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EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
SOUTHCENTRAL
KODIAK | the first Galley Tables storytelling show of the season is coming up. They occur of Friday nights every month from October through May. The September theme is Extra Tough. Sign yourself up (or a friend) to tell a story. Details
ANCHORAGE | Dr. Liu Zhen presents Political Ideas Conceived in the Zhouyi (The Book of Change)
Friday, September 9 from 12-1:30 pm
Dr. Liu Zhen presents Political Ideas Conceived in the Zhouyi (The Book of Change). Zhen is Associate Professor at China University of Political Science and Law and currently a visiting professor at College of William and Mary Confucius Institute. His talk will focus on the rituals, political advocacy, and virtuous pursuit conceived in the Book of Change (Zhouyi) for government administrators. And it will analyze the value of traditional ideas in the Zhouyi for contemporary social developments. This event is sponsored by the UAA Confucius Institute and the UAA Campus Bookstore.
ANCHORAGE | Author Richard Chiappone
Monday, September 12 from 5:00 pm-7:00 pm
Author Richard Chiappone presents Liar’s Code: Growing Up Fishing (Skyhorse Publishing). It is full of warm, funny, and memorable musings on a life spent fishing. According to E. Donnall Thomas Jr., author of Redfish, Bluefish, Ladyfish, Snook, “Rich Chiappone has accomplished a goal even more challenging than landing a permit on a fly: the creation of a classic.” Richard Chiappone is a two-time recipient of the Robert Traver Award and author of Opening Days, a collection of essays, stories and poems, and the short story collection Water of an Undetermined Depth. His writing has appeared in Alaska Magazine, Playboy, Gray’s Sporting Journal, and The Sun; and in literary journals including Crescent Review, Missouri Review, and ZYZZYVA. He teaches writing in the UAA Master of Fine Arts Program and serves on the faculty of the annual Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference. He lives in Homer with his wife and cats.
Note: There is free parking for UAA Bookstore events in the South Lot, Sports Complex NW Lot, West Campus Central Lot, Sports Campus West Lot.
ANCHORAGE | Anchorage essayist and author Bill Sherwonit will teach a 12-week nature and travel writing class beginning September 21st 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. $240. To sign up for this Wednesday night class (7 to 9:30 pm), or for more information, contact Sherwonit at 245-0283 or akgriz@hotmail.com.
PALMER | Untold Stories returns this fall, with a "Getting Ready for Winter" theme. Seven storytellers will tel their tales live on stage at the Palmer Museum. Submit a story for consideration: palmermuseum.org/
untoldstories/
ANCHORAGE | Publication Consultants, in association with Alaska Book Week, is hosting the Great Alaska Book Fair sponsored in part by The Mall at Sears and Anchorage Public Library. They suggest that anyone interested in participating in The Great Alaska Book Fair respond before all tables are reserved. Concurrent event will include: a Farmer's Market, a Sidewalk Sale and the Better Business Bureau's Shred Day, and a Financial Fitness Fair; it's the same day that The Mall at Sears features an annual sidewalk sale to coincide with the release of Permanent Fund Dividends. If you're interested you can sign up for a table here. Book fair hours are 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday, October 8, 2016. Tables will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Authors are responsible for their own sales—and pocket all the money. There will not be a central check out register. There is a charge of $50 per table. Authors may share tables if they'd like.
BUILDING FIRES IN THE SNOW (BFITS) ALASKA BOOK TOUR
BFITS READING & BOOK SIGNING
Saturday, September 17, 2016, 4-5 PM
Fireside Books, 720 S Alaska St # B, Palmer, AK
Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry is a pathbreaking book featuring work from some of Alaska’s finest writers. While collecting for the first time Alaska-themed LGBTQ short fiction and poetry, for the most part the work relates to concerns all Alaskans share. Editors Martha Amore and Lucian Childs, along with contributor Teeka Ballas, will sign books and give a short reading. FREE
BFITS DINNER, PANEL DISCUSSION, READING & BOOK SIGNINGWriting Against Stereotypes: Dinner and Artist Talk
Saturday, September 17, 2016, 6-8:30 PM
Turkey Red Restaurant, 550 S. Alaska St., Suite 100, Palmer, AK
Join editors Martha Amore and Lucian Childs, along with contributor Teeka Ballas, for dinner at Turkey Red. They will share their work and discuss the process of writing a different Alaska. Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry is a pathbreaking anthology that opens a window onto the diverse lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Alaskans. From quotidian urban outings to intimate encounters with breathtaking natural beauty, the collection shatters stereotypes to reveal a little seen side of the state. A Question and Answer session and book signing will follow.
