Faculty Spotlight: Sharon Emmerichs
Best selling author and English Professor, Dr. Sharon Emmerichs has been a writer all her life, from the time she scribbled “words” and pictures on pieces of paper, stapled them together, and called it a book. Her love of stories later translated into an English degree from the University of Oregon. Following that, Dr. Emmerichs went on to get her MA and PhD from the University of Missouri, followed by a creative writing MFA in fiction from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Dr. Emmerichs currently teaches Shakespeare and early British literature, with specialties in early modern drama, poetry, and prose. Dr. Emmerichs’ book “The Shield Maiden” debuted at #9 on the Sunday Times (London) bestseller list, and is a modern retelling of Beowulf.
We sat down with Sharon Emmerichs to talk about moving to Alaska, coming to UAA, and getting her first book published.
What brought you to Alaska and to UAA?
“I came to Alaska ten years ago, and I had recently graduated from the University of Missouri with my PhD in Early Modern and Medieval Literature, I wrote my dissertation on Shakespeare and landscapes, and I moved up here with my dog and my two cats, and absolutely fell in love with Alaska and with UAA. I loved the Department of English, all of the people that I met here were so incredibly friendly and wonderful, I loved the city. I remember, one of the things that the search committee did for me when I told them I had never been to Alaska was that they took me on a drive on the Seward highway, so I could see the views. That for me, clinched it. I knew that I had to move here, so I accepted the position when they offered it to me, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Let’s talk about your experiences with students. Do you have any favorite interactions or experiences with your students? Is there something that stands out?
“I love UAA students. They’re honestly such a special bunch. I’ve taught at a bunch of other universities and colleges, I’ve been an adjunct professor for a while when I was still working on my PhD, and I was a term instructor for a while. In my experience, there’s no other place that has students like we have at UAA. I instantly felt this rapport with them. There can be a bit of a learning curve, in that I’d never had classes with Alaska Native students in them before. I took several workshops on how to be a better teacher for Alaska Native students, so that I could ensure that the experience in my class was beneficial for all my students. I started integrating a lot more storytelling into my teaching, much less lecture, and considerable amounts of group projects, so that my students can collaborate with each other. Building community in my classes became a really important thing. I think that I learned as much being here as my students have learned from me. My teaching really has shifted focus, has shifted practice in order to make sure that I’m giving all of my students what they need.
Not only are you a professor, but you are a published author. Can you share about your book that was recently published?
“Getting a book published, getting this book published was not an easy process. Let me start at the beginning. I had this book in my head for almost fifteen years. I always teach Beowulf when I teach my medieval courses, it’s one of my favorite poems and one of my favorite pieces of literature. But there’s a lot in it that’s left unanswered and every time I taught it I would get frustrated because I would want answers to specific questions. For instance, in the last third of the poem, Beowulf fights a dragon because this nameless slave was exiled from his master’s house, fell into a crevasse, and stole a goblet from a dragon. I am always left with questions, “Who is this nameless slave? Why did he steal a goblet? What did he do to get exiled from his master’s house?”
Finally, I decided I had to write a novel that answered the questions that the poem did not address. In 2018, I applied for and got into the UAA creative writing Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and the Literary Arts, and that book became my Master’s thesis. I wrote the book in my first year, revised it in my second year, and for my third year I queried agents. I got an agent who helped me get a publisher. More than anything, the MFA really helped me focus and get the book written, and then I was able to use my practicum to get a literary agent and a publisher. The book was published in the UK first, and there it became an instant top 10 bestseller- which was absolutely amazing to me. In October 2023, it was published in the US, and while it didn’t make the bestseller list in the US, it still did very well. Now I’m working on book two, which is completely unrelated to the first one, but that is how I plan to spend my sabbatical year.”
As a writer, do you have any advice for people who are aspiring authors or writers?
“The first bit of advice I have is don’t give up. There are all kinds of roadblocks, there are all kinds of obstacles, rejection left and right, and you really do have to be persistent if you want to succeed. I remember getting so many rejections before I got my yes - both with my agent and the publisher. More than that, you have to believe in your work, you have to believe in yourself, and you have to just keep going, because every no is a step towards your yes.
The other piece of advice I would give is to get yourself a group. Get yourself a writing group, get yourself a critique group, get yourself somebody who can give you feedback, and I suggest that this someone not be a close family member or your best friend. You always want someone who’ll be objective and won’t be afraid to give you real criticism. The MFA and the workshops were probably the most helpful thing for me because I got honest feedback from my peers and my classmates.”
Thank you, Sharon, for your time, and good luck with your second novel.