Tidal Echoes, the University of Alaska Southeast literary and arts journal, will officially launch this Friday, April 4, at 7 p.m. in Egan Lecture Hall. Artist Mark Sixbey and writer Corinna Cook will talk about their work followed by a Q&A.
Tidal Echoes has showcased the work of Southeast Alaskans since 2004. With a grant from the UAS chancellor’s office, Professors Emily Wall and Alexis Easley started the journal to feature only UAS student works, but it has grown exponentially since then. A quarter of the journal is still reserved for UAS students’ submissions.
Tidal Echoes now includes over 90 pages of prose and poetry from writers across Alaska’s Panhandle each year, as well as a featured artist and writer. This year, artist Mark Sixby and writer Corinna Cook are featured. Sixby is a Tsimshian artist who studied formline design, painting, toolmaking, and wood carving, and has taught Northwest Coast arts classes at the UAS Sitka Campus and the Sitka School District. Cook is a former Fulbright fellow and author of “Leavetakings,” a collection of essays set in Alaska that explore the intricacies of coming and going.
The journal also annually gives the Mac Behrend Creative Writing Award to a UAS student who shows excellence in creative writing. Sophia Gimm is this year’s recipient. She is majoring in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and is a tutor at the UAS Writing Center. Gimm was the Fall semester intern for the 2024 Tidal Echoes.
“I am so unbelievably honored to receive the Mac Behrends Award this year for Tidal Echoes. I have been a huge fan of the journal since I enrolled at UAS as a freshman, and it’s amazing to see my work highlighted on this scale,” Gimm said. “I commend my creative writing professor, Emily Wall, for dedicating her time to supporting both myself and this project, along with the rest of the stellar editing team.”
English Professor Emily Wall is faculty advisor for Tidal Echoes. According to Wall, one of the most rewarding things is seeing the progress the student editors make.
“We start in August with nothing! And then in April, we have this beautiful book. The students do an incredible amount of work, but the real joy is watching them learn how to edit, and helping them learn how a book like this comes together,” she wrote in an email to Whalesong.
This year’s editors are Annie Kessler and Adonis Scalia. In an interview with Whalesong, Kessler said Tidal Echoes holds a special place for her, since some of her first published work appeared in the journal. She wants writers and artists to know that sometimes, rejection is part of the process.
“Tidal Echoes was actually one of the very first places to ever publish my writing, so it is exciting to be part of putting together this year’s journal and having the chance to share the creative work of so many writers and artists in our communities,” she said. “I think submitting your creative work anywhere takes courage and resilience! Rejection tends to be part of the process along the way, but it makes those acceptances so special.”
Scalia noted that rejecting good pieces can be one of the hardest things about editing the journal.
“If it were up to me, we would publish everything! Of course, size and budget constraints are limiting, which means we have to make cuts in some capacity, which is never fun,” Scalia said.
Kessler and Scalia identified a trend among this year’s submissions. Neither editor wanted to give up any spoilers, though.
“I think one of the best parts of publishing the journal is that the readers get to discover those connections for themselves. Everyone brings something different to the manuscript, both when they submit and when they read it,” Kessler said.
Scalia said the connection between Southeast Alaska and the work submitted to Tidal Echoes is strong.
“I think that’s what makes Tidal Echoes so unique; we provide a platform to elevate specifically Southeast Alaskan voices. No spoilers, but readers can look forward to a strong connection to the place we all know and love,” Scalia said.
Launch event details and the livestream are at uas.alaska.edu/arts_sciences/humanities/english/tidal-echoes/2025-edition.html.
• This article originally appeared in the Whalesong.
