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Vera Starbard (born 1982) is a Tlingit/Dena'ina television writer, author, playwright, and editor based in Douglas, Alaska, and current Alaska State Writer Laureate.
After premiering her first play, "Our Voices Will Be Heard," at Perseverance Theatre in 2016, she was named Playwright-in-Residence at Perseverance Theatre through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright Residency Program. [1] [2]
Vera began editing and writing as a journalist straight out of high school. She was editor of First Alaskans Magazine, a publication highlighting Alaska Native people, culture, and news, for ten years.
As a television writer Vera has written numerous episodes of the Molly of Denali animated children's program airing on PBS KIDS [3] and was nominated for three Emmy Awards for her work on the show. [4] [5] Vera was on the writing staff of ABC's show Alaska Daily. Vera was appointed Alaska State Writer Laureate in 2024, a two-year appointment. [6]
Vera's Lingit name is T'set Kwei, her clan is Leeneidi (dog salmon,) and she's a citizen of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. She was born in Craig, Alaska, was raised in numerous communities around the state of Alaska, [6] and graduated from East Anchorage High School in 2000.
Vera met her husband Joseph "Joe" Bedard in 2011 through an introduction from actress Irene Bedard, Joe's sister. They married in Anchorage, Alaska, and live in Douglas, Alaska. [6]
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