It’s been a busy week in the 49 Writers virtual world–we have a new blog post from Deb Vanasse, and one by our Tutka Bay guest author and instructor, Hannah Tinti. Over in podcast-land, the amazing Katie Bausler has just produced and published her new Active Voice interview with Kim Heacox. If you’re not getting email updates about the blog, and you’d like to, just scroll down the page on any blog entry, and find the “Blog Subscription” box in the right-hand column. Enter your email address, and click “subscribe.” You’ll then have to open an email from our blog subscription service and click the link to confirm your subscription. We think of our online presence as a conversation with YOU! So feel free to leave us a comment, send us an email, or follow us on social media. And of course, let us know about any events we should be including in the roundup.
SOUTHCENTRAL
ANCHORAGE | Sunday, July 15, 2018 from 2-5 PM | New play readings by the Perseverance Theatre, at The Writer’s Block Bookstore and Café. Playwrights will be reading from their new plays in creation to get a sense of how they sound out loud and how the audience will react. Snacks and drinks will be served at the cafe. Facebook event here.
ANCHORAGE | July 2018 | The UAA Fine Arts Building will hold the Northern Renaissance Arts & Sciences evening readings. Details can be found here. Book sale will be conducted in the Fine Arts lobby. Remaining speakers will be as follows:
- July 14: Nancy Lord and Daryl Farmer
- July 17: Anne Caston, Sherry Simpson, and David Stevenson
ANCHORAGE | Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at 7 PM | A Tribute to Theodore Roethke: The Writer’s Block will host this theatrical and poetry reading. The one-act play centers around David Wagoner and Carolyn Kizer who struggle to absorb their mentor’s irrational behavior. After the play, there will be readings of Roetheke’s own poetry and original poetry that relates to or is inspired by him.
GIRDWOOD | Monday-Friday, August 6-10, 2018 | Girdwood Fine Arts Camp: A week-long class on writing and drawing comics with Anchorage cartoonist Lee Post, journalist Julia O’Malley, and book binder Jimmy Jordan. The camp will be focused on writing and drawing graphic novels and comics: For four hours per day, students will work with experienced comic and writing professionals. They will be introduced to drawing techniques including character design, perspective and thumbnailing. The class will be lead by visiting artist John G. John, a Cleveland based cartoonist known for his work on the Lake Eerie Monster. He will be accompanied by Anchorage-based journalist Julia O’Malley and cartoonist Lee Post. Julia will teach writing alongside John, taking what she knows about breaking down complex stories and finding what is important and compelling, and translating it to plotting graphic fiction. Lee will share his unique style of character design and other drawing tricks, many of which he has honed through other teaching artist gigs. Ages 10-18. Learn more on the community website here.
SOUTHEAST
WRANGELL | Flying Island Writers & Artists group meets every other Monday 6:30-8 PM. Contact Vivian Faith Prescott for more information doctorviv@yahoo.com
CONFERENCES, RETREATS, and RESIDENCIES
McCARTHY | July 26-29, 2018 | Women and the Frontier: Memoir writing workshop. Participants will discover some of the women who traversed Alaska’s frontiers, with artist-in-resident Marianne Monson, the author of Frontier Grit. Through a variety of writing exercises, discussion, and on-location prompts, participants will explore the concepts of wilderness and frontiers in our own lives. Meals and lodging included. Fee: $445. More info and registration here.
TUTKA BAY LODGE | The 9th Annual 49 Writers Tutka Bay Writers Retreat with Hannah Tinti will take place September 7-9, 2018. This generative writers retreat blends craft talks, in-class writing, readings, and discussion with unstructured time to experience the immersive natural environment or concentrate further on writing. Your weekend of instruction and inspiration will take place at Tutka Bay Lodge, named by Fodor in 2012 as one of the World’s Top 100 places to stay. Tutka Bay is a remote and rugged fjord characterized by soaring mountains, secluded beaches, old growth forest, and dramatic tidal fluctuations. To get there you fly or drive to the fishing community of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula (225 miles south of Anchorage) then take a 20-minute water taxi ride across Kachemak Bay. On the way you will observe a variety of shore and water birds, and there is always the possibility of sighting sea otters, orcas, and humpbacks. Apply now!
Hannah Tinti is the author of three books of fiction. Her short story collection, Animal Crackers, has sold in sixteen countries and was a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway award. Her best-selling novel, The Good Thief, is a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, recipient of the American Library Association’s Alex Award, winner of the The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and winner of the Quality Paperback Book Club’s New Voices Award. Her new novel, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, was published in March 2017 by The Dial Press (U.S.A.) and Tinder Press (U.K.), and has been optioned by director Matt Reeves/6th & Idaho, producer Michael Costigan/Cota Films & Endemol Shine. It has been nominated for an Edgar Award, and was named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, The Washington Post and Paste Magazine. Apply now!
OPPORTUNITIES and AWARDS for WRITERS
Alaska Writers Guild‘s quarterly writing contest, open to members and non-members alike, is open for children’s lit through August 24, and poetry through November 16, 2018. Sadly, submissions for fiction are closed. More details: https://www.alaskawritersguild.com/writing-contest
Hometown Reads is in Anchorage! A website dedicated to locating authors near you, Hometown Reads has a section for Anchorage. Sign up to have your book displayed and join the Facebook page to brainstorm ways to advertise and sell books locally. Check it out at https://hometownreads.com.
What’s missing? Submit your announcement for the next Roundup. Send an email with “Roundup” as the subject to 49blog@gmail.com
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