Calling all writers for children and young adults: if you’re interested in meetings and/or events in the Anchorage area, please either leave a comment below or email me at debv@gci.net. Depending on interest, a second SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) group may be formed, and we might also try to organize a Kids Writers and Writing event early next year.
Wondering how local booksellers view the market, especially in terms of the digital revolution? At the monthly AKSinC (Alaska Sisters in Crime) meeting on March 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Elim Cafe in Anchorage, a panel of booksellers, including Bosco’s, UAA’s University Press, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers will discuss the topic.
The beauty of language and poetry will be showcased at Poetry in Translation on Monday, March 15 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at the UAA Bookstore. Classical and modern poems will be read in both English and their original languages. And what’s almost as good as poetry? Chocolate, of course. On March 24 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., the UAA Bookstore hosts Chef Vern Wolfram and his student assistants explaining the properties of chocolate while sharing samples of dark, white and milk chocolate.
Freeze, a recently-completed book cataloguing the FREEZE project, which took place on the Delaney Parkstrip and other downtown Anchorage locations in January 2009, is now available for purchase. Through photographs and text, the book documents the fourteen projects that were created from snow, ice and light. The projects were created by teams of architects, artists and designers – from Alaska and around the world – who gathered in Anchorage during an especially cold week. The book is only available through the Alaska Design Forum.
Creative writers whose work in any genre reflects a keen awareness of the natural world and an appreciation for both scientific and literary ways of knowing are invited to apply for a weeklong writing residency at Mount St. Helens. The Mount St. Helens Field Residencies will take place July 18-24, with a base camp near Randle, WA, and will be held in conjunction with the 2010 Mount St. Helens Science Pulse, a gathering of ecologists and research scientists who are engaged in field work on Mount St. Helens. Residency writers will be able to join ecologists on field trips to various locations on Mount St. Helens, interact informally with scientists, and to focus on writing projects that embody creative responses to the volcano and its varied landscapes and the role of volcanic landscapes in the imagination and culture of the Northwest. Application forms maybe downloaded from the Spring Creek Project website.
Narrative, a premier online literary magazine with the mission of transitioning great literature into the digital age and uniting readers and writers around the world and across generations is seeking internship candidates to assist with production of the magazine, including editorial and technical tasks, public outreach, and other programs.
Of interest to self-publishing authors: Publishers Weekly reports that critically acclaimed novelist, memoirist and National Book Award finalist John Edgar Wideman is teaming up with self-publishing and print-on-demand service Lulu.com to release Briefs, Stories for the Palm of the Mind, a new collection of his short stories. The new book will go on sale exclusively through Lulu.com beginning March 14 and will be launched at a series of live readings from the book that will be held in New York and Los Angeles. Wideman’s books have been published almost exclusively by Houghton Mifflin for years.
Looking for a place to market your books? Author Judy Ferguson is looking for an author or authors who’d like to share tables at the November Arts and Crafts Emporium in Anchorage Nov. 20-21(your share $225), the Carlson Center Holiday Marketplace in Fairbanks Nov. 12-13 (your share $263), and a Mat-Su holiday event Nov. 6-7 (your share $150-175). Also, if anyone wants to share a 10 x 10/$495 (total cost) table at the Alaska Gift Show next January 29-30, contact Judy.
Speaking of marketing, have you checked our sidebar lately? We’re running ads for Cirque, Wild Moments, and Northern Light Media. Their revenue helps subsidize this blog, so we hope you’ll click through and support them. And if you’d like to reach our targeted market of Alaska readers and writers, reserve your own ad at the low rate of $10 per month.