Thomas Fox Averill is professor emeritus of English at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where he taught creative writing and Kansas studies. He is an O. Henry Award short-sto...view moreThomas Fox Averill is professor emeritus of English at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where he taught creative writing and Kansas studies. He is an O. Henry Award short-story winner and author of ten books. His introduction to What Kansas Means to Me: Twentieth Century Writers on the Sunflower State (1991) was titled "Afflicted with Affection," and he remains so. In 2010 he created the Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection at Washburn's Mabee Library.view less