So much 49 Alaska Writing Center news each week: Only 10 days until the start of Bill Sherwonit’s class, “Adventures in Creative Nonfiction: The Art of the Personal Essay” (Monday nights 7 to 9:30 pm, Oct. 4 to Nov. 22) (see his recent guest post here for some ideas as to his approach) and only 12 days until the start of Andromeda Romano-Lax’s class, “Memory as Muse” (Wednesday nights 7 to 9 pm, Oct 6-27). And of course, six more courses follow: Working the Edge, Flash Fiction, Revision Intensive, Promoting Your Book in Your Pajamas, Crash Course: Characters, and Writer v. Grinch. Register at the 49 Writing Center Website, and please help us spread the word.
Do you enjoy a good yard sale? Attend ours (Raven Place, 415 L. Street) on October 2 from 9 am to 2 pm. Or if you’re a member, be sneaky and come the night before, 6 to 8 pm., to get the chance to preview and buy early. That also happens to be First Friday, so downtown will be hopping and we’ll have signings of Mike Burwell’s journal, Cirque, at Raven Place.
If that’s not enough of a Raven Place fix, mark your calendar for Sunday October 17, 2 to 4 pm, when we’ll be having a Tea Tasting and Book Talk. Alaska tea matron Marge Arnold will share the history of tea, methods of brewing, a take-home booklet packed with information, and a chance to sample fourteen different blends. Then we’ll all enjoy a “proper cuppa” while some of Alaska’s best readers tell what they love most about their favorite titles. The event is free, but donations are welcome and reservations are required due to limited seating. Email Deb at 49writers@gmail.com to reserve.
On to news from other corners: A new radio show called “Kids These Days!” is airing throughout Southcentral Alaska on KSKA-FM. This one-hour, weekly program examines the various issues related to raising modern children in Alaska. The topics discussed range anywhere from hard-hitting to light-hearted, and always the show attempts to educate, entertain and engage the childraising community. In addition to interviews with in-studio guests on each weeks’ topic, KTD! also features news stories, commentaries and the voiced opinions of local adults, teens and kids. This radio show, and its accompanying website, are all about bringing together the childraising community in order to strengthen ties and provide a forum in which this community can exchange ideas, share tips and make new friends. On the website, listeners can post their thoughts, ask their questions on a discussion board, and suggest future show topics. Listeners are invited to call (888-KTD-RADIO) or email KTD! with questions for upcoming show topics.
Now, for the opportunity part: In the interest of gathering community voices for this program and website, Kids These Days invites Alaska writers to pitch ideas for essays of 2 to 4 (read out loud) minutes in length, or 800-1000 words. These pieces would specifically address two areas : “youth” and “Alaska” – raising kids here, growing up here, the lighter side of motherhood/fatherhood, unique family experience you’ve had, etc… These pieces would either be featured on the show’s website or on the radio program – or possibly both. Please submit your ideas, or query for more information, by writing to Sarah . (Note from Andromeda: On Tuesday, an essay by Barbara Brown about her daughter Sophie leaving home was enough to get me teary during an afternoon commute; KTD is off to an excellent start!)
Mt. View Branch Library Opening will take place Sat, Sept 25, 10am-2pm, at 120 N. Bragaw Street, Anchorage .You’ve waited years for your new branch—the time is here to celebrate! The opening ceremony and ribbon cutting will be followed by a day of food, music, children’s storytimes and workshops.
Also on Sat, Sept 25, from 1-3pm, Craig Medred reads from Graveyard of Dreams
at Barnes & Noble, 200 East Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK
at Barnes & Noble, 200 East Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AKHe’s written for the Anchorage Daily News for 30 years, and is now with Alaska Dispatch… Craig Medred’s first book, Graveyard of Dreams: Dashed Hopes and Shattered Aspirations Along Alaska’s Iditarod Trail, is sure to be a huge hit. Signing from 1:00-3:00.
