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Thursday, May 21
 

5:30pm MDT

Festival Kick-Off Party!
Thursday May 21, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm MDT
Join fellow attendees to pick up your badges and grab a drink to connect before the weekend of literary magic!
Thursday May 21, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm MDT
Grace Atrium

6:30pm MDT

Come See Me in the Good Light (Documentary Screening)
Thursday May 21, 2026 6:30pm - 8:30pm MDT


Come See Me in the Good Light is a 2025 documentary film directed by Ryan White. Retracing the life of American poet, Colorado Poet Laurete, and activist Andrea Gibson.
Critically acclaimed, it is included on the National Board of Review Top 5 Documentaries of 2025, receiving several awards and nominations including the Academy Awards, Satellite Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Thursday May 21, 2026 6:30pm - 8:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater
 
Friday, May 22
 

9:00am MDT

Creativity with Mashuq Mushtaq Deen: Mapping the Inner Landscape of Your Work
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Mapping the Inner Landscape of Your Work We often talk about what we write, but rarely where it comes from. How do our identities, histories, and personal values come together to form the lens or prism through which our words appear? In this session, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen shares a cartographic approach to understanding our own creative ecosystems. Participants will be guided through a reflective...
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Speakers
avatar for Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen is a playwright, essayist, and award-winning storyteller. He is the author of Draw the Circle, winner of the Lambda Literary Award, and other full-length plays including Set Zero, Flood, The Betterment Society, The Shaking Earth, and The Telegram. His work has... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

9:00am MDT

Claire Boyles Fiction Workshop: Beyond the Forest and the Trees: Layers of Landscape and Place
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Join short fiction writer and novelist Claire Boyles in a workshop to stimulate your creative process.Beyond the Forest and the Trees: Layers of Landscape and PlaceThe author Robert Macfarlane writes: “The best of the recent [nature] writing is ethically alert, theoretically literate and wary of the seductions and corruptions of the pastoral. It is sensitive to the dark histories of landscapes...
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Speakers
avatar for Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles is a writer and former farmer whose work captures the rugged landscapes and resilient people of the American West. A 2022 Whiting Award winner in fiction, she is the author of Site Fidelity, winner of the High Plains Book Award and longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

9:00am MDT

The Secret Magic of the Soulful Poem with Wendy Videlock
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Finding the Magic and the Soul of Poetry with Wendy Videlock In this generative workshop we will discover a variety of delightful techniques to hush our inner critics and rediscover poetry as fundamentally fun — as well as illuminating. We will approach the poem as an open invitation and will begin to understand how musicality is key to opening the subconscious and cultivating our own unique...
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Speakers
avatar for Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock lives on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies. Her poems, reviews and essays appear most notably in Best American Poetry, the New York Times, Hudson Review, Rattle and O Magazine. Her syndicated newspaper column, The Barefoot Laureate, appears across the Four Corner... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Hawk Studio

10:15am MDT

Instant Story Map Part 1
Friday May 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
In this two-part seminar, geared for both novelists and memoirists, writing coaches Dan Manzanares and Doug Kurtz will use spontaneous ideas from workshop attendees to create a story any agent would drool to read. We'll activate the Story Map, a relational storytelling model, to show the group in real time how a story works and how easy it is to go from first concept to full draft.
Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares is an award-winning literary arts advocate and educator. He received his MFA with a concentration in genre fiction from Western Colorado University. For years, he worked on staff at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative... Read More →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz has spent nearly three decades teaching writers in universities, nonprofits, international retreats, and through his coaching practice. He is the co-creator of the Story Map, a holistic methodology that helps novelists write deeply impactful books. His clients have signed... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

10:15am MDT

Rajiv Mohabir Poetry Workshop
Friday May 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
This generative session with poet Rajiv Mohabir (Whale Aria, Antiman, I Will Not Go) is a must-do for nature writers. Poet, memoirist, and translator, Rajiv Mohabir is the author of five books of poetry that have been awarded gold in Forward Indies and Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur. His other honors include being finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/America Open Book...
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Speakers
avatar for Rajiv Mohabir

Rajiv Mohabir

Poet, memoirist, and translator, Rajiv Mohabir is the author of five books of poetry that have been awarded gold in Forward Indies and Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur. His other honors include being finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/America Open Book Award... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

