Kinerk, Robert: - In writing "Mr. Sweetcheeks in Alaska," Robert Kinerk drew on his years growing up in Ketchikan, where he worked as a logger, newspaper reporter, volunteer fireman, and clerk in his father's grocery store. Those same experiences fed his writing of the short story collection, "Tales from the Territory: Stories of Southeast Alaska." He is the proud author of "The Fish Pirate's Daughter," Alaska's longest running play, on stage since 1966. His first book for children, "Slim and Miss Prim," won the Western Writers of America Storyteller Award in 1997. Another of his children's books, "Clorinda," was named a Best Book by Child Magazine in 2003. He has written five other children's books and has written musical plays for children. For adults he has written plays and fiction. His plays have been performed on stages ranging from Nome to New York City, and three of his musical spoofs, including A Streetcar Named Retire, have been enjoyed at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement. He and his wife, Anne, now make their home in Cambridge, MA.