49 Writers is spreading its wings beyond the Anchorage area! Last Tuesday’s ‘Resolve To Write’ event in Homer, co-ordinated by Miranda Weiss, had a great attendance of around 15. Writers of all stripes connected over burger and brew at Alice’s Champagne Palace, received an insider preview and some background stories about Nancy Lord’s new book, Early Warming, shared writerly resolutions (and vegetable-eating intentions too), and generally enjoyed a good time, with the promise of more to come.
Last-minute chance to register for the “Stirring Words” food writing class with Kirsten Dixon that begins tomorrow (Saturday). It’s time also to encourage you to consider taking “A Fiction Workshop” with Mattox Roesch and Deb Vanasse, starting Thursday February 17. This latter class is one of our meatiest offerings of the term: a full eight weeks, team-taught by two published authors, organized in the traditional workshop format with opportunities for critique as well as discussion of published works. Register now and you’ll have a full four weeks to prepare your short story or 20-page novel excerpt for workshopping. (Deadlines can be so very helpful.)
On Tuesday, January 25th, we look forward to seeing you at the opening event in our new CROSSCURRENT series. Come hear Nancy Lord, Marybeth Holleman, and moderator Charles Wohlforth discuss “Environmental Writing & Activism” at Out North Theatre at 7 pm. We’re currently planning other events in this series, and would love to hear your ideas. Is there a literary conversation about a particular theme or involving a specific Alaska author that you’d love to hear in this format? Let us know. Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman are undertaking quite the tour over the next week: see below for other opportunities to hear them.
On Saturday, January 22, at 4:00pm,there will be a book-signing with Nancy Lord, author of Early Warming: Crisis and Response in the Climate-Changed North
and Mary Beth Holleman author of Heart of the Sound
. Gulliver’s Books, 3525 College Road, Fairbanks, AK
and Mary Beth Holleman author of Heart of the Sound. Gulliver’s Books, 3525 College Road, Fairbanks, AKThen, on Sunday, January 23 at noon, at the Fairbanks Unitarian Universalist after-service program, Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman will be presenting some of their environmental writing in a conversation moderated by Robert Hannon.
On Monday, January 24 at 7pm, as part of the Northern Voices series sponsored by Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Wien Memorial Library, Fairbanks; Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman will read, show some slides, and answer questions about environmental writing.
On Tuesday, January 25 at 10 a.m., Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman will be the guests on Talk of Alaska, the statewide call-in radio show hosted by Steve Heimel. Please call them! And it’s later that same day, at 7pm at Out North Theater in Anchorage, that the Crosscurrents event mentioned above takes place.
On Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00pm, at Barnes & Noble, 200 East Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK, join Anchor Park Reading Group for a discussion of this month’s selected book, Run With the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best,
by Eugene Peterson.
by Eugene Peterson. On Wednesday, January 26, at 4:00pm, 2011 AEDC Economic Forecast guest speaker Peter Sheahan will present an informal lecture. Peter’s fifth book FL!P
, an international best-seller available in 25 countries, emphasizes the need for leaders to have mindset flexibility. UAA Rasmuson Hall, 3416 Seawolf Drive, Anchorage, AK
, an international best-seller available in 25 countries, emphasizes the need for leaders to have mindset flexibility. UAA Rasmuson Hall, 3416 Seawolf Drive, Anchorage, AKOn Wednesday, Jan 26, 6:00pm, there will be Open Mic at the UAA Student Union Den, 2921 Spirit Way, Anchorage, AK Poetry, song, dance and comedy are all welcome.
On Friday January 28 at 7pm, at the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College, Homer, Nancy Lord and Marybeth Holleman will feature in a reading and conversation moderated by historian Mike Hawfield, about their environmental writing.
See Nancy’s website for information about further readings ‘outside,’ in Seattle and at the AWP in Washington.
