North Words 2026 Panels & Workshops
PANELS – Faculty assignments will be added to these in the upcoming Schedule
1) 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?
2) When You Get What You Hoped 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?
3) “A Comfortable Chair”: The Key to Writing a Great Novel*: Should I review the greats or just start? Storyboarding, idea mapping, Post It-noting? How many characters is too many? What do I owe the reader? Should I tie up all loose ends?
4) PushBack: Resistance Writing in the North: What are the stories that empower movements for change, ie. climate, colonialism? Who is my audience? Is my purpose to educate, alarm, activate or all of the above? Can I offer a remedy?
5) 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?
*Truman Capote’s writing advice.
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WORKSHOPS – see more details in the upcoming Schedule
Early Bird Sessions at Skagway Public Library
– Journaling the William Stafford Way with Heather Lende
– Writing Self Portrait Poems with Annie Wenstrup
Generative Workshop Group Sessions at AB Hall
– The Writer as Map Maker with Corinna Cook
– Writing Dialog with Willy Vlautin
Train Excursion Sessions at Denver Glacier Caboose or on the Denver Trail
– Observing the Palimpsest – Writing by the fire with Coll Thrush
– Best of Times, Worst of Times or Charles Dickens Goes Camping – Trail Writing with Rich Chiappone
There also will be two places on the schedule for one-on-one consultations with all of our Alaska-NW faculty and three places on the schedule to read your own work!