In grand style, our first 49 Writers events of 2011 kicked off in Juneau and Anchorage on Friday night, with Resolve to Write gatherings in Anchorage and Juneau. In Juneau, Therese Harvey and Grace Elliott hosted. Therese reports an even dozen in attendance at the Rookery on a freezing cold Juneau night. She adds, “Among us were working writers, beginning writers, writers switching genres: a couple of scientists, a horror movie screenwriter, a songwriter, a storyteller, a novelist, two journalists, a wood carver, a science fiction writer, and a couple of journal writers looking to expand their writing outside of the nightly journal.
“Many of us were meeting for the first time,” Therese notes. “Most of us had been writing for some time and were expanding the formats in which we would write. We discussed our resolutions and talked generally of all things related to writing. All present are interested in meeting again. We have an email list for each other and we will meet again to talk about progress with our resolutions, hold feet to the fire for those who wish it, and generally enjoy the company of our fellow writers. A good time was had by all.”
Our thanks to Therese and Grace as well as all who attended in Juneau.
In Anchorage, we met at the marvelous Moderow home for a wonderful potluck, with informal eating and chatting until about 7:45. The program, featuring Bill Streever, Don Reardon, Kent Sturgis, ended around nine p.m. Thirty members and volunteers showed up with tasty comfort food and plenty of wine. We were also happy to welcome from Kotzebue Susan Andrews and John Creed, who spoke about how they enjoyed publishing with Epicenter, as well as Steve Quinn, who showed off some lovely books from Chin Music Press in Seattle. Nancy Lord also stopped in on her way back to Homer, where she has promised to also attend our Resolve to Write Homer event on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., upstairs at Alice’s
For more 49 Writers fun, make sure to mark your calendar for Crosscurrents: Environmental Writing, featuring Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman in an onstage conversation moderated by Charles Wohlforth: Tuesday, Jan. 25, at Outnorth Theater on DeBarr Road.
Thanks again to Debbie Moderow as well as many special guests for the fantastic Anchorage evening, and to Juneau: Yahoo! We're so thrilled you all gathered and are pledging to stay in touch with each other.
Next up: Homer!
I had a great time getting to talk with other writers and hearing the guests speak to the group. Thanks again, and I hope we have another gathering for writers in the area.