The Fall Literary Season is launching — grab a seat and get on board. (Yes, the type above is small, but just had to show off this fantastic flyer which you’ll be seeing around town, designed for us by fantastic volunteer Mariah Oxford, just one of many 49ers we couldn’t live without.)
First up: It’s your turn to learn with a full roster of autumn writing courses — from Flash Fiction to Revision Intensive — at the 49 Alaska Writing Center. Classes begin in October; registration is open now and spaces are limited. Check out all the details at our new http://www.49writingcenter.org/ website, unveiled just this week — the Writing Instruction page has everything you’ll want to know about course descriptions, schedule, fees, and more. Instructors include David Marusek of Fairbanks, Dana Stabenow of Homer, plus Bill Sherwonit, Sandra Kleven, Deb Vanasse, and Andromeda Romano-Lax of Anchorage.
Please also note that we have some registration incentives: early birds who register and pay in August will be entered in a drawing for one of our new raven logo tote bags. Also, 49 Writers members can get a $10 tuition credit by referring non-member friends who have never taken one of our courses before. Referred friends will get a $10 credit, too. Make sure your friend claims the credit at the time of registration. You’ll each receive a tuition credit, good for one year, via email.
That’s one part of the literary season launch. The other part is two back-to-back reading and signing events that we are presenting in cooperation with Metro Books and Music in Anchorage.
Up first is Joe McGinniss — yes, Sarah Palin’s current neighbor and a current favorite over at the Doonesbury strip. But long before he was ruffling feathers in Wasilla, McGinniss was writing some fantastic books, including the classic Going to Extremes. Epicenter Press, the Alaska/Northwest regional publisher based in the Seattle area, is bringing out a new fourth edition paperback of the nonfiction book/memoir first published in 1980 as a scrutiny of Alaska’s boom culture in the pipeline era, and how it affected the pioneer spirit of the ‘last frontier.’ 49 Writers is thrilled to help celebrate this re-issue of a classic on Thursday, August 26 from 6:30 to 8 at Metro Books.
One week later, you’ll want to stop by at Metro again for our Thursday, September 2 reading and event with Legend of a Suicide author David Vann from 6:30 to 8. We thank Metro Books for helping us present these two great events.
Oh, and with all that excitement, don’t forget your entry for our annual 49 Writers Ode to a Dead Salmon contest. We’ve got a nice selection of entries, but there’s always room for more – the deadline is midnight on August 15. At stake is an autographed fishyT-shirt of your choice by Ray Troll.
Likewise, be sure to vote in our poll (right sidebar) for the next title we’ll read in our 49 Writers online book club discussion. The poll closes Aug. 17 at 7 a.m., and we’ll host a drop-in online discussion on September 20 and 21.
This Saturday, August 14, you’ll want to stop by Bosco’s in Dimond Mall at 1 pm for the release of A Native Lad, a graphic novel by Sarah Hurst with art by a long list of talented Alaska illustrators. Get a signed copy for anyone interested in Alaska history or the graphic novel genre. Check out this guest post by Hurst to get the whole story on this fascinating project.
We’ve had a cancellation for September’s First Friday author book-signing event at Raven Place, and are looking for an author to fill the gap! Please contact Paula at paulabryner@gci.net if interested.
At the Alaska Writers Guild’s monthly meeting next Tuesday, August 17th at 7pm at Barnes and Noble, 200 E. Northern Lights, Anchorage, agent Marcy Gentemann will be speaking on ‘How to Prepare your Manuscript for Publication.’ Also at the meeting, the winner of the Guild’s monthly writing contest will be announced.
Next Wednesday, August 18th at 7pm, Out North will be hosting its monthly Poetry Parley. The featured poet will be T. S. Eliot and the featured ‘local’ poet will be Sandra Kleven. See their website for full details.