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.comOnce 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!
Alaska Women Speak is searching for a volunteer interested in serving as the new layout editor! The position requires a familiarity with Adobe InDesign. If this might be you, please contact: alaskawomenspeak@yahoo.com
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 authorZoe Ferraris presented via teleconference on Thursday, September 17th, 7:00pmat 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.
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 kick off a new season with readings from 10 (plus) local poets starting September 20th at Hugi-Lewis Studio. 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 5thWorld, 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 Whistleblowingpresents 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.
Tom Sexton’s latest collection of poetry is called A Ladder of Cranes (UA Press, 2015). According to Dana Wilde, “These poems, like stars, offer extremely well-made flickers of light to whoever tends to look up at the sky rather than downward to the darkness”; Tom Sexton, professor emeritus of English at UAA, was Alaska's poet laureate from 1994 until 2000. His books include For the Sake of the Light and I Think Again of Those Ancient Chinese Poets.
John Morgan’s new collection of poetry is called Archives of the Air (Salmon Poetry, 2015). He is the author of several books including River of Light: A Conversation with Kabir, and a collection of essays called Forms of Feeling: Poetry in our lives. According to Annie Dilliard, John's poems “ are strong and full of carefully controlled feeling. They are tender and precise evocations of the moral and sensory life of man.”
Monday, September 14, from 7:30pm-9:00pm
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.
This event will be held at the UAA/APU Consortium Library, room 307.
(At 7:00pm there is free parking for this event 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 Erikssonwill 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 workshopson 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
The Fairbanks Arts Association will host a literary reading featuring University of Alaska Fairbanks English faculty members Daryl Farmer, Gerri Brightwell, Sean Hill, and Derick Burleson on Saturday, September 12that 7:00pmin the Bear Gallery (3rd floor, Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way).
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS
CONFERENCES, AWARDS, RETREATS & RESIDENCIES
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.
Coming this September, Poems in Place is offering free creative writing workshops and Poems in Place dedication/celebrations in Kodiak and Seward. Poems in Place is a project that locates poems, written by Alaskan writers, on outside signs in Alaska’s state parks.
Kodiak:
Saturday, Sept. 12th, 10am-12pm at Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park State Park Headquarters, Leslie Leyland Fields will be leading a free workshop called "Kodiak and the Poetry of Place, a Hike-Ku.”
Saturday Sept 12th2-3:30 pmMeet at the State Park Headquarters to walk to poem locations for readings by selected poets Fred Stager and Leslie Leyland Fields. Refreshments follow.
Seward:
Saturday Sept. 19th 9am to 12pm Tonsina Creek Trailhead. Poems in Place selected poets Aleria Jensen and Justine Pechuzal will be leading a free writing and hiking workshop, Pathway to Place: Writing our Way into Landscape.
Saturday Sept. 19th1:30-3:30 pm: Seward Pavilion. Please join us for a Poems in Place dedication. Celebrations will include a short talk by local historian Doug Capra and dedication and readings by selected poets Justine Pechuzal and Aleria Jensen. Refreshments.
Sunday Sept. 20th, 10am -1pm North Beach. Please join us to dedicate the second Poem in Place set between North Beach and Fort McGilvray. This event is weather dependent. Please provide your own transportation to North Beach. We will meet there at 10am to hike to the poem. After dedications we’ll visit Fort McGilvray. Refreshments served.
Events are free. All are welcome!
To register or for more information about either event please email poemsinplace@gmail.comm
Poems in Place is supported by Alaska State Parks, Alaska Center For the Book, the Rasmuson Foundation, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum, the Usibelli Foundation, Alaska Poetry League and numerous generous individuals.
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.
Alaska Women Speak is now accepting submissions for the Winter 2015 issue. The upcoming theme is "Talking over Coffee (or Tea)." Submissions are due November 15th.
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.
Barnes & Noblehas scheduled book fairs and fundraising events for the coming school year 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
Synergy Enterprises, Inc. needs a science writer to cover “The Rising Sun,” a suicide-prevention conference to be held in Anchorage September 19 and 20, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. The candidate should be conversant with current needs and outreach/treatment activity in mental health issues. Participants of the conference will review the suicide prevention landscape and the accomplishments of partnering countries, review the aims of the RISING SUN initiative, and elicit feedback on efforts to develop a toolkit for suicide prevention among indigenous communities of the Arctic. The coverage of this type of NIH event consists of an accurate narrative summary (key points, research gaps, “next steps,” etc.) of presentations and discussions.
The Alaska Quarterly Reviewwill 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.
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.