State Writer Laureate

The Alaska State Writer Laureate Program is a partnership between the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and the Alaska Humanities Forum. The Writer Laureate designation recognizes the contributions of an Alaska writer and includes funds to support a unique project of the Laureate’s design during their two-year term.

The Alaska State Writer Laureate is a two-year honorary appointment recognizing the selected writer’s contribution to the quality of life in Alaska through their written work and other literary endeavors. The role of the Laureate is to promote the literary arts and artists of Alaska. In fulfilling this purpose, each Laureate determines, in consultation with ASCA and the Forum, a project to complete over the course of their appointment.

Nominations are solicited by the ASCA and the Alaska Humanities Forum on a biennial basis. The Alaska State Writer Laureate is selected by the Literary Arts Advisory Committee and approved by both ASCA’s and AKHF’s boards. The Alaska State Writer Laureate is recognized through a proclamation by the Legislature.

Eligibility criteria, nomination, and selection details

Vera Starbard

T’set Kwei yóo x̱at duwasáakw. Vera Starbard áyá ax̱ saayí. Dleit ḵáa x̱’éináx̱ Vera Marlene Bedard yóo x̱at duwasáakw. Leeneidi naax̱ x̱at sitee. T’akdeintaan yádi. Wooshkeetaan dachx̱án. Dena’ina dachx̱án. Takjik’ ḵwáan áwé uháan. Shaan Seetxʼ x̱at ḵuwdiztee. Yaa Andagan Yé ḵux̱aa.óo.

Vera Starbard, T’set Kwei, is a Tlingit and Dena’ina playwright, magazine editor, and Emmy-nominated TV writer. She is a Tlingit Raven, Dog Salmon Clan after her mother, and a Child of T’akdeintaan, meaning her father is of the Sea Pigeon Clan. Her paternal grandfather is of the Wooshkeetaan Clan, and her maternal grandfather is Dena’ina Athabascan. Vera’s ancestors are from the village of Tuxecan on Prince of Wales Island, and she’s lived in many communities throughout Alaska growing up. She now lives on Yaa Andagan Yé, colonially called Douglas Island, Alaska, with her husband Joe Bedard of the Inupiaq, Yup’ik, and Cree people, as well as an adopted Chookaneidi.

Vera was Playwright-in-Residence at Perseverance Theatre through the Andrew W. Mellon National Playwright Residency Program, and longtime newspaper and magazine editor for various publications, including First Alaskans Magazine. Vera is a writer for the PBS Kids children’s program “Molly of Denali,” which won a Peabody Award in 2020 and was nominated for two Children and Family Emmys in 2022, and three in 2023. Through this, Vera was nominated twice for “Writing for a Preschool Animated Program” on “Molly of Denali,” and once for “Best Short Form Program” as Co-Head Writer on “The Big Gathering” shorts series. She was also a staff writer for ABC’s “Alaska Daily,” and continues to work on a variety television, theatre and book projects and commissions.

Over her decades as a professional artist, Vera has won numerous local, statewide and national individual writing and editing awards, including the Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award, Alaska Literary Award, Governor’s Arts and Humanities Award, and the First Alaskans Institute’s Young Alaska Native Leader Award.

Individual theatre productions include: Stage play “Our Voices Will Be Heard” in 2016, which was published in the textbook “Contemporary Plays by Women of Color” in 2017, and adapted to a one-hour radio play streamed nationally in 2018; stage play “Devilfish” produced in 2019, full-length play “A Tlingit Christmas Carol” adapted for an online audience in 2020; and one-act play “Yan Tután” produced in 2022. She has commissions for additional full-length plays from Arena State in Washington, D.C. and Playwrights Horizons in New York City, and an opera commission from Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska.

To find out more about Vera, you can follow her social media channels or visit her website:

www.verastarbard.com

Facebook: facebook.com/VeraStarbard

Instagram: @Vera_Starbard

Twitter: @WritingRaven