February 22, 2011: Howard Blum to keynote
North Words Writers Symposium

Best-selling nonfiction writer Howard Blum will be the keynote speaker of the second annual North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway, Alaska on June 1-4, 2011.

Blum, whose new book The Floor of Heaven is being launched by Crown Publishing in April, will join several recognized authors from the 49th State including Heather Lende, Seth Kantner, Lynn Schooler, Deb Vanasse, Kim Heacox, and current Alaska Writer Laureate Peggy Shumaker.

Blum has previously published seven nonfiction books and one novel, including the New York Times bestsellers American Lightning, Wanted!, The Gold of Exodus, and Gangland. Blum is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, has written for the Atlantic, Harper’s, and Rolling Stone, and while at the New York Times was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He lives in Connecticut. His new book has special significance for Alaska-Yukon, as it follows three figures from the Klondike Gold Rush.

Other 2011 panelists include screenwriter David Hunsaker, Alaska magazine managing editor Tim Woody, University of Alaska Press editor Elisabeth Dabney, and regional writer-historians Daniel Henry and Jeff Brady, along with conference coordinator Buckwheat Donahue of the Skagway Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In addition to engaging in panel discussions about writing and publishing, registered symposium participants will get to travel to Lake Bennett on the White Pass & Yukon Route and participate in other activities in and around historic Skagway and nearby Dyea.

Registration is now open on the symposium website, www.nwwriterss.com. A maximum of 50 participants will be accepted for this year’s symposium.

The event is sponsored by the Skagway CVB with generous support from Alaska Magazine, The Skagway News Co., and Sgt. Preston’s Lodge.

2011 Keynote Speaker: Howard Blum

Down Town SkagwayAmerican author and journalist, Blum has worked as a reporter for the New York Times, where he earned two Pulitzer Prize nominations. Since 1994, Blum has been a contributing editor to Vanity Fair.

Blum has authored nine books. Several of his books were non-fiction bestsellers, including Gangland, and Wanted!, The Gold of Exodus, The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII and the upcoming Floor of Heaven a true story of the American West and the Klondike Gold Rush.

Panel Topics

June 1-4, 2011
“Exploring the Frontiers of Language”

Breath on the Mirror: Breathing Life into Characters

Scissorhands or Lizzie Borden: Pruning the Pages

Woven Storylines: Managing Intersecting Lives

Funny or Not, Here I Come

Beyond Stereotypes: Writing Under the Skin of Cultural Experience

Baring Soul: How Much Do I Dare Tell?

Kissing Up to Archivists: Research Navigation in Uncharted Territory

Pathways to the Answer: What was the Question?

Shopping for Contracts: Smart Marketing on the Publishing Frontiers

Dressing for Success: Pimping the Perfect Proposal

Writing Readable History

2011 North Words Writers Symposium Registration – $350

Genre Breakouts:

Film David Hunsaker
Poetry Peggy Schumaker
Children Deb Varnasse
Memoir Heather Lende

Participants can book the entire Symposium or only book individual sessions.

North Words Writers Symposium
Skagway 2011
“Exploring the Frontiers of Language”

Wednesday, June 1
6:00-7:30 pm
Symposium Taco Bar Reception-upstairs Red Onion Saloon

Thursday, June 2
7:30 am
Meet at White Pass & Yukon RR station
Break-out Leaders:
Personal Memoir-Heather Lende, Kim Heacox
Cultural Memoir- Lynn Schooler, Seth Kantner
Poetry-Peggy Shumaker
Children’s Literature-Deb Vanasse
Writing process/Intercultural- Terrance Reilly
Theatre/Film- David Hunsaker

12:00
Lunch and break-outs at Lake Bennett

4:00
Return to Skagway

5:30
Dinner at Stowaway

7:00-9:00
Faculty Readings-NPS auditorium

Friday, June 3
7:30
Continental Breakfast-AB hall

8:45
Plenary Session- AB Hall
Author Book Signings All Day at Skaguay News Depot & Books
(schedule available at conference)

9:15-11:15 Panel Discussion- AB Hall

Pathways to the Answer: What was the Question?
Discussion Focus: How do you contain the trajectory of a storyline? What to include or leave out?
How do diversions hurt or help? Where does the beginning begin and the ending end?
Peggy Shumaker, host
Kim Heacox
Heather Lende
Jeff Brady
Lynn Schooler
David Hunsaker

Panel Discussion-Presbyterian Church

Dressing for Success: Pimping the Perfect Proposal
So you have a manuscript—then what? In an age of sweeping transformation,
how do you attract the attentions of overworked agents and publishers?
Daniel Henry, host
Tim Woody
Seth Kantner
Deb Vanasse
Terrance Reilly

1:15-3:15 Panel Discussion- AB Hall

Woven Storylines: Managing Intersecting Lives
Discussion Focus: How do you treat the people you create to move the story from A to B?
How do they treat each other? What does real conversation sound like?
Daniel Henry, Host
Howard Blum
Heather Lende
Kim Heacox
Seth Kantner
David Hunsaker

3:30-5:30 Panel Discussion- AB Hall

Writing Readable History
Discussion Focus: More than spew dates and dead people, history writing requires a writer to
convey a human story so readers will care. Where in the dusty annals does essential humanity reside?
Jeff Brady, host
Howard Blum
Daniel Henry
Kim Heacox
Lynn Schooler

Dinner on your own!

7-9:00
Participant readings-NPS Auditorium

Saturday, June 4
7:30am
Continental Breakfast-AB hall

8:45
Plenary Session- AB Hall

9:00 AB Hall- Panel Discussion

Breath on the Mirror: The Life in Character Details
Discussion Focus: If you possess the audacity to reconstruct human lives on paper,
pay attention to details. Appearances, behaviors, relationships show volumes.
Peggy Shumaker, host
Heather Lende
Seth Kantner
Terrance Reilly
David Hunsaker

Panel Discussion- Presbyterian Church

Funny or Not, Here I Come
Discussion Focus: You may write to humor yourself, but are readers getting the joke?
Share the secrets of chuckle-headed composition.
Kim Heacox, host
Daniel Henry
Deb Vanasse
Tim Woody

11:15
Box lunch excursions to Burro Creek or Dyea—you choose

4:00
Return to Skagway

6:00
Banquet at Poppies (Jewell Gardens)
Howard Blum Keynote

8:00
Continue the good times

Please, only registered participants at workshops and field trips.