November Update
Arizona Exhibit, Three Books for 2025, Anchorage Mushing District Arch, Alaskan History Magazine, AABB, A New Book
This has been a busy year for me and Northern Light Media, beginning in February with an amazing exhibition and presentation at the prestigious Scottsdale Museum of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona. The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate which ran an outstanding exhibit of Veryl Goodnight’s historically accurate paintings of sled dogs for nine months.
In February Veryl and I met at the museum and gave three well-received slideshow presentations of her paintings and the history behind them, and the museum sponsored a memorable evening reception for us. It was a career highlight, and the new friends made and old friends reconnected with have been icing on the cake!
Veryl and I helped curate the unique exhibit, which showcased not only the paintings by Veryl, but included the history behind the paintings which I researched for my 2023 book, The History of Sled Dogs in North America. Veryl and I also co-authored a book based on her paintings and the exhibit, Sled Dogs in America: The Art of Veryl Goodnight. Both are available at my website or from any bookseller.
Northern Light Media published three books in 2025, and another is currently in production. More about that one at the end of this newsletter.
True to the Trail, by Anne Verdonk, is a compilation of the journals and photographs of Anne’s great-grandfather, Arthur Dallimore, who joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, and traveled down the Yukon River to Alaska when he heard of a new strike. Dallimore prospected northeast of Fairbanks, spent several winters cutting firewood for the steamships which plied the Tanana River, and eventually built a popular roadhouse near Fairbanks.
In Gentler Valleys Roaming: A Memoir of Sled Dogs, by Julie Verrette, is the story of a safe haven for retired sled dogs from some of the premier racers in the world, such as four-time Iditarod Champion Susan Butcher and Yukon Quest Champion Aliy Zirkle. They entrusted their beloved teammates to the care of Julie Verrette, the owner and founder of Summer Place Kennel in Florence, Wisconsin.
Denali: The Peak and The Park, is the newest book from multiple-award-winning author Lew Freedman, a fresh and creative look at Denali National Park and Preserve and the tallest mountain in North America.
I stay busy with several projects besides book publishing, and one of my favorites has been the history of Anchorage’s Fourth Avenue, which I have been working on for a couple of years with Iditarod pioneer musher Rod Perry and the Board members of the Anchorage Mushing District. Last spring we published a booklet about the history establishing Anchorage as an important town on the Iditarod Trail: Anchorage was a Trail Town, and this fall the steel arch depicting a musher and his team which will be spanning Fourth Avenue is nearing completion. Alaska Link TV was present this past week when the arch was unveiled:
Northern Light Media has published Alaskan History Magazine since 2019, and the last issue of 2025 was mailed on November 1. This issue features an excerpt from Will E. Hudson’s 1937 book, Icy Hell; the friendship between Charles Sheldon and Harry Karstens and the beginnings of Denali National Park; the history of Rika’s Landing Roadhouse; the travels of Lt. Frederick Schwatka; the history of barns in Alaska; and a 1920’s view of the city of Juneau. 64 pages, 6″ x 9″ B/W format, $12.00 postage paid. All six issues published in 2025 can now be purchased as a single set for $40.00, see the index on the website for subjects covered – over 350 pages of Alaska’s history! Makes a great gift!
Another project I support is Authors Against Book Bans, the Alaska chapter of a national coalition of writers, illustrators, anthology editors and contributors, and other book creators, who stand united against the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read. One of our primary goals was highlighted in a letter to the editor which appeared in newspapers statewide during Banned Books Week in October: “We, as members of AABB, sincerely champion the freedom of Americans to read any books they choose, and support libraries and librarians across Alaska and America in their work of providing these books to all who wish to borrow them. Librarians are trained to carefully curate library collections so that the most appropriate and relevant books and materials can be made available to patrons. This is how it should be in a free society.”
For more information you can visit the Authors Against Book Bans website.
And last, the current book project mentioned above: A complete history of the Iditarod Trail, from long before its founding as a mail route and access to the Innoko-Iditarod gold fields to the multifaceted current uses, and the future of the Trail. The most well-known use of the Iditarod Trail is the annual sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, but several other sled dog races use portions of the trail as well, as did the 1925 Serum Run which delivered diphtheria medicine to the stricken town. But there are many more uses of the trail, such as the the Iron Dog Snowmachine race, and the Iditarod Trail Invitational, an ultra marathon for skiers, runners, and mountain bikers.
The book will include details on the network of groups which manage, maintain, and advocate for the Iditarod Trail, including the Alaska Bureau of Land Management, the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, the Iditarod Trail Committee Inc., the Iditarod Trail Blazers (multiple chapters) and others. Publication is currently scheduled for midwinter.