“Ya aaní káa has du shkalneegí yaa nas.áx̱”
(On this land their stories are sounding off)2026 Conference Dates & Keynote will be announced in July!
EOWYN IVEY, 2025 Keynote Speaker Bio
Eowyn Ivey was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters. She worked for a decade as a bookseller at independent Fireside Books in Palmer, Alaska, and prior to that as a reporter for the local newspaper, The Frontiersman. Her debut novel The Snow Child has sold a million copies worldwide in more than 25 languages. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize and a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel, To the Bright Edge of the World, was a Library Journal Top Ten Book of the Year, a BookPage Best Book of the year, and a Washington Post Notable Book. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Wall Street Journal, London’s Observer Magazine, Alaska Magazine, and other publications and anthologies. Her newest novel, Black Woods, Blue Sky, will be published by Random House in February 2025. See more HERE.
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
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!
November 4, 2024 – Registration is now open for the 15th annual North Words Writers Symposium on May 28-31, 2025. See PRESS RELEASE.
October 21, 2024 – Presenting the 2025 North Words Faculty! In addition to our keynote author, Alaska novelist Eowyn Ivey, we will welcome poets dg nanouk okpik and Nickole Brown, fiction writers Marc Cameron and Andromeda Romano-Lax, and non-fiction writers Eva Holland and Bailey Williams. See more about them on these pages: Faculty Bios and Faculty Links & Publications. Registration opens Nov. 4.
June 1, 2024 – Another great North Words concludes! We engaged in meaningful discussions, wrote lots inside and outside, and had a load of fun times with keynote author Jamie Ford and fellow faculty members Lily Tuzroyluke, Daryl Farmer, Melinda Moustakis, John Messick, Christine Byl, and Don Rearden. See photos in our Facebook galleries and on Instagram. At the end of the conference it was announced that Alaska novelist Eowyn Ivey will be the keynote for our 15th annual event next year. Dates are May 28-31, 2025. We will post Eowyn’s updated bio soon with information about her forthcoming book. Registration opens in November.
April 11, 2024 – Scholarship Winner Announced! Our first Alaska university student scholarship has been awarded to Rachel Blume, a fiction writer pursuing her MA/MFA at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. See more information on our SCHOLARSHIPS page for 2025 opportunities.
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.
Eowyn Ivey to lead North Words 2025 faculty
Ya aaní káa yaa nas.áx̱ kei nas.áx̱(On this land...