Weekly Roundup of Writing Opportunities for August 28

Vacation is over, most visitors have left and we have our city back to
ourselves. Sitting in my backyard overlooking Chester Creek, every morning I
see more leaves turned yellow. While it’s August still, autumn is around the
corner and time for us to look for inspiring events. Here are some exciting
possibilities to consider. 
Our
autumn schedule of classes is now live!
Are you interested in writing thrillers?
Lyrical language? Spiritual writing? How about writing about love? Maintaining
your social media network? How about just needing to jumpstart your writing?
Want to work on reflection in personal essays or maybe the use of scene in
fiction and nonfiction? There are many different classes available online and
in Anchorage, Juneau, and Haines. Check it out and register at the 49
Writers
website
49
Writers is seeking two “blitz team” volunteers, one to hang fliers in
six Eagle River locations and one to hang fliers in five Spenard locations.
Fliers arrive by mail to be posted two to three weeks in advance of our
signature events. Willing to help? Email 49writers (at)
gmail.com.
Alaska
Book Week
will soon be upon us scheduled for Oct.
3 -11
. We would like to invite everyone to sign up by clicking the
participation form on the right side of the website at www.alaskabookweek.com
Once you submit your form, the coordinator will be in contact with you soon.
This year, we are making more of an effort to create lists of Alaskan authors
and possible venues so that we can expand on our yearly celebration–and
provide more representation for authors and their wonderful books!
We would also
like to remind Alaska Book Week participants that we are incorporating a
YouTube campaign into our yearly celebration.
For questions
or comments, please contact the Alaska Book Week coordinator
at akbookweek@gmail.com. We look
forward to hearing from you soon!
49
Writers Volunteer Seta
EVENTS
IN ANCHORAGE
On Tuesday,
September 8 at 7pm
, Gary Geddes and Ann Eriksson will be be part of a Crosscurrents event at the Anchorage Museum – The
Engaged Muse: Politics, Poetry and Narrative – What do these strange bedfellows
have in common? Isn’t politics, like sex, verboten at the dinner table or in
polite society? If you think of Canadians as passive or “nice,” Ann Eriksson
and Gary Geddes are a couple of writers who don’t hesitate to write about
social and political issues, without letting content overwhelm their art and
without becoming ideologues or partisans. Join these writers and moderator
Jeremy Pataky for this live, on-stage discussion.
Meet author
Zoe Ferraris
presented
via teleconference
on Thursday, September 17th, 7:00pm
at the Innovation Lab in the Lousasac Library.
Zoë Ferraris
moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. She lived
in a conservative Muslim community with her then-husband and his family, a
group of Saudi- Palestinians. Her debut novel, Finding Nouf won the LA
Times Book Award. That novel and its follow-ups, City of Veils and Kingdom
of Strangers
, have been international bestsellers, publishing in over forty
countries. A new children’s book, The Hunt for the Pyxis, will be
published this summer. It is the first of a trilogy for mid-grade readers.
For more
information contact Stacia at mcgourtysa@muni.org  
Event address:
Z.J. Loussac Public Library
3600 Denali Street Anchorage, AK 99503
Nature
and Travel Writing Class
Anchorage
essayist and author Bill Sherwonit will teach a 12-week nature and
travel writing class beginning Sept. 16, 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. 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.
Anchorage
Museum
 has
posted their 
Schedule of Programs for July and August. Visit www.anchoragemuseum.org/media for the full list of events. Below are some of the
highlights. To confirm details and dates, call the Marketing and Public
Relations Department at 
(907) 929-9227.
Promote
your book at the
National Federation of Press Women Annual Conference, September 10 – 12 at the Captain Cook Hotel
Anchorage. Alaska Professional Communicators will provide at no charge an
opportunity for authors to sign and sell their books. Attendees, conference
speakers, and APC members can sign up for a place at the authors’ tables on
both Fri., Sept. 11, 3:45 – 4:30 PM and Sat., Sept. 12, 4:00 – 4:30 PM. Contact
Lizzie Newell at lizzie-n@gci.net to let her know the name of your
book(s). We will provide attendees a list of participating authors and their
books.
Poetry
Parley
 will
be on hiatus for July and August. Starting September 20th at
Hugi-Lewis Studio, Parley will kick off a new season with readings from 10
(plus) local poets. There will be no marquee poet. Send a note
to poetryparley@gmail.com

 if you want to be considered. We will hold a
few slots for new readers.

Events
at the UAA Bookstore
 

Tuesday, September 1, from 5:00pm-7:00pm
Addressing
Local Needs amid Global Attention to the Changing Arctic  
Guest
speakers Henry Huntington, Prof. Raymond Anthony and Jennifer Schmidt share
their views on emerging scientific, climate change, and indigenous issues in
the Arctic. The relationship between local and global interests will be highlighted. 
Topics include: Indigenous Science: Exchange for Local Observations and
Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA), Food Security and Climate Ethics, Human
Activities and Ecosystems in the Arctic TUNDRA.
Friday, September 4, from 4:00pm-6:00pm
Ioana Lobontiu presents An Experiment in Nostalgia. She explores in writing and
photography her return to Romania, her childhood memories and the overall theme
“reality in relation to nostalgia”. 
Refreshments
will be served. 

