49 Writers Weekly Round-up

The results are in! This year’s Write-a-thon brought in $7,732 for 49 Writers programming – a fantastic effort by a group of 28 dedicated fundraisers, many of whom joined us at Snow City Café last Friday. It was wonderful to see a good turnout from the Teen Underground Writing Society too. Altogether, 51 writers registered to participate, with some writing as far away as Florida and New York City. We truly appreciate your support and hope that great work emerges from your focused writing time (keep us posted as we love to publicize success). Kudos to our top fundraisers, Kirsten Dixon ($835), Mary Kudenov ($645), and Janet Elliott ($627), and to members of the top team, Our Group – Karen Benning, Lucian Childs, Don Rearden, and Deb Vanasse, who together raised $1,940.


Many thanks to our gracious hosts at Snow City Café. Many more thanks to our enthusiastic team of volunteers, who coordinated the event, solicited prize donations, helped with setup, staffed the registration table, led yoga stretches, and took photos: Michelle Saport, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Sheila Sine, Renee Downs, Sandra Kleven, Stefanie Tatalias, Lizzie Newell, and Karen and Jim Benning. And many, many thanks to our loyal sponsors: Snow City Café, Spenard Roadhouse, Great Harvest Bread, Title Wave, Moose’s Tooth, Bear Tooth, Raven’s Brew Coffee – and Fireside Books, for donating a portion of their sales on April 9 to 49 Writers. For a writer’s perspective on the event, see the blog post by Teri Carns yesterday.

If you live in Kodiak, be sure to participate in the upcoming 49 Writers literary weekend, planned in collaboration with Kodiak College and hosted by Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, with support from the Alaska Humanities Forum. Crosscurrents: A Literary Confluence of Writers and Readers coincides with the annual Whale Fest and features Alaska author Eva Saulitis (Into Great Silence, Many Ways to Say It, Leaving Resurrection). Sunday, April 28, 1-4 pm, Eva will teach a free workshop, Hidden
Alaska: Exploring Place at the Boundary Between Poetry and Prose. Register here. Sunday, April 28, 7-8:30 pm, she will participate in a Crosscurrents on-stage conversation with Kodiak author Sara Loewen (Gaining Daylight), Where Mind
Meets Heart: Turning Science. The series closes on Monday, April 29, 11:30-1:00 pm with a Reading and Craft Talk, The Ghost
in the Machine: What Poetry Taught Me about Writing Non-Fiction. 

Debra Gwartney, who is coming to Alaska to teach a weekend workshop on “The Art of Scene Writing in Personal Narrative” at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, May 3-5, has extended her stay to offer two events in Anchorage for 49 Writers. On Monday, May 6, 11:30-1:00, join us for a brown bag lunchtime seminar on Publishing Nonfiction: Personal Narrative, Memoir, Personal Essay. Debra will discuss how to prepare a manuscript and identify the best literary journals and magazines for your submission, and how to handle the inevitable rejections. Free admission to members with suggested donation of $5 for non-members. On Monday, May 6, 5:30-7:00, Debra will give a talk on Pitfalls of the Memoir, addressing some of the difficulties that get in the way of strong narrative in memoir writing. Cheese and wine will be served. $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register online. Both events will take place at Alaska Public Media, 3877 University Drive, Anchorage

To register for Debra’s Homer workshop, go to uaonline.alaska.edu or, if you’re in Homer, stop by Kachemak Bay Campus, off Pioneer. The workshop is listed as CED AO49, R30 and CRN #40646. Call 907-235-1651 with registration questions. Participants should bring 12 copies of a four-page scene. Workshop dates and times are Friday, May 3, 5-8pm; Saturday, May 4, 9:30-4:30; and Sunday, May 5, 9:30-1:00. Registration fee is $185.

Thursday, April 25, 7:30pm, (NOTE TIME CHANGE): Great Harvest Bread Company: Last Reading & Craft Talk of the season – don’t miss it! Leigh Newman (Still Points North) will talk about fiction and memoir from the craft side of the argument: the different requirements of both in terms of tone and structure and scene work, the advantages to one form or another. 

49 Writers and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) are partnering again to offer a workshop on July 8, Becoming Your Own Editor, and also a Mentorship for Children’s Writers with Deb Vanasse. Visit our website for more information and to register.

Joan Braddock at UA Press has asked us to pass on this news to the writing community: “Our request was included in the budget forwarded to the governor! I want to thank all of you who took the time to support the request for the Press. I can’t tell you how grateful all of us at the Press are for your support. We look forward to serving the state well into the future.” 

