Each month during the academic year, we assemble a newsletter of the department’s recent publications, presentations, announcements, and awards. The issue for September showcases a greater range of research, scholarship, and creative activity that our faculty and students have shared beyond Kansas State, given that it covers the summer months of May, June, July, and August.
Here, we celebrate faculty and student success in research, scholarship, and creative activity in a variety of venues and media.
Want to catch up on past successes or to find future announcements? Visit our archive of monthly newsletters Reading Matters as well as related blog posts.
Have news to report? Email us at english@ksu.edu.
— Karin Westman, Department Head
Publications (May – August 2026)
Cydney Alexis and Hannah J. Rule, eds, Writing Artifacts. Routledge, 2026.
“A Facilitating Literacy Artifact: The Roller Skate.” Writing Artifacts, edited by Cydney Alexis and Hannah J. Rule, Routledge, 2026, pp. 111-123.
Traci Brimhall, A Brief History of Falling. Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 2026.
Christina Hauck, Alive (poems). Finishing Line Press, 2026.
Anne Longmuir, “Epistolary Fictions: Authorial Persona and Narrative Form in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Correspondence and Short Stories.” Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature, no. 149, 2026, pp. 61-78.
Anuja Madan, “Ganesha is my Friend and Krishna is a Fan: Hindu Boy-Gods’ Mirroring of Indian Middle-Class Identity in Hindi Mythological Composite Films.” India Animated: Essays on Contemporary Practice, edited by Anitha Balachandran and Timothy Jones, Palgrave, 2026, pp. 189-214.
Ania Payne, “Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better”: Moving Beyond the Success-Failure Binary Through Community Writing in the Professional Writing Classroom.” Special Issue: Risk, Failure, and the Teaching of Writing in Composition Forum, vol. 58, Summer 2026, https://compositionforum.com/issue/58/try-again-fail-again-fail-better/
“ArcGIS Survey 123 on the Front Porch.” Co-authored with Josh Brewer and Emmanuel Jeje. Writing Artifacts, edited by Cydney Alexis and Hannah J. Rule, Routledge, 2026, pp. 24-33.
“Writing with Habitat Homeowners in an Online, Professional Writing Course.” Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice, vol. 9. no. 1, 2026, pp. 1-11, https://collaborations.miami.edu/articles/10.33596/coll.134
“Possible Causes of Chronic Hives.” Literary Mama, May/June 2026, https://literarymama.com/contributor/payne-ania
“Plantigrade in Atitlan Nature Reserve.” Complete Sentence, June 2026, https://www.completesentencelit.com/post/plantigrade-in-atitlan-nature-reserve
“Too Pregnant for Mice and Men.” Co-authored with Diane Payne. Cutleaf Journal, vol. 6, no. 9, 2026, https://cutleafjournal.com/content/too-pregnant-for-mice-or-men
Anne Phillips, Review of Beyond Nancy Drew: U.S. Girls’ Series Fiction in the Twentieth Century, edited by LuElla D’Amico and Emily Hamilton-Honey. Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 1, 2025, pp. 146-149.
Review of Pamela Smith Hill’s Too Good to Be Altogether Lost: Rediscovering Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House Books. Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3, 2025, pp. 376-378.
Melissa Poll and Selena Couture, editors. Performance Matters, vol. 12, no. 1, 2026, https://performancematters-thejournal.com/index.php/pm/issue/view/32
Shirley Tung, “Travel Writing and Boswell’s Biographical Acts of Union.” The Enduring Work of Biography: James Boswell’s “Life of Johnson,” 1791–2020, edited by Greg Clingham, University of Delaware Press, 2026, pp. 115-3.
“Rectifying the Controversial Afterlife of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796).” Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies『日本18世紀学会年報』, Vol. 41, 2026, pp. 20-21.
Presentations (May – August 2026)
Traci Brimhall, readings at:
- Raymer Society/Red Barn Studio, Lindsborg, KS. 16 Aug. 2026
- Koester House Museum, Marysville, KS. 18 July 2026
- USA-250 Celebration, Topeka, KS. 2 July 2026
- Flower Power Reading, New York Botanical Gardens, New York, NY. 28 May 2026
- Book Launch for A Brief History of Falling, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Kalamazoo, MI. 2 May 2026
Mark Crosby, “William Hayley and the Queen’s Engraver, Caroline Watson.” British Association of Romantic Scholars annual conference. University of Birmingham, UK. 6 Aug. 2026.
Gregory Eiselein, “Heraclitus and Marcus Aurelius in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable Series.” American Literature Association Conference. Chicago, IL. 22 May 2026.
Mary Kohn, with Kenzie Jansonius (Ph.D., History). 150thCelebration of the Koester House Museum and Gardens (co-curators, exhibit). Koester House Museum, Marysville, KS. 25 July 2026 – Nov. 2026.
“100 Years of Teen Slang” (workshop leader). KAWSE Workshop. The Chapman Center, Manhattan, KS. 4 June 2026 and 3 June 2026.
“How to Make Rope” (organizer and instructor). Riley County Historical Society. Riley County History Museum, Manhattan, KS. 10-11 July 2026.
Viewing of documentary Sacred Red Rock (host and organizer). In collaboration with the Riley County Genealogical Society. Manhattan Public Library, Manhattan, KS. 23 August 2026.
