FIRST LOOK 2026 SCHEDULE
(DRAFT for early release 02/22/26 • NOTE the conference has moved to a Tuesday start)
Schedule subject to change
The 16th annual
North Words Writers Symposium
May 26-29, 2026 • Skagway, Alaska
2026 Faculty
Willy Vlautin (keynote author)
Richard Chiappone • Corinna Cook • Heather Lende
Coll Thrush • Annie Wenstrup
Organizing Faculty/Special Guests
Jeffery Brady, Katrina Woolford, Daniel Henry,
Kent Fielding, X’unei Lance Twitchell
Mandy Ramsey, Kurtis Lowe
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GETTING HERE
See our TRAVEL page for updated information on how to get to/from Skagway on the days around the symposium.
IMPORTANT NOTE
We will have online sign-up forms this year for Early Bird Workshops, Faculty Consultations, Participant Readings, and some activities. Sign-up begins in early May after registered participants receive an email with Google links to the forms.
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Tuesday, May 26 – Day 1
Optional Early Activities
1) Bike Rentals – Sign up online for voucher for an all-day bike rental Wednesday sponsored by Sockeye Cycle
(5th b/w Broadway & State)
2) Red Onion Saloon Brothel Tour (available any day, choose your time). Voucher in your packet – check at RO after you arrive for daily tour schedule and pick your time. Sponsored by Red Onion Saloon (2nd & Broadway)
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ARRIVALS
Ferry arrives at 1:45 pm, flights all day
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MAIN SCHEDULE BEGINS
3:00-4:30 PM – Check-in & Packet Pickups for all Participants and Faculty
AB Hall conference room • Broadway between 2nd & 3rd
For those arriving on on late flights, packets will be available at the opening reception in the evening or at the AB Hall on Wednesday.
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3:30 – 4:30 PM • Early Bird Book Signing with
Participant Authors and Organizing Faculty
Skaguay News Depot & Books – 208 Broadway across from AB Hall
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4:30-5:00 PM – Faculty Meeting
AB Hall conference room • Broadway between 2nd & 3rd
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6:00 – 8:00 PM – Opening Reception at BrewCo
& Introductions
Skagway Brewing Co., 4th b/w Broadway & Spring, enter through first floor bar to outside patio – food & first drink provided –
Introductions of everyone at 7 after we eat.
Wednesday, May 27 – Day 2
6:45 – 7:55 AM – Early Bird Workshops at Library
Skagway Public Library • 8th & State
(register online in advance, choose poetry or journaling)
1) Writing Self-Portrait Poems with Annie Wenstrup
2) Journaling the William Stafford way with Heather Lende
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Wednesday at AB Hall – Broadway between 2nd & 3rd
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM – Continental Breakfast
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8:30 – 9:00 AM – Welcome & Announcements
X’unei Lance Twitchell, Skagway Tribal Council
Organizing Faculty Announcements
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9:00-10:00 AM Panel – PushBack: Resistance Writing in the North
What are the stories that empower movements for change, i.e. climate, colonialism? Who is my audience? Is my purpose to educate, alarm, activate, or all of the above!
Panel: Corinna Cook, lead, with Coll Thrush, Annie Wenstrup,
X’unei Lance Twitchell, Dan Henry, Kent Fielding
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(Morning Stretch during break led by Mandy Ramsey)
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10:15 – 11:15 AM Panel – “A Comfortable Chair”: The Key to Writing a Great Novel *
Should I review the greats or just start? Storyboarding, ideal mapping, Post-It noting? How many characters is too many? What do I owe the reader? Should I tie up all loose ends?
Panel: Willy Vlautin lead, Rich Chiappone, and working-in-progress novelists Coll Thrush, X’unei Lance Twitchell, and Jeffery Brady
*Truman Capote’s writing advice.
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11:15 AM – 1:15 PM – Lunch On Your Own!
Discover local cuisine/menus at Skagway Visitor Center in AB Hall or visit https://www.skagway.com/restaurants/
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12:15 – 1:15 PM – Keynote Book Signing at Bookstore
Willy Vlautin, author of The Left and the Lucky,
The Horse, The Night Always Comes, Lean on Pete
Skaguay News Depot & Books – across Broadway from AB Hall
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1:15 – 2:30 PM – Generative Writing Workshop: The Writer as Map Maker with Corinna Cook
Maps, like literature, tell us where we are and where we might go. And literature, like a good map, tells us what’s adjacent though just out of sight, what lies underfoot, where the firm boundaries lie, and where they give way. This talk explores the relationship between maps and the so-called “creative nonfiction” essay: we’ll sample essays that treat maps as art, essays that expand maps into metaphor, and essays that make maps out of language. We’ll also spotlight actionable writing techniques that can inform your own writing in dialogue with mapped territories.
Participants are invited to bring their own map or map-photo to the session, and will have the opportunity to write alongside it.
Suitable for all thinkers interested in exploring the literary-cartographic lay of the land.
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2:30 – 3:15 PM – Participant Readings #1
Individual readings of no more than 5 minutes (limit of 7 readers in this slot, sign up online)
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3:30 – 4:30 PM – Faculty Consultations #1
AB Hall or other arranged locations
Half-hour sessions with faculty and staff; sign up in advance. After you sign up and your faculty member is confirmed, we will connect you with them in case you wish to send a few pages in advance.
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4:30 – 7:00 PM – Dine out on your own in Skagway!
