Monday afternoon while a torrential rain poured down on Homer, in the bluffs above town a light fog faded away and let the sun shine on the Storyknife Writers Retreat for a long-delayed open house.
Three years ago builders broke ground for the women-only retreat, and while dozens of writers have enjoyed the respite of a solid 28 days of being pampered while they create, the COVID-19 pandemic kept forestalling a celebration by backers and donors and a first-hand look at the complex of a main community building surrounded by six cabins. In a champagne celebration Monday, founder Dana Stabenow showed off her dream that has become a reality.
Stabenow, the Seldovia-raised, Alaska-grown best selling author of the Kate Shugak mystery series, modeled Storyknife after Hedgebrook, the only other women-only writers retreat in the United States on Whidbey Island, Washington. Stabenow attended Hedgebrook early in her career in 1989 and credits it with giving her the affirmation to be a professional writer.
Stabenow started her vision in 2013, with the first Storyknife fellow, Kim Steutermann Rogers, staying in Frederica, a guest cabin near Stabenow’s home. Seven more fellows had residencies at Frederica. In 2021, the first group of 23 writers spent their residencies in the completed complex. In 2022, 48 writers will attend Storyknife during its residency period of April through October.
“You’ve already provided your belief that women’s stories matter deeply… That women deserve the time to write and devote to their writing is what has built this place and sustains it,” Storyknife Executive Director Erin Coughlin Hollowell said at the reception.”
Set in a fireweed meadow, the complex looks out toward Cook Inlet, Augustine Volcano and Mount Iliamna. Writers gather in Eva — named after the late Homer poet and writer Eva Saulitis — for an evening meal prepared by Storyknife chef Maura Brenin at a custom long table crafted by Homer carpenter Dave Girard. Contractor Scott Bauer designed and built the main house and cabins.
Art by local artists and quilts by members of the Kachemak Bay Quilters decorate the walls of the main house and the cabins. Stepping stones made by Suzanne Singer Alvarez sit by each cabin entry. Cabins are named by benefactors in honor of Alaska artists, writers and philanthropists such as Diana Tillion, Peggy Shumaker and Evangeline Atwood.
In the library, novels and poetry and short story collections by past Storyknife fellows filled a large table. Books by Stabenow and other Alaska writers lined a wall of shelves.
“They’ve worked on screenplays and novels and essays and short story collections,” Hollowell said of the Storyknife alumnae. “And they’ve discussed their work over dinner at this table, and they’ve discussed it over coffee on this porch, and they have dreamt in those cabins underneath the blankets that people donated, and they’ve watched the fireweed blossom and Dana can attest to the fact that they have gotten much too close to moose.”
Stabenow said she invites each monthly cohort of writers to her house for dinner one night during their residency.
“I wish you could hear them talk,” she said. “They talk about their work. They ping-pong ideas off of each other, the community that they are building.”
At the open house, Hollowell read comments from Gwen Florio, a recent alumna:
“Storyknife gives a writer something nearly impossible to come by in a clamoring, fast paced world: stillness. At Storyknife a writer can simply sit in the soft and ever changing light, taking in the beauty of Mount Iliamna … across the glittering expanse of the inlet. In that stillness, ideas come. Clarity dawns. The words follow. I left Storyknife holding that stillness within me, a precious reserve, a strength to draw on when the world closes. My time there has been the highlight of my writing life.”
This year will mark the first complete year of Storyknife’s seven-month residency period. Already it has become highly competitive, with about 600 applications so far. The application period for 2023 has opened and will close on Sept. 30. For more information on how to apply or support Storyknife, visit storyknife.org.
Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.
“Katie K.,” one of the Storyknife cabins, as seen at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. Katie K. is named after Katie Kashevarof, an Alutiiq elder. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Fog rolls in over the sign for the Storyknife Writers Retreat at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Storyknife Writers Retreat founder and writer Dana Stabenow speaks on the deck of Eva, the main cabin of the complex, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at the retreat near Homer, Alaska. At left is Dave Girard, one of the carpenters who worked on the project and built the custom dining table for Eva, named after poet Eva Saulitis. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
At an open house for the Storyknife Writers Retreat on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, Storyknife board member Patty Stith looks at one of the books published by past Storyknife fellows in the library of Eva, the main house for the retreat near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
A journal rests on the writing desk of Evangeline, one of the Storyknife Writers Retreat cabins, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at the retreat near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Homer Mayor Ken Castner relaxes in Eva, the main cabin of the Storyknife Writers Retreat, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Storyknife founder and writer Dana Stabenow gives a tour of Evangeline, one of the Storyknife Writers Retreat cabins, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at the retreat near Homer, Alaska. The modest cabin includes a small kitchen, but Storyknife writers take meals together for lunch and dinner the main house. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Storyknife founder and writer Dana Stabenow gives a tour of Evangeline, one of the Storyknife Writers Retreat cabins, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at the retreat near Homer, Alaska. The modest cabin includes a small kitchen, but Storyknife writers take meals together for lunch and dinner the main house. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Photos by Michael Armstrong/Homer News Visitors gather on the deck of Eva, the main house of the Storyknife Writers Retreat, on Monday, Aug. 29, for an open house. The six writers cabins are on either side of Eva, named after the poet Eva Saulitis.
Katie K., one of the Storyknife cabins, as seen at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, near Homer. Katie K. is named after Katie Kashevarof, an Alutiiq elder.
Fog rolls in over the sign for the Storyknife Writers Retreat at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, near Homer.
Storyknife Writers Retreat founder and writer Dana Stabenow speaks on the deck of Eva, the main cabin of the complex, at an open house on Monday, Aug. 29, at the retreat near Homer. At left is Dave Girard, one of the carpenters who worked on the project and built the custom dining table for Eva.
At an open house for the Storyknife Writers Retreat on Monday, Aug. 29, Storyknife board member Patty Stith looks at one of the books published by past Storyknife fellows in the library of Eva, the main house for the retreat near Homer.
