FICTION
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NONFICTION
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BIO
Laura Pritchett is the author of seven novels (Ballantine, Torrey House, Counterpoint, Milkweed Editions). Known for championing the complex and contemporary West and giving voice to the working class, her books have garnered the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, several Colorado book awards, and others. She’s also the author of two nonfiction books, one play, and was editor of three environmental-based anthologies. One novel, Stars Go Blue, has been optioned for TV rights. She’s published hundreds of essays and short stories in national venues, most recently in The Sun, LA Times, NYT, USA Today, Terrain, 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 American West. She particularly likes looking at clouds and wildflowers.
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 article in the New York Times which includes Laura’s work
“Deer in the Poppies,” Ecotone
“Bears v. Men,” USA Today
Check out this literary map from the LA Times which contains Laura’s work
“Capturing Climate Chaos in Fiction,” She Writes
“Ten Seconds,” Terrain
“Play, Hands,” The Sun
“Bluestem,” Santa Fe Literary Review
“Caregiving: I’ll do it my way,” O Magazine
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.
“Opinion: When it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border, can people think beyond politics?” Los Angeles Times
TAKE A CLASS WITH LAURA
UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
November 6 2025, 6 pm, Old Firehouse Bookstore, Fort Collins, Colorado with Rachel Maizes
February 2026– dates to come, Newnan, Georgia
April 8 and 9 2026, various times, StoryCatcher Writing Conference, Gunnison, Colorado
April 16 2026, 10 am, Osher, Fort Collins, Colorado
May 14-16 2026, Entrada Institute, Torrey, Utah
2026 TEACHING ENGAGEMENTS
Writer-in-Residence, Newnan, Georgia, February 2026, specifics to come.
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Entrada Institute, Writing from the Land: May 14-16, Torrey, Utah
https://www.entradainstitute.org/2026-writing-from-the-land-workshop/#
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Fishtrap Yearlong: June 23-28 2026 in Enterprise Oregon and then monthly zooms and packets and another residency in summer of 2027: https://fishtrap.org/writing-workshops/
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Ongoing, MFA or MA in Nature Writing, starting in June each year
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.
