There was a good turn-out for Savor the Rising Words poetry reading at Great Harvest Bread Co. Hats off to Barb Hood, who cooked up the brilliant idea of a poetry broadside event for National Poetry Month. Toby Widdicombe, who was one of the featured poets, offered extra credit to his students who attended, and attend they did. The broadsides are on display through the end of April. If you see one you like, it can be yours for a cool $35. Proceeds help support 49 Writers free events such as Reading & Craft Talks and Crosscurrents.
Happy Writing!
Morgan
EVENTS IN ANCHORAGE
We Came to Stay: Anchorage Untold Stories, a free Anchorage Centennial event. Storyshare, April 19, 3-5pm, Loussac Library Innovations Lab, 4th Floor. Bring a dish and your own story to share as we explore how you decided to set roots in Anchorage, created a sense of place, and reached beyond to become part of the larger community.
- How to Publish Your Book on Kindle with Lawrence Weiss, April 18, 9-12pm.
- Writing in 360 Degrees with Don Rearden, April 23, 6-9pm.
Crosscurrents: Alaska Writer Laureate Frank Soos and panelists Eva Saulitis, Susanna Mishler, and David Stevenson. A wide ranging discussion about how writers present themselves on the page in poetry and essay, as opposed to the people they may be in the rest of their lives. Wednesday, April 29, 7pm at the Anchorage Museum, 7th Street entrance.
The Alaska Chapter of SCBWI is offering a workshop entitled “No Bookmarks Allowed: How to Inject Suspense into Any Novel,” with Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why, Thursday, April 23, 7:30-8:30pm. Details and registration here. Don’t miss this chance to learn from a master of the craft, and support the prevention of teen suicide. Stefanie Tatalias writes: “I am sure you’re aware of the devasting suicide rate in our state (four times higher than the national average) and the epidemic of teen suicide that touches every student in our high schools. I am super impressed by Jay Asher’s book tour to help stop bullying, and prevent the tragic tory that unfolds in his novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, about a teen’s suicide and the events that led up to it.” Proceeds from this workshop will help buy books for West High School students.
Please check out these related links: http://50statesagainstbullying.com, http://thirteenreasonswhy.com, and brief video of Jay Asher discussing the tour, found here
EVENTS AROUND ALASKA
ONLINE CLASSES
Lynn Lovegreen will lead an online workshop on writing YA/NA historical romance sponsored by Young Adults Chapter of Romance Writers of America (YARWA). Writing YA/NA Historical Romance. Online: May 4-22, 2015. $10 for YARWA members ($20 for non-members). Register here.
SOUTHCENTRAL, MAT-SU, KENAI PENINSULA
The 2015 Mat-Su Young Writers Conference, April 25, sponsored by Publication Consultants and the Mat-Su School District, is in need of author speakers to present on a number of writerly topics. To apply as an author speaker, contact Evan Swensen at evan@Publication Consultants.com.
Meet Linda Dunegan. Friday, May 1 at 4pm at Fireside Books in Palmer. If you’ve been reading the news this past year, you’ve probably seen allegations of corruption and abuse in the Alaska National Guard. Linda Dunegan’s book The Price of Whistleblowing is her own story of working in that institution. It’s an unflinching narrative about standing up in a hostile environment, and it’s a stark commentary on the impact of corruption on national security — and on individual lives.
An All-Day Independent Bookstore Day Party at Fireside Books in Palmer! May 2nd. Following the runaway success of last year’s California Bookstore Day, bookstores across the nation are now preparing for Independent Bookstore Day, a country-wide celebration of books and independent bookstores on May 2nd. From Brooklyn to Palmer, book lovers should mark their calendars for this special day of literary parties. Fireside Books will be celebrating with a book-signing (and, later a special dinner) with author Heather Lende; a panel presenting tongue-in-cheek “relationship advice” with authors Deb Vanasse, Kris Farmen, Jackie Ivie, and Timothy Bateson; music by Anna Lynch and Meggie Aube; and publishing advice from author Eowyn Ivey.
Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 12-16. 2015’s keynote speaker is Andre Dubus III, and there are a host of amazing writers on the faculty this year (as there are every year). This year’s post-conference workshop at Tutka Bay Lodge, Finding the Geography of Our Work, will be led by 2014 Kingsley Tufts Award winner Afaa Weaver, June 16-18,
SOUTHEAST
An Evening with Alice Rose Crow ~Maar’aq and Ruby Hansen Murray. April 22, 7pm. Local musicians and writers will join the Island Institute’s April Writers In Residence, Ruby Hansen Murray and Alice Rose Crow ~ Maar’aq, for readings and performances centering around the theme of place and belonging at the Yaw Chapel on the SJ Campus. Ruby and Alice are in town through the Island Institute’s Collaborative Residency.
Literary Happy Hour: a new monthly event in Juneau. Sunday, April 26, 4:30-6pm, Coho’s, 51 Egan Drive. Free – No Host Bar. Readings by Libby Bakalar (author of the Juneau-based blog One Hot Mess) and Geoff Kirsch (Juneau Empire columnist and humorist). These two writers (who happened to be married) are truly funny! Check out their work by clicking on their names. See you at Coho’s!
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS
PUBLICATION
Gleanings from AWP
- welcomes submissions of articles, essays, short stories, poems, comics, artwork, music recordings, and the like for publication on their website.
- seeks to publish quality fiction, memoir, art, and poetry through their press. They are now open for submissions of almost anything that is entertaining, thought-provoking, original, or generally awesome in some way. They may be a small press, but Blue Skirt publishers say they “give each manuscript we acquire our full attention and expertise when it comes to editing, book and cover design, and distribution. We also work with our authors to arrange speaking/reading engagements and other publicity.”