Anuja Madan, “Teaching Indian Comics through an Emphasis on Context and Local Art Traditions.” Comics Studies Society Conference. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. 13 June 2026. Online.
“‘To Stand as One’: Indigenous Kinship and Activism in We are Water Protectors and Healer of the Water Monster.” Children’s Literature Association Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. 29 May 2026.
Philip Nel, “Democracy Needs Diverse Books; or, Why DEI is Patriotic” (invited). HarmonyFest, Heritage Park, Junction City, KS. 22 Aug. 2026.
“Fear of a Woke Planet: Censorship, Safety, and the Child Citizen” (conference paper). The Citizen-Child: Global Perspectives on Children’s Literature and the Making of Modernity. University of Antwerp, Belgium. 26 June 2026.
“In Dreams Begin Possibilities: Can Children’s Literature Change the World?” (keynote/invited talk) with Julia Mickenberg:
- Les Orangeries de Bierbais, Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. 14 June 2026.
- An International Event on Education and Culture for Children and Youth. Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. 11 June 2026.
- Bending the Rules: Social Radicalism, Wanderlust, and Utopianism in Children’s and YA Literature. University of Zagreb, Croatia. 10 June 2026.
“Mr. Censor’s Neighborhood: Writing, Reading, and Teaching Children’s Literature Today” (panel organizer and moderator). Children’s Literature Association Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. 29 May 2026.
Ruth Okon (MA ’27), “Extractable Bodies, Fractured Solidarities: Capitalist Precarity in Contemporary Canadian Speculative Fiction.” Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy.Toronto, Canada. 31 May 2026.
“Pop Music as Cultural Theory: Intra-Oppositions, Masculinity, and Political Stagnation in Paris Paloma’s ‘Good Boy.’” Cultural Studies Association Conference. 28 May 2026. Online.
Anne Phillips, “On Crafting and Curating a Little WomenPuzzle” (faculty reading). Hollins University, Roanoke, VA. 25 July 2026.
“Mystery in the Neighborhood: From The Westing Game to The Parker Inheritance.” Children’s Literature Association. Pittsburgh, PA. 29 May 2026.
“Building a Career: Building a Mentorship Neighborhood.” Children’s Literature Association. Pittsburgh, PA. 28 May 2026.
“‘The Humor as Well as the Pathos’: Parsing the Prose of Alcott’s A Round Dozen.” American Literature Association. Chicago, IL. 22 May 2026.
Maria Tardiff (MA ’27), “‘Home Pain’: Montgomery’s Female Heroines Confront Changing States of Home,” L.M. Montgomery Institute’s 17thBiennial International Conference. University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. 27 June 2026.
Lisa Tatonetti, Film Showing and Talk Back with Kaw Nation citizens and the Kaw Mission / Kansas Historical Society (facilitator). Flooding Kaw Nation: Submerged Cities, Desecrated Graves, and Kaw Lake. Washunga Days. Council Grove, KS. 20 June 2026.
Shirley Tung, “‘A melancholy that exalts the mind’: Wollstonecraft’s Sentimental Journey.” British Association for Romantic Studies 2026: Romantic Introspection. 6 Aug. 2026. Online.
Karin Westman, “Making Budget Models Work for You” (discussion group moderator). MAPS Virtual Leadership Institute, sponsored by the ADE-ADL. 23 June 2026.
“Strategic Planning” (workshop leader). MAPS Virtual Leadership Institute, sponsored by the ADE-ADL. 15 June and 16 June 2026.
“Editor’s Roundtable” (panelist). Children’s Literature Association. Pittsburgh, PA. 30 May 2026.
“The Special Issue and the Book Series: The Future of ‘Kiddie Lit in Academe.’” Children’s Literature Association. Pittsburgh, PA. 29 May 2026.
Awards (May – August 2026)
Krista Danielson received the department’s 2026 Excellence Award for Term Instructors.
Wendy Matlock has received the 2026-2028 Donnelly Faculty Award.
Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds, co-editors of Crockett Johnson’s Barnaby, Volume Five: 1950-1952 (Fantagraphics, 2025), were nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of Best Archival Collection/Project — Strips. They did not win.
Ruth Okon received the 2026 Kathleen C. Goetsch Scholarship from the Department of Social Transformation Studies.
Announcements (May – August 2026)
Anne Phillips has been elected to a three-year term on the Advisory Board for the Louisa May Alcott Society.
Quoted in Media (May – August 2026)
Philip Nel appeared on a podcast and in an interview with USA Today.
Research and Creative Activity from Alumni (May – August 2026)
Brennan Bestwick (MA ’16) published “Horses in the Orchard” (poem) in Issue 58 of Adroit Literary Journal.
Heather Etelamaki (BA ’12, MA ’15) has published the flash fiction “Baba O’Riley in the Morning,” included in issue 8 of The Q & A QueerZine! https://theqandaqueerzine.com/issue-eight/
Taraneh Matloob Haghanikar (MA ’11) published a new picture book and celebrated with a book signing at the American Library Association meeting.
Natasha Muhametzyanova (MA ‘21) published a short story in Iowa Review.
Winniebell Zong (MA ‘21) published two poems in Poetry’s June issue: “Bargains” and “Self-Portrait.”
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