Round Up of News and Events - 49 Writers, Inc.

The 2015 Rasmuson Foundation artist awards were announced this week. The Fellowship award winners include writers Dawnell Smith and John Tetpon, and poets Nicole Stellon, Anne Coray, and Vivian Prescott. Project Grant winners include writers Martha Amore, Mary Odden, Rachel Ford, Sarah Birdsall, Chantelle Pence, and Maris O’Tierney, and songwriters Todd Grebe and Emma Hill. Congratulations to all!

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the National Endowment for the Arts wants to hear how the arts have affected your life: “how the arts are part of your day, how the arts have inspired you to do something unique, how they have made a difference among you and your family, as well as in the communities and neighborhoods in which you live,” and if there is a specific NEA grant that has had an impact on you and your community. Check here for details.

Happy writing
Morgan

EVENTS IN ANCHORAGE

Special event for Poetry Parley: Former Alaska Poet Laureate, Joanne Townsend, will be in Alaska the last week in May. The May Parley will move to the 4th Thursday to allow her to read as our Alaska poet. She has selected Louise Gallop as the marquee poet. Louise is also of Alaska but died summer of 2013, in her nineties. The date is May 28, 7pm, Hugi-Lewis Studio, 1008 W Northern Lights Blvd.

Events at the UAA Bookstore

June 10, 4-6pm. Poet Tom Sexton presents A Ladder of Cranes.

June 15, 4-6pm. Author and Activist Chris Dixon presents Another Politics: Talking Across Today’s Transformative Movements

EVENTS AROUND ALASKA

SOUTHCENTRAL, MAT-SU, KENAI PENINSULA

Author events at Fireside Books, Palmer:

Roger Woods, Saturday, May 23 at 2pm. Roger first landed in South Central Alaska in 1945. His book, “Treasure Alaska” is the story of a colorful people “with their strengths and their foibles tempered by the environment in which they have lived.”
Robert H. Armstrong, Friday, May 29 at 11:00am. Bob Armstrong has pursued a career in Alaska as a biologist, naturalist, and nature photographer since 1960. He is the author of the best-selling book Nature of Southeast Alaska and numerous other popular and scientific books and articles on the natural history of the state. He lives in Juneau, Alaska.
Timothy Bateson, Saturday, May 30 at 11:30am. Timothy’s short story appears in the new anthology: .Across the Karman Line.

Open call for writers in Homer: reading opportunity with Emily Johnson/Catalyst. Deadline: Friday, May 22, 2015 at 5pm. Submit: Between 8 and 10 minutes of finished work (poetry, prose, short story, song, spoken word) related to HOME, PLACE, LAND. This can be interpreted widely. They are looking for work that speaks to our inherent connection to and disconnection from home, place, land, each other. How: Please submit finished work as one PDF to julia@catalystdance.com. Write SHORE READING SUBMISSION in the subject line. Include a cover page with your name and contact information (email, phone) and links (youtube, vimeo,etc) to your performed work, if possible. Applicants mus be available to read/perform the submitted work at 7:30pm on June 9th at Bunnell St Arts Center as part of Emily Johnson/Catalyst’s performance project, SHORE in Lenapehoking. 5 – 6 applicants will be selected and paid a performance stipend.

Machetanz Art Festival writing panel and workshops, June 6, at the Mat-Su College campus. Preregistration required.

Writers Panel: Is This the Golden Age of Alaskan Writing? 9-10:30am. Panelists: Deb Vanasse, Don Rearden, Julie LeMay
Poetry: The Mysterious and the Obscure. 10:30-12pm, Instructor: Julie Hungiville LeMay
Unleashing the Screenwriter Within. 1-2:30pm. Instructor: Don Rearden
Saturday, June 6—1:00-2:30 PM
Windows on Your Characters: Strategies for Compelling Fiction. 2:30-4pm. Instructor: Deb Vanasse
Spoken Word Poetry Slam Workshop for High School. 6-7:30pm. Instructor: Trey Josey

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

The Sitka Story Lab is a place where young Sitkan writers ages 7-19 can tell their stories, practice their writing skills, and unleash their imaginations. The programs are free of charge and open to everyone. They believe that storytelling is an essential art form, especially for young people. It builds confidence, fosters important skills, and strengthens interpersonal connections. They aim to empower youth to think creatively and express themselves with clarity and purpose. The Sitka Story Lab is sponsored and created by the Island Institute and is a brand new program for the 2014-2015 school year.

INTERIOR

The Art of the Essay, June 26-28, with Frank Soos, is a three-day intense class in reading and writing personal essays. The essay as practiced from the beginning of the form up to the present day is the most open to experimentation and innovation of all the commonly practiced forms. They will explore that range by discussing a variety of essay forms to consider how an essay can be made. Details and registration info at Northern Susitna Institute, Talkeetna AK.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS

CONFERENCES, RETREATS & RESIDENCIES

The Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI) will be holding two writing workshops in Alaska this summer, one in Anchorage in June and the other in Fairbanks in July. They develop material for the Alaska Measures of Progress as well as other reading assessments, and participation from Alaskan writers helps ensure quality passages that relate to Alaskan students. Writers can apply to either workshop by filling out a brief survey. They’d like to have a mix of educators and established writers as well as students in these workshops and will be selecting applicants based on the strength of their writing samples and background.

The Tutka Bay Writers Retreat is half full. Don’t miss out on a fantastic retreat featuring two outstanding guest instructors, Ann Eriksson and Gary Geddes! September 11-13 at the fabulous Tutka Bay Lodge.

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, June 12-16, 2015 in Homer: 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.

Alaska Writers Guild & SCBWI Annual Writer’s Conference, September 19-20, Anchorage. Early registration starts May 2015. www.AlaskaWritersGuild.com