“Ya aaní káa has du shkalneegí yaa nas.áx̱”
(On this land their stories are sounding off)North Words Writers Symposium • May 26-29, 2026
North Words to welcome back Oregon novelist Willy Vlautin as the 2026 keynote author
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Willy Vlautin is the author of seven novels and is the founder of the bands, Richmond Fontaine and the Delines. Vlautin started writing stories and songs at the age of 11 after receiving his first guitar.
His seven published novels are: The Motel Life (2007), Northline (2008), Lean on Pete (2010), The Free (2014), Don’t Skip Out on Me (2018), The Night Always Comes (2021), and The Horse (2024). A new novel, The Left and The Lucky, will be published by HarperCollins in April 2026.
Three of his novels, The Motel Life, Lean on Pete, and The Night Always Comes, have been adapted as films.
Vlautin has received the prestigious Joyce Carol Oates literary prize, was a Pen/Faulkner finalist, and is in the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. He lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, dog, cats, and horses.
Joining Vlautin on our 2026 faculty will be Annie Wenstrup (poetry), Coll Thrush (history), Heather Lende (memoir), Richard Chiappone (fiction), and Corrina Cook (essays). Link to 2026 Faculty page to read their bios and watch for more announcements as winter rolls along.
We are going to gather on the ancestral land of the Lḵoot peoples. From so very long ago they have been on these lands. Now they are here, and they will always be here. On this land, their stories are sounding off. Through the voices of the earth, rivers, and the Tree People sing the songs of the Lḵoot peoples. How much we want that you give respect to all things. Thank you.
— X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Alaska Native Languages at University of Alaska Southeast and member of the North Words Organizing Faculty
UPDATES
November 3, 2025 – Registration now open for 2026 North Words! For more information see our Registration page. Check out our full 2026 faculty and watch for more panel and workshop topics and other announcements this winter.
April 2, 2025 – Alaska Creative Writing Student Scholarship winner announced. Rachel McKinley of Fairbanks is this year’s scholarship winner. She will receive free registration to North Words 2025 and a travel stipend. Rachel is an MFA candidate in creative nonfiction at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her writing seeks to meld the beauty and heartbreak in the natural world and explores what it means to be desperately alive and full of wonder. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth River, Southern Quill, and Plan B: A Journal of Reproductive Justice. When not writing, reading, or homeschooling her children, she enjoys hiking and baking. Congratulations Rachel!
January 31, 2025 – First Look 2025 Schedule now available! Also check out our Panels & Writing Workshop Topics and updated information about Scholarships. Register Now!
Presented by the North Words Organizing Faculty under the fiscal sponsor Skagway Development Corporation – Community Development Services, with generous support from the Municipality of Skagway, Skagway Traditional Council, and additional Sponsors. Meet your writing community at the North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway, Alaska.
Willy Vlautin to lead North Words 2026 faculty
The 16th annual North Words Writers Symposium...