The short course will be offered in Anchorage on Feb. 8, 9, and 10 for writers of all experience levels. Members pay $185, and non-members $205. The sessions are scheduled in four three-hour blocks. In preparation, participants are asked to read Gornick's short book and a couple of essays they'll receive beforehand. 
 
​Frank is a professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a former State Writer Laureate, and the author of several books,  including two collections of short stories (one of which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction) and two essay collections, Bamboo Fly Rod Suite and Unpleasantries. He also also edited an anthology of northern writers and artists with Kes Woodward and collaborated with his wife, artist Margo Klass,  on a book featuring his mini-essays and her box constructions. 
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See 49 Writers for more details. Registration is capped at 12, so jump online here to claim your spot.

The Mineral School, an artists' residency held in an old elementary school near Mt. Rainier, Washington, seeks writers and visual artists from Alaska and the Northwest for five residency periods open in 2019. Three of their two-week residencies are open to writers of all genres, but screenwriters only are invited to apply for a May residency, and parents of children under 18 can apply for a one-week session in September. The organization also offers several sponsored fellowships open to writers with specific backgrounds and interests. Other residency positions cost between $425 and $550 for the two-week sessions.

Mineral School residencies are a writer's dream come true: a private room outfitted as a writing studio, meals served to them daily, full access to a snack fridge and coffee station (!), and a lovely setting 25 minutes from Mt. Rainier National Park. 

More information about application requirements, fellowship details, and residency dates are available here. Applications close midnight on Feb. 15.

Look for Matt Komatsu's moving essay "When We Played" to be included in the upcoming anthology Best of Brevity, drawn from 20 years of the nonfiction journal's relationship with Rose Metal Press. OK, fine, go ahead and read it now.

Fiction writer and playwright Katrina Byrd recently read three guides on how to plot and structure a story and summarizes each book's approach in a post for literary agent Jane Friedman's site. She also addresses the question "But Do Formulas Work for Literary Writers?" by suggesting that it's best to first recognize whether your work is more aligned with the literary or commercial culture of book writing and publishing. Before you leave the post, be sure to check out Friedman's extensive collection of writing resources. 

For his practicum, Cameron Murray is hosting a show, "The Tumid River," on KRUA Radio every Monday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 88.1 FM. His next show airs on January 7, but you can hear his first four shows on-demand here. His interviewees include our own Tiffany Rosamund Creed and Barry Donaldson, as well as writer Don Rearden, a graduate from CWLA and current UAA professor, and English Professor Toby Widdicombe. Email Cameron with ideas, guest inquiries, requests, or other comments at camurray4@alaska.edu.

Be sure to read Cameron's recent publications, which include two poems in the October issue of Foliate Oak Literary Magazine and a flash fiction piece in West Texas Literary Review's December issue. And one of his short stories appears in the "Last Call" issue, Vol. 26, of The Raven Chronicles. Congratulations!

If you're stuck while writing or revising that novel, story, or essay, here's novelist Jane Delury has a simple suggestion: Write a perfect sentence instead. 

And if you like receiving the occasional tip, word of advice, or pointer from other writers, sign up for Glimmer Train's regular bulletins here.

Third-year nonfiction writer Sarah Mouracade recently published a flash nonfiction piece in "Tiny Love Stories," an edition of the regular Modern Love column in The New York Times. This photograph depicts an important element in the story, but we'll let you enjoy the revelation. Scroll down the page to find Sarah's story, "An Unexpected Sign."

A multitude of congratulations to Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, class of 2018, whose young adult novel, Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, is forthcoming in summer 2020. The publisher is Simon Pulse, an imprint of a little ol' book company named Simon & Schuster. And did we mention that her 2018 book, Tales from the House of Vasquez, won the Rattle Chapbook Prize? 

UAA grad students can earn practicum credit for attending writing conferences, and fortunately three worthy conferences take place in 2019. Take advantage now of student and/or early registration discounts for these events, listed here in chronological order:

The annual AWP Conference and Bookfair, from March 27-30 in Portland, Oregon, is the country's largest gathering of scribblers. More than 12,000 writers, teachers, students, and publishers will gather in Portland and choose from among 550 panels, readings, and craft lectures. Also, the book fair is to die for. Keynote speakers and featured readers include Colson Whitehead, Tess Gallagher, Camille Dungy, Tayari Jones, Cheryl Strayed, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Lidia Yuknavitch. This year's event will be especially well-attended by Alaskans, s0 look for an announcement about a UAA-sponsored reading. Preregistration for students is $50 and ends Jan. 3.

The North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway features best-selling nonfiction writer Susan Orlean at the 10th annual gathering from May 30-June 1. MFA mentor Nancy Lord, Alaska State Writer Ernestine Hayes (a graduate and former mentor), and UAA grad and professor Don Rearden are among the faculty at this intimate event. Only 40 participants can attend, so register now to avoid the wait list.

The always-popular Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference in Homer from June 14-18 includes poet and essayist Diane Ackerman as well as a stellar faculty, including UAA mentors Erin Coughlin Hollowell, Nancy Lord, Rich Chiappone, and Ishmael Hope. Other invited writers include poet Kazim Ali, nonfiction writers B.J. Hollars and Barrie Jean Borich, and novelist Jamie Ford. In addition to daily panels, talks, and classes, participants can sign up for open mic readings, a manuscript review (fee required), and brief meetings with an agent or an editor. Discount registration is open until May 1. Conference organizers often seek UAA volunteers to lead writing circles, so let Erin or Sherry know if you're interested.

Narrative's Fall Story Contest awards $2,500 and publication for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a longer work of prose. Second prize  is $1,000 and publication. Deadline is Nov. 30 with a submission fee of $26. See guidelines here, and submission details for other contests and categories here.​  

Creative Nonfiction magazine has its origins in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, the site of the recent tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue. In response, the magazine is offering two free webinars for anyone writing about grief, loss, and trauma. The sessions will take place Sunday, Nov. 4, and Tuesday, Nov. 8, each at 7 p.m. EST. See here for more details and to register. The magazine also seeks submissions for upcoming issues focused on Games and Memoir.

Submissions are open until Nov. 30 for the Prize for Women Playwrights. The prize is pretty darn good, too: a world premiere production of the play in November 2019, with royalties, and $500. This biennial prize is sponsored by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. 
 
Black Lawrence Press announces an open reading period through November during which editors will read novels, novellas, short story collections (full-length and chapbook), poetry collections (ditto), and creative nonfiction. If you have the urge to submit your novel for The Big Moose Prize, be advised there's an "early bird" special submission fee of $30 through November. Details for this and other reading periods and upcoming competitions are here. 

If none of these publications suit, be sure to check Poets & Writers' database of contests, grants, and awards, several of which have November and December deadlines. So get busy.