The Atwood Foundation announced it will award a grant to Alaska Women Speak, an all-volunteer literary press serving emerging and established Alaska women writers. The Atwood Foundation’s generous support will provide AWS with funding to enhance its website and make the journal available for online electronic purchase and download. “We deeply appreciate the support of the Atwood Foundation in our goal to increase our readership and continue to amplify women’s voices of the North,” said AWS President Carmen Davis. “Elaine and Evangeline Atwood were two of Alaska’s earlier women writers who trail-blazed the path for the emerging and established women writers AWS serves. It is truly an honor that the Atwood Foundation supports the work of AWS.”

The Atwood Foundation was established for the benefit of the people of Anchorage, Alaska & vicinity, particularly the young people, through assisting financially in the initiation, completion and maintenance of non-profit organizations of the arts, journalism, history and other civic enterprises. They also support post secondary journalism education at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and scholarships at Alaska Pacific University.

Alaska Women Speak is a quarterly journal with a 27-year grassroots history and northern focus. By showcasing women’s stories and worldviews expressed through short stories, memoir, poetry, essays, and visual forms, the journal gives women writers a place to connect, both on the page and through community readings.

Alaska Women Speak is pleased to announce that it has received a Professional Development Consulting Grant from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).

The award will be used to pay for consulting services to develop a plan to redesign the Alaska Women Speak (AWS) website to better showcase Alaska women artists and writers, increase accessibility to more readers and tell the AWS story. Ravensong Digital of Talkeetna will serve as consultant on the project.

On behalf of the Alaska Women Speak all-volunteer board and staff, we thank the CLMP for their extraordinary commitment to nurturing small presses and literary community. AWS volunteer Barbara Williams responded to the announcement of the award, stating, “We are excited to move forward on this project. It has been on our wish list and with the generosity of CLMP, it will become a reality.” Montana Agte-Studier, Director of Membership at CLMP said, “It was a great application and an exciting project, and we’re looking forward to seeing it come to life!”

Alaska Women Speak is an organization of Alaskan women established for the purpose of publishing the stories of women with a strong connection to the country’s most northern, Arctic state. Alaska Women Speak is a quarterly journal dedicated to showcasing the artistic expression of women’s stories and ideas through short story, memoir, poetry, essay, and visual forms that provides readers with a unique perspective of women in Alaska. Today, the emerging and established voice and creativity of Alaska’s women are more important than ever. Our stories, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and essay describe our journey, current joys and challenges and provide readers with a unique perspective of women in Alaska.