Click a title to learn more. FICTION
“Laura Pritchett has written a beautiful, age-defying story about discovering your inextricable connection to the whole wide world. . . This is a book to hold close not only while you read, but as you march into your own battles against the joys and terrors of a life in constant motion.”
—NINA DE GRAMONT, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair
“An unforgettable portrait of a woman—every woman—who has lived a life for others and needs to start living for herself . . . This is a beautiful, funny, meditative novel that will bring you to tears with its optimism.”
—MELANIE BENJAMIN, New York Times bestselling author of California Golden
How could I not adore a book featuring a strong, feisty, fifty-something woman, who despite being widowed, unemployed, and empty-nested, goes out on the road to break into three very different homes she just happens to have the keys to? Audacious and inspiring, Three Keys isn’t just about breaking in, it’s about breaking out, of finding the person you were meant to be all along, despite anyone else’s expectations or insistence that you be invisible. Filled with award-winner Pritchett’s electric prose and love of the natural world, this book is irresistible.
— CAROLINE LEAVITT, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder
NONFICTION
PLAY
UPCOMING EVENTS
Readings & Book Tour Stops in 2024
May 9 6:00 pm Casper, WY - Bonsai Books
May 26 2:00 pm Crested Butte, CO - Center for the Arts
May 31 - June 2 Casper, WY - Wyoming Writers Conference
June 29 10:00 am Carbondale, CO - Public Library
July 6 4:00 pm Bend, OR - Dudley’s Bookshop & Café w/Marina Richie
July 8-12 Enterprise, OR – books for sale at Fishtrap via The Bookloft
July 14 3 & 5 pm Boise, ID - Rediscovered Books - Bookclub 3 pm, Signing 5 pm
July 18 5:00 pm Salida, CO - Salida Public Library w/ Lara Richardson
July 20 6:00 pm Gunnison, CO - WCU, UC Theatre
July 21 4:00 pm Crested Butte, CO - Townie Books Patio Signing
July 27 1:00 pm Montrose, CO - Regional Public Library
July 28 2:00 pm Glenwood Springs, CO – Public Library
Aug. 1 6:00 pm Denver, CO – Tattered Cover Colfax
Aug. 3 1:00 pm Fort Collins, CO - Old Town Library
Aug 11-13 Chico Hot Springs, MT – books for sale via Elk River Books
Sept. 6 - 8 Steamboat Springs, CO - Literary Sojourn
Sept. 20 6:00 pm Taos, NM – SOMOS w/Levi Romero
Sept. 22 6:00 pm Albuquerque, NM - Bookworks
Sept. 25 6:00 pm Durango, CO – Maria’s Bookshop
Stops will be added, keep on checking for details!
Teaching in 2024
May 31-June 2 Wyoming Writers Conference, Casper, WY
July 8-13 Fishtrap — Fiction Weeklong Enterprise, OR
March 2025 — Ajo, AZ - stay tuned for deets
Ongoing - MFA (or MA) in Nature Writing: I’m always directing and teaching at Western’s MFA in Nature Writing. More information below.
BIO
Laura Pritchett is the author of seven novels (Ballantine, Torrey House, Counterpoint, Milkweed Editions) and two nonfiction books and served as editor of three environment-based anthologies. Her work has been the recipient of the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, several Colorado Book Awards, and others. Her best-known novel, Stars Go Blue, has been optioned for TV rights. She’s published over 300 essays and short stories in national venues, most recently in The Sun, Terrain, Camas, Orion, Creative Nonfiction, and others. She directs the MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University and holds a PhD from Purdue University. When not writing or teaching, she can be found sauntering around the West, especially her home state of Colorado. She particularly likes looking at clouds.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
“Renovation,” Creative Nonfiction
(nominated for a Pushcart)
“Telling the Truth about the Way We Live Now,” Writers on the Range
Check out this literary map from the LA Times which contains Laura’s work
“Ten Seconds,” Terrain
“Play, Hands,” The Sun
“Bluestem,” Santa Fe Literary Review
“Caregiving: I’ll do it my way,” O Magazine
Regular columnist for the Colorado Sun
Regular columnist for Writers on the Range
“In Defense of Facebook,” Orion Magazine
For a complete list, see the CV on Laura’s “about” page.
TEACHING
Laura directs the MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University. This is a unique 2-year, low-residency program (write from where you live!) and is one of only few in the country that focuses on contemporary environmental writing.
The Nature Writing concentration seeks to empower writers who care about the urgent and wonder-filled world of contemporary environmental literature. We are founded on the core belief that writing can be an agent of change, that creativity engenders solutions, and that students should be individually mentored to achieve their highest artistic goals. Our concentration includes work in many genres, including nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and experimental and hybrid works. Students leave the program with a book-length manuscript, short-form work, and a thorough understanding of the many approaches to writing about our place, our planet, and our people.
