EPISODE SUMMARY Beth Ann Mathews, her husband Jim and nine year old son Glen were living a full and vibrant life in Alaska’s capital Juneau, which, as she describes lies, “between the ocean and a retreating glacier, a dynamic landscape that challenged and nurtured us.” She could not have imagined the challenges the family […]
AVP 22: Beth Ann Mathews, Author, Deep Waters Read More »
Last month, 49 Writers hosted a Crosscurrents conversation in Anchorage at the Writers Block featuring three Boreal Books authors—Rob McCue, Mary Odden, and Susanna Mishler—with Jeremy Pataky moderating. We’re pleased to cross-post this review of McCue’s book by Mary Odden, whose own book is forthcoming from Boreal Books. This review—plus several photographs not included here—was
Mary Odden | A Review of One Water by Rob McCue Read More »
I crested the last green rise and was level with the turquoise lake and the slim twist of water flowing out of it. Here the creek is so narrow that I jumped over it. I turned my gaze toward the cirque in front of me, rimmed by cliffs on three sides. Dall sheep traversed vertical
Spotlight on Alaska Books | It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska by Adrienne Lindholm Read More »
In the 21 years it took me to complete my book and pitch it to an agent, the publishing world had changed dramatically. No longer were the big six publishing houses paying hefty advances to newbie authors. No longer did agents clamor for unknown memoirists. “Why don’t you self-publish?” I was asked repeatedly. The reasons
Guest Blogger Lizbeth Meredith | What Hybrid Publishing Is and Why I Chose It Read More »
It’s easy to see why authors compare launching their books to birthing a baby. The gestation period between signing my contract and publishing my memoir, Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters was precisely nine months. The sleepless nights as I tossed and turned before the book’s release were as constant as they were during
A few months before publishing my memoir, I was drowning in book-related expenses. And while some of them were discretionary—contests, book marks and cards, shipping of the paperbacks I wanted to sell directly during events, and website upgrades, to name a few—they seemed important to my book’s success. I considered a second job, but didn’t
Guest Blogger Lizbeth Meredith | Grants: Beyond the Cash Benefit Read More »
When I began writing my memoir, I was a headstrong 31 year-old intoxicated with the idea of getting even. I’d just been arrested in a foreign country. My traumatized daughters no longer spoke my language. And I was so broke I couldn’t afford the stamps for the zillion thank you cards I needed to send
Guest Blogger Lizbeth Meredith | Book with Benefits Read More »
Cheered on by readers who told me that an essay dedicated to old friend Norman Wilkins “worked,” though it was written in various moods and moments over about 20 years, I’m going to take a moment to finger that miracle. The essay is a small bucket of improbables—love for the consummate knowledge of two woodsman
Mary Odden | On Writing the Essay “March” Read More »
Running the Kansas tallgrass prairie, alongside steaming Missouri rivers, and under Connecticut fall foliage as part of my latest obsession, running trails on public lands in all fifty states within one year It’s a new year, and self-improvement, or at least dedication to new beginnings, is in the air. If you’re reading this,
Andromeda | A new year for writing and reading about our obsessions Read More »
A while back someone told me my writing sometimes reminded her of Nora Ephron. I was shocked at hearing this, and while I took it as a tremendous compliment, I duck-paddled like a wild woman, realizing I didn’t know much about Ephron. I knew her work as a screenwriter and director from her hit movies,
49 Writers: Lois Paige Simenson | Write It Funny Read More »
