Poetic justice hits 49 Writers. We novelists who think ourselves so clever with the element of suspense are now wallowing in it ourselves as we wait to hear: do we or don’t we have a home for our Alaska Writing Center? Hang in there – we’re working through some logistical challenges and hope to have closure on the lease, one way or the other, within in the next week or two. We know it’s never done till it’s done, but – just in case – we have a name: Raven Place.
In the meantime, we have filed our Articles of Incorporation with the State of Alaska and are now officially (drum roll) 49 Writers, Inc. We have a new email address – 49writers@gmail.com – but we’ll still answer if you use our personal email addresses. Yes, we have a bank account too, and yes, we’re taking donations (49 Writers, Inc., PO Box 221086, Anchorage, AK 99522; we’re also set up on PayPal with 49writers@gmail.com as payee). No paid staff or any such luxuries yet – right now we’re all-volunteer and building up funds for programs to promote Alaska writers and writing. Our IRS Form 1023 for 501c3 tax-exempt status is in the works, but in the meantime, the nice IRS people says it’s okay for you to deduct your donations – and we’ll do our best to get it right so you don’t have to un-deduct them at some point in the future.
Newly inhabiting our sidebar is a request for you to fill out one of our volunteer forms. We’ve had such an exciting response to our call for help, and now we need to get organized. So please, even if you’ve already emailed and/or told us how you’d like to help, take a moment to fill out the form so you’ll be in our database. Time, money, sweat, ideas – we need it all, whether you’re in Anchorage or Barrow or Ketchikan or Tuluksak.
Already, we can’t say thanks enough. It’s exciting to see the Center (now officially 49 Alaska Writing Center) come together with the grassroots energy we’d hoped for. Stay in touch; let us know your ideas. We know we can’t be everything to everyone, but we want to listen and consider as best we can in these formative stages. In the next few weeks, we’ll sort through our volunteers and assemble teams to tackle various projects. If you’re not hearing from us soon enough, feel free to check in at 49writers@gmail.com.
Deep breath, moving on. Many thanks to our April featured author, Kim Rich. May brings Heather Lende as our featured author – watch for her posts beginning next week. And don’t forget our 49 Writers online book club discussion May 6 from 6-8 p.m. We’ll be chatting with author David Vann about his highly-acclaimed Legend of a Suicide
Homer area authors: Andromeda and I will be in the Homer area on Monday, exploring options for a possible 49 Writers retreat. We plan to meet with area authors for coffee and conversation at Captain’s Coffee (on Pioneer Ave.) at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 3. No RSVP needed – just show up.
Speaking of Homer: If you are thinking about registering for the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, the early registration deadline is TOMORROW, April 30. The conference will be held June 11-15 at Land’s End Resort in Homer, Alaska. This year’s keynote presenter will be Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Michael Cunningham, author of “The Hours” which was also made into a feature film starring Meryl Streep. The conference will feature 17 other award-winning, nationally-recognized authors, editors and agents who will conduct creative writing workshops, readings, craft talks and panel presentations in fiction, nonfiction, children’s writing, poetry and the business of writing. Optional activities include manuscript reviews, editor-agent consultations, receptions, a boat cruise and open “mic.” The evening readings on June 13-15 by visiting writers and conference registrants will be open to the general public at no charge. A special post-conference workshop will be held at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge for conference registrants.
Noted conference faculty include Richard Chiappone, Elisabeth Dabney, April Eberhardt, Karen Joy Fowler, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Joan Kane, Len Kamerling, Nancy Lord, Dinty Moore, Jennifer Pooley, Bill Roorbach, Eva Saulitis, Joni Sensel, Peggy Shumaker, Sherry Simpson, Maurya Simon and Emily Wall. The early registration fee is $325 until April 30, space available. There is a special UA admitted student rate at $225 until May 1 (admitted degree-seeking students). Advanced registration is required. For more program and registration information e-mail iyconf@uaa.alaska.edu, call (907) 235-7743 or visit http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu/.
Thirteen Anchorage area children’s writers and illustrators met Wednesday night to start up a local SCBWI (Society of Children’s Bookwriters and Illustrators group). Come join the fun next month: Wednesday, May 26 at 7 p.m., tentatively scheduled at the Blood Bank of Alaska (no donations required!) at Laurel and Tudot.
In Anchorage, Midnight Sun Brewing is hosting a community book swap on Sunday May 2, from 2 to 6 pm, at 8111 Dimond Hook Drive.
On Sunday, May 16 from noon to 4 pm at the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts (next to the Bake Shop),
Katharine Adams, Beth Taylor, and Libby Hatton will be displaying artwork and signing books.
Longtime Fairbanksan Sue Ann Bowling, has published Homecoming, a science fiction novel that’s been dubbed both Editor’s Choice and Rising Star by iUniverse. A graduate and faculty member (Geophysics) at UAF, Bowling wrote the Alaska Science Forum for several months in the late 80’s.
YA writers, note this anthology opportunity: the proposed anthology of young adult short stories, with the title: RUSKRDYET?© will feature stories for the teen/young adult market where supernatural and paranormal meet technotalk. Submission details are at http://www.ruskrdyet.com/. Submissions are due no later than midnight CST, June 30, 2010. There will be 10 to 12 stories with word count minimum of 3500 and maximum 5000.