Local film: call for writers! Alex Troutman, UAA journalism & public communications alumni 2012, is looking for 4-5 writers for a documentary script that also involves a separate fictional narrative. The documentary is based on next year’s 50^th anniversary of the 1964 earthquake, and future connotations of large-scale earthquakes in Alaska. He has a general outline for four fictional characters that need to be developed, who will tell the story of the next large earthquake to come, and how we as Alaskans can/should be prepared. For more details and information on how to submit, please email Alex at troutman.alexj@gmail.com. Submissions due by Sunday, April 28 at midnight.

Today, Friday, April 19, 3:00-4:15 pm, Alaska Press Club Book Panel features journalists turned authors talking about how their work in news became a springboard for book-length work: Peter Dunlap-Shohl, Tom Kizzia, Deb McKinney, Jim Lavrakas. Moderated by Sherry Simpson. Entry free to members of Alaska Press Club.

Tonight, Friday April 19, 7:00 pm, Joan Kane and Seth Kantner will be reading at the UA Museum of the North, Fairbanks. There will also be a craft discussion at 3pm in the Alumni Lounge of the English Dept at UAF. Congratulations to Joan Kane, who has been announced as Writer in Residence for 2013-2014 by the School for Advanced Research.

Tonight, Friday April 19, 7:30 pm at the Williamson Auditorium, the UAA Concert Board is proud to present comedian Mike Birbiglia. Over the past 12 years, Birbiglia has developed a unique story-telling style in the world of standup comedy. Time Magazine calls him “master of the personal, embarrassing tale” and the New York Times describes him as a “supremely enjoyable monologuist.” He has also contributed regularly to This American Life.

Tomorrow, Saturday April 20, 7:00 pm, Fairbanks Arts Association presents EGO–the English Graduate Organization of UAF, as part of their 2013 Literary Series. Come out for the annual public presentation of the UAF English Department candidates for Masters degrees in Literature and Creative Writing reading from their latest work. Bear Gallery, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way.

The F’Air Words writing competition deadline has been extended to April 22. Winners will be published in a copy of F Magazine, and every year several winners are nominated for a number of national awards too. Show the world Alaska’s awesome talent – submit here! 

In celebration of National Poetry Month, join Orion on April 23, 12pm, for a free live web event, The Poet Scientist: Where Wonder and Data Collide, featuring Gary Paul Nabhan, Elizabeth Bradfield, Eva Saulitis, Fred Swanson, and Orion’s poetry editor, Hannah Fries. Click here for more information and to register.

On Tuesday, April 23, 7 pm, bear attack survivor Dan Bigley and his co-author Debra McKinney will give a presentation of the triumph-over–tragedy book Beyond the Bear. Book signing follows. Free and open to all. Anchorage Museum, 625 C Street.

Leigh Newman, author of Still Points North, will be in Alaska next week, and there will be many encounter opportunities. On Wednesday, April 24, 2-3pm, she will be live on air with Lori Townsend and Sherry Simpson on Hometown Alaska, and at 5-7pm the same day, she’ll be giving a presentation and signing books at the UAA Campus Bookstore. On Thursday, April 25, she’ll be on television for an interview with Doreen Lorentz on Alaska Political Insider 4-5pm, and then (as already mentioned above) will be giving the 49 Writers craft talk at Great Harvest 7.00pm. On Friday April 26, 7pm (arrive 6.30) she will be giving a reading and reception together with Eowyn Ivey. On Saturday, April 27, 6pm, she’ll be at Gulliver’s Books in Fairbanks for a presentation and signing, and on Sunday, April 28, 11a,-1pm, she’ll be at Barnes and Noble in Fairbanks signing books.

Saturday, April 27, 8am-2pm, at Clark Middle School, the Alaska Writers Guild will hold a free Young Writers Conference for Grades 6-12. Sponsored in partnership with the Anchorage School District, the conference is for middle and high school students who are interested in improving their writing and becoming a published author. Register here. 

On Saturday, April 27, 2pm, Fairbanks Arts Association and the Chatanika Dredge Company, with special thanks to Jane Haigh and Patricia Peirsol present the 16th Annual Poetry at the Dredge, 29 Mile Steese Highway. Bring poetry, a sack lunch, water, a blanket, cushion, or rug for comfortable seating, and warm clothes! More information: (907) 456 6485 ext. 226.


The Alaska Writers Guild has also announced its annual conference, September 7 & 8 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Anchorage. Optional workshops will be available on Friday, September 6, at Alaska Pacific University. This year they are partnering with SCBWI to bring an even wider variety of speakers and breakout sessions. Details to follow soon at www.alaskawritersguild.com.