This year, 49 Writers is one of two winners of the Contributions to Literacy in Alaska (CLIA) award, selected from among applications sent in from across the state. “Our selection committee was most impressed with the broad range of resources 49 Writers has pulled together for established and aspiring writers,” says CLIA Awards Chair Carol Sturgelewski. “Starting with the blog, you have created a potpourri of courses, retreats, support, and information that benefits all Alaskan writers.”
Of course none of this would be possible without you: our volunteers, donors, members, friends, and fans. So we invite all of you to share this recognition with us on Tuesday, July 19 at the University of Alaska Anchorage Fine Arts Building. A dessert reception begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by a brief awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Immediately afterwards, authors Sherry Simpson and Rich Chiappone will present readings as part of the Northern Renaissance Arts and Science Reading Series, held in conjunction with the MFA program in creative writing at UAA’s Department of Creative Writing and Literary Arts. All events are free and open to the public.
We’ll be in great company. Emilie Swenning of Nanwalek is also being recognized for her work in establishing a library and reading support for children in her Kenai Peninsula village. She assembled community backing to qualify for an Imagination Library program, in which children under 5 receive free books. She created a makeshift library space and has gathered more than 2,000 books for the community. Now, Nanwalek is hoping to create a library for all ages.
Alaska Center for the Book, the state affiliate of the U.S. Library of Congress Center for the Book, presents the CLIA Awards each year to people and institutions who have made a significant contribution in literacy, the literary arts, or the preservation of the written or spoken word in Alaska. Founded in 1991, ACB is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization. ACB participates in Reading Rendezvous, Letters About Literature, LitSite Alaska, the National Book Festival, Alaska Native/American Indian Heritage Month, and other events and programs.