Denali Sunrise Publications interviewed Fulbright fellow Julia Phillips, author of the debut novel Disappearing Earth, both to explore how the book examines contemporary women's lives across the rural circumpolar north, as well as how the author's time in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia changed her own worldview. Part 1 addresses initial questions regarding her approach to setting, title, and cover, how she ended up going to Kamchatka, and begins discussion of gender-based violence, a key issue in her novel. We discuss some of her literary influences, and the hope that this book prompts broader awareness of and concern for resolution of the complex crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women. Authors mentioned include Leo Tolstoy, Louise Erdrich, Alice Munro, and others. Subscribe to our podcast to be notified as the remainder of the interview episodes go live. Transcripts of each episode will be made available as a blog post at our website, https://denalisunrisepublications.com/blog/. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when these are available.