There is one seat left for a civilian, and three seats left for veteran/active service members for the Danger Close: Alaska workshop. More info below. Also, now is the time to sign up for classes that start in January and February, including Deb Vanasse’s Craft Intensive: Masterful Writing ONLINE.
2016 Class Schedule
Registration for 2016 classes and workshops has started. Description, details, and registration on our website. Feel free to contact us at 49writers@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Anchorage
Writing from Historical Research taught by Kate Partridge
February 13 and 27, 9am-noon
Mini Memoirs: Let’s Do Some Writing! taught by Judith Conte
February 20-21 and 27-28, 1-3pm
What Women Want taught by Martha Amore
March 3, 6-9pm
“THE END!” Writing Good Endings and Achieving Closure taught by Alyse Knorr
March 5, 6-9pm
Writing with Anna Akhmatova taught by Olga Livshin and Kathleen Tarr
March 12 and 19, 9am-1pm
Forms of Poetry taught by Alyse Knorr
April 6, 13, 20, and 27, 6-9pm
Effectively Use Microsoft Word to Publish your Book to Kindle taught by Lara Madden
April 7, 6-9pm
Set Your Fiction on Fire taught by Kim Heacox
April 13, 6-9pm
Homer
Confusing the Censor: Nurturing Receptive Mind taught by Peter Kaufmann and Wendy Erd
April 8 6:30-8:30pm, April 9 9am-noon & 1-4pm
Juneau
Walking the Line by Susanna Mishler
January 30, 9am-noon
Everything I Can Teach You About Humor Writing in 3 Hours by Geoff Kirsch
February 4, 6-9pm
Set Your Fiction on Fire taught by Kim Heacox
April 18, 6-9pm
Online
Craft Intensive: Masterful Writing taught by Deb Vanasse
3 one-hour online meetings plus asynchronous online activities
Jan. 26 – Feb. 15. One-hour online meetings would be on Tuesday nights, 7 – 8 pm AST.
Flash Fiction taught by Katey Schultz
4 week asynchronous (12 hours minimum) – one optional video chat – fiction
February 29-April 3
Flashbacks Without Whiplash: Managing Time in Fiction by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Asynchronous online class
April 4-25
Danger Close: Alaska
On Saturday and Sunday, February 6th and 7th, Sherry Simpson, Benjamin Busch, Elliott Ackerman, and Lea Carpenter will lead a two-day multi-genre workshop for 24 evenly-apportioned civilian and veteran writers. Students will learn about journalism in unsafe places, discuss why storytelling exists, view multimedia explorations of war narrative, and question what it takes to “make it” as a writer. Most importantly, students will participate in workshops featuring their own writing, in addition to generating new material.
Danger Close: Alaska will run from 9am-4pm, with an hour for lunch, on both days. Cost is $150 total and registration will open on December 14 on www.49writingcenter.org and will require the submission of a 3-5 page double-spaced manuscript by January 11, 2016.
EVENTS IN ANCHORAGE
Nature and Travel Writing Class
Anchorage essayist and author Bill Sherwonit will teach a 12-week nature and travel writing class beginning Jan. 27 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.
Reading & presentations by J. Wallace Nichols, scientist & author of Blue Mind at the Hotel Captain Cook at 7-9 pm on Sunday, January 24. Dr. Nichols will read from his New York Times best-selling book Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do which combines cutting-edge research and compelling personal stories into remarkable truths. Join the conversation that will follow the reading about basing communication on these benefits to engage people in problem-solving for our ocean environment. The book will be available for purchase and signing.
Dr. Nichols will also provide keynote presentations at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium at the Hotel Captain Cook on Monday, January 25, during the Communicating Ocean Science Workshop, held from 8 am-noon and during the plenary session at 3:45-4:30 pm. For more information about the Communicating Ocean Science Workshop, go to http://amss.nprb.org/program-schedule/workshops/. For more information about the keynote presentation, go to http://amss.nprb.org/program-schedule/keynote-presentations/Dr. Nichols.
Events at the UAA Bookstore
Saturday, January 23 from 1:00pm-3:00pm at UAA/APU Consortium Library room 307
Peter Dunlap-Shohl presents My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s, A Graphic Novel
The book explores what it is like living with Parkinson’s and the numerous mental and physical changes brought on by the disease. Besides being a memoir, it explores new ways one can view the world and have a decent quality of life with the disease.
Peter Dunlap-Shohl worked as a cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News for twenty-five years.
Friday, January 29 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at UAA/APU Consortium Library room 307
Chilkoot Charlie’s Mike Gordon: Learning the Ropes
Mike Gordon, of Chilkoot Charlie’s fame, shares stories about his life, Alaska, mountain climbing and personal challenges. From arriving in Seward in 1953, to creating an internationally known nightclub, to summiting the highest mountains on six continents, to finishing a Master’s degree at Alaska Pacific University, to keeping a marriage of thirty-two years, Mike Gordon life seems idyllic. However, underneath his quite public successes are stories that acknowledge the many low places in his life and include how he ultimately manages to face his personal demons and put his priorities in order.