Tuesday, September 8 from 5:00pm-7:00pm
Guest
speaker Larry Ilarion Merculieff , who has been a wisdom keeper and passionate
advocate for indigenous rights, will present
Moving into the 5th
World,
Indigenous
Elder teachings concerning movement into the 5th World, also known
as the 5th Hoop.
Larry
Ilarion Merculieff is an Aleut, raised in a traditional way.  He has been
the recipient of numerous awards including the Buffet Finalist Award for
Indigenous Leadership, the Environmental Excellence Award for lifetime
achievement from the Alaska Forum on the Environment, Rasmuson Foundation award
for Creative Non-Fiction, and the Alaska Native Writers on the Environment
Award.  He is co-author of Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching
and Learning
, published by UAA and APU in 2008.



Wednesday, September 9, from 5:00pm-7:00pm

Prof. Robert Madigan presents How Memory Works—and How to
Make It Work for You
. Robert
Madigan is UAA Professor Emeritus of Psychology. His
new book, How Memory
Works–and How to Make I Work for You
provides skills and techniques for
improving memory function.
 
Friday, September 11, from 4:00pm-6:00pm
Lt
Col. Ret. Linda Dunegan
, author of the book The Price of Whistleblowing
presents
Four Years of My Life. At this event, Linda
Dunegan discusses her life, dedication to the Alaska Air National Guard, and
the challenges she faces in her new career.
Monday, September 14, from 5:00pm-7:00pm 
Poets John Morgan and Tom
Sexton
present
Readings from their New Books. John Morgan’s new book Archives
of the Air
and Tom Sexton’s collection A Ladder of Cranes are
featured at this special event. 
  
Monday, September 14, from 7:30pm-9:00pm at UAA/APU Consortium Library, room 307 
Playwright Anne Hanley and Poet
Stephen Bolen will discuss
The Winter Bear,
a play
that tells the story of an Alaska Native teenager who rises above the traumas
of his past to become a leader with the help of Sidney Huntington, a Koyukon
elder. The Winter Bear Project has traveled to 31 communities
throughout Alaska.
For this event, at
7:00pm there is free parking in the Library Lot, Library NE
Lot, and East Campus Central Lot.)

Thursday, September 17 from 5:00pm-7:00pm at UAA/APU Consortium Library, room 302A
Ted
Galen Carpenter:  U.S. Foreign Policy
Ted
Galen Carpenter
 is Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies
at the Cato Institute. His recent books are
 America’s
Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan
and The Korean
Conundrum.  
The Cato Institute is known as libertarian think
tank
that advocates for a U.S.  non-interventionist foreign
policy.  This event is sponsored with the Alaska World Affairs
Council.  Room cap is 30.
For
this event,
there is free parking in
the Library Lot, Library NE Lot, East Garage, South Lot.
Monday, September 21 from 1:00pm-3:00pm at UAA/APU Consortium Library, room 307
Instagram
and Social Media with Julia O’Malley
Come
and learn the tricks of Instagram with award winning journalist and social
media expert Julia O’Malley.  Julia O’Malley currently serves as the UAA
21st Atwood Chair of Journalism and is widely known for her column in the
Anchorage Daily News from 2009 to 2014.. Over the years her work has appeared
in Huffington Post, The Guardian, National Geographic, Al Jazeera America,
Eater, the Oregonian and PBS.org. Julia O’Malley is a recipient of the
Berger Award, from Columbia Journalism School, the Darrell Sifford Memorial
Prize from Missouri School of Journalism, and won first place for general
commentary from the Society of Features Journalists. 
 For
this event, there is free parking in the Library Lot, Library NE Lot, East
Garage, South Lot.

All
UAA Campus Bookstore events are informal, free and open to the public. There is
free parking for bookstore events in the South Lot, West Campus Central Lot
(behind Rasmuson Hall), Sports Lot and Sports NW Lot.

Note:
UAA Campus Bookstore podcasts are posted in iTunes or iTunes U –just search UAA
or UAA Campus Bookstore
.    
Local
Library Events
Book
Signings
EVENTS
AROUND ALASKA
SOUTHCENTRAL,
MAT-SU, KENAI PENINSULA
On Thursday,
September 10
, Gary Geddes and Ann Eriksson
will be reading at 7pm at the Kachemak Bay Campus of the Kenai Peninsula
College. 
SOUTHEAST
This
September, 49 Writers and Alaska Quarterly Review are co-sponsoring a tour that
will combine live literary events in the Southeast Alaska communities of Haines
and Juneau with distance programming, in pursuit of 49 Writers’ goal to serve
writers across the state. These events are supported in part by a grant by the
National Endowment of the Arts.