11:30am MDT

Mitzi Rapkin First Draft Podcast Live Recording with Emily Rapp Black
Friday May 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Join seasoned literary podcasted Mitzi Rapkin for a talk with author of the New York Times bestseller book Poster Child, The Still Point of the Turning World, Sanctuary, and Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg. Her new book, I Would Die If I Were You: Notes on Art and Truth-Telling is an anti-ablest, feminist book about creativity, one that grapples with how to cultivate a vibrant and...
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Speakers
avatar for Mitzi Rapkin

Mitzi Rapkin

Mitzi Rapkin is the founder, host, and producer of the podcast, First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing, which features in-depth conversations with today’s most distinguished literary writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essays. Her archive contains more than 560 interviews accumulated... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater

1:30pm MDT

Instant Story Map Part 2
Friday May 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
In this two-part seminar, geared for both novelists and memoirists, writing coaches Dan Manzanares and Doug Kurtz will use spontaneous ideas from workshop attendees to create a story any agent would drool to read. We'll activate the Story Map, a relational storytelling model, to show the group in real time how a story works and how easy it is to go from first concept to full draft.
Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares is an award-winning literary arts advocate and educator. He received his MFA with a concentration in genre fiction from Western Colorado University. For years, he worked on staff at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative... Read More →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz has spent nearly three decades teaching writers in universities, nonprofits, international retreats, and through his coaching practice. He is the co-creator of the Story Map, a holistic methodology that helps novelists write deeply impactful books. His clients have signed... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

2:45pm MDT

Writing Immersive Fiction
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Modern readers want to immerse themselves in your story, to feel what the characters see and feel. This class will extend the common exhortation of “show, don’t tell” to the idea of “inside/outside.” Learn how to bring your reader into the world and emotions of the characters. Come prepared to write.
Speakers
avatar for Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis fell in love with history in college. Not the dates or wars, but the mysterious daily lives of people. Her debut, Behold the Bird in Flight, tells the story of an unknown British queen, Isabelle d’Angoulême, abducted by King John of Magna Carta fame. It was named one... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

2:45pm MDT

Zooming In and Out in Memoir with River Selby
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Join writer River Selby for a session on writing memoir. Selby is the author of Hotshot: A Life on Fire. Selby was a wildland firefighter whose given name was Anastasia. This is a memoir of that time in their life—of Ana, the struggles she encountered, and the constraints of what it means to be female-bodied in a male-dominated industry. An illuminating debut from a fierce new voice, Hotshot is...
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Speakers
avatar for River Selby

River Selby

River Selby worked as a hotshot and wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD. Their work has been published in Vox... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

2:45pm MDT

Michael Hettich Poetry Workshop: Techniques for Discovery
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Poet Michael Hettich, with decades of experience with writing and reading poetry leads this generative workshop for poets of all levels.One of the fallacies all writers hear at some point is that one should “write what you know.” Infact, the thrill of writing poetry lies in discovering what one does not know, or, more accurately,what one does not know one knows. Thus, the successful poem is...
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Speakers
avatar for Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich is the author of the poetry collection, A Sharper Silence, published by Terrapin Books in 2025. It has been called a “heartfelt, heartbreaking collection” (Marie Harris). His previous book of poetry, The Halo of Bees: New and Selected Poems, 1990-2022 won the 2024... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Hawk Studio

4:00pm MDT

How to Be a Good Ancestor with John Hausdoerffer
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
John Hausdoerffer, author of the collection, How to Be a Good Ancestor, leads this session giving storytellers the depth and persepective to tell better stories.
Speakers
avatar for John Hausdoerffer

John Hausdoerffer

John Hausdoerffer writes and edits books that imagine a future of deeper care for human and more-than-human communities. Book titles include Wildness: Relations of People and Place; Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations; What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be?; and An Elemental... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

4:00pm MDT

Drafting the Novel Discussion with Nina McConigley and Claire Boyles
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Debut novelists Nina McConigley (How to Commit a Post Colonial Murder) and Claire Boyles (Appraisals) discuss the road to publication. 
Speakers
avatar for Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley is an award-winning writer whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural intersections in the American West. She is the author of Cowboys and East Indians, which won the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, and her work has appeared in The New... Read More →
avatar for Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles is a writer and former farmer whose work captures the rugged landscapes and resilient people of the American West. A 2022 Whiting Award winner in fiction, she is the author of Site Fidelity, winner of the High Plains Book Award and longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

