Do you have things to say and a hankering to join the conversation of Alaska writers? 49 Writers is looking for two guest bloggers to round out this year’s calendar. Check out the Blogger Guidelines at the top of this page and contact us. The available months are May and August.
In a Reading & Craft Talk on Thursday, January 29, Deb Vanasse will discuss creative ways for writers to think about craft, education, and publishing. The event is held at Great Harvest Bread Company, 570 East Benson Blvd, from 7-8:30 pm. She just released a new book called What Every Writer Should Know. It will be the basis for a new class she’s teaching on February 7.
I’m looking forward to my Juneau trip next week, especially the opportunity to meet some of our Juneau members.
– Morgan
EVENTS IN ANCHORAGE
Tonight (Friday, Jan. 23) at 6 pm, Blue Hollomon Gallery, 3555 Arctic Blvd. C5, join us for the official launch of Cirque 6.1. Readers include, Kathleen Tarr, Jessica Ramsey Golden, Matt Iverson, Egan Millard, and Monica Devine. Joe Craig will entertain on guitar. Four Cirque artist/photographers will be present Katherine Coons, Banan Tarr, Suzi Towsley, and Brenda Jaeger. Get the new issue at the event or at wwwcirquejournal.com
Reading & Craft Talk with Deb Vanasse. Thursday, Jan. 29, 7-8:30pm: Great Harvest Bread, 570 E. Benson Blvd. “The Self-Made Writer;” As writers, we enjoy the freedom to innovate, in our work and also in the ways we learn and grow. How do we make the most of that freedom? Author of fifteen books, including the recent What Every Author Should Know, Deb Vanasse will discuss creative ways for writers to think about craft, education, and publishing.
“What Do We Do When the Lifeboats are Burning?” Songs and Stories about Climate, Community and Courage. Libby Roderick and Kathleen Dean Moore in concert and conversation. February 22, 2 pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2824 E. 18th (18th & Sunrise, Airport Heights). $20 suggested donation. 50% of proceeds go to Alaskan climate organizations. Co-sponsored by UU Fellowship, 49 Writers, and UAA Office of Sustainability.
UAA Bookstore events in February
– Cultural Roots of Lithuanian and Jewish History, Tuesday, February 3, 5-7pm
– Wildlife and Alaskans: Life amongs Complex Relations, Tuesday, February 10, 5-7 pm
– Magic Realism in Literature, Thursday, February 12, 5-7pm
All events at the UAA Campus Bookstore. Click here for details.
Crosscurrents: Andy Hall (Denali’s Howl) joins David Stevenson (Letters from Chamonix) for an onstage conversation about their processes of creating an engaging narrative in prose. What are the unique affordances and challenges of each genre, and where can writers learn from the strategies employed in other genres? February 5, 7-8:30 pm at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.
49 Writers Spring Classes: Anchorage
Registration is open. Find full information on the 49 Writers website.
– New Class: “Ready to Publish” with Deb Vanasse. Saturday, February 7, 9am-4pm. $110
members/$130 non-members. Fee includes the textbook for the class, What Every Author Should Know, by Deb.
– NEW DATE: Historical Research Sources for Writers with Lawrence Weiss: Saturday, 4, 9am-
12pm. $50 members/$60 non-members.
– NEW DATE:How to Publish Your Book on Kindle with Lawrence Weiss: Saturday, April 18,
9am-12pm. $50 members/$60 non-members.
EVENTS AROUND ALASKA
49 Writers in Juneau
– Tuesday, January 27, 5-6 pm at the Silverbow Wine Bar (No Host Bar). Meet and Greet
with 49 Writers’ new Executive Director, Morgan Grey. Come on in from the rain, visit
with other writers, and chat with Morgan about the programming that you’d like to see in JNU
(and throughout the state). She’s looking forward to meeting as many JNU members as possible
– Writing the Three-Dimensional Novel or Memoir, a class with Rachel Weaver.
March 2 & 3, 6-9 pm. $95 members/$115 non-members. Details and registration here.
The Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities. January 29, 7:30pm at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. Details here. Frank Soos, will be honored as the new Alaska State Writer Laureate. Frank’s mission during his term is to promote the work of other Alaska authors. Last year he taught several classes for 49 Writers.
Cabin Fever Pop-Up Film Series: Homer Edition The Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer will host the second of three off-site film screenings associated with the Anchorage Museum’s Cabin Fever exhibition. Like Alaskans who suffer through long winters, American experimental filmmakers often work in darkness and isolation. The event features poetry by Erin Hollowell, Bruce Farnsworth, Jeremy Pataky, Eva Saulitis, and Miranda Weiss; films by George Kuchar, Claude, Peter Rose, Renato Umali, Michael Walsh, and Martha Colburn, and Performance by Easy D. Curated by Michael Walsh. January 31, 7 to 9 p.m. Bunnell Street Arts Center, Homer. Suggested give-what-you-can donation.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS
Interested in self-publishing or micropublishing? Larry Weiss wants to connect with other folks who share this interest for a possible discussion group. Contact him at ldweiss at gmail.com.
The Equinox Project, a digital storytelling project sponsored by the UAA Department of Journalism & Communication and the Alaska Humanities Forum will mentor 10 -19 year olds from across Alaska to create a story from one day, any day, in your communities before the Spring Equinox, March 20, 2015. Stories will be about Spring Equinox – about the change from winter to spring, and about change in your lives, your communities, and our planet. On their own, your stories create an important and lasting document of Alaska as seen by young people. Together, your stories will develop a sense of place by merging your storytelling tradition with the digital age.
Participants will work with mentors to finalize stories to share with the public in Fall 2015. Our goal is to have each major region of Alaska represented.
What’s in it for you (the participant)?
Mentored by experienced stortellers from your region.
– Four participants invited to Alaska Press Club in Anchorage in April 2015.
– Your work featured on a national website and in a First Friday Art Show at the Alaska
Humanities Forum in Anchorage in Fall 2015.
Application Deadline: January 24, 2015. Acceptance notifications will be sent February 6, 2015
Rasmuson Foundation Awards
The 2015 Individual Artist Award application is now open. Over the past decade, Alaska artists have received $2.7 million in grants through the Individual Artist Award Program. The Award recognizes the role artists play in bringing inspiration to their communities. Guidelines and application materials are available here. The deadline is March 1.
There are three award types:
Project Awards of $7,500 support short-term projects in all disciplines that have a clear benefit to the artist and development of their work (visit page 5 of the application for more information. Disciplines include: choreography, crafts, folk and traditional arts, media arts, music composition, multidiscipline/new genre, literary arts/scriptworks, performance art, presentation/interpretation, and visual arts).
Fellowship Awards of $18,000 are available to mid-career and mature artists of rotating disciplines. For 2015, Fellowships will only be awarded in choreography, crafts, folk and traditional arts, literary arts/scriptworks, and performance art.
Distinguished Artist Award, a single award of $40,000 (selected through a separate nomination process).
The deadline for this year’s UAA/Alaska Dispatch Creative Writing Contest is fast approaching. Go to adn.com/content/creative-writing-contest-rules for complete rules, list of prizes, and submission guidelines and send your best fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Deadline is Feb. 10, 2015, 5:30pm. Winners will be announced in mid-May.
Statewide Poetry Contest 2015: Alaskan poets of all ages are encouraged to enter up to four poems. Contest includes divisions for Elementary, Middle School, High School and Adults. Winners will receive cash prizes and be featured at the Poetry Contest Winners Literary Reading. Joan Kane, award winning author from Anchorage, will judge the contest this year. Deadline is March 2, 2015 at 6 pm. More information here.
Savor the Rising Words: Poetry Broadside Invitational in honor of National Poetry Month,
Members of 49 Writers and past or present participants in 49 Writers workshops are invited to submit poetry broadsides for display at Great Harvest Bread Co. throughout the month of April 2015 in honor of National Poetry Month. Featured poets will be encouraged to read their works during a public event at the bakery at a date and time to be determined. Broadsides in the exhibit will be available for sale and proceeds will be donated to 49 Writers. Deadline: Friday, March 20, 2015. Click here for details and the entry form.
Cirque was founded to give writers (and artists) of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest more places to publish their work – and as a vehicle to bring the best writing of the region to the world. The next Cirque deadline is March 21st (the equinox). The submission address is cirque.submits@gmail.com.
- $75 donors will receive an original Alaskan art card from Shorefast Editions in Juneau
- $150 donors will receive an autographed book by an Alaskan author.