“Exploring the Frontiers of Language” - May 28-31, 2014

Fifth annual North Words Writers Symposium Features Faculty of Top Writers

North Words Symposium 2014 Press Release

Keynote Author: Simon Winchester (latest title: The Man Who United the States)

Celebrated British-American writer Simon Winchester will keynote the fifth annual North Words Writers Symposium on May 28-31, 2014 in Skagway, Alaska.

Winchester, best-selling author, journalist, and broadcaster, has worked as a foreign correspondent for most of his career and lectures widely at universities, geological and historical societies, and libraries. He is the author of 22 books, including the 2010 New York Times best-seller The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, the remarkable story of Joseph Needham, the eccentric and adventurous scientist who fell in love with China and whose own work there unveils the epic story of that magisterial country. Other best-sellers include The Professor and the Madman, an account of the men behind the Oxford English Dictionary; A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906; and The Map that Changed the World, about the nineteenth century geologist William Smith. Winchester specializes in eccentric, obsessive geniuses. He is praised for his skills as a masterful and riveting storyteller both on the page and in lectures. He is currently touring with his latest book, The Men Who United the States: America’s Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible  (Harper Collins 2013) A complete bio and photo are attached.

Winchester is joined at the Skagway symposium by a faculty of Alaska/Yukon authors that includes: Alaska Writer Laureate Nora Marks Dauenhauer with her writer/husband Richard, Michael Gates, Nick Jans, Marcel Jolley, Heather Lende, Lael Morgan, John Straley, and Deb Vanasse. Faculty will serve on panels to discuss several writing and publishing topics and will also do a public reading during one of the evening sessions.

North Words Writers Symposium
Skagway, Alaska 2014
Schedule

For travel and accommodations go to: www.skagway.com

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

2:00-5:00
Registration- Arctic Brotherhood (AB) Hall

6:00-8:00
Symposium Taco Bar Reception- upstairs Red Onion Saloon

Thursday, May 29
6:45 am
Early Bird Writer Workshop w/ faculty, Skagway Public Library

7:30-8:30
Continental Breakfast-AB hall
Registration

8:30
Plenary Session- AB Hall
– Welcome: Buckwheat, Jeff, Dan
– Symposium Introductions

9:00-10:45
Plenary- Panel Discussion- AB Hall
Reality Basted: Writing Readable History that Sticks the Facts
How do we stick facts with the sweet stuff that readers gobble up, basted—not wasted—with info bits?
Simon Winchester
Jeff Brady
Lael Morgan
Michael Gates
Nora and Richard Dauenhauer

Book signing at Skaguay News Depot & Books: Marcel Jolley, Heather Lende

11:00-12:30
Panel Discussion A- Presbyterian Church
Beginning, Endings and the Structure of Memory
Seduce. Summon vivid details. Stop at exactly the right time.
Heather Lende
Nick Jans
Marcel Jolley

Panel Discussion I- AB Hall
Who are Your Readers? What Do They Want? What Will You Give Them?
Write as if readers were listeners seated around your desk.
Deb Vanasse
Lael Morgan
Michael Gates

Book signing at Skaguay News Depot & Books: John Straley

12:30-2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:30
Panel Discussion- AB Hall
The Writer’s Day: Routines, Aspirations, Distractions
Balancing the work with the woodpile.
Simon Winchester
Nora and Dick Dauenhauer
Deb Vanasse
Heather Lende

Panel Discussion-Presbyterian Church
Edgy: Writing at the Parameters of Consciousness
Out of the box of the box. What, again, is a box?
John Straley
Lael Morgan
Marcel Jolley
Dan Henry

Book signing at Skaguay News Depot & Books: Nick Jans, Michael Gates

3:45-5:30
Panel Discussion- AB Hall
Toot Your Horn: Being Heard in the Traffic Jam
How to get noticed–your work deserves a worthy home.
Katrina Pearson
Deb Vanasse
Heather Lende
Nick Jans

Consultations
Half-hour sessions with faculty; make early arrangements
John Straley
Marcel Jolley
Michael Gates
Dan Henry (UAS credit)

Book signing at Skaguay News Depot & Books: Simon Winchester, Lael Morgan

5:30-7:00
Dinner on your own!

7:10-9:00
Faculty readings- National Park Service auditorium

9:15-11:00—Night Owl Writer Workshop w/ faculty, Olivia’s Bistro at the Skagway Inn

Friday, May 30

6:45 am
Early Bird Writer Workshop w/ faculty, Skagway Public Library

7:30-8:30
Continental Breakfast-AB Hall

8:45
Announcements- AB Hall

9:00-10:30
Panel Discussion- AB Hall
The Winning Memoir: Me, Thee and Our Moment of Truth
It happened to you, but we felt it too.
Heather Lende
Nick Jans
Marcel Jolley

Panel Discussion-Presbyterian Church
My Dog Spot: Making the Ordinary Compelling
And then we went there and did stuff.
Simon Winchester
Deb Vanasse
Lael Morgan

Book Signing at Skaguay News Depot: Nora and Dick Dauenhauer

10:30-12:00 Lunch-AB Hall

12:00-2:30
Participant readings-AB Hall

3:00-4:30
Panel Discussion- AB Hall
Edible Poetry: Diet for Small Moment
Food for thought, one syllable at a time
Nora and Richard Dauenhauer
John Straley

Consultations
Half-hour sessions with faculty; make arrangements early
Simon Winchester
Heather Lende
Lael Morgan
Dan Henry (UAS credit)

Book Signing at Skaguay News Depot: Deb Vanasse

4:45- Vans depart for Alderworks Alaska Writers & Artists Retreat , West Creek in Dyea

5:00-7:30 Live music, food by the fire, rustic digs,  and tour of writers/artists retreat

7:30-Vans leave Brady homestead for Skagway

9:00-11:00 Open Mic/Night Owl Writer Workshop w/ faculty, Olivia’s Bistro at the Skagway Inn

Saturday, May 31
7:30-9:00
Continental Breakfast-AB Hall

9:00-11:00 Panel Discussion- AB Hall
Life from Landscape: The Hot Pulse of an Indifferent Earth
The pathos of earth revealed
Simon Winchester
Michael Gates
Nora and Dick Dauenhauer

11:00-12:20 Lunch

12:30
Board White Pass & Yukon Route RR

1:00-3:30
Trail Write or…Campfire Reflections

4:00 Return to Skagway

6:00-9:00
Banquet at Poppies at Jewell Gardens
Simon Winchester, Keynote

Saturday Night in Skagway!