4:00pm MDT

Writing Poems of Imagination and Resistance with Karen Terrey
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
“Poetry has the intangible, almost inexplicable power to make something happen, to move people, to console the inconsolable.” – Martin Espada“The challenges of the form ask us to move past our first impulses, to attend to aspects of poem we might otherwise ignore, to invite surprise, and to allow meaning to grow organically”–Maggie QueeneyHow can we call on the tools of imagination and...
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Speakers
avatar for Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey serves as Poet Laureate for Nevada County, CA, where her mission is to support a welcoming arts community that encourages collaboration and growth. She's an editor and writing coach, offering creative writing workshops online and in Truckee through her business, Tangled... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Hawk Studio

4:00pm MDT

Crested Butte Magazine Release Party
Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Mountain Words partner and sponson, Crested Butte Magazine, will release their newest edition with fun and fanfare. Join Mountain Words Founder and now editor of the CB Magazine, Brooke Macmillan along with the contributors of this year's summer magazine for a drink and camaraderie. Mountain Words presenter Claire Boyles, a Crested Butte Mountain Words Writer in Residence will be there to...
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Friday May 22, 2026 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Bruhaus 223 Elk Ave

6:00pm MDT

Community Read @Gunnison Branch Library w/David Baron - American Eclipse
Friday May 22, 2026 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
Join readers from all over Gunnison County in celebrating David Baron's American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World. American Eclipse by is about the 1878 total solar eclipse that crossed the American West, focusing on the race between scientists like Thomas Edison, Maria Mitchell, and James Craig Watson to study it, revealing America's...
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Speakers
avatar for David Baron

David Baron

David Baronis an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author of The Beast in the Garden and American Eclipse. A former science correspondent for NPR, he has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 6:00pm - 7:00pm MDT
Gunnison Branch Library 1 Quartz St, Gunnison, CO 81230, USA

7:00pm MDT

Myth Understandings: An Evening of Comedy with Shane Mauss
Friday May 22, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm MDT
Why do so many persistent myths, superstitions, and folk beliefs arise? Why does our social brain love stories that feel true over facts that are true? Shane’s newest show explores how the weirdest, funniest misunderstandings in human history come from our very human minds.Expect to laugh and learn in equal measure as we explore:Cartoonishly bad ideas that stuck around for centuriesHow cognitive...
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Speakers
avatar for Shane Mauss

Shane Mauss

Originally from Wisconsin, award-winning comedian Shane Mauss caught early breaks on Conan, Kimmel, and Comedy Central.

Obsessively curious, he has interviewed over 400 scientists for the Here We Are Podcast and turned what he has learned into several themed shows.His newest two-part special TRIPS was called by Vulture “"The first comedy special that could conceivably be performed at the Las Vegas... Read More →
Friday May 22, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater
 
Saturday, May 23
 

9:00am MDT

In-Conversation Megan-Kate Nelson with Ryan Warner Colorado Public Radio
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Megan Kate-Nelson discusses her newest book Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier with Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio. Born and raised in Colorado, Megan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer based in Boston, with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of five books, including The Three-Cornered War: The...
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Speakers
avatar for Megan Kate Nelson

Megan Kate Nelson

Born and raised in Colorado, Megan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer based in Boston, with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of five books, including The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples... Read More →
avatar for Ryan Warner

Ryan Warner

Ryan Warner is senior host of Colorado Matters, the flagship daily interview program from CPR News. His voice is heard on frequencies around the state as he talks with Coloradans from all walks of life — politicians, scientists, artists, activists and others. Ryan's interviews with... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Steddy Theater

9:00am MDT

Poets In-Conversation with Michael Hettich and Erica Reid
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
What makes a poet?Erica Reid dives into the life and work of poet and writer, Michael Hettich. Join this reading and discussion between one poet creating community here in Colorado and another who has shaped the writing of countless students for decades. Hettich is the author of the poetry collection, A Sharper Silence, published by Terrapin Books in 2025. It has been called a “heartfelt,...
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Speakers
avatar for Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich is the author of the poetry collection, A Sharper Silence, published by Terrapin Books in 2025. It has been called a “heartfelt, heartbreaking collection” (Marie Harris). His previous book of poetry, The Halo of Bees: New and Selected Poems, 1990-2022 won the 2024... Read More →
avatar for Erica Reid

