“Exploring the Frontiers of Language”
2016 Keynote Speaker
Click on each author for a short biography.
2016 Faculty Members
Click on each author for a short biography.
Organizing Faculty
Panel Discussion Topics 2016
- A Poised Pen: In defense of note-taking, journaling, and scribbling.
- Writing Action: Narrative that breaks a sweat.
- Published!: From your head to the readers.
- The Telling Detail: What it is, how to find it, where it fits.
- Gonna Serve Somebody: Getting real about faith in letters and in your readers.
- The Big Backyard: Making your story universal.
- Cold Copy: What makes editors cringe, shriek, and fall in love.
- Enough With the Xtra-Tuffs: Discovering the Alaska beyond reality TV.
- Merging Genres: Blending historical research into fiction, memoir, and poetry.
- Foodie: How flavor enhances character development.
Faculty Publications
Brian Doyle
- Chicago (available March 2016);
- Mink River;
- The Plover;
- Martin Marten;
- Bin Laden’s Bald Spot
Eowyn Ivey
- The Snow Child
John Straley
- Cold Storage, Alaska
- The Rising and the Rain
- Woman who Married a Bear
Emily Wall
- Liveaboard
- Freshly Rooted
Lynn Schooler
- Blue Bear;
- Walking Home: A traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness
- a Journey into the Human Heart
Heather Lende
- If You LivedHere, I’d Know Your Name
- Take good Care of the Garden and the Dogs
Kim Heacox
- Jimmy Bluefeather
- John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire: How a Visionary and the Glaciers of Alaska Changed America
- Rhythm of the Wild: A life Inspired by Alaska’s Denali National Park
- The Only Kayak
North Words Writers Symposium Schedule
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Registration & Author Consultation Sign-up
Arctic Brotherhood (AB) Hall
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Opening Reception
Westmark
Thursday, May 26, 2016
6:45 AM Early Bird Writer Workshop with Faculty
Skagway Public Library
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Continental Breakfast
AB Hall
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Welcome
AB Hall
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Published!: From your brain to the adoring readers.
AB Hall
Start with desire, add concept, obsession, and patience.
Full Faculty – Moderator: Kim Heacox
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM Cold Copy: What Makes Editors Cringe, Shriek, and Fall in Love
AB Hall
A primer in presenting your child to strangers.
Full faculty – Moderator: Brian Doyle
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Writing Action: Narrative That Breaks a Sweat
AB Hall
I woke up, got dressed, and hung around the drugstore. On steroids.
Panel: Eowyn, Brian, Kim
OR
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Enough with the Xtra Tuffs: Discovering Alaska Beyond Reality TV
Presbyterian Church
Bustin’ out of the igloo
Panel: Lynn, Heather, Emily
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch On Your Own!
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Foodie: How Flavor Enhances Character Development
AB Hall
Guilt-free literary dining.
Panel: Heather, Brian, Eowyn
OR
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Book Signing with Lynn & Kim
Skaguay News Depot & Books
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM Merging Genres: Blending Historical Research with Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry
AB Hall
Commit to a real story in a real place with real people or lie with authority.
Panel: Jeff, Kim, Lynn
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Book Signing with Brian & Heather
Skaguay News Depot & Books
OR
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Consultations with Eowyn, Kim, Emily, Lynn or Dan
Half-hour sessions with faculty; sign up Wednesday at registration
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Dinner on your own!
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM Faculty Readings
National Park Service Auditorium
Friday, May 27, 2016
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Continental Breakfast
AB Hall
8:15 AM – 8:30 AM Announcements
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM Haiku/Poetry writing with Emily Wall
AB Hall
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM A Poised Pen: In Defense of Note-taking, Journaling, and Scribbling
AB Hall
No app for this.
Panel: Emily, Dan, Lynn
OR
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Gonna Serve Somebody: Getting Real About Faith with Your Readers
Presbyterian Church
Finding words to express the ineffable.
Panel: Brian, Heather, Kim
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM Discussion groups
AB Hall
Facilitated by Faculty & Staff
OR
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM Book Signing with Eowyn and Emily
Skaguay News Depot & Books
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM Lunch on your own!
1:00 PM – 3:15 PM Participant readings
Presbyterian Church
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM The Big Backyard: Making Your Story Universal
Presbyterian Church
Little things mean a lot.
Panel: Kim, Lynn, Heather
OR
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM Consultations with Eowyn, Brian, Emily, Lynn or Dan
Half-hour sessions with faculty; sign up at Wednesday registration
5:15 PM Vans Depart to Alderworks Writers & Artists Retreat
2 pickup locations: 8th & Main and 6th & State
5:45 PM – 7:30 PM Live music, food by the fire, rustic digs and Retreat tour
Alderworks Writers & Artists Retreat – Dyea, Alaska
7:30 PM & 8:00 PM Vans Depart Alderworks to Skagway Hotels
2 Departure Times
2 drop off locations: 8th & Main and 6th & State
Saturday, May 28, 2016
7:20 AM Buses Depart to Train Station
2 pickup locations: 8th & Main and 6th & State
7:40 AM Board White Pass & Yukon Route RR
8:30 AM Disembark train at Laughton Glacier Station
Hike & write or Campfire Reflections
4:00 PM Return to Skagway via WP&YR
4:30 PM Buses Depart Train Station for Skagway Hotels
2 drop off locations: 8th & Main and 6th & State
5:45 PM Buses Depart Skagway Hotels for Poppies
2 Pick Up Locations: 8th & Main and 6th & State
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Closing Banquet
Poppies at Jewell Gardens
9:00 PM Saturday Night in Skagway!