Maryfrances Wagner has taught creative and academic writing, taught workshops at all levels, served as President of The Writers Place and Secretary for KC Creates.  She is currently on the board of directors for The Writers Place and chairs TWP Programming Committee. She is co-editor of I-70 Review and co-edited Whirlybird Anthology of Greater Kansas City Writers among others. She has published ten collections to include Salvatore's Daughter, Red Silk (Thorpe Menn Book Award winner for literary excellence), Light Subtracts Itself (A KC Star Notable book of the year), Dioramas, The Silence of Red Glass, The Immigrants' New Camera, and Solving for X. She has edited or co-edited several anthologies and also served as co-editor of New Letters Review of Books. Wagner was selected by the Missouri Arts Council as the Independent Artist of 2020. She is the 6th Missouri Poet Laureate 2021-2023.