Alaska Center for the Book

Native Heritage Month Author Event

Laureli Ivanoff

Inupiaq writer Laureli Ivanoff will read from published and new works in “Living in Relationship with Land, Water, Plant and Animal Kin.” Originally from Unalakleet, Ivanoff now lives in Anchorage. She began her writing career as a radio journalist in western Alaska. She has written for publications including: The Anchorage Daily News, High Country News, The New York Times and Outside Magazine. She received a 2024 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for her columns in High Country News. Ivanoff has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts, and now works in advocacy to protect Alaska Native hunting, fishing and harvesting rights. MORE…

Friday, November 1
7:00 pm
Anchorage Museum

Alaska Reads Program Announces Book Selection

Lily Tuzroyluke

Indigenous author Lily Tuzroyluke has been selected for the 2024-2026 Alaska Reads program, which brings Alaskans together through shared reading experiences.

Tuzroyluke is of Inupiaq, Tlingit, and Nisga’a First Nations descent; originally from Point Hope, she now lives in Anchorage. Her historical novel SivulliqAncestor is set in 1890s Alaska, amid harrowing change for the Inupiaq people. The story is a tale of survival, of an Inupiaq family that survives a smallpox epidemic and the arrival of American whalers, and the Black whaler who shares part of their struggle.

Sivulliq: Ancestor has received wide literary praise since being published by Epicenter Press in 2023, and was selected for the Library of Congress Great Reads from Great Places. As the Alaska Reads author, Tuzroyluke will visit libraries and communities across the state through 2026. 

Every two years, the Alaska Reads committee chooses a publication by a living Alaskan author. The author travels throughout Alaska discussing their work at book discussion groups, libraries, bookstores, museums and cultural centers, and through radio broadcasts and social media. Previous authors and their selected books include Ernestine Hayes, author of Blonde Indian; Nicole Stellon O’Donnell’s Steam Laundry; Heather Lende’s Finding the Good; and Paul Greci’s Surviving Bear Island.

Alaska Center for the Book, which coordinates the program, has partnered with the Alaska State Library, the Alaska Humanities Forum, and the Rasmuson Foundation to provide books and author travel. 

Libraries interested in hosting Tuzroyluke can contact Lila Vogt at lilav@spenardak.com.

Enjoy Alaska Book Week

(Even After It’s Past)

Alaska Book Week is an annual celebration highlighting and promoting Alaska’s literary culture. Though this special week has passed, you can find links to many of the virtual events that happened this year and in the past few years at the Alaska Book
Week website. This year it took place from October 5th through October 12th and served as a platform to celebrate Alaskan authors, illustrators, and publishers. The event is designed to raise awareness about the state’s rich literary heritage, showcasing established and emerging voices across Alaska’s diverse communities.
Throughout the week, events are held in various locations, including bookstores, libraries, schools, and online platforms, featuring book readings, author panels, workshops, and book signings. It’s a time when Alaskan stories, ranging from fiction and poetry to history and memoirs, take center stage. The event encourages participation from the literary community and the general public, fostering a sense of connection and pride in Alaska’s storytelling traditions.
The week’s themes often highlight the state’s unique landscapes, history, and cultural narratives, reflecting Alaskans’ spirit and resilience. It’s an opportunity for readers and writers alike to engage with the stories that define life in this vast and rugged region, strengthening the local literary community by providing visibility to creators and encouraging a love for reading.
This celebration highlights the work of Alaskan authors and plays a significant role in cultivating literary talent and fostering collaboration between artists and readers across the state. It’s a vibrant testament to how literature can reflect and shape a place’s identity.

Visit our Alaska Book Week website here to find out about more than 20 events that took place. There you will also find links to past year’s virtual Alaska Book Week events.

Great Reads from Great Places

Books by regional authors selected to represent Alaska at the 2024 National Book Festival

The Alaska Center for the Book is proud to announce the books chosen to represent Alaska for
the 2024 Great Reads from Great Places, a program featured at the annual National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Since 2002, each state has selected a book written for children or young adults that reflects
their state’s unique character and location. In 2022, a second book, one for an adult audience
was added to the program. Selections are highlighted at the Festival, and are placed on the
permanent list of honored titles online at Great Reads from Great Places.

2024 Selection for Adults:
Homestead by by Melinda Moustakis
2024 Selection for Youth:
Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson

The 2024 National Book Festival was held in the nation’s capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, August 24. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online and videos of all programs are available here:

Link to all of the previous years’ Great Reads videos from around the country.