There is free parking at UAA on Fridays.
For a look at future events see https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/bookstore/events/special-events-calendar.cfm
Local Library Events
Book Signings
EVENTS AROUND ALASKA
SOUTHCENTRAL, MAT-SU, KENAI PENINSULA
SOUTHEAST
Join the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and writers Tele Aadsen and Miranda Weiss for a storytelling workshop for young fishermen! The best spokespeople for Alaska’s fisheries are those that live in the thick of it — those that know the rhythm of a North Pacific ground swell and the joy of bringing wild fish from ocean to table. Come and learn more about how you can speak for the way of life and the fisheries you love. Learn how to use your voice to shape a strong future for our coastal communities and the fish they depend on, listen to others’ stories, and leave impassioned to speak for Alaska’s next generation of fishermen.
This is a free 3-hour workshop, taking place in Juneau at 9 a.m. January 30, the Saturday morning following the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit. We will meet at the Catholic Church in downtown Juneau (416 5th Street). Coffee, snacks and writing materials provided.
To check out more on the awesome workshop leaders visit their blogs and links to their work below!
Contact for more information: Hannah Heimbuch — hannah@akmarine.org
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS
CONFERENCES, AWARDS, RETREATS & RESIDENCIES
The fifteenth Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference will be held on June 10-14 in Homer. This year’s keynote is Pulitzer Prize winning, National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, who will be joined by Miriam Altshuler (agent), Dan Beachy-Quick, Richard Chiappone, Jennine Capó Crucet, Alison Hawthorne Deming, Forrest Gander, Lee Goodman, Richard Hoffman, Erin Coughlin Hollowell, Sarah Leavitt, Nancy Lord, Jane Rosenman (editor), Peggy Shumaker, Sherry Simpson, Frank Soos, and David Stevenson. For more information and to register go to the website
The Alaska Historical Society has a new project, the Alaska Historic Canneries Initiative, and a small grant program intended to jump start projects across the state. Grants of up to $1000 are available to individuals, organizations, and businesses to advance seafood history projects around the state. Applications are due on January 1, 2016 and available at AHS’s website.
There is also an annotated bibliography with hundreds of entries that chart the history of Alaska’s seafood industry. This is a must-have reference for anyone engaged in fisheries or the study of Alaska history. Check out Alaska Fisheries: A Guide to HistoryResources on the website. Also visit the Alaska’s Historic Canneries blog, a meeting-ground for fish heads. The organization is seeking guest bloggers to share not just historical information, but also stories.
Registration now open to the 2016 Tutka Bay Writers Retreat, which will take place on September 9-11, 2016 at the Tutka Bay Lodge. Faculty instructor award-winning novelist and short story writer Rick Moody will lead fiction writers in a workshop will focus on experiment, imagination, and revision, techniques for each, with an emphasis on writing prompts, close reading of sentences, and ideas about structure. There will be much in-class writing, and the overall atmosphere will stick close to supportiveness, collegiality, and constructive improvement. The engaged student will emerge with improved techniques for further work. Early registration fee is $600 for members and $650 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, go to: http://www.49writingcenter.org/Retreats%26Events/retreats.php.
Annual Statewide Poetry Contest
Deadline: February 1, 2016, 6:00 pm
Fairbanks Arts Association (FAA) is now accepting entries for the 22nd Annual Statewide Poetry Contest, judged by James Engelhardt. The purpose of the contest is to encourage, publicize and reward the writing of high-quality poetry.
This year, FAA and KUAC are partnering to bring the poetry of the contest’s winners to a larger audience; winners will be asked to record their poems for broadcast on KUAC’s radio station FM 89.9 in celebration of Alaska’s own poetry during National Poetry Month in April. The winners of the Statewide Poetry Contest will also be invited to read their poems alongside judge James Engelhardt at a special literary reading on Saturday, April 9 at 7pm at Fairbanks Arts Association’s Bear Gallery (3rd Floor Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way).
Divisions: Awards:
Adult – 1st Place $150 | 2nd Place $100 | 3rd Place $50
High School – 1st Place $100 | 2nd Place $50 | 3rd Place $25
Elementary & Middle School – 1st Place $50 | 2nd Place $30 | 3rd Place $15
Entry Fee: Grade, Middle and High School: $3 per poem or $10/four poems.
Adults: $4 per poem or $13/four poems.
For more information about the poetry contest, click here, visit www.fairbanksarts.org, or call 907-456-6485 ext.226.