Discover local cuisine/menus at Skagway Visitor Center in AB Hall or visit https://www.skagway.com/restaurants/
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7:00 – 8:30 PM – Faculty Readings at Eagles Hall
Location: Eagles Hall Theatre • 6th & Broadway
Sponsored by the Days of ’98 Show & Skagway Arts Council
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
(also may be open to public for viewing on Facebook Live)
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Thursday, May 28 – Day 3
Thursday at AB Hall
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM – Continental Breakfast, Announcements – AB Hall
Organizing Faculty, 49 Writers
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8:45 AM – 10:00 AM – Generative Writing Workshop: Writing Dialog with Willy Vlautin
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(Morning Stretch during break led by Mandy)
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10:15 – 11:15 PM Panel – Tales from the FishBowl: Facts, Fine Lines, and Gossip in Service of the Story
How do we navigate small-town complexities when we know the neighbors are listening? Whose facts matter? How much can/should you tell? What is the role of place in rural writing?
Rich Chiappone and Heather Lende co-lead, Annie Wenstrup, Corinna Cook
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11:15 – 12 Noon – Participant Readings #2
Individual readings of no more than 5 minutes (limit of 7 readers in this slot, sign up online)
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12 Noon – 1:30 PM – Lunch On Your Own!
Discover local cuisine/menus at Skagway Visitor Center in AB Hall or visit www.skagway.com
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12:00 – 1:30 PM – Faculty Book Signings at Bookstore
12:00-12:45 • Heather Lende, Rich Chiappone
12:45-1:30 • Annie Wenstrup, Coll Thrush, Corinna Cook
Skaguay News Depot & Books – across Broadway from AB Hall
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1:30 – 2:30 PM Panel – When You Get What You Hope For: Unpacking the Trek to Publication (and after!)
Shouldn’t my scintillating storycraft sell itself? Can I make money with these words? Do I have to schmooze my way to the top? How do I break ground before the writing’s done?
Panel: Kurtis Lowe, lead, Coll Thrush, Corinna Cook, Heather Lende
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2:30 – 3:30 PM – Faculty Consultations #2
AB Hall or other arranged locations
Half-hour sessions with faculty and staff; sign up in advance.
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Thursday Evening Alderworks BBQ Schedule
4:30 PM – Van/Shuttle Pickups for ride to Dyea
Pickup locations: White House (8th & Main), Morning Wood (4th & State), Skagway Inn (7th & Broadway), Westmark (3rd & Spring).
Courtesy of SMART Bus
5:00 – 6:00 PM – Dyea Activities
– Walk in the Deiyáa woods (Tlingit pronunciation day-yah, meaning pack trail) with X’unei Lance Twitchell
– Tour of Alderworks Writers & Artists Retreat with Jeff & Dorothy Brady
6:30 – 8:30 PM – BBQ at Alderworks
Hosted & Sponsored by Alderworks Alaska Writers & Artists Retreat, catered by Peppers (1 West Creek Rd)
BBQ & music by the cabins and studio
8:30 PM – Vans/Shuttle departs Alderworks for Skagway
Drop offs: 8th & Main , 4th & State, 7th & Broadway, 3rd & Spring
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Friday, May 29 – Day 4
FRIDAY MORNING EXCURSION ON WP&YR and
DENVER GLACIER FIRESIDE & TRAIL WRITING
PASSPORTS REQUIRED!!!
Sponsored by White Pass & Yukon Route
Sign up in advance! Dress for being outdoors & bring extra water.
Outdoor activities at Denver weather permitting – if you elect not to go, AB Hall will be open for you to use starting at 8 AM
CHOO CHOO SCHEDULE
7:15 AM – SMART Bus pickup from hotels for ride to 10th Street Loading Platform
7:55 AM – Train departs platform for Denver, arrives 8:20 AM
8:30-11 AM – Split into three groups:
1) Observing the Palimpsest – Writing by the fire pit & caboose with Coll Thrush
2) Best of Times, Worst of Times or Charles Dickens Goes Camping – Hike and write with Rich Chiappone
3) Hike with a guide, no writing
11:20 AM – Return to Skagway on train. Walk back to hotels or downtown. (SMART bus by request).
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FREE TIME – LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
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Friday afternoon at AB Hall
1:15 – 2:15 PM Panel – Ghosted by the Muse: How to Summon and Sustain a Creative Spirit
Food? Mood? Drink? Sleep? Exercise? Place? Mentors? Routines? Practice? Journaling? Meditation? Remuneration? Memory? Time? Attitude? Humans? Animals? Mission?
Panel: Annie Wenstrup, lead, Heather Lende, Rich Chiappone, Willy Vlautin
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(Afternoon Stretch during break led by Mandy/Linda)
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2:30 – 4 PM– Participant Readings #3
Individual readings of no more than 5 minutes (priority given to those who have not yet read – sign up online before conference)
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FREE TIME
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Friday Evening Keynote Banquet Schedule at Westmark Inn
3rd & Spring
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Closing Banquet at Westmark’s Glacial Lounge (upstairs above lobby)
(Dinner menu emailed to participants/faculty – specialty menu upon request)
First drink on North Words 6-6:30 – Dinner begins at 6:30
Welcome by Skagway Traditional Council & Municipality of Skagway representatives
Keynote following dinner at approximately 8:00 PM:
WILLY VLAUTIN
in conversation with Kurtis Lowe
followed by Q&A
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Off Book to follow in downtown Skagway
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THANKS FOR BEING PART OF NORTH WORDS 2026!