A number of readings and book signings by local writers will take place during Alaska Book Week, Oct. 3-10. In fact, the festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, when authors Owen Thomas ("The Lion Trees") and Archana Mishra ("The Fortunate Child") will take part in the First Friday art opening at Artique Ltd.
Highlights will include adventurer Dick Griffith at UAA/APU Consortium Library at 1 p.m. Saturday and Iditarod champion Martin Buser as the Dinner with the Author guest at Fireside Books in Palmer on the same day.
State Writer Laureate Frank Soos will join novelists Eowyn Ivey and Deb Vanasse in a panel discussion about "The Future of Fiction" at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Anchorage Museum. Heather Lende will sign copies of her latest book, "Find the Good," a best-seller for several weeks on the Pacific Northwest Independent Booksellers list, at 6 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble. The Great Alaska Book Fair, with several authors on hand, will take place in the Mall at Sears on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Soos will be back for the closing event at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at UAA/APU Consortium Library. "Read Local: A Celebration" will honor winners of the statewide writing contest, include a silent auction and refreshments and a reading by nationally acclaimed poet Joan Kane.
Events will take place in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Soldotna and Homer. In Skagway, the Skagway News Depot & Books store will offer 15 percent off titles by Alaskan authors during the week.
Jen Funk Weber, who writes books for young readers, will post a puzzle and invite readers to submit solutions by email. "I'll post articles throughout the week on the benefits of puzzles and how they contribute to literacy," she said. "On Oct. 10 I'll select and announce a winner of the puzzle contest." Get details at jenfunkweber.com.
Here's the complete list of events as of publication time. Venues are in Anchorage unless stated otherwise. Additions and changes may be found at alaskabookweek.com. Book Week events are free.
Oct. 2
5:30 p.m., Artique Ltd. Owen Thomas and Arcana Mishra, novelists
Oct. 3
1 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Helen Hegener, "Alaska's State Sport: Mushing"
1 p.m., Consortium Library, Dick Griffith and Kaylene Johnson, "Canyons and Ice"
1 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Michael Rocereta, "Letters From the Globemaster Families"
1:30 p.m., Mountain View Library, Tricia Brown, "Charlie and the Blanket Toss"
4 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Martin Buser, "Alaska's State Sport: Mushing"
4 p.m., Muldoon Library, "A is for Alaska," a book by Alaska children
4 p.m., Soldotna Public Library, Bill Howell, "Alaska Beer"
7 p.m., Bear Gallery, Fairbanks, Jeremy Pataky, poet
Oct. 4
2 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Tricia Brown and Nancy Gates, "Alaska Homesteaders Handbook"
7 p.m., Anchorage Museum, Frank Soos, Justin Herrmann, Eowyn Ivey and Deb Vanasse, "The Future of Fiction" panel discussion
Oct. 5
11 a.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Laurel Bill, "Alaska History"
2 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Katie Mangelsdorf, "Alaska History"
5 p.m., Consortium Library, Katherine Ringsmuth, "Alaska's Skyboys: Cowboy Pilots and the Myth of the Last Frontier"
6 p.m., Barnes & Noble, David Kunkel, "Locked Up Abroad"
Oct. 6
11 a.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, various contributors to "Alaska Cooks"
Oct. 7
11 a.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Tricia Brown and Nancy Gates, "Alaska Homesteaders Handbook"
1 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Alice Hanscam, "Alaska's Kids"
6 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Chuck Sassara, "Chuck Sassara's Alaska: Propellers, Politics and People"
Oct. 8
4:30 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Bill Sherwonit, "Alaska's Nature Tales"
6 p.m., Homer Public Library, Rosemary McGuire, "The Creatures At the Absolute Bottom of the Sea;" Rich Chiappone and Eva Saulitis will also be reading.
6 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Heather Lende, "Finding the Good"
6:30 p.m., Kenai Peninsula College, Bill Howell, "Alaska Beer"
Oct. 9
Noon, Fireside Books, Palmer, Eowyn Ivey, "Alaska in Fiction"
1 p.m., Kachemak Bay Campus, Homer, Christine Byl, workshop, "13 Ways of Looking: Writing Deeply in Place"
3:30 p.m. Fireside Books, Palmer, Rosemary McGuire, "Alaska in Fiction"
5 p.m., Barnes & Noble, "A is for Alaska"
Oct. 10
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Mall at Sears, Great Alaska Book Fair
10:30 a.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Heather Lehe, "Colony Kids"
Noon, Barnes & Noble, Deb Vanasse, "Cold Spell"
1 p.m., Consortium Library, Judita Vaiciunaite, poet, Leslie Fried, poet, Svaya Worthington, translator
1:30 p.m. Loussac Library, Tricia Brown, storytime
3 p.m., Fireside Books, Palmer, Jess Lederman, "Colony Kids"
7 p.m., Consortium Library, Frank Soos, Joan Kane, statewide writing contest winners, "Read Local: A Celebration"
Straley resigns
Former state Writer Laureate John Straley finally quit his day job in August. He had been a criminal defense investigator for the past 31 years, a profession that supplies some real-life insight into his mystery novels and even his poetry from time to time. It'll be interesting to see what he writes now that he doesn't have to punch a clock.
Art in a cup
The Alaska Barista Cup competition will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Anchorage Community Works on Ship Creek. Contests will be held in different categories, but the main event is a "Latte Art Throwdown." The coffee kings and queens will be vying for a fancy La Marzocco espresso machine valued at $5,500. At last note 30 baristas were signed up. Expect some good coffee if not very permanent portraits, floral displays and other designs formed from foam.
Alaska chefs head to Milan
Speaking of culinary activities with an artsy touch, the mother-daughter cooking team of Kirsten and Mandy Dixon will travel to Expo Milan to represent America at the USA Pavilion's "American Food 2.0" series on Oct. 13 and 14. The program is hosted by the James Beard American Restaurant. The Dixons will create a five-course prix-fixe dinner showcasing Alaska grown ingredients and seafood. The menu is expected to feature the five regions of Alaska by using foods representative of each area. Cod, crab, wild mushrooms, sea pickle and, of course, salmon. They plan to bring three young Alaskans along to help, Michael Schimelpfenig from Homer, Jake Dodds-Sloan of the Tutka Bay Lodge (across Kachemak Bay from Homer) and Jason Harding of Winterlake Lodge next to the Iditarod Trail in Skwentna. They're fundraising to assist with travel costs, gofundme.com/withinthewildchefs.
Watercolor show opens
The Alaska Watercolor Society's 41st annual exhibition will be part of the round of First Friday opening receptions on Friday, Oct. 2. This year the show will be displayed at Aurora Fine Arts, downtown on Fifth Avenue. This is a juried show that attracts entries from across the country, not just Alaska, though Alaskans are well represented. Five of the seven awards, which will be formally announced and presented, will go to Alaskans, including Claudia Ihl from Nome. Ihl won first place for her portrait of cows titled "Take Me to Your Leader." Dean Mitchell of Florida won the Best of Show award.