Erica Reid

Erica Reid is the author of Ghost Man on Second, winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize (Autumn House Press, 2024). Erica’s poems appear in Rattle,Cherry Tree, Colorado Review, and more. Erica is a 2025 Fellow at the Vermont Center for the Creative Arts and teaches in Western... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Hawk Studio

9:00am MDT

The Editor is In! Conversation with Rakesh Satyal
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Author and editor Rakesh Satyal discusses the author-editor relationship and process with festival director, Arvin Ram. This will be an excellent opportunity for all writers to understand what happens to a manuscript once it goes from the agent phase, to the publisher phase of its life.  Satyal is the author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. Blue Boy won a Lambda...
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Speakers
avatar for Rakesh Satyal

Rakesh Satyal

Rakesh Satyal is the author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. Blue Boy won a Lambda Literary Award, the Prose/Poetry Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, and was adapted into an award-winning short film by the actor-writer-director Nik Dodani... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

9:00am MDT

Re-Enchantment, a Walk with Brooke Williams and Nancy Gex Jones
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am MDT
Join Brooke Williams and therapist, Nancy Gex Jones for a short walk from Rumors Coffee to Totem Pole Park, 2 1/2 blocks away, to sit near the river and discuss Williams' work and connection with the natural world. If inclement weather, this will be held in the Rumors Work Loft.  Brooke Williams writes about evolution, consciousness, and his own adventures exploring both the inner and...
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Speakers
avatar for nancy Gex jones

nancy Gex jones

Owner/Therapist, Soul Centered Wellness
I'm a "local" who is a therapist and a writer. I am into horses and most other animals and consider myself a fairly private person. Not much into social media, but enjoy one on one connections and learning.
avatar for Brooke Williams

Brooke Williams

Brooke Williams writes about evolution, consciousness, and his own adventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness. His books include Open Midnight—Where Wilderness and Ancestors Meet (Trinity, 2107) and Mary Jane Wild—Two Walks and a Rant (Homebound, 2020). He believes... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am MDT
Rumors Coffee and Tea House/ Townie Books 414 Elk Ave

10:15am MDT

The Science of Funny: A Comedy Writing Deep Dive with Shane Mauss
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
What makes something funny—and why do some jokes land while others fall flat? Join comedian and storyteller Shane Mauss for an insightful and entertaining deep dive into the mechanics of comedy. Blending sharp theory with real-world experience, Shane breaks down the fundamentals of humor—timing, structure, surprise—and how they show up across different formats.From stand-up and storytelling...
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Speakers
avatar for Shane Mauss

Shane Mauss

Originally from Wisconsin, award-winning comedian Shane Mauss caught early breaks on Conan, Kimmel, and Comedy Central.

Obsessively curious, he has interviewed over 400 scientists for the Here We Are Podcast and turned what he has learned into several themed shows.His newest two-part special TRIPS was called by Vulture “"The first comedy special that could conceivably be performed at the Las Vegas... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Hawk Studio

10:15am MDT

World-building and Setting Through Rap Lyrics
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
With urgency, rappers build dynamic three-dimensional worlds and settings in the small space of a verse and song. How do they do this, and what can we learn from them to change our own writing? We'll watch music videos and analyze lyrics of rap songs to figure out what makes their worlds feel developed and immersive.
Speakers
avatar for Steven Dunn

Steven Dunn

A 2021 Whiting Award winner, and shortlisted for Granta magazine’s “Best of Young American Novelists,” Steven Dunn is the author of two books from Tarpaulin Sky Press: water & power (2018) and Potted Meat, which was a co-winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards, a finalist... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

10:15am MDT

Martians! The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America with David Baron and Laura Krantz
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
David Baron discusses his new book, Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America with Laura Krantz“There Is Life on the Planet Mars” ―New York Times, December 9, 1906This New York Times headline was no joke. In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed we had discovered intelligent life on Mars, as best-selling science writer David Baron...
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Speakers
avatar for David Baron

David Baron

David Baronis an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author of The Beast in the Garden and American Eclipse. A former science correspondent for NPR, he has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and... Read More →
avatar for Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz is a journalist, editor and producer, in both radio and print, and co-founder of Foxtopus Ink. Her podcast, Wild Thing has received critical acclaim from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic, which named it one of the best 50 podcasts in 2018 and 2020... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Steddy Theater