Dinner tickets are $30 per person and only available in advance of the event at Fireside Books. Purchase at the store, by calling 745-2665 or online.
BFITS PRESENTATION, READING & BOOK SIGNINGA Community Tells Its Story
Thursday, September 22, 2016, 5-7 PM
University of Alaska Anchorage Bookstore, 2901 Spirit Way, Anchorage, AK
Join editors Martha Amore and Lucian Childs, along with contributors Susanna Mishler, Mei Mei Evans and others, as they share their work and discuss the process of writing about the Alaska LGBTQ community. Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry is a pathbreaking book featuring work from some of Alaska’s finest writers. How does the anthology reveal different aspects of the Alaska LGBTQ community? How can collaborative projects such as Building Fires in the Snow or Arctic Entries open windows onto little-seen aspects of our state? Can literature empower a community or does it stand outside political and social movements? A Question and Answer session and book signing will follow. FREE
READING & BOOK SIGNING
Saturday, September 24, 2016, 6-7:30 PM
Homer Public Library, 500 Hazel Avenue, Homer, AK
Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry is a pathbreaking book, the first to anthologize stories and poems from this perspective. The collection explores the deep connection between LGBTQ Alaskans, the urban context and the wilderness that surrounds them both. Editor Martha Amore, along with contributors Teresa Sundmark, Dawnell Smith and Teeka Ballas, will give a short reading.
A Question and Answer session and book signing will follow. FREE | Presented with Friends of the Homer Library.
BFITS BOOK SIGNING
Thursday, September 29, 2016, 5-7 PM
Barnes & Noble, 200 East Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, AK, 99503
Anthology contributors will sign books and answer questions about the collection.
Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry is a pathbreaking book featuring work from some of Alaska’s finest writers. While collecting for the first time Alaska-themed LGBTQ short fiction and poetry, for the most part the work relates to concerns all Alaskans share. FREE
49 Writers presents Crosscurrents
Tales of the City: Writing from Alaska’s Urban Hubs
ANCHORAGE | October 13, 2016
5-6:45 pm – Building Fires in the Snow celebratory meet-and-greet at MUSE
7-8:30 pm – Crosscurrents event in the Anchorage Museum auditorium
As part of an author exchange facilitated by Susan McBeth at Adventures by the Book in partnership with 49 Writers, Inc., four authors will present programs of interest to writers in Anchorage Sept. 24 - 28:
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, 9:50 -10:50 am
Breakout Session: Alaska Writers Guild Conference
Location: BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Blvd., Anchorage
Event: Best Practices to Present Your Book
Presenter: Kathi Diamant
More Info and Registration: http://alaskawritersguild.com/2016-conference
Open to: conference registrants only
Host: Alaska Writers Guild, 49 Writers, SCBWI
Contact: Brooke Hartman (AWG), Jeremy Pataky (49W)
Description: How do you present your book to an audience so that they will buy it? This workshop will offer specific techniques to craft talking points about your book, and adapt those messages to various audiences, covering the spectrum from the inhabitants of an elevator, to book club groups, classrooms, speaking engagements, and print, web, radio and television interviews. Topics covered include creating a 30-second "elevator speech" and how to prepare for a live broadcast interview or speaking engagement.
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, 11 am - noon
Breakout Session: Alaska Writers Guild Conference
Location: BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Blvd., Anchorage
Event: Strategic Event Planning – How to Market Your Book, Building an Author Foundation
Presenter: Susan McBeth
More Info and Registration: http://alaskawritersguild.com/2016-conference
Open to: conference registrants only
Host: Alaska Writers Guild, 49 Writers, SCBWI
Contact: Brooke Hartman (AWG), Jeremy Pataky (49W)
Description: You wouldn’t dream of building your house without a foundation, yet counterintuitively, that’s precisely what most authors do. It’s not until after they create their book that they typically start to think about a marketing foundation to launch it successfully. In this session, Susan will share tips on how you can start building your foundation, no matter where you are at in the publishing process. Learn about some innovative ways to host your book events, whether you are setting up your very first book signing, or you are a seasoned author looking to inject new life into your book signings.
