WCS Alumnae Wins Newbery Award for 1st Novel!

By: Susie Steed, WCS Director of Admissions & Communications

Clare Vanderpool, a member of the WCS Class of 1983, has just received exciting news!  Not only did she win the prestigious John Newbery Medal for children’s literature, she did it with her very first novel, Moon over Manifest. The John Newbery Award is presented each year by the American Library Association to the author who has made the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. We are so proud of Clare. Please look for more information about Clare and this prestigious honor in the upcoming Connection magazine! Claire will be visiting campus on February 4th to speak with our WCS students and faculty.

WCS Alumni Spotlight: Tracy Seeley

Tracy Seeley's ('74) memoir My Ruby Slippers: The Road Back to Kansas will be published in March, 2011.  Her book is part of the "American Lives Series," Editor Tobias Wolff, from the University of Nebraska Press.  In June and July, the My Ruby Slippers road show gets underway as she and her husband, filmmaker Frederick Marx, launch a 12 state book tour throughout the west.  Along the way, Tracy will be giving talks and readings, and at night, Frederick will screen movies along the side of their trailer.  They also plan to film their trip, interviewing folks along the way, taking the pulse of American life.  They'll be in Wichita in July!  


For tour details and other information, see Tracy's website: http://tracyseeley.com.