10:15am MDT

NEW Inside the Author-Agent Relationship
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
When plans shift, the conversation deepens. Join acclaimed Colorado authors Claire Boyles and Shelley Read for an inside look at the author-agent relationship — from finding representation to navigating the publishing world — in an honest, engaging literary discussion.
Speakers
avatar for Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles is a writer and former farmer whose work captures the rugged landscapes and resilient people of the American West. A 2022 Whiting Award winner in fiction, she is the author of Site Fidelity, winner of the High Plains Book Award and longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham... Read More →
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read is the author of the international bestselling debut novel Go As A River, translated into thirty-four languages and featured on bestseller lists worldwide. The novel won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, and... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

11:30am MDT

ON COMICS with Benjamin Percy and Dan McClellan
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Why does a bible scholar wear comic book t-shirts? Why does a celebrated novelist continue to write some of the most celebrated comics of our time?Authors Dan McClellan (The Bible Says So) and Benjamin Percy (Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, Red Moon, Wolverine, Black Panther, Star Wars: Maul, Predator) discuss their lifelong love of comics, how it shaped them, and Percy's work on iconic characters...
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Speakers
avatar for Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels, including The Sky Vault, The Unfamiliar Garden, The Ninth Metal, and Red Moon, as well as three acclaimed short story collections. His craft book, Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, is widely taught in creative writing programs. His fiction... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

11:30am MDT

A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF: In-Conversation- Megha Majumdar and Nina McConigley
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Megha Majumdar discusses her newest praiseworthy novel, A Guardian and a Theif with debut novelist Nina McConigley
Speakers
avatar for Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar is the author of the novel "A Guardian and a Thief," which was named a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize, and selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Her debut novel, the New York Times bestseller “A Burning,” was nominated for the National Book... Read More →
avatar for Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley is an award-winning writer whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural intersections in the American West. She is the author of Cowboys and East Indians, which won the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, and her work has appeared in The New... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater

11:30am MDT

Megan-Kate Nelson and Garrett Peck on Researching History
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Megan Kate-Nelson and Garrett Peck discuss the intricacies of research and how to create evocative characterizations of historical figures. 
Speakers
avatar for Megan Kate Nelson

Megan Kate Nelson

Born and raised in Colorado, Megan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer based in Boston, with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of five books, including The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples... Read More →
avatar for Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck is an author, historian, and tour guide in Santa Fe, specializing in adventure travel and historic and cultural interpretation. He leads the Willa Cather’s Santa Fe tour, teaches stargazing, and leads many other tours.  
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

11:30am MDT

Generative Poetry Session with Tiana Clark
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Tiana Clark is the author of the poetry collections Scorched Earth; I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood, which won the 2017 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize; and Equilibrium, which won the 2016 Frost Place Chapbook Competition. Clark’s other honors include a Pushcart Prize, a Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bread Loaf...
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Speakers
Saturday May 23, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Hawk Studio

1:30pm MDT

Terry Tempest Williams with Ben Goldfarb
Saturday May 23, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Known for her seminal work, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, Williams has long been an advocate for wild spaces and wildlife. This visit to Mountain Words heralds the arrival of her newest book, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary. Williams is joined by festival favorite and science journalist, Ben Goldfarb, known for his books Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life...
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Speakers
avatar for Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, naturalist, and activist known for her impassioned prose and fierce advocacy for environmental and social justice. She is the author of Refuge, When Women Were Birds, Erosion, and The Hour of Land, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The... Read More →
avatar for Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb is an independent environmental journalist, editor, and fiction writer. He is the author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. Ben has written for a variety of publications, including Scientific American, Orion Magazine, High Country News... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater

2:45pm MDT

Book Signing in the Atrium #1
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Join a festive and lively gathering of book signing with this year's authors!

