement"

Dale Hiesterman, "An Unexpected Response"

Mike Hinman, "Leaving a Legacy"

Eric Kirsch, "The Hard Ground" AD ASTRA WINNER

Amy Kliewer, "Taking Stock"

Nancy Julien Kopp, "Learning Isn't Only for Students"

Charles L. Martin, "A Memorable Helmet"

Margaret McKay, "It's Mow Day"

Deborah Linn McNemee, "It's Not Working" AD ASTRA WINNER

Cynthia Mines, "The Sum of All Things"

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, "How a Job Made Me Fall in Love with Kansas"

Paula Nixon, "The Many Charms of Learning Italian"

David Ollington, "Contact Uninvited"

Christopher K. Peine, "Snow Patrol"

Kevin Rabas, [riverboat magic]

Mark Scheel, "Fitting Pipe with a College Degree"

Harland Schuster, "A Brick Road to Nowhere"

Jody Watkins Suiter, "Lessons Learned"

Primo Ventello, "The Intern"

Order the Work Issue on the Meadowlark Website

Accepting True Kansas Stories about Work through June 30, 2025

 

Read our Guidelines.

Meet the Authors of Our Luck Issue - #9, Ships in May 2025

 

Issue #9, the Luck issue, of 105 Meadowlark Reader has stories taking place in 31 Kansas counties and features 30 authors. 

Eleven stories in this issue are by authors new to 105.  

The Great Schwan's Ice Cream Escape by Boyd Bauman

Dreams Do Come True by Margie Burton

Fate, Karma, or Luck by Dan Clemens

Opossum by Brian Daldorph

Giants by Beth Gulley

Transplant by Marley Hays

$10 Movie Props by Roger Heineken

What's Luck Got to Do with It by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson

Was It Luck? by Duane L. Herrmann

Kismet and the Kitchen by Julie Johnson

The Swinging Bridge Landmark by Vicki L. Julian

Making Luck by Trish Kinkel

The Grit Queen by Amy Kliewer

Rippling Out by Candace Plett Krebs

The Lucky 1% by Evan Kreger

Logjam by Dave Leiker

Rescuing Ike by Danton McDiffett

My First Night in Kansas by Karen T. Miller

The Lord Almighty, an Errant Sandal, and the Barista Who Would Not Have Me by Kerry Moyer

My First Cattle Drive by Robert W. Phillips

Born Lucky by Robert Rebein

The Luck of the Luggage by Cynthia C. Schaker

Sunflower Luck by Barbara L. Schmidt

The Bat That Flew Into Hell by Harland Schuster

Locked in a Cathedral and Freed by a Legend by Derek Simmons

Luck of the Draw by Mason Taylor-Taite

Clover by Alicia Troike

Fifty-Fifty by Leon Unruh

Recovering Glenn by Brenda L. White

The Ice and the Tire by Sheree L. Wingo

Accomplices Issue: Cover Reveal

 

105 Meadowlark Reader / Accomplices / Issue 8: Fall 2024 / Cover Photo by Dave Leiker. PrairieDust.net Subject: Sarah Beth Pringle and Elmira.

We were thrilled to find this image from photographer Dave Leiker for the Accomplices issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader. Don’t these two look like they are up to something? A girl and her horse, off on an adventure. The “Accomplices” issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader will ship in November. Please plan to pick your copy up from your nearest 105 Bookstore Partner (see the list below) or make sure your subscription with us is current. Our 8th issue, with the theme of Accomplices, features 40 essays representing 30 Kansas counties. Is your 105 collection missing an issue? Individual copies can be ordered via our website. We are currently running a sale for issues 1-6 (regularly $101.94, on sale for $84). This would be a great time to encourage your local library to add 105 Meadowlark Reader to their Kansas bookshelves! Our journal is printed in Kansas, too! Thinking about writing a true story for us? The next theme is LUCK! Read our guidelines for submissions here. We start taking submissions on November 1, 2024.

105 Meadowlark Reader, Issue #8 - Accomplices $17.99 View

105 BUNDLE: Issues 1-6 $101.94 View

105 Meadowlark Reader, Issue #7 - Intersections $17.99 View

Thank You to our Partner Bookstores! We are pleased to distribute 105 Meadowlark Reader through the following independent bookstores. Read local. Shop local. If your local bookstore is not on this list, please encourage them to become a bookstore partner! info@meadowlark-books.com Books & Burrow 212 S. Broadway St. Pittsburg, KS 66762 booksandburrow.com Claflin Books & Copies 103 N. 4th St. Manhattan, KS 66502 www.claflinbooks.com Crow & Co. Books 2 S Main St. Hutchinson, KS 67501 www.crowandcobooks.com Eighth Day Books 2838 E. Douglas Wichita, KS 67214 www.eighthdaybooks.com Flint Hills Books 130 W. Main Street Council Grove, KS 66846 www.flinthillsbooks.com The Literary Cat Co. 915 N. Broadway Pittsburg, KS 66762 theliterarycatco.com Middle Ground Books 606 Commercial St. Emporia, KS 66801 www.middlegroundbooks.com Raven Book Store 809 Massachusetts Lawrence, KS 66044 www.ravenbookstore.com Red Fern Booksellers 106 South Santa Fe Ave Salina, KS 67401 redfernbooksellers.com Round Table Bookstore NOTO 826 N Kansas Ave Topeka, KS 66608 roundtablebookstore.com Russell Specialty Books & Gifts 626 N Main Street Russell, KS 67665 russellbookstore.com Watermark Books & Café 4701 E Douglas | Wichita, KS 67218 www.watermarkbooks.com