LitSite Alaska announces Alaska’s Story, its new interactive timeline of Alaska’s history. Alaska has maintained a long and dynamic human past. Spanning a period from the Pleistocene Ice Ages to the end of the 20th century. Alaska has served as a geological, ecological and cultural bridge that has connected, and continues to connect us, to the broader world. Alaska’s Story is an interactive platform of Alaska’s history divided into 9 time periods, providing brief narratives of Alaska’s major historical events and themes.
LitSite’s Featured Writer is cartoonist and animator Peter Dunlap-Shohl with My Six (Known) Brushes With Death.
A reminder that the deadline for this year’s Two Review Poetry Contest, judged by poet Nathalie Handal, is September 30, 2010. Full guidelines are available at their website.
Please check out the latest issue of Arctica Magazine, an online literary and arts journal out of Whitehorse. There are some contributions by Alaskans, including four poems by UAF’s Eric Heyne. This is a great place for Alaskans to submit, as it’s limited to circumpolar contributors.
Smoke City Narrators announce their annual Novel Pitch and First Five Pages contest.
DEADLINE – Postmarked or Emailed by November 15, 2010.
ENTRY FEE – $8.50
First prize – $150. Second prize – $75. Third prize – $40.
JUDGE – Agent Jeff Kleinman/ Folio Literary Management, NY, NY.
Email/Snail Mail:
1. First 5 pages of a novel, 1,500 words max.
2. One-sentence synopsis of the novel, 25 words or less.
(Novel does not have to be complete.)
Please see website for complete rules.
DEADLINE – Postmarked or Emailed by November 15, 2010.
ENTRY FEE – $8.50
First prize – $150. Second prize – $75. Third prize – $40.
JUDGE – Agent Jeff Kleinman/ Folio Literary Management, NY, NY.
Email/Snail Mail:
1. First 5 pages of a novel, 1,500 words max.
2. One-sentence synopsis of the novel, 25 words or less.
(Novel does not have to be complete.)
Please see website for complete rules.
From the Alaska Council on the Arts: Teaching Artist Academy to be held in Anchorage. Are you an artist? Have you ever wanted to do an artist residency in the schools? The Alaska State Arts Council is hosting the first Anchorage Teaching Artist Academy. Starting Oct 6, this 6 week (12 1/2 hours) workshop series will provide in-depth training emphasizing how to work effectively with students of all ages in varied settings as a Teaching Artist, in Anchorage and elsewhere in Alaska. Each session features expert teachers, administrators and consultants who share knowledge, skills and techniques to equip you to work effectively in Anchorage classrooms and beyond.
What participants will get:
· Better understanding of what teachers are expected to teach in terms of state standards and district curriculum.
· Proven classroom management strategies
· Help with designing and writing lessons or a unit to be used in a Teaching Artist residency in a school in Juneau or beyond
· Dialogue and community building among local artists and educators about teaching in and through the arts.
· Advice on how to negotiate contracts, market yourself and how to join the Alaska Teaching Artist Roster of the Alaska State Council on the Arts.
Oct 6 through Nov 10, 6:30-8:30PM in the Alaska State Arts Council conference room, 161 S Klevin St.
$50 for the series of 6 workshops or $10/session.
For interested women writers, 49 Writers friend and fan Shannon Polson recommends a site called SheWrites, where she took a great webinar on non-fiction book proposals. She reports it’s a big community with some stellar writers and lots of ways to learn about – and actually promote – work.
Alaska Sisters in Crime‘s first meeting for the 2010-2011 season, is on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. at Kaladi Brothers on Brayton Drive in Anchorage. They have a lot to discuss. They are also holding a NIGHT WITH THE FEDERAL MARSHALLS – still awaiting final confirmation.
Check out Heartbroke Bay
, a new and debut novel by the pseudonymous Lynn D’Urso. It is a Southeast Alaska Goldrush novel based on an incident that really happened in 1906.
, a new and debut novel by the pseudonymous Lynn D’Urso. It is a Southeast Alaska Goldrush novel based on an incident that really happened in 1906.