Call for 10-Minute Plays for 2016 8X10 Festival
Fairbanks Drama Association and The Looking Glass Group Theatre invite Alaskan residents to send their best 10-minute plays to be considered for our Annual 8X10 Festival of New Alaskan Plays.
Eight ten-minute plays will be given staged readings at the Festival, which will be held April 22 & 23, 2016, at FDA’s Hap Ryder Riverfront Theater in Fairbanks.
Guidelines for entering scripts: Alaskan residents only. One entry per playwright. One author per play. No musicals or children’s plays. Submit 5 (five) copies of each script. Staple or paper-clip the play. DO NOT use binders or folders of any kind. Plays cannot be returned. Put playwright’s name and contact info, including phone and e-mail, on the cover (title) page. This is the only place the author’s name should appear. “Cast of Characters” page with brief character descriptions and time & place should follow cover page. Number pages beginning with the first page of dialogue. Plays should be between 8 & 12 minutes, based on one minute of playing time per page of script, 12 pt. font size, and be written in standard playwriting format. Cast size should be no more than eight actors. No electronic submissions or Express mail.
Submissions must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than March 15, 2016 to:
8X10 Festival
Fairbanks Drama Association/ Looking Glass Group Theatre
1852 Second Avenue
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
For more information, contact: Peggy MacDonald Ferguson, Executive Director, pegferguson@gci.net
Distance Critique
Get professional feedback on your writing for ADULTS, teens, or children! How does it work? Register and send your material in by due date (January; they send it to a professional literary agent who critiques and sends it back. Optional workshop to discuss critiques. Brought to you by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI, Alaska Chapter, but this critique is for writers of any content.
The sixth annual North Words Writers Symposium will be held May 25-28 in Skagway. Novelist/essayist/editor and storyteller supreme Brian Doyle of Portland, Oregon (Mink River, The Plover, Martin Marten, and the forthcoming Chicago) will be the 2016 keynote author. He will be joined by Alaskan authors Kim Heacox, Eowyn Ivey, Heather Lende, Lynn Schooler, John Straley, and Emily Wall. For more information and to register go to http://nwwriterss.com/
360 North will start the 2015-16 season of Writers’ Showcase. All Alaska writers are invited to submit fiction and nonfiction pieces. Stories are read before a live studio audience by professional actors, and later broadcast throughout Alaska on statewide public TV and radio. Stories should be about 10 minutes long when read aloud. Profanity will need to be edited for broadcast.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE RECORDING DATE
January 18, 2016 February 25, 2016
April 25, 2016 June 2, 2016
Submit to arts [at] ktoo [dot] org.
For questions contact Scott Burton
Arts, Culture and Music Producer at 907.463.6473
The 2016 Governor’s Awards ceremony will be held in Juneau on Thursday, January 28th. We will also continue the tradition of scheduling CHAMP Day (Culture, Humanities, Arts & Museums Partners), a legislative fly-in day, on Wednesday, January 27th. Please start brainstorming ideas for nominees and consider submitting a nomination! The nomination process will open in August. This year’s Arts categories will be: Margaret Nick Cooke Award for Alaska Native Arts & Languages, Business Leadership, Arts Advocacy and Individual Artist. A list of previous awardees can be found at https://education.alaska.gov/aksca/pdf/Past_Recipients_GAAH.pdf.
2016 Statewide Arts and Culture Conference will take place in Anchorage, Thursday, April 28th through Saturday, April 30th. We are in the process of exploring compelling themes, topics and national speakers for the convening. Like our last conference, we will be engaging Alaskan artists in the planning and production of the event. Be on the lookout for the opportunity to apply to be a conference Partner Artist, which will open in the fall. If you have any ideas to share with us, please send them our way by emailing aksca.info@alaska.gov
Alaska magazine is seeking pitches from new and established writers. We are a publication for Alaska enthusiasts and need a wide variety of articles. The best section to break into the magazine is KtoB (formerly Ketchikan to Barrow), and includes everything from cool job profiles to End of the Trail obituaries to a short write up about an Alaska-made product. We’d also like to see queries about culture, history, nature, interviews with Alaskans and feature articles ideas. Review recent hard copy issues of Alaska magazine and visit www.alaskamagazine.com for more about us, and then send short, descriptive pitches to freelance contributing editor Susan Sommer at sbsommer@mtaonline.net.
13 Chairs Literary Journal, a new literary journal publishing short stories and poetry from new and emerging authors, seeks submissions and volunteers. They are currently composing their flagship issue, straight out of JBER, AK. To learn more, and to submit, email info@13chairs.com or visit 13chairs.com.
Alderworks Alaska Writers and Artists Retreat will be accepting residency applications November 15, 2015 – February15, 2016 (EXTENDED). For more information visit http://alderworksalaska.com
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