William Rockhill Nelson
. . .Awards for Literary Excellence

Home     Freelance Directory     Calendar     Resources     Art Gallery     Our Library

WRN Awards     Membership     Donors     Locate Us     About Us     E-mail Us

Co-sponsored by:
The Writers Place and The Kansas City Star

History: The William Rockhill Nelson Awards were instituted in 2003 to bring state and national attention to Missouri and Kansas writers and their books.  The Awards are given to Missouri and Kansas writers for distinguished literary work in one or more of the following categories:

• A book of fiction with a publication date in the calendar year specified.

• A volume of original poetry with a publication date in the calendar year specified.

• A book of nonfiction with a publication date in the calendar year specified.

The Awards’ namesake, William Rockhill Nelson, established The Kansas City Evening Star in the late 1880’s, forerunner to today’s Kansas City Star.  Nelson’s influence on public improvements, parks and boulevards is still evidenced throughout the metropolitan area.

Read more about William R. Nelson
by clicking the following site links:
KCStar: History          KSMO Library: Biography

 
2007
Congratulations

2007 Award Winner

FICTION CATEGORY

WINNER:

Judith Bader Jones of Fairway, KS for Delta Pearls

FINALISTS:

Susan McBride of Brentwood, MO for The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club

Roderick Townley of Overland Park, KS for The Constellation of Sylvie
 

▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪

2007 Award Winner

POETRY CATEGORY

WINNER:

Wayne Miller of Kansas City, MO for Only the Senses Sleep

FINALISTS:

Walter Bargen of Ashland, MO for Remedies for Vertigo

John Jenkinson of Wichita, KS for Rebekah Orders Lasagna

2007 Award Winner

NONFICTON CATEGORY

WINNER:

Joe Miller of Kansas City, MO for Cross-X: The Amazing Story of How the Most Unlikely Team from the Most Unlikely of Places Overcame Staggering Obstacles at Home and at School To Challenge the Debate Community on Race, Power, and Education

FINALISTS:

Diane Eickhoff of Kansas City, MO for Revolutionary Heart: The Life of Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering Crusade for Women's Rights

Donald Hoffmann of Kansas City, MO for Mark Twain in Paradise: His Voyages to Bermuda
 

2006
Congratulations

2006 Award Winner
FICTION CATEGORY

WINNER:
Whitney Terrell of Kansas City, MO for
The King of Kings County

FINALISTS:  
Thomas Fox Averill of Topeka, KS for
Ordinary Genius

Diane Glancy of Prairie Village, KS for
The Dance Partner
 

▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪  ▪

2006 Award Winner
POETRY CATEGORY

2006 Award Winner
NONFICTION CATEGORY

WINNER:
Candice Millard of Leawood, KS for 
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

FINALISTS:
Jack Cashill of Kansas City, MO for
Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture

Hal Elliott Wert of Kansas City, MO for
Hoover the Fishing President: Portrait of the Private Man and His Life Outdoors

Back To Top