Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

We hear the Skagway’s Red Onion is buzzing with lit chat and writer-types as the North Words Symposium launches this week.  Our own Andromeda Romano-Lax is there, along with Dana Stabenow, Kim Heacox, Dan Henry, Tim Woody, Dave Hunsaker, Sherry Simpson, Nita Nettleton, Kaylene Johnson, Peggy Shumaker, Elisabeth Dabney, Jeff Brady, and Buckwheat.  We’ll look for a full report on the festivities next week.

On the heels of the symposium comes the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference in Homer June 11-15.  In addition to keynote speaker Michael Cunningham, the faculty includes Emily Wall, Maurya Simon, Sherry Simpson, Peggy Shumaker, Joni Sensel, Eva Saulitis, Bill Raurbach, Jennifer Pooley, Dinty W. Moore, Nancy Lord, Leonard Kammerling, Joan Kane, Stephanie Griest, Karen Fowler, April Eberhardt, Elisabeth Dabney, and Rich Chiappone.  Due to scheduling conflicts (so little summer, so much to do!), neither Andromeda nor I can make this year’s KBC, so we’re hoping attendees will send news and comments for posting (49writers@gmail.com).

The Alaska Book Festival in Fairbanks takes on a new format with a series of free lectures at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays in Schaible Auditorium, where you’re invited to join experts such as Peggy Shumaker, Dermot Cole, Tom Bundtzen and Greg Hill to discuss the very best of Alaska-related literature.  Scheduled for summer:

July 14 – Alaska Mining and Geology
July 21 – Alaska Aviation
July 28 – Poetry
Aug. 11 – Alaska Glaciology
Aug. 18 – Alaska Classics for Newcomers: Must Reads for all Alaska Newbies

The Summer Featured Author is Charles Wohlforth, speaking at 7 p.m., Wednesday, August 25 in the Schaible Auditorium about his celebrated The Whale and the Supercomputer and his newest book,
The Fate of Nature.  For more information call Summer Sessions & Lifelong Learning at 907-474-7021.

It’s not too late to join 49 Writers and be among the first to register for a retreat weekend of inspiration, relaxation, camaraderie, and instruction with acclaimed author David Vann at one of Alaska’s most pristine wilderness lodges in scenic Tutka Bay. Nine ocean miles from the seaside town of Homer along Kachemak Bay, the Tutka Bay area boasts rugged coastlines, deep fjords, dramatic mountains, quiet beaches, old growth Sitka spruce forests, and amazing tidal fluctuations.

At the lodge, a seasoned Within The Wild staff offers full-service lodging and award-winning cuisine. After settling in at your well-appointed guest cabin, we’ll welcome you at our unique retreat center – a whimsical crabbing boat dry-docked on a tidal lagoon. Between festive and plentiful meals, we’ll juxtapose thought-provoking instruction in style, language, and craft with ample opportunities to create and relax.  The 49 Writers member rate of $395 covers first-class lodging, meals, and instruction for the September 3-5 retreat.  Members, watch for email notification next week for your pre-registration opportunity, with registration to the general public opening two weeks later.  Space is limited to 14 participants.

We’re still looking for authors to fill our First Friday book-signing calendar at Raven Place in Anchorage.  Email paulabryner@gci.net for details.

Autographed copies of Dana Stabenow’s A Night Too Dark are still available at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale , and as well as the Homer Bookstore in Homer, Alaska has your back.  Dana’s “Cherchez la Femme” appears in Hook, Line & Sinister a new anthology edited by T. Jefferson Parker.  On Dana’s recent reading list is the outline for the pilot episode of a potential Kate Shugak TV series.