“Ya aaní káa has du shkalneegí yaa nas.áx̱”
(On this land their stories are sounding off)North Words Writers Symposium • May 29-June 1, 2024 • Registration Now Open!
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
November 8, 2023 – North Words 2024 Registration to open Monday Nov. 13 – Joining keynote author Jamie Ford (see bio below) will be these wonderful Alaska-NW writers: Lily Tuzroyluke, Daryl Farmer, Melinda Moustakis, John Messick, Christine Byl, and Don Rearden. See their bios on the 2024 Faculty Page. Go to the Registration page starting Nov. 13 to link to our form and sign up to secure a spot. Dates are May 29-June 1, 2024. We allow up to 40 participants. Watch for list of panel and workshop topics as we roll into winter.
June 1, 2023 – North Words 2024 Keynote & Dates Announced – At the end of this year’s conference, it was announced that Jamie Ford, bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and a 2023 winner of the Pacific Northwest Book Award for The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, will be the keynote author for the 14th North Words Writers Symposium May 29-June 1, 2024. Watch for his bio on the site soon. Registration will begin in November.
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.
We are going to gather on the ancestral land of the Lḵoot peoples
Lḵoot Ḵwáan has du aaní káx̱ woosh kanax̱...
JAMIE FORD
2024 Keynote Speaker Bio
Jamie Ford is the award-winning author of the bestselling novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which was awarded the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature and was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Ford’s second novel, Songs of Willow Frost, was also a New York Times best seller, and as with its predecessor, has also been a favorite among community reading programs.
Ford’s latest book The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick, an instant New York Times bestseller, and recipient of the Pacific Northwest Book Award.
Ford is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and of Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp. His works have been translated into over 35 languages. Having grown up near Seattle’s Chinatown, he now lives in Montana with his wife and one-eyed pug.