Microfiction Monday Magazine publishes exceptional microfiction (stories told in 100 words or fewer) the first Monday of each month.
The Sewanee Review accepts essays, fiction, and poetry, and awards four prizes annually to the best short fiction, poetry, essay, and book reviewing of the previous year. The Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry is presented annually to established poets. Winners of these awards are determined by the board of editors and a prize committee; one cannot apply for any of them.
Fairy Tale Review is accepting submissions for their 2016 issue. Send your best fairy-tale work along the spectrum of mainstream to experimental, fabulist to realist. The reading period will remain open until the issue is full—they predict closing in late spring or early summer.
CONTESTS & GRANTS
Gleanings from AWP
Willis Barnstone Translation Prize for unpublished translations into English. Hosted by the Evansville Review. Contest deadline: December 1.
Monstrosities of the Midway Literary Contest. March 1-May 31. Grand prize $1000. Poem, short story, or work of nonfiction. Step right up! They want to see mysteries, anomalies, and clashing energies. Bring your giant rats, conjoined twins, Fiji mermaids, bearded ladies, and civic dissidents. They invite any writing that complicates issues of performance and identity. Real and unreal. Exposed and concealed.
Fairy Tale Review Awards in Poetry and Prose: The selected winners of the prose and poetry contests will each receive $1,000, and all submissions will also be considered for publication in the Ochre Issue, which will be released in 2016. Reading fee: $10. Reading period April 1, 2015 to July 15th, 2015.
Blue Skirt Announces a Novella Contest! There simply isn’t enough love given to the novella, and the folks at Blue Skirt Productions believe this form deserves more recognition. They’re offering $500 for the best novella published in 2014 or 2015. Submissions must be between 15,000 and 40,000 words in length. Self-published and e-books are more than welcome, but the work must have an ISBN number. The winner will be announced in spring of 2016, and in addition to the cash prize, will be interviewed for a feature on their website. Contest ends December 31, 2015.
CONFERENCES, RETREATS & RESIDENCIES
National Arts Strategies: Call for Creative Community Fellows. Application deadline for the second cohort: April 26. Around the world there are artists, activists, community organizers, administrators and entrepreneurs working as change-makers in their communities – using arts and culture as vehicles to drive physical and social transformations. During the nine-month fellowship, fellows are given tools, training and access to a community of support in order to fuel their visions for community change, spark new ideas and help propel them into action.
The Wrangell Mountains Center residency program aims to support artists of all genres, writers, and inquiring minds in the creation of their work. Their organization and community will provide unrestricted work time and space to focused individuals. They invite applicants with creative and inquisitive minds who will both add to and benefit from the interdisciplinary efforts at their campus in McCarthy, Alaska and the surrounding Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
North Words Writers Symposium, May 27-30, Skagway. Keynote speaker is Mary Roach, plus a bevvy of Alaska’s best authors.
Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, Homer, AK, June 12-16, 2015: keynote speaker is Andre Dubus III, and there are a host of amazing writers on the faculty this year (as there are every year).
Last Frontier Theatre Conference, June 14-20, in Valdez, features new work by playwrights from around the country. There are evening performances, 10-minute play slams, even a fringe festival. The deadline is past for play submissions, but they may still need actors.
Wrangell Mountains Writing Workshop presents RiverSong with Frank Soos, Michelle McAfee, Robin Child, and Nancy Cook, July 22-27, McCarthy to Chitina. The Wrangell Mountains Writing Workshop is pleased to partner with McCarthy River Tours & Outfitters to host a six-day, five-night adventure in the fabulous Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This year’s workshop will feature poet and essayist, Frank Soos, who is currently serving as Alaska’s Writer Laureate, joined by accomplished singer-songwriter Michelle McAfee, backcountry banjo-diva Robin Child, and workshop director Nancy Cook. Together they will explore the ways wilderness can help inspire songs, stories, poems, and essays. Activities include an opening reading/performance and craft sessions in the comfort of the Wrangell Mountains Center’s facility in McCarthy, followed by three nights and four days of creative inquiry along the Kennicott, Nizina, Chitina, and Copper Rivers. Space is limited to eight student writers/ songwriters.
Julia O’Malley is hosting a two-day storytelling retreat this summer in Homer on beautiful Yukon Island, July 24 -26. This retreat is an intimate, no-homework, no-pressure opportunity to generate material and improve storytelling and listening skills in a positive environment. The workshop, especially suited for people who write for their jobs, will center on personal storytelling while relying on techniques that have broad applications in writing and reporting work. You will leave with tools that help you write more fluidly, listen more effectively and tap into your innate ability to organize and tell interesting stories that connect with readers. Click here for details. Contact Julia by May 15 if you’re interested.
Alaska Writers Guild & SCBWI Annual Writer’s Conference, September 19-20, Anchorage. Early registration starts May 2015. www.AlaskaWritersGuild.com
Gleanings from AWP
Poetry and Yoga Retreat in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, August 3-7. On their own, poetry and yoga are radiant. When you combine them, magic happens!
Poetry by the Sea Conference, Madison CT., May 26-29.
Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, June 28-July 11, in Sewanee, TN. Workshops in playwriting, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction for students currently enrolled in 9th through 11th grades. Are you a high school student already bitten by the writing bug? Do you write poems or stories, in class or out, but wonder how good they are, and how you could make them better? Your parents admire them and your friends are impressed; your teachers help as much as they can. But what would a professional writer, doing the same sort of work and publishing it, make of your stuff? If you’ve asked yourself these sorts of questions, check out the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference. They are not accepting new applications for 2015, but keep them in mind for next year.