More information can be found here.

A full list of participating authors can be found at on National Book Festival website.

ALASKANS HONORED IN 2024 LITERARY, LITERACY AWARDS

     Collaborations among people, literacy, and literature are honored in the 2024 Contributions to Literacy in Alaska (CLIA) Awards from the Alaska Center for the Book, announced June 24.
Honorees are the Reading Mentors program of the Talkeetna Friends of the Library; the Anchorage Daily News; and authors Ann Fienup-Riordan, Alice Rearden, and Marie Meade.
     The CLIA awards are presented annually by Alaska Center for the Book, Alaska’s liaison with the U.S. Library of Congress Center for the Book. Since 1993, the awards have been presented to more than 100 people and institutions making a significant contribution in literacy, the literary arts, or the preservation of the written or spoken word.
The Reading Mentors Program is supported by Friends of the Talkeetna Library, in collaboration with Talkeetna Elementary School, area homeschool families, Sunshine Transit, Upper Susitna Food Pantry, and Talkeetna Library. Teachers identify students who could benefit from additional reading practice. They engage in one-on-one reading sessions with community volunteers after school. During each biannual 7-8 week session, 15 students are transported to Talkeetna Public Library by Sunshine Transit, enjoy a snack provided by the Food Pantry, spend an hour a week reading to and with a mentor, and choose a new book or two to keep. Now in its sixth year, the multigenerational program provides a comfortable environment for children to gain confidence and encouragement in reading.
     Authors Ann Fienup-Riordan, Alice Rearden, and Marie Meade form another collaboration meriting CLIA awards. The three are tradition-bearers, educators, authors, and translators sharing Yupik culture, tradition, and language. Working sometimes separately, but often with one another, their work is so interwoven that the CLIA awards committee chose to recognize all three, rather than one. Fienup-Riordan, who came to Alaska in 1973, is a cultural anthropologist who has written or edited more than 20 books. Meade, born in Nunapiciaq, is a researcher and translator who also teaches Yup’ik dance, language and traditions at University of Alaska-Anchorage. Rearden, originally from Napakiak, has worked as primary translator and oral historian for the Calista Elders Council and the Alaska Council for Exceptional Children. Some of their joint works are Wise Words of the Yup’ik People: We Talk to You because We Love You; Yup’ik Words of Wisdom: The Way We Genuinely Live: Masterworks of Yup’ik Science and Survival; Time of Warring; and most recently, All the Land’s Surface is Medicine: Edible and Medicinal Plants of Southwest Alaska.
     Anchorage Daily News was awarded a CLIA for stepping beyond the usual mission of print and on-line journalism, promoting literacy and literary arts in Alaska. In addition to news coverage, the paper has co-sponsored the statewide UAA/Anchorage Daily News Creative Writing Contest for 41 years. Two past winners have become State Writer Laureates, and several have become published authors. The paper also hosts the annual Alaska State Spelling Bee, Alaska’s Educator of the Year Program, and provides newspapers and curriculum to students through its Newspapers in the Schools. The paper also provides weekly reviews of books by Alaskans to recognize the efforts of writers across the state.

Thank You

To all those who helped make the 2024 Reading Rendezvous
an Amazing Success.

• Almost 2,500 people attended this free, fun, family event.
• 1183 people signed up for the Library’s Summer Discovery reading program.
• 53 people volunteered giving 145.25 community service volunteers.
• Two radio stations broadcast live from the event.
• Four costume characters visited (Molly of Denali, Alaska Public Media; Dash the Husky, Alaska 529; Seymour the Moose and Eagle.)
• 46 Community groups or businesses staffed booths with free activities and give aways. 

There was a full afternoon of entertainment on the grounds including:
Jim Kerr, Man of Gravity, juggler supreme
• Children’s book author, Brooke Hartman, reading from a new book.
• The Alaska Button Box Gang kept toes tapping with polkas and more.
Timbre Music Studio brought kids into their musical experience.
Anaya Latin Dance showcased their students’ talent.
Zumba instructors from the YMCA taught sessions.
Tomodachi Daiko drummers ended the afternoon with explosive musicianship.