The Fairbanks Drama Association and The Looking Glass Group Theatre invite Alaskan residents to send in their best 10-minute plays to be considered for the 10th Annual 8X10 Festival of New Alaskan Plays. Eight ten-minute plays will be given rehearsed staged readings at the Festival, which will be held April 15 & 16, 2011, at FDA’s Riverfront Theater in Fairbanks. One entry per playwright (AK residents only); one author per play. No musicals or children’s plays. Entrants should submit five copies of their script, typed and bound, with pages numbered. Cover page with playwright’s name and contact info, including
phone and e-mail (on cover page only). “Cast of Characters” page with brief character descriptions following cover page. (These pages not included in page count.)
Cast size should be no more than eight actors.
Plays should be between 8 & 12 minutes long based on one minute of playing time per page of script, 12 pt. font size, standard playwriting format.
No electronic submissions or Express mail. Scripts will not be returned.
Submissions must be postmarked no later than March 15, 2011 and sent to:
8X10 Festival
Fairbanks Drama Association/ Looking Glass Group Theatre
1852 Second Avenue
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
For more information, contact:
Peggy MacDonald Ferguson, Executive Director
Fairbanks Drama Association
907-456-PLAY
Next Month’s Poetry Parley is looking for readers! On Wednesday, February 16th, the Parley will be featuring the works of Nikki Giovanni in honor of Black History Month. If you’re interested and available, send email to Jonathan Minton as soon as possible and let me know what poems you’d like to read,
The second North Words Writers Symposium will be held in Skagway on June 1-4, 2011. There’s a great faculty lining up already. They have just announced that Howard Blum of New York will be the keynote speaker. Random House is releasing his new book, The Floor of Heaven,
about the Yukon Gold Rush a month prior to the conference. They also have commitments from Heather Lende, John Straley, Peggy Shumaker, Kim Heacox, Tim Woody and our own Deb Vanasse, along with the usual suspects Buckwheat, Jeff Brady and Dan Henry.
about the Yukon Gold Rush a month prior to the conference. They also have commitments from Heather Lende, John Straley, Peggy Shumaker, Kim Heacox, Tim Woody and our own Deb Vanasse, along with the usual suspects Buckwheat, Jeff Brady and Dan Henry.Readers of this blog got the news in advance about Andromeda Romano-Lax’s sale of her second novel last November. Last week, Publishers Weekly made it official, selecting the Discus Thrower sale to Soho Press as one of its top six “deals of the week,” under the headline, “Soho Grabs the ‘Discus.”
. Don Rearden’s Raven’s Gift
has arrived at the UAA Campus Bookstore. It was hard to order, from Canada, so it’s great to have it available. Mark your calendars for a UAA Campus Bookstore event with Don: Monday February 28 from 5:00pm- 7:00pm.
has arrived at the UAA Campus Bookstore. It was hard to order, from Canada, so it’s great to have it available. Mark your calendars for a UAA Campus Bookstore event with Don: Monday February 28 from 5:00pm- 7:00pm. For an exciting intro to the book see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAhtf_D3qdE&feature=related Don Rearden teaches at College of Preparatory and Developmental Studies/UAA and is on the 49 Writers board.
Homer storyteller Bill Noomah is undertaking a year long project to read and write a poem a day. Read about this undertaking and monitor his progress at: http://noomah365.blogspot.com/
This last week Bill posted his 49th poem and decided it was time to share with the 49 Writers community.
This last week Bill posted his 49th poem and decided it was time to share with the 49 Writers community.
Next Sunday's conversation with poets can be accessed in the sidebar but it also belongs in this list of coming events. January 30, 2 – 5 pm. Be "With Poets in Winter." Participants include Peggy Shumaker, Alaska's new Writer Laureate, Vivian Faith Prescott, who was just nominated for a Pushcart prize, and Zack Rogow, from Berkeley, CA, a faculty member at UAA's low residency MFA program – whose touch with the erotic is daring, heartfelt, and hot. Also, Mike Burwell, will be on hand, as editor of CIRQUE, to give an update as the journal enters year two. I will moderate, settle disputes and keep the peace. Sandy Kleven