The tour will
begin in Haines with a free public reading
by Melinda Moustakis accompanied by local writers and musicians on the evening
of September 18, 6pm, at Haines Public Library. Moustakis will teach two workshops on September 18 and 20;
registration information available on the 49 Writers website at http://www.49writingcenter.org/.
On September 19 at 1pm, there will be a statewide
discussion
of Moustakis’s book Bear Down, Bear North on the
statewide Online With Libraries (OWL) system and locally at the Haines Public
Library. 
In Juneau,
Moustakis will teach two workshops on
September 22 and 23; registration information available on the 49 Writers
website at http://www.49writingcenter.org/.
She will end her stay in Alaska with a CrossCurrents
event on September 24 at 6:30pm at the Juneau Downtown Library. The
event is entitled “Shaped by the North” and will feature writers Moustakis,
Ernestine Hayes, Brendan Jones, and  photographer Ben Huff discussing how
the landscape has shaped them as artists and shaped their work.
INTERIOR
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR WRITERS
CONFERENCES,
AWARDS, RETREATS & RESIDENCIES
The
Alaska Literary Awards
 were established in 2014 by the Alaska Arts and Culture
Foundation, through a generous gift from Peggy Shumaker and Joe Usibelli, to
recognize and support writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction,
playwriting, screenwriting, and mixed genres.  Any Alaska writer over the
age of 18 who is not a full-time student is eligible to apply. Quality of the
work submitted is the primary consideration in determining who receives the
awards. A select number of $5,000 awards will be awarded this year. For more
information, and to apply, go to :http://bit.ly/2015AKLitAwards. The deadline
for entries is August 31st, 2015 at 9:59 AKDT.
The
Connie Boochever Artist Fellowship
 awards recognize and support Alaska emerging artists of
exceptional talent. In the 2015 cycle, a select number of $2,500 fellowships
will be awarded to individual artists working in visual art, including film,
digital and media arts. For more information, and to apply, go to: 
http://bit.ly/2015BoocheverFellows. The deadline for entries is August 31st, 2015
at 9:59 AKDT.
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
The
Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC)
 is conducting a
survey to inform its Live. Work. Play. Initiative, which seeks to make
Anchorage the number one city in America to live work and play by 2025. If you
live in Anchorage and care about the arts, please take a moment to add your
voice to this survey-it’s just two VERY short questions!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LiveWorkPlayAnchorage
Poetry
Out Loud
 registration
deadline for schools is October 15, 2015
Click here to
hear from the 2015 National Poetry Out Loud Champion from Alaska, Maeva
Ordaz. 
Alaska
Writers Guild & SCBWI 
Annual
Writer’s Conference,
 September
19-20
, Anchorage. Early registration
starts May 2015. www.AlaskaWritersGuild.com
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.
University of
Alaska Press announces the release of Connecting Alaskans 
Telecommunications
in Alaska from Telegraph to Broadband
by Heather E. Hudson. The book will be available
in September 2015. Cloth Price is $60.00 and it is also available in
ebook.
CIRQUE 7.1
Submission deadline: September 21, 2015
Publication date: December 21, 2015 
CIRQUE is an independent literary journal staffed by volunteers, supported by
readers and writers, and publishing in print and online. Cirque publishes
the work of writers and artists from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.  We
are dedicated to building a larger reading audience for Cirque’s contributors
bringing their work to the world in a publication of the highest quality. 
We publish work in all genres and look forward to reviewing your
submissions.  For submission guidelines see
www.cirquejournal.com
Donations: Please make donations at www.paypal.com
to this email address, cirquejournal@gmail.com, or send a check to Sandra
Kleven or Michael Burwell (editors) at CIRQUE, 3978 DEFIANCE STREET, ANCHORAGE,
AK 99504
Incentives: Donate $100 or more and
you will be considered a sponsor.  Your name will be listed in the issue
and we will send you an 8 x 10 art print from one of Cirque’s fine
artists. Donate $50 and we will send an art print (8 x 10).  Donate
an amount below $50 and we will send a signed “art” postcard
with our thanks.  We ask for donations by email, twice yearly.  Your
amazing response has made it easy to produce the journal with limited requests
for funds. 
Big
prize:

Artist, Jo Going, of Homer, Alaska, has donated an original water color to
be given to the first person to contribute $1000 to Cirque.  See
details on page 4 of the new issue at www.cirquejournal.com
Subscriptions:  $40 per year. 
Go to www.cirquejournal.com
to subscribe.  Or send an email to cirquejournal@gmail.com and we’ll work out
payment.

The Alaska Quarterly
Review

will
publish Sparks: A Conversation in
Poems and Paintings
in its entirety in the May 2016 issue. You
can see, in order, each of Peggy Shumaker’s poems and each of 
Kesler Woodward‘s paintings from their
year-long collaboration.  



As
we all know, back-to-school time is getting close. This also means the issue of
author signing is raised at the schools.
Barnes & Noble has scheduled school book fairs and fundraising events and is
in demand for local children’s book author presenters. If you are interested in
participating in these events, please contact Renee
Millner, Community Business
Development Manager
at 907-279-7323 or email her
at crm2784@bn.com



Have
news or events you’d like to see listed here? Email details to 49roundup (at)
gmail.com. Your message must be received by noon on the Thursday before the
roundup is scheduled to run. Unless your event falls in the
“Opportunities” category, it should occur no more than 30 days from
when we receive your email.

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