Thanks to the many sponsors who helped make this event possible:

Community Builder – $5+
Alaska Pressure Wash
Anchorage School District
Camp Fire Alaska
Faith Lutheran Church with Wisconsin Lutheran College
Girl Scouts of Alaska
Great Harvest Bread
Jim Kerr, Man of Gravity
Mrs. Hess’s West High School Mathematics Students
Sunshine Custom Promotions LLC
YMCA of Alaska Swim Club
Kaladi Brothers
Donor – $150+
Princess Pages / AK Rhinestone
Anchorage Sand and Gravel
Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria
Music Together Mountain Song

Timbre Music Studio

Supporter – $300+
The Alaska Club
BOSCO’S
People Mover
Jamie Green
Partner – $500+
Alaska Children’s Trust
Best Beginnings
Credit Union 1

The Alaska Center / Trailside Discovery Camp

Co-Host – $1000+
Alaska 529
Alaska Center for the Book
Alaska Public Media
Anchorage Public Library
Friends of Pets
Friends of the Library
Superman Moving & Delivery

We were thrilled by the response to the 2023 Read Alaska Native Reading Challenge and are pleased to offer the activity as an ongoing reading activity. No deadlines. No entry forms. Just download the bingo cards for your age groups and use as a personal reading challenge or as a group activity. Cards, bookmarks, and resources can be found on the homepage for the Read Alaska Native project.

Click here to go to the Read Alaska Native Project homepage.

Alaska Literary Awards

The Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation, in partnership with the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA), offers The Alaska Literary Awards, a new program, established in 2014, to support Alaska writers.

The Alaska Literary Awards recognize and support writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, and mixed genres. Any Alaska writer over the age of 18 who is not a full-time student is eligible to apply. Quality of the work submitted is the primary consideration in determining who receives the awards. A select number of $5,000 awards will be awarded annually.

The Alaska Literary Awards for 2021 go to:

Richard Chiappone – Fiction, Homer
Linda Martin – Poetry, Homer
Christy NaMee Eriksen – Mixed Genre, Juneau
Mistee St. Clair – Poetry, Juneau

To apply go to https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=9254

PICK. CLICK. GIVE

The Alaska Center for the Book is included in the Permanent Fund Dividend’s Pick.Click.Give. charitable contributions program. It’s a secure and easy way to make a donation to an organization that stimulates public interest in literacy through the spoken and written word. When you file for your PFD online, you will be given a chance to donate money from your PFD. When you do, please remember The Alaska Center for the Book.

Just check the box that authorizes the State to send your name, contact information and the amount you give when it sends contributions to an organization so we can recognize your support.

Thanks to all who contributed. Your help allows the Alaska Center for the Book to continue its programs, events and unique projects to support and build literacy in Alaska.

For more information click here:  Pick. Click. Give.

Opportunities

Baby Raven Reads – Sealaska Heritage sponsors Baby Raven Reads, an award-winning program that promotes early-literacy, language development and school readiness for Alaska Native families with children up to age 5. Baby Raven Reads improves early literacy skills by translating cultural strengths into home literacy practices. Baby Raven Reads provides family literacy events, training for care providers, and professional development for early childhood educators. Included on the Baby Raven Reads page are lesson plans, audio resources, and information about purchasing books in the series! Visit www.akarts.org/studentseducators for more detailed information and other Student + Families + Educators resources.

Seeking Alaska Native Writers Calling all Alaska Native writers, poets, and content creators! We are seeking submissions for stories, poems, photo essays, and other creative works that center what Spring means to you from an Indigenous lens. This is a paid opportunity, and we would like to share your work with our community.If you’re interested, please contact Presley West at pwest@alaskanative.net. Haw’aa!

Hometown Reads is in Anchorage! A website dedicated to locating authors near you, Hometown Reads has a section for Anchorage. Sign up to have your book displayed and join the Facebook page to brainstorm ways to advertise and sell books locally. Check it out at https://hometownreads.com.

Youth Poet Laureate. You probably know that there is a United States Poet Laureate, but you may have never having heard of the Youth Poet Laureate. Here is a link to a excellent article from TheLilly.com that features a conversation with two Youth Laureates.

“Baby Raven” Books Wins AILA Award

Sealaska Heritage Institute’s (SHI) Baby Raven Reads book Raven Makes the Aleutians has won a Picture Book Honor award from the American Indian Library Association (AILA).

The AILA, an affiliate of the American Library Association, announced winners of its biennial Youth Media Awards today in Philadelphia, calling the selected books “the best of the best in children’s and young adult literature.” More…