This morning I spent one hour listening to a webinar about social media for writers. Don’t groan—it was time well spent. (More on that topic next month.) But somehow after that, beteen 11 am and 2 pm, I did little more than eat two rounds of toast, futz around with Instagram Reels, communicate with my […]
I’m a long-time advocate of using technology to build community and help writers feel supported. When COVID brought unforeseen changes and demands into all of our lives, I felt grateful that at least one aspect of my life–creating community via distance–could adjust with ease in the face of so many unknowns. Most of our work
Guest Writer: Katey Schultz: Using Technology to Build Community Read More »
Gracie, my Irish-American grandmother, was the last child her mother delivered. Gram’s other six siblings left the home after school, believing that Gracie would stay with their mom until she died. That was the Irish way for the last born. They must have been angry when my Grandma Gracie took a winter train to Montana
“Every Atom,” A Good Book of Poetry by Erin Coughlin Hollowell Read More »
Sherry Simpson died Wednesday morning. There. I put the words down on paper. I tried to think up a more clever way of writing it. Something flowery and poetic that somehow captures the essence of a human being, and her passing, and what she meant to those who knew and loved her. Something — I
Way to Kick The Demon’s Ass: Matthew Komatsu Remembering Sherry Simpson Read More »
On a crisp fall day two weeks ago, my family and I hired dog sitters and headed away for the weekend to run thirty-one miles along a Vancouver Island trail called the “Galloping Goose.” Thirty-one miles, or 50K, is the minimum distance for an “ultra.” You may recall that according to legend, a messenger named
Going Ultra: Thoughts on Endurance By Andromeda Romano-Lax Read More »
When I heard writer Eva Holland interviewed on public radio about her book Nerve, Adventures in the Science of Fear, I knew I had to read it. Holland lives in Whitehorse, Yukon and is a correspondent for Outside Magazine. In this debut work of nonfiction, Holland unpacks and dissects her debilitating struggle with a wide
At this very moment, I’m nervously waiting to hear back from a half-dozen authors I’ve asked to blurb a new novel coming out in 2021. Even after a lifetime of writing books, and even though I’ve served as both blurber and blurbee, I continue to be confused by peer-written testimonials. Is the key to getting
Andromeda Romano-Lax: Asking for Help Read More »
(Rainy Day Eagle, Photo by Dan Branch) On the third Friday of every month, 49 Writers profiles an Alaskan writer. Some are written for the post. This month’s profile of Homer Writer Tom Kizzia was written by Julia O’Malley for a grant from the Rasmussen Foundation. The foundation has been kind enough to allow this
Alaska Writer’s Series: Julia O’Malley Profiles Tom Kizzia Read More »
Those of us lucky enough to have known or been taught by Eva Saulitis still miss her after she died in 2016. She left behind a body of writing which reveals a strong understanding of nature, love, and loss. She wrote truth with a courage that few can equal. More than seven years ago she
First Friday Reposting: Eva Saulitis: The Goshawk Within Read More »
(Photo by Dan Branch) When then 49 Writers Executive Director Jeremy Pataky suggested we create a podcast, I volunteered to use my skills as a former public broadcaster and produce and host it on the spot. I wanted to hear what writers were thinking and writing at this pivotal time on multiple fronts. Two years
