Next week, my first suspense novel, The Deepest Lake, will be published. It’s my sixth novel and a big departure from my previous genres of historical fiction and literary fiction. I don’t plan to write only suspense novels from this point, but I’m acutely aware that plunging into this genre has taught me lessons I’ll […]
Katie’s guest Josh Fortenbery plays live tracks and reflects on the writing of his debut album. Southeast Alaska grown and produced, No Such Thing as Forever is getting strong reviews in Americana circles from across the country to across the pond. Fortenbery’s songwriting is informed by both his immediate and the greater human family. “I’m
AVP 26: Josh Fortenberry, Writer-Musician, No Such Thing as Forever Read More »
“What’s in a title?” riffs David Petersen in Writing Naturally, his down-to-earth guide for aspiring nature writers. A good title, he answers himself, must grab a browsing reader’s attention, foreshadow what is to follow, and prompt you to flip over a book for its back cover text or, more likely nowadays, click on its link
Mao’s Head: The Quest for the Perfect Title by Michael Engelhard Read More »
Tell me, what is it you plan to do / With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver Today I want to talk about rabbit holes, both good and bad. Last month, I fell down a bad rabbit hole after reading about a forthcoming book and becoming interested in its author. Long story
The Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference was established in 2002. That’s twenty-two years of writers gathering on the shores of Kachemak Bay to learn from each other and form a community that includes members from all across Alaska and the lower-48. Like many long-established events, the conference is trying to evolve to meet the changing needs
Behind the Scenes at the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference by Erin Hollowell Read More »
We often pair horror with mortal fear—the sense that one’s life and limb is in danger, but let me tell you a story of true horror. My parents were artists—painters and etchers—which means I spent an inordinate amount of my childhood at art shows, stealing chocolates from the finger food table and generally being underfoot.
The Role of Embarrassment in Horror by Leslie J. Anderson Read More »
Over the winter, I spent some time driving to an undisclosed location in the desert with two anarchist medics I’d not met before. The person driving asked me and the other passenger, “What are you reading right now?” You can count on anarchists to never open a conversation with a question about your job. And
Haunted By Futility or Saving the World: Writing Climate Crisis by Erica Watson Read More »
Inspired by a friend who applied for, and received, a three-month internship at a honeybee sanctuary during the pandemic, in early 2021 I applied for more than a dozen writing residencies. Like so many other submissions, this was mostly met with rejection. But also like so much of this work, putting in an initial effort
Residency? by Ken Waldman Read More »
Reading & Conversation Series: Sharon Emmerichs Recorded Tuesday, March 5, 2024 Sharon Emmerichs was born in Sweden to American parents and grew up in Wisconsin near Lake Michigan. She has been a writer all her life, from the time she scribbled ‘words’ and pictures on pieces of paper, stapled them together, and called it a
Reading & Conversation: Sharon Emmerichs Read More »
READING AND CONVERSATION SERIES: MELINDA MOUSTAKIS Recorded Thursday, February 22, 2024 | 6:30-7:30pm via Zoom Melinda Moustakis is the author of the novel Homestead ( Flatiron Books 2023), which is about two unlikely homesteaders in 1950’s Alaska and based on her maternal grandparents who homesteaded in Point MacKenzie, Alaska. Her linked story collection Bear Down, Bear North: Alaska Stories won the
Reading & Conversation: Melinda Moustakis Read More »
