Our latest episode was recorded with the keynote speaker for the 2025 Northwords writers conference in Skagway, Alaska. Pulitzer prize nominee Eowyn Ivey talks with guest host Summer Christiansen about her writing discipline, the challenges and joys of writing from rural Alaska and why her latest book, Black Woods, Blue Sky, is her most personal yet. […]
AVP 28: Eowyn Ivey, Author, Black Woods, Blue Sky Read More »
During my final semester at the University of Alaska Southeast, I was offered the opportunity to complete an internship with Tidal Echoes. I had heard of the literary and arts journal during my previous years at UAS, but this was my chance to complete both a Bachelor of Arts degree and also peek behind the
A Day in the Life of UA student and intern by Amy Kelleher Read More »
When anyone asks me if I’m “writing something at the moment” I have a hard time not looking taken aback. Writing something? I’m always writing something! If I’m not actively accumulating wordcount, I’m researching and brainstorming something—or better yet, many somethings. If your gears are constantly spinning the way mine are, then you may find
Choosing Between Projects: Fun Thought Experiments by Andromeda Romano-Lax Read More »
About 4:00 this morning, I was sitting alone in the dark living room, laughing. My wife and the cat were in our bed (and I use the word “our” to include the cat’s proprietary attitude about household furnishings and everything else in this place). I was having trouble sleeping—imagine that: a writer with bad sleep
In Praise of Chipmunking by Richard Chiappone Read More »
Something was missing in my story. It all just read like bla…bla, and it felt flat and dull. I was working on my nonfiction book, memoirs of Alaska, and many of my adventures were half a lifetime ago—like my trip to the Brooks Range in the summer of 1990. Back then, Angela and I had
Bushwhacked by Anette Coggins Read More »
by Dawnell Smith Some of my friends steer clear of tough subjects when choosing books, at least some of the time. They want light reading to escape the real world and have some fun. (Strangely, some of these books involve mysterious dark forces and blood-sucking romance with a lot of bloodshed, but who am I
Bloom Again–a novel that sees collaboration as the seed of hope Read More »
Just Like a Soldier: A Memoir Write up by the author Robert Stark Excerpt “I have no background as a farmer. In fact, the largest garden I ever kept was a small community garden plot at my college campus in Olympia, Washington where I grew food to donate to the local food pantry for college
Or how I learned to stop grumbling and love the conference (and workshops, open mics, and lectures) By Lauren Cusimano I hate writers’ conferences. Or, at least I did until very recently. For years, something about them made me grumpy (please note, I am often grumpy by default). It was maybe the overall message that,
An ode to writer’s events Read More »
Shauna Potocky is a poet and painter who spent a decade as park ranger in Yosemite National Park. She is now a devoted resident of the community of Seward, Alaska. Along with the Kenai Peninsula, it is the inspiration for her second collection of poems and artwork, Sea Smoke, Spindrift, and Other Spells. In this episode, she
AVP 27: Shauna Potocky, Poet, Sea Smoke, Spindrift, and Other Spells Read More »
What if you found out that the main reason most people are on social media is not that they like it, but only because they feel they have no choice? That’s the surprising finding of a 2023 study in which 1,000 US college students were asked how much they’d be willing to pay to use
A Joyless Addiction That—Surprise!—Isn’t Impossible to Quit by Andromeda Romano-Lax Read More »