Dan McClellan
Benjamin Percy
Claire Boyles
Wendy Videlock
Rajiv Mohabir
Terri Lewis
Michael Hettich
Nina McConigley
Megan Kate Nelson
Karen Terrey
Phil Coleman
Rakesh Satyal
Alia Hanna Habib
Megha Majumdar
Erica Reid
Speakers
avatar for Josiah Hesse

Josiah Hesse

Josiah Hesse is an author and journalist from Denver, Colorado, whose work has appeared in Vice, Esquire, Politico, and The Guardian. Hesse casts a wide net in his journalistic curiosities, covering everything from science, crime and politics, to pop culture, the arts, sex and drugs... Read More →
avatar for Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar is the author of the novel "A Guardian and a Thief," which was named a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize, and selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Her debut novel, the New York Times bestseller “A Burning,” was nominated for the National Book... Read More →
avatar for Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles

Claire Boyles is a writer and former farmer whose work captures the rugged landscapes and resilient people of the American West. A 2022 Whiting Award winner in fiction, she is the author of Site Fidelity, winner of the High Plains Book Award and longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham... Read More →
avatar for Alia Hanna Habib

Alia Hanna Habib

Alia Hanna Habib is a Vice President and literary agent at The Gernert Company, where she represents MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, National Book Award finalists, and numerous New York Times bestselling authors. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
avatar for Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis fell in love with history in college. Not the dates or wars, but the mysterious daily lives of people. Her debut, Behold the Bird in Flight, tells the story of an unknown British queen, Isabelle d’Angoulême, abducted by King John of Magna Carta fame. It was named one... Read More →
avatar for Erica Reid

Erica Reid

Erica Reid is the author of Ghost Man on Second, winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize (Autumn House Press, 2024). Erica’s poems appear in Rattle,Cherry Tree, Colorado Review, and more. Erica is a 2025 Fellow at the Vermont Center for the Creative Arts and teaches in Western... Read More →
avatar for Rajiv Mohabir

Rajiv Mohabir

Poet, memoirist, and translator, Rajiv Mohabir is the author of five books of poetry that have been awarded gold in Forward Indies and Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur. His other honors include being finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/America Open Book Award... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock lives on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies. Her poems, reviews and essays appear most notably in Best American Poetry, the New York Times, Hudson Review, Rattle and O Magazine. Her syndicated newspaper column, The Barefoot Laureate, appears across the Four Corner... Read More →
avatar for Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich

Michael Hettich is the author of the poetry collection, A Sharper Silence, published by Terrapin Books in 2025. It has been called a “heartfelt, heartbreaking collection” (Marie Harris). His previous book of poetry, The Halo of Bees: New and Selected Poems, 1990-2022 won the 2024... Read More →
avatar for Megan Kate Nelson

Megan Kate Nelson

Born and raised in Colorado, Megan Kate Nelson is a historian and writer based in Boston, with a BA from Harvard and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of five books, including The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples... Read More →
avatar for Rakesh Satyal

Rakesh Satyal

Rakesh Satyal is the author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. Blue Boy won a Lambda Literary Award, the Prose/Poetry Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, and was adapted into an award-winning short film by the actor-writer-director Nik Dodani... Read More →
avatar for Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey serves as Poet Laureate for Nevada County, CA, where her mission is to support a welcoming arts community that encourages collaboration and growth. She's an editor and writing coach, offering creative writing workshops online and in Truckee through her business, Tangled... Read More →
avatar for Phil Coleman

Phil Coleman

Phil Coleman writes speculative fiction and adventure novels for younger audiences. His works include The Quickborn Odyssey and The Quickwild Odyssey for upper middle grade readers, and Riddled Worlds, When James Fell, and Lockspell for young adults. His books and stories are all... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Grace Atrium

2:45pm MDT

Terry Tempest in Convo with Nina McConigley on Art and Life
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
For passholders, this is a very intimate conversation between Terry Tempest Williams and Nina McConigley about her life in art and words in the natural world
Speakers
avatar for Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, naturalist, and activist known for her impassioned prose and fierce advocacy for environmental and social justice. She is the author of Refuge, When Women Were Birds, Erosion, and The Hour of Land, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The... Read More →
avatar for Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley is an award-winning writer whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural intersections in the American West. She is the author of Cowboys and East Indians, which won the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, and her work has appeared in The New... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

2:45pm MDT

In-Conversation Hillary Rosner and Ben Goldfarb
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Science journalist and editor Hillary Rosner discusses her new book, ROAM with Mountain Words regular Ben Goldfarb.Rosner is an award-winning science journalist who has reported on environmental issues from around the world for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Wired, Audubon, and many others. She specializes in telling complex, science-driven stories in...
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Speakers
avatar for Hillary Rosner

