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 recognizes and supports writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, and mixed genres. Any Alaska writer over the age of 18 is eligible to apply. Quality of the work submitted is the primary consideration in determining who receives the awards. There are no restrictions on the writer’s use of the award and no formal report is required.
A select number of $5,000 fellowships for Alaska literary artists will be awarded each fall. A total of eighteen writers over the years of 2014 -2017, have been recognized for their outstanding work and received the Alaska Literary Award.
The Alaska Literary Awards are sponsored by Peggy Shumaker and Joe Usibelli. Peggy Shumaker is a former Alaska State Writer Laureate and Professor at the University of Alaska. Both she and her husband, Joe Usibelli, are longtime supporters of the arts in Alaska.
Alaska Literary Award Winners
Please click on any of the award winning writers listed below for more information and samples of her or his work:
2017
Mary Katzke, Anchorage, screenwriter
Lily Tuzroyluke, Point Hope, fiction
Vivian Prescott, Wrangell, poetry
Matthew Komatsu, Anchorage, creative nonfiction
Don Rearden, Anchorage (raised in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta), fiction
2016
Daryl Farmer, Fairbanks, creative nonfiction
Sara Loewen, Kodiak, creative nonfiction
Lucas Rowley, Anchorage, playwriting
Nicole Stellon O’Donnell, Fairbanks, poetry
2015
Christine Byl, Healy – non-fiction/fiction
Alyse Knorr, Anchorage- poetry
Kyle Mellen, Fairbanks- fiction
2014
Ernestine Hayes, Juneau- fiction/non-fiction, poetry
Erin Coughlin Hollowell, Homer- poetry
Joan Kane, Anchorage, King Island and Mary’s Igloo- poetry