Dance, 2021 Anchorage Ciro Anaya Milanes was born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, the birthplace of Cuban son. He earned a bachelor’s degree and teaching license in art education through Cuba’s national art instructor’s college, where he also danced in the university dance group. Later, he danced full-time in the internationally recognized professional dance company directed by Yanek … Read More

Theater, 2021 Fairbanks Carey Seward is a playwright and musician in Fairbanks, Alaska. Theatrical projects written, directed and produced include: What the Hell is Wrong With Me? (2012), (with Amanda Bent co-wrote book, co-directed and co-produced); Out There Honky Tonkin’ (2013-2015); Cirque Noir Fire Circus (I-X, 2013-2019); Alone in the Dark (2017); and Herstory of Ann Shaxpere … Read More

Composer and musician, 2021 Anchorage Annie Bartholomew is an Alaskan songwriter and multimedia storyteller from Juneau. As a guitarist, singer and clawhammer banjo player, Annie works to present folk music as an ever evolving tradition. Her songs explore themes of survival, resilience, and revelry, inspired by the ghosts of Alaska’s mining past. Through the Connie Boochever Fellowship, … Read More

Composer and musician, 2021 Anchorage Michael Dickerson is an Alaskan composer whose primary creative interest is people’s relationship with place. Michael began studying piano as a child with his father. He earned a B.A. in Music and Philosophy from Middlebury College in 2012 and an M.M. in Composition from the University of Northern Iowa in 2016. He is currently enrolled in the M.A.T. … Read More

Alaska Literary Award , 2021 Juneau Mistee St. Clair was born in Fairbanks and has spent most of her life in Alaska. Place, ancestry, family, and relationships are central in her poetry. Her chapbook, This Morning is Different, was published in 2021 by Finishing Line Press. She has work out, or forthcoming in, Northwest Review, SWIMM Every Day, and Sky Island Journal, among others. Currently … Read More

Alaska Literary Award, 2021 Homer Linda Martin grew up on a farm in western Montana and subsequently lived in Wenatchee, Tulsa, Denver, San Francisco and New York City. She is glad to have reached the end of the road in Homer, Alaska, where she and her husband Larry have lived for the last 40 years. They have two grown children and two grandchildren. They are small-business owners, recently … Read More

Alaska Literary Award, 2021 Juneau Christy NaMee Eriksen is an artist, teaching artist, and organizer living on Lingít Aaní (Juneau, Alaska). Described as a “tender powerhouse," NaMee blends personal narrative, poetry, and the politics of identity. She/her work has appeared in such places as The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, The Roundhouse in London, Literary Hub, Freeman's: Change … Read More

Alaska Literary Award, 2021 Homer ​​​​​​ Richard Chiappone is the author of the novel The Hunger of Crows, and three collections of short prose stories: Water of an undetermined Depth, Opening Days, and Liar’s Code. His fiction and nonfiction has appeared in numerous national publications including Alaska Magazine, Anchorage Press, Gray’s sporting Journal, Playboy, the Sun, and others; and … Read More