Hillary Rosner

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning science journalist who has reported on environmental issues from around the world for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Wired, Audubon, and many others. She specializes in telling complex, science-driven... Read More →
avatar for Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb is an independent environmental journalist, editor, and fiction writer. He is the author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. Ben has written for a variety of publications, including Scientific American, Orion Magazine, High Country News... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Steddy Theater

2:45pm MDT

It’s a Partnership: The Author/Editor Relationship
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Authors Cosmo Langsfeld and Dane Bahr read from their newest works and discuss with their editor the collaborative nature of the relationship from working the words to navigating the production and publication process.Harry Kirchner is a Contributing Editor at Counterpoint Press. His interests include literary fiction,narrative nonfiction, mystery, memoir, and natural history.Born and raised in...
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Speakers
avatar for Harry R Kirchner

Harry R Kirchner

Contributing Editor, Counterpoint Press

avatar for Dane Bahr

Dane Bahr

Set in Montana, 1935, The Dead Ringer follows Benjamin Kilt, a man left for dead by his bank-robbing half brother—only to return very much alive and bent on revenge. Joined by Bonnie, a thirteen-year-old Indigenous girl he rescues along the way, Kilt’s journey unfolds through... Read More →
avatar for Cosmo Langsfeld

Cosmo Langsfeld

I grew up in the Gunnison Valley, Colorado. My family lived on 38 acres that bordered National Forest land above a ranch, with trails and the outdoors in general being integral to my day-to-day life as a kid. 
Saturday May 23, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

4:00pm MDT

Book Signing in the Atrium #2
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Join a festive and lively gathering of authors at this year's book signing!!!

David Baron 
River Selby
Dane Bahr
Cosmo Langsfeld
Steven Dunn
Laura Krantz
Ben Goldfarb
Garrett Peck
Hillary Rosner
Shelley Read
Suzi Q. Smith
Ramona Ausubel
Speakers
avatar for Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels, including The Sky Vault, The Unfamiliar Garden, The Ninth Metal, and Red Moon, as well as three acclaimed short story collections. His craft book, Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, is widely taught in creative writing programs. His fiction... Read More →
avatar for River Selby

River Selby

River Selby worked as a hotshot and wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD. Their work has been published in Vox... Read More →
avatar for David Baron

David Baron

David Baronis an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author of The Beast in the Garden and American Eclipse. A former science correspondent for NPR, he has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and... Read More →
avatar for Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb is an independent environmental journalist, editor, and fiction writer. He is the author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. Ben has written for a variety of publications, including Scientific American, Orion Magazine, High Country News... Read More →
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read is the author of the international bestselling debut novel Go As A River, translated into thirty-four languages and featured on bestseller lists worldwide. The novel won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, and... Read More →
avatar for Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz is a journalist, editor and producer, in both radio and print, and co-founder of Foxtopus Ink. Her podcast, Wild Thing has received critical acclaim from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic, which named it one of the best 50 podcasts in 2018 and 2020... Read More →
avatar for Ramona Ausubel

Ramona Ausubel

Ramona Ausubel’s fifth book, The Last Animal was a national bestseller, a Barnes & Noble book of the month and named a best book of 2023 by NPR, Kirkus and the Oprah quarterly. Her previous books are Awayland: stories, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, A Guide to Being Born... Read More →
avatar for Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith is an award-winning author, artist, educator, and organizer who lives in Denver, Colorado. While primarily known for her poetry, Suzi is also a singer-songwriter, playwright, and interdisciplinary creative. She has created, curated, coached, and taught for over 20 years... Read More →
avatar for Steven Dunn

Steven Dunn

A 2021 Whiting Award winner, and shortlisted for Granta magazine’s “Best of Young American Novelists,” Steven Dunn is the author of two books from Tarpaulin Sky Press: water & power (2018) and Potted Meat, which was a co-winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards, a finalist... Read More →
avatar for Hillary Rosner

Hillary Rosner

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning science journalist who has reported on environmental issues from around the world for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Wired, Audubon, and many others. She specializes in telling complex, science-driven... Read More →
avatar for Dane Bahr

Dane Bahr

Set in Montana, 1935, The Dead Ringer follows Benjamin Kilt, a man left for dead by his bