Things are picking up this month with a number of literary events and writerly opportunities. Time to come in from the cold and enjoy the company of good folks and good words.
EVENTS IN ANCHORAGE
The Living Room: Stories for Grown-ups
Join a community of writers, readers, and listeners every 2nd Friday from 7-9pm at Jitters in Eagle River during the colder months for an evening of readings by writers and people who love books. The next reading is on January 9.
Poet Jim Hanlen, is hosting a William Stafford Birthday event on January 17, 1 pm at the Hugi-Lewis Gallery, 1008 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Bring your favorite William Stafford poem to read or tell us some personal anecdote about him and read one of your own.
Nature and Travel Writing Class, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7 pm
Anchorage essayist and author Bill Sherwonit will teach a 12-week nature and travel writing class beginning Jan. 21 in the Sierra Club office downtown. Participants in this workshop-style class will explore and refine their own writing styles, with an emphasis on the personal essay form. The class will also read and discuss works by some of America’s finest nature and travel writers, past and present. The cost is $240. To sign up for this Wednesday night class (7 to 9:30 p.m.), or for more information, contact Sherwonit at 245-0283 or akgriz@hotmail.com. Further information about the teacher is also available at www.billsherwonit.alaskawriters.com.
Poetry Parley
Cancelled for January due to a scheduling conflict, but will be back in February.
Reading & Craft Talk with Deb Vanasse
Thursday, Jan. 29, 7-8:30pm: Great Harvest Bread, 570 E. Benson Blvd.
49 Writers Spring Classes: AnchorageRegistration is open. Find full information on the 49 Writers website.
- ‘What Chu Talk’n ‘Bout Willis?” with Bryan Fierro: Saturday, February 21, 9am-4pm. $95 members/$115 non-members.
- Writing the Three Dimensional Novel or Memoir: The Essential Ingredients to Capture Your Reader and Engage an Audience with Rachel Weaver: Saturday, February 28, 9am-4pm, $95 members/$115 non-members.
- Joining the Conversation: Engaging with Poets Past with Sandra Kleven: Thursdays, March 5, 12 & 19 and April 2, 9 & 16, 6-8pm. $190 members/$230 non-members.
- 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.
- Cancelled: The Spiritual in Writing: Across Faith, Genres, and Time with Kathleen Tarr. We’re planning to reschedule this in the fall.
Andromeda Romano-Lax will be offering three online courses this spring, expanding our offerings to writers across Alaska. These classes are asynchronous: that is, there are no scheduled meeting times but there will be weekly assignments and expectations, and everyone will complete the work on their own time. Interaction will utilize text-based formats such as discussion boards.
- Point of View Intensive with Andromeda Romano-Lax: Sunday, February 8–Saturday, March 7, online, asynchronous. $195 members/$250 non-members.
- Anatomy of Scene with Andromeda Romano-Lax: Sunday, March 8–Saturday, April 4, online, asynchronous. $195 members/$250 non-members.
- Revision Intensive with Andromeda Romano-Lax: Sunday, April 5–Saturday, May 30. online, asynchronous. $295 members/$350 non-members.
EVENTS AROUND ALASKA
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.
49 Writers classes in Juneau: We are still pinning down dates but can tell you that Rachel Weaver will reprise her class there on March 2-3, and poet Jeremy Pataky will be teaching for us in Juneau at the end of March.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS
The Capitol City Weekly (CCW) and the Juneau Empire Arts section will merge effective Jan. 14. The goal is to give wider circulation to both; both will still exist; they’ll just be in the same place.
They will bring back Writer’s Weir to publish reader-submitted poems, stories, essays and other art forms each week. If your story is published, people around Southeast Alaska will see it.
There aren’t really any word limits; while there are limits, of course, to how much they can physically publish in print each week, they may be open to serializing the right story, whether fiction or nonfiction.
Send submissions to capcityweekly@gmail.com and use WRITER’S WEIR SUBMISSION as the subject line.
Submissions will be read on a rolling basis. The deadline for each week would be a week and a half before it would be published (for example, Monday, Jan. 5 for the Jan. 14 CCW/Jan. 15 Arts section) but don’t feel bad if you miss it, because that’s the beauty of rolling submissions.
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).
Ooligan Press is proud to announce their seventh Write to Publish conference, to be held Jan. 31, 2015, at the Smith Memorial Student Union located at 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon. Panel topics include how to write about difficult subjects, straight talk about contracts and rights, and how to create a professional platform. Workshops will feature editing and design tips. Authors will be able to sign up to pitch story ideas to publishers and agents.
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. 20, 2015, 5:30pm. Winners will be announced in mid-May.
Fairbanks Arts Association will begin accepting entries for the 2015 Statewide Poetry Contest on Jan. 1, 2015, Deadline is Mar. 1, 2015, 6pm (hand delivered or postmarked). Hand deliver entries to Fairbanks Arts Association, Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way. This year’s judge is Joan Naviyuk Kane, author of The Cormorant Hunter’s Wife and Hyperboreal. A 2014 recipient of the American Book Award, and Whiting Writers’ Award recipient, she’s on the faculty for the graduate creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Visit www.fairbanksarts.org for more information.
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.
Pick.Click.Give. to 49 Writers! PFD application time is right around the corner, and that’s your opportunity to Pick.Click.Give.! Your Pick.Click.Give donations support 49 Writers programs around the state. We received almost $2,500 in our first year as a Pick.Click.Give organization. You can help us double that in 2015. Plus, Pick.Click.Give.rs have a chance to double their dividends.
To show our appreciation, 49 Writers is offering incentive gifts to donors:
- $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.