The 2025 Kansas Notable Books list has been announced, highlighting outstanding literary works by Kansans or those with Kansas-related themes. Kansas Notable Books highlight our contemporary writing community and encourage readers to enjoy some of the best writing of authors among us.

A committee of librarians, library staff, scholars and authors identify and review titles from those published the previous year for selection. The State Librarian selects the final 15 books. Authors and their books are honored with a medal reception in conjunction with the Kansas Book Festival.

Fiction

The Last Rancher by Robert Rebein

The Last Rancher is a contemporary western and family saga set in southwest Kansas, where generations of the Wagner family grapple with love, loss, and the burden of legacy on their Bar W Ranch. When a tragic accident brings the children home, long-buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the past and fight for both the land and their fractured family.

Genre: Western

Remnants of a Scarlet Flame by Cindy L. Sell

Remnants of a Scarlet Flame is the first book in an epic fantasy saga where Alar Fellman, a psion posing as a magic student, infiltrates the Sorcerers’ Guild to save his hunted people, the Syljians. As tensions rise and ancient powers stir, his fate becomes entangled with Daeya McVen, a gifted sorcerer hiding her own secrets, threatening to ignite a war that could doom an entire race.

Genre: Fantasy

The Rhino Keeper by Jillian Forsberg

Based on the true story of a Dutch sea captain who traveled with an Indian rhinoceros called Clara across 18th-century Europe, The Rhino Keeper evokes both the thrill of discovery in the archives and the wonder felt by a world in which no European had seen a living rhinoceros.

Genre: Historical Fiction

The Switch Point by A. D. Childers

In Truth From the Shadows, true crime documentarian Kennen Clarke returns to his hometown to investigate the mysterious death of his close friend Leonie Tilden, who died on the train tracks twenty years earlier. As ghost sightings and cryptic clues surface, Kennen must confront buried secrets and his own troubled past to uncover the truth.

Genre: Suspense

 

Non-Fiction

Dress Me Like a Prize Fighter by Catherine Strayhall

Overflowing with joy, Dress Me Like a Prizefighter carries the reader through contemplations of family history, generational legacy, and the natural world. It is an intimate love letter to both life in the Midwest and to poetry itself, skillfully interweaving these ruminations with a bold and compassionate command of language and form.

Genre: Poetry

From the Reservation to Washington: The Rise of Charles Curtis by Debra Goodrich

Charles Curtis, the first person of color to serve as U.S. vice president, rose to prominence in a time when society forced him to choose between his Native American and white identities. Though once well known, he is now largely forgotten, despite his story’s powerful relevance to ongoing conversations about race and identity.

Genre: Biography

In True Face: A Woman’s Life in the CIA, Unmasked by Jonna Mendez 

Jonna Hiestand Mendez began her CIA career in a supporting role but quickly proved her skill in espionage, eventually becoming Chief of Disguise at the CIA’s Office of Technical Service. In True Face recounts her global undercover work and the determination it took to succeed in a male-dominated field.

Genre: Memoir – Spies

Las Madres: Latinas in the Heartland Who Led Their Family to Success by Dennis Raphael Garcia 

Las Madres tells the powerful story of three generations of Latina women—Candelaria, Rafaela, and Irene—whose resilience and determination helped lift their family from poverty to stability across decades. Through their distinct yet courageous journeys, Dennis Raphael Garcia highlights the struggles and strength of immigrant families, offering an inspiring tribute to perseverance and the varied paths to success.

Genre: Memoir – Immigrant Narratives

No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun by John Stansifer

Drawing on interviews with veterans and ex-POWs as well as material from the National Archives, this extraordinary story of the most decorated chaplain in US military history shows how his love for God gave him the courage to lay down his life for his friends and for his country.

Genre: Biography

Wichita Blues: Music in the African American Community by Patrick Joseph O’Connor

Wichita Music in the African American Community by Patrick Joseph O’Connor sheds light on the overlooked blues tradition of Wichita, Kansas, through interviews with nineteen African American musicians and over two decades of fieldwork. The book explores the city’s rich musical history from the 1930s onward, revealing how migration, community, and cross-cultural influences shaped a unique regional sound and broader African American history in the Midwest.

Genre: Non-fiction – Kansas Music History

 

Youth

 Coco, Snow! by Julie Mosiman

Should Coco go out? Should Coco be bold? A charming story of a cautious cat who learns to embrace the snowy season and have fun.

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning

Posing as the long-absent grandchildren of an eccentric old lady for much-needed money, sisters Ruby and Wren become trapped in Hegemony Manor, where they must solve the murder of their hostess amongst powerful witches who, if they want to survive, must never find out they’re imposters.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Not the Worst Friend in the World by Anne Rellihan

Eleven-year-old Lou wishes she could turn back time to mend her friendship with Francie after a terrible fight, so when Lou befriends Cece she is eager to prove herself, but as she uncovers the truth about Cece’s family, she grapples with what being a good friend means.

Genre: Junior Fiction

Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm by Lindsay Metcalf and illustrated by Xin Li

Discover how both outdoor and indoor farms sustainably grow the food we eat throughout the year in this vibrant, rhyming picture book.

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Treehouse Town  by Gideon Sterer and illustrated by Charlie Mylie

A child explores the magical world of Treehouse Town–from Sap Street to Willow Way–where all children and animal inhabitants work together and have fun.

Genre: Children’s Picture Book