Debbie S. Miller’s “Glaciers are Alive,” and Michael Engelhard’s “Arctic Traverse, A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range” have both been selected to represent Alaska in the National Book Festival in September in Washington, D.C.
A pair of Alaskans had their work selected to represent the state at the 2025 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.
Michael Engelhard’s “Arctic Traverse, A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range” was an adult selection at the festival.
Published in 2024, it follows Engelhard’s journey solo-crossing Alaska’s Brooks Range in summer 2012.
Sitka author Debbie S. Miller’s “Glaciers are Alive,” which is illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, was selected in the youth category.
Miller’s 2023 book weaves the science of glaciers and their ecosystems into a narrative that engages with young readers.
Both books will be part of the National Center for the Book’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places program, which features works “representing the unique literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas.”
In an email to ADN, Engelhard said he was honored to have his memoir chosen to represent the state.
“I’ve lived in various states but no place has inspired my writing to the same degree,” he said. “I’m glad that I captured something essential about it that resonates with many people.”
Miller’s history writing in the state goes back decades and includes “Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
“I’m very honored to have a book chosen to represent our state,” Miller said. “I feel like that’s a big deal, because I love this state so much, and I’ve written about it now for going on 50 years.”
Engelhard said both books tackle important environmental issues that residents of the state and future generations will grapple with.
“Though I’m skeptical about the claim that books can make a big difference, I believe that I have an obligation to speak out about what I’ve witnessed over decades in the North. That is, the effects of the Arctic heating faster than other regions and development of natural resources taking priority over pretty much anything else. I appreciate that the Center for the Book chose not one but two candidates with a strong ‘environmental message’ and hope that among the other states’ selections, there will be similar voices.”
Miller’s work toward “Glaciers are Alive” started when she was researching another book.
“I spent five years studying tidewater glaciers and glacial fjord landscapes and the wildlife associated with glacial fjords,” Miller said. “For five years, I was roaming around Prince William Sound for an adult book called ‘A Wild Promise.’ So I have all this research and information from those trips over those summers.”
That foundation along with Van Zyle’s realistic illustrations allowed Miller to produce a book that challenged and engaged young readers.
“I wanted to distill that in a way that would give kids an idea that a glacier is more than a river of ice,” she said. “It’s a force that carves through mountains, and there’s all this life associated with it when the frozen fresh water melts and the glaciers calve into the into the sea water that creates this incredible, rich marine life.”
Engelhard, who earned a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has been incredibly productive in recent years.
He has another book publishing in the fall, “No Place Like Nome: The Bering Strait Seen Through Its Most Storied City.”
“I feel I am finding my stride as a writer — it’s a stocktaking of a life typical of the stage I’m in (in my mid-60s),” he said. “Some books are the result of magazine work I have done over the years (with 150 articles for Alaska magazine alone).”
The 2025 National Book Festival will be held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 6.
