Dead Writers event will raise funds for visiting author series

Students and locals dressed as authors from the past will perform during the 32nd annual Dead Writers event from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, in The Pub at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Dead Writers is a fundraiser for the UAF English Department’s Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series. Tickets will be sold at the door — $5 for students and $10 for all others. Registered participants dressed in costume will get in for free. Attendees must be at least 21.

Come ready to live it up with ghosts of the past and enjoy a spooky night of the living dead.

Participants can either dress up and read a brief excerpt from a departed author or simply spectate and cheer on others. To participate as a dead writer, register before the start of the event here.

“Dead Writers is by now a longstanding English Department, UAF and Fairbanks community tradition,” said Rich Carr, professor emeritus of English. “For one night every fall, participants step outside themselves to become a writer of yore.

“Emily Dickinson, Charlotte Bronte, Walt Whitman — these are but a few of the luminaries who have graced our stage in seasons past,” Carr said. “You may see Yukio Mishima reading his final manifesto before the Japanese Diet or experience Sappho delivering an impassioned version of ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee.’”

All proceeds from the event will go to the Midnight Sun Visiting Writer Series, which brings authors and poets to Fairbanks for workshops and public readings. The series connects audiences with renowned and emerging writers, providing an opportunity to engage with the world of literature on a personal level.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Jake Knuth, assistant program coordinator, jlknuth@alaska.edu

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