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, 11 am - noon
Breakout Session: Alaska Writers Guild Conference
Location: BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Blvd., Anchorage
Event: Native Tongues: Blending the Other into Dialogue
Presenter: Marivi Soliven
More Info and Registration: http://alaskawritersguild.com/2016-conference
Open to: conference registrants only
Host: Alaska Writers Guild, 49 Writers, SCBWI
Contact: Brooke Hartman, Jeremy Pataky
Description: In an increasingly diverse world community, writers face the challenge of replicating a myriad of voices into their stories. In this session, writers will learn to create memorable, authentic characters by capturing the cadence of English as it is spoken by non-English speakers and weaving other languages into their dialogues, including strategies for replicating the nuanced speech patterns of characters from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Participants will examine excerpts from stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Edwidge Danticat, and Soliven's own work. Following this discussion, writers will draft passages of dialogue inspired by writing prompts. Those comfortable with sharing their work will be encouraged to read their scenes aloud for feedback.
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 2:10 – 3:10 pm
Breakout Session: Alaska Writers Guild Conference
Location: BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Blvd., Anchorage
Event: Cooking Up Memoirs: How to Record History
Presenter: Kitty Morse
More Info and Registration: http://alaskawritersguild.com/2016-conference
Open to: conference registrants only
Host: Alaska Writers Guild, 49 Writers, SCBWI
Contact: Brooke Hartman, Jeremy Pataky
Description: Have you ever daydreamed, while standing at the stove, of handing down family recipes to the next generation? Better yet, of recording your family’s history in the process? Don’t wait to tell your story. This sense of urgency motivated Kitty to write her award-winning memoir, Mint Tea and Minarets: a banquet of Moroccan memories. During this hour-long seminar, find out how she gathered family recipes and stories, tested the dishes, organized text and photographs, and mastered the publishing and marketing processes.
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, 6 PM
Event: An Evening at the Kasbah
Location: Turkey Red Restaurant, 550 South Alaska St.
Presenter: Kitty Morse
More Info: http://www.goodbooksbadcoffee.com/
Cost: $35 | tickets
Host: Fireside Books
Contact: David Cheezem; Barbara Hecker barbara@goodbooksbadcoffee.com
Estimated attendance: venue seats 50
Book sales: by Fireside Books
Description: Savor the authentic flavors of Morocco with Casablanca-born Kitty Morse, author of Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen, now in its tenth printing from Chronicle Books. Chef Alex will prepare a menu featuring recipes from Kitty’s book using local Alaskan products. Have dinner while Kitty entertains guests with tales of Moroccan culture and cuisine from Dar Zitoun, her family home south of Casablanca. Books will be available for sale courtesy of Fireside Books.
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, 9 – 10:15 am (40 minute talk)
Event: 9 AM service Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship: “Uniting Writers and Readers for Social Justice”
Location: 2824 E. 18th Ave, Anchorage
Presenters: Susan McBeth, Marivi Soliven
More Info: http://www.anchorageuuf.org/
Cost: none
Host: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship
Contact: Gary Holthaus
Estimated attendance: 50 - 60
Description: Susan McBeth, founder of Adventures by the Book, and Marivi Soliven, author of The Mango Bride, will discuss how they collaborated on “Saving Beverly,” a literary event that raised awareness and funds to assist immigrant victims of domestic violence, as well as the broader challenge of enabling meaningful interactions between writers and readers.
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm (40 minute talk)
Event: 11 AM service Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship: “Saving Beverly”
Location: 2824 E. 18th Ave., Anchorage
Presenter: Marivi Soliven
More Info: http://www.anchorageuuf.org/
Cost: none
Host: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship
Contact: Gary Holthaus
Estimated attendance: 80 – 90
Book sales: following service
Description: Inspired by her work as an interpreter for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, San Diego author Marivi Soliven wrote The Mango Bride. Within the context of the novel, Beverly, an immigrant wife whose dreams of a better life vanish when her marriage turns violent, is a composite of the anonymous women for whom Soliven translates.
Domestic violence cuts through all socio-economic classes. Despite their widely differing backgrounds, immigrant wives are especially vulnerable when their legal status is controlled by an abusive spouse. During the 11 am service, Soliven will discuss the expanded protections of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Filipino diaspora, and the Saving Beverly movement, which raises funds for community organizations that support immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Event: Salon Meet and Greet; includes informal panel (20 – 30 minutes) “Novel Ways to Get Noticed” featuring all visiting authors
Location: Home of Martha Amore, address forthcoming to RSVPers
Presenters: Susan McBeth, Kathi Diamant, Marivi Soliven, Kitty Morse
More Info:
http://49writers.org/special-events-and-salons
Cost: Potluck; BYOB
Open to: 49 Writers, Alaska Writers Guild, and Alaska SCBWI current members only
Host: 49 Writers
Contact: Jeremy Pataky
Estimated attendance: 25 - 35
Description: An informal meet-and-greet potluck event, by invitation to members of 49 Writers, Alaska SCBWI, and the Alaska Writers Guild. Visiting authors will speak as an informal panel on their success with novel ways of connecting readers with their books.
Monday, Sept. 26, 5 – 7 pm
Event: Kafka’s Last Love—Dora Diamant
Location: University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Bookstore, 2901 Spirit Way, Anchorage
Presenter: Kathi Diamant
More info: https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/bookstore/events/special-events-calendar.cfm
Cost: free
Open to: public
Host: UAA Philosophy Dept/Honors College/UAA Bookstore
Contact: John Mouracade, Rachel Epstein
Description: In her book Kafka’s Last Love: The Mystery of Dora Diamant, author Kathi Diamant explores the relationship between Franz Kafka and his companion and confidante Dora Diamant (1898-1952). It details their life in Berlin and, after his death in 1924, her passionate commitment to keep Kafka’s literary flame alive while caught in the maelstroms of fascism, communism, and the Holocaust.
Kathi Diamant is Director of the Kafka Project at San Diego State University which is an ongoing international search for Kafka's missing literary treasure: 35 letters and 20 notebooks written by Kafka in the last year of his life, and confiscated from Dora by the Gestapo in Berlin 1933. Just returning from investigations in Berlin, Kathi will also share her latest findings and her extraordinary adventures through archives and history.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, 1 – 2:30 pm
Event: “The Mango Bride: A Frank Talk about Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities and the Filipino Diaspora”
Location: University of Alaska (UAA) Bookstore, 2901 Spirit Way, Anchorage
Presenter: Marivi Soliven
More info: https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/bookstore/events/special-events-calendar.cfm
Cost: free
Host: UAA Public Health, UAA Bookstore
Contact: Gabe Garcia, Rachel Epstein
Description: Marivi Soliven reads from her award-winning debut novel, The Mango Bride, inspired by her work as an interpreter for immigrant survivors of domestic violence. Discussion will include the expanded protections of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Filipino diaspora, and the Saving Beverly movement, which raises funds for community organizations that support immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, 5:30 – 7 pm
Event: Ten Things You Should Know about Kafka (Before You Waste the Rest of Your Life)
Mountain View Branch Library, 120 Bragaw, Anchorage
Presenter: Kathi Diamant
Cost: free
Open to: public
Host: Mountain View Library
Contact: Virginia McLure
Estimated attendance: unknown
Book sales: by author
Description: Who was Franz Kafka? Why is he so important? And what does Kafkaesque really mean, anyway?
One of the most influential and misunderstood writers of our age, Franz Kafka was a lawyer who wrote in his spare time as "a form of prayer." After his death at the age of forty in 1924, his three unfinished novels were published, and barely sold a few copies. Yet, 100 years after the publication of his most famous short story, The Metamorphosis, he has become an icon of modern literature. His name is invoked more than 75 times a day on the internet, and a new book has been published on Kafka somewhere in the world every 10 days for the past 15 years. Yet, many people have never heard of him.
In this fun and informative talk, Kathi Diamant, author of Kafka's Last Love, and director of the SDSU Kafka Project, outlines ten things you should know to help you understand and appreciate Franz Kafka, one of the early players in defining--and shaping--our modern world view. You will discover surprising facts to impress your friends and family, and learn how reading Kafka actually can make you smarter.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7 – 8:30 pm
Event: “Saving Beverly” Fundraiser for Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC)
Location: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship, 2824 E. 18thAve., Anchorage
Presenter: Marivi Soliven
Cost: $10 suggested donation
Host: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist (AUU) Fellowship; fundraiser for AWAIC
Contact: Gary Holthaus
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