As most of my readers know, I left Alaska last July and have been traveling for the past six months, which has given me ample time to focus on my publishing business, even while enjoying visits with friends and family along the way. I have an office in my motorhome, and with minimal distractions most days I’ve been able to spend a lot of time working, including publishing four new books last year, three produced while on the road, and I’ve been working with my friend and co-author, the artist Veryl Goodnight, on the presentation we’ll be giving at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, next month. We’re finalizing the slideshow and we are both excited about getting ready to meet and go over it in person in less than two weeks!

But all of that still leaves a lot of free time, and has given me the opportunity to make some important decisions about my future business plans. Several are already completed, and I’ll share more about those in my next newsletter, but today I want to share what is to me the most exciting new development.

Longtime readers and followers of my work may remember my Alaskan History Magazine, a full color bimonthly publication which featured stories of the people, places and events which shaped the history of Alaska from prehistory to statehood. Between 2019 and 2021 I published 14 issues, but when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and everything collapsed, subscriptions and single-issue sales abruptly ceased, and there seemed to be no recourse but to stop producing the magazine.

I have thought about that decision a lot in the past few years, wondering what I might have done differently, and questioning the idea of re-starting the magazine which I loved producing. The answers to my questions, carefully considered over the past few weeks and months, have slowly convinced me to pick up the mantle and continue the magazine, albeit with some significant changes. Among those changes will be single issue only sales, no subscriptions, but every issue will remain available, and the first new issue will be available in mid-January.

In this issue: The History of Tanana • The Knik News • Pioneer Photographer P. S. Hunt • Searching for the Ohio Roadhouse • The Last Visit of Will Rogers and Wiley Post • The Alaska Central Railroad

Changes from the original magazine include a b/w interior instead of color, 6” x 9” format instead of 8.5” x 11,” and the page count may vary between 48 and 64, depending on content. Issues will be identified by volume and number, but not dated, as history is timeless.

I will be honoring all of the subscriptions which were left hanging when I stopped publication, and if you were a subscriber I will be contacting you when I publish the first new issue in a few days. If you don’t hear from me, or if your email address has changed in the interim, or if you have questions or comments, please contact me at helenhegener@gmail.com

I’ve built a new website for Alaskan History Magazine, where all of the original issues are still available in both print and digital editions, and new issues will be added as they are published. Selected articles will be shared on the website, and they are also available in the archives of this newsletter.

Helen