This week we are saddened by the news that one of our partners, Out North, is currently experiencing difficulties and has had to close its doors for the time being. Out North has long been a vibrant hub for the Anchorage arts scene, and has provided us with a variety of opportunities to collaborate in the past, including hosting author events and, for a brief period, the 49 Writers Cafe. We very much hope that this is a temporary setback and that Out North will prevail in the long-term. The arts community has rallied to discuss ways in which to maintain programming and to find alternative solutions – stay tuned for more information.
- Tuesday, August 13, 7pm: Tom Kizzia will be at Anchorage Loussac Library, Wilda Marston auditorium, talking about Pilgrim’s Wilderness.
- Thursday, August 15, 7pm: Tom Kizzia will give a book talk at Kennecott Recreation Hall,
Kennicott/McCarthy. - Tuesday, August 20, 7-8:30pm,
Loussac Library. Alaska Writers Guild monthly program features Evan
Swenson of Publication Consultants talking about “How to Host a Book
Launch Party.”
the Library of Congress in DC in September. If you have postcards of your
latest book available for display on their table, please mail them to 49
Writers, Inc. at P.O. Box 221086, Anchorage, AK 99522 by August 15 so
they can be included. Great opportunity to draw wider attention to your work!
by Line in Kachemak Bay, August
16-18. Marilyn Sigman and
Marilyn Kirkham are teaming up to lead a week-end workshop retreat for
writers and artists at the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies’ (CACS) Peterson
Bay Field Station across Kachemak Bay from Homer. Join them for low tide and
forest walks guided by CACS naturalists followed by guided exercises to help
you transform natural history and scientific information into creative
nonfiction and visual art that combines lines of text with line sketches. The
workshop will also provide writing and sketching time on your own in the forest
and along the coastlines of Peterson and China Poot Bays.
researching and writing about the ecological and cultural history of Kachemak
Bay for the last five years. She is
the former Director of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies and a graduate
student in the UAA Creative Writing and Language Arts program in Literary
Non-fiction. Marilyn will share her experience in environmental writing
and place-centered creative non-fiction. Marilyn Kirkham recently retired from
15 years of teaching in the Kenai Borough School District. She is an active member of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society and coordinates
their workshops. Sketching and
drawing are a daily part of her life, her way to record and observe the natural
world and to plan projects such as cards, invitations, paintings, and
quilts. She will share her ideas about
freehand “lines” as a means to enhance nature journals. The cost of $200 includes water taxi transportation
(departs Homer Harbor at 4:00
pm Friday and
returns at 4:00
pm Sunday),
food, two nights lodging, and a journal. To sign up for the workshop or for
more information contact info@akcoastalstudies.
call (907) 235-666.
Fellowship is accepting applications. Deadline is August 30, and the fellowship is $2500. We’re doing it this
year through Call For Entry. (Café).
We’ve been contacted by someone who’s trying to find a book titled The Dusk Before the Dawn written by Suzanne Nalley McConnell. If anyone knows this author, who we understand grew up in Glennallen, or can tell us where to find the book, do get in touch and we’ll pass the information on.
Finally, in the bestseller stakes, we’re happy to report that Heather Lende is holding fast at #7 on the New York Times E-Book bestseller list, with Tom Kizzia close behind at #15. For Combined Print and E-Book Nonfiction sales, Heather is currently at #20 and Tom at #21. It’s wonderful to see Alaska’s authors doing so well on the national scene. Not only that, local playwright Arlitia Jones was recently invited to participate in the Samuel French Off Off Broadway festival, where her play “Tornado” was one of six selected for showcase, inclusion in an upcoming anthology, and licensing.
I do not know if the person is still looking for this book or not. "We’ve been contacted by someone who’s trying to find a book titled The Dusk Before the Dawn written by Suzanne Nalley McConnell. If anyone knows this author, who we understand grew up in Glennallen, or can tell us where to find the book, do get in touch and we’ll pass the information on."
The name of the book is The Still Before Dawn and is available on Amazon Kindle or Amazon in book format. I lived at the place she referenced in Alaska.