A Belated Happy New Year!
We are rolling into 2019 with fresh journals, resolutions to read and write, and some great upcoming classes and events. First up, is Frank Soos, former Alaska State Writer Laureate, presenting a three-session nonfiction class in Anchorage.
ANCHORAGE | 49 Writers presents, The Situation and the Story with Frank Soos
February 8, 9, 10, 2019
This class has three consecutive sessions (one hour lunch break on Saturday) Anchorage Community House, 3502 Spenard Road, 99503
Members or full time students: $185 | General enrollment: $205
Cap: 12 | All experience levels | Registration: http://49writers.web907.com/soos19
One of the most challenging problems for the nonfiction writer, whether an essayist or a memoirist, is how to bring the unordered mess that is the material of a life into a manageable form that can be effectively shared with readers. Vivian Gornick’s The Situation and the Story is an excellent guide to making meaningful packages from the material every writer has at hand. This workshop will be driven by an exploration Gornick’s ideas both through conversation and through practice as writers make their own stories come into focus. Workshop members should read The Situation and the Story (readily available as a book and an e-book, too) before class. In addition, we’ll take a look at essays by Gornick and Scott Russell Sanders that show the result of their turning situations into stories. These essays will come to participants as PDFs ahead of class.
About the Instructor
Frank Soos has published two volumes of short stories, Early Yet and Unified Field Theory as well as one collection of essays, Bamboo Fly Rod Suite. Unified Field Theory was awarded the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. He is co-editor with Kes Woodward of the anthology Under Northern Lights: Writers and Artists View the Alaskan Landscape. A collaborative work, Double Moon: Constructions and Conversations, combines his mini-essays with the work of his wife the artist Margo Klass. His book of essays, Unpleasantries, was released in summer of 2016 by the University of Washington Press. He served as Alaska State Writer from 2015-16.
We’re pleased to announce that Winter Words with Eowyn Ivey has been rescheduled for Sunday, February 24. While many tickets are already sold, we still have some left. To learn more, and to join us for this special fundraising event, please visit our event page.
SOUTHCENTRAL
ANCHORAGE | Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 7 PM | Poetry Parley featuring Karen Tschannen reading works by Octavio Paz. Tschannen’s words have appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review and Cirque; her own poetry collection titled Apportioning the Light was released March 2018. Paz was a Mexican poet and diplomat awarded with the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. Located at Writer’s Block.
EAGLE RIVER | Sunday, January 27, 2019 from 2-4 PM | Special Workshop: Winter Poetry with Poet Mar Ka whose collection Be-hooved is being released by University of Alaska Press in February. Mar Ka will be offering quarterly workshops at the Eagle River Nature Center throughout 2019. Bring your nature poems, especially those that evoke winter. The initial winter workshop will be an overview seminar about poetic intention in nature/eco-poetry, followed by writer’s-block-blasting form-specific writing workshops: April / Spring – Haiku; July / Summer – Circling; October / Fall – Ekphrasis. RSVP required. Facebook event. Located at Eagle River Nature Center.
SOUTHEAST
JUNEAU | Thursday February 8, 2019 from 7-8:30 PM (doors open at 6) | 50th Governor’s Arts Humanities Awards. The awards are a partnership between Alaska Humanities Forum, Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation, and the Office of the Governor to recognize and honor contributions. Humanities awards include Distinguished Service, Arts Advocacy, Lifetime Achievements, and many others. This event will honor 2019 awardees and feature performances by singer-songwriter Marian Call. Details and tickets at www.akgovawards.org
WRANGELL | Flying Island Writers & Artists group meets every other Monday 6:30-8 PM. Contact Vivian Faith Prescott for more information at doctorviv@yahoo.com
SKAGWAY | May 29 – June 1, 2019| North Words Writers Symposium with keynote speaker Susan Orlean, a previous The New Yorker staff writer and multi-award-winning author. The symposium will include multiple keynotes (including Orlean’s), workshops, and panels with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Symposium participants enjoy the luxury of small groups and one-on-one access to successful writers. See website for more details.
CONFERENCES, RESIDENCIES, AND RETREATS
HOMER | June 14-18, 2019 | Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference is back for 2019 and registration is open! This nationally-recognized conference will feature workshops, readings and panel presentations in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the business of writing. The keynote presenter Diane Ackerman, an award-winning poet, essayist, and naturalist, will be joined by fifteen other writers, poets, and publishing industry professionals. For many more details and to register, see the conference’s website here.
OPPORTUNITIES and AWARDS for WRITERS
Alaska State Writer Laureate Program: Nominations are being accepted until January 11th. A partnership between the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Alaska Humanities Forum, The Writer Laureate designation recognizes the contributions of an Alaskan writer and includes funds to support a unique project of the Laureate’s design during his/her two-year term. For eligibility details and to nominate, please see their website. Nomination form here.
UAA-ADN Creative Writing Contest deadline Friday, February 8, 2019 at 5 PM. Held by University of Alaska Anchorage and Anchorage Daily News, this 36th annual statewide creative writing contest will give out over $800 in cash prizes and announcement in ADN print & website. Open to all ages, categories include poetry, fiction, non-fiction as well as story writing. See website for rules and entry.
Alaska Women Speak Spring 2019: Call for Submissions. Deadline: February 15, 2019. Currently gathering prose, poetry and cover art possibilities for the spring theme: Trajectories. See their website for details and to submit.
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
Thank You for Your Support! 49 Writers members and donors make this blog, our workshops, Crosscurrents events, Readings and Craft Talk series, and other special programs and activities possible. Not a member yet? Join Us