Workroom

Here you will find links to information about current projects in development, services, and upcoming events of interest.

Projects in Process:

2020 update: While we do have some good book projects in the planning phase, we do not have publication dates set at this time. Our goal this year is to continue posting reviews of some excellent recent literature of the North and to start the projects planned as soon as we are able.

Services available:

Denali Sunrise Publications is both a traditional publisher and a publishing services company. Our goal is to promote quality publication of rural Alaskan writers, whether we are the named publisher or not. For those whose goal is self-publishing, or for institutions acting as named publisher, we can help with all stages of editing, designing, laying out your book, or consulting about various aspects of the publishing process. Please contact us for a quote if you are interested in these services.

For those interested in traditional publishing, please understand that extensive developmental editing and revision may be necessary prior to acceptance by any traditional publisher. You may start this process by engaging your friends, family, and teachers you know, to read your work, and by reading it aloud to yourself or someone else. Ultimately, you may need to pay an editor to provide you with substantial objective feedback. We can offer that service for a fee, or make recommendations for other editors who understand what it means to come from rural Alaska.

Self-publishing and hybrid publishing in Alaska

While self-publishing to get your book available on Amazon is not complicated, to reach beyond that requires more knowledge of the publishing industry. If you are considering self-publishing and you want your book to be distributed widely in bookstores and libraries beyond Alaska, the Independent Book Publishers Association is a great resource for learning what’s involved. Use the IBPA checklist as a guide to ensure that you produce a professional quality book. If you are considering getting assistance with this process, understand the difference between vanity publishing, self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and traditional publishing. 

Hybrid publishing in Alaska ideally allows authors more control over their product while benefiting from robust distribution, including libraries, print bookstores, and other specialty market as well as online. The IBPA also recently put out a checklist of standards for hybrid publishers to protect authors and guide them in researching publication options. 

Submissions:

Blog: We welcome book reviews of books by rural Alaskans or pertinent to rural Alaska. Authors must have lived in or be from rural Alaska. Please query first and include a short bio to explain your connection to rural Alaska. We pay a minimum of $50 per article.

Books: If you are from rural Alaska and have written a book that pertains to rural Alaska that you believe is ready to publish, or have an article you would like to post as a guest blog, please contact us to discuss options. When you contact us, please provide a very brief summary of what the material is, a sample of it, and tell us about your own background in Alaska. If the work interests us but is in need of developmental editing, we may offer to provide editorial services for a fee. If we are enthusiastic about the work and agree that it is ready for publication, we may contact you with an offer for publication. If the work isn’t a good fit for this publishing company, we’ll let you know that, too, and in some cases, may offer suggestions of other options. If you haven’t heard back within a month, feel free to send a followup email.

UPDATE AUGUST 2020: Not accepting book submissions at this time.

Events:

The Writer’s Block Bookstore & Café – A bookstore and community gathering space in Anchorage
Alaska Native Bookfair takes place in the fall, hosted by the Alaska Native Media Group.
Alaska Writers Guild – Supporting Alaska’s Writers. Annual conference in Anchorage at the BP Energy Center in September.
49 Writers – Provides talks and educational opportunities, statewide
Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference – June of each year (hiatus in 2020)
Fireside Books – in Palmer, Alaska
Arctic Entries – Building Community, One Story at a Time
Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Alaska Chapter, holds their Alaska Big Thaw Retreat in the spring.

Check back often for updated information regarding upcoming events for this company, and other events of interest to the broader rural Alaskan writing and publishing community. The following organizations also host events of interest to writers, storytellers, and readers in Alaska:

Other Opportunities to Publish Your Writing from Rural Alaska:

Alaska Women Speak, quarterly submission deadlines, member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.
Cirque Journal features literature and art from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
edible Alaska, a quarterly culinary print and online magazine celebrating Alaskan food. Submission guidelines here.
Alaska Quarterly Review (AQR) is a literary journal devoted to contemporary literary art. Submissions accepted August 15-May 15.
Permafrost Literary Journal is the farthest north literary journal for writing and the arts. Submissions accepted May-Oct for print, Nov-April for online magazine.
Qargizine by EsquiMedia: Its mission is to instill the knowledge and pride of rural and Alaska Native cultures in today’s generation through multi-media productions. Submit your work at EsquiMedia.
Wildheart is a new print magazine featuring Alaskan women through writing, photography, art. 
University of Alaska Press, is a nonprofit scholarly publisher and distributor of books about Alaska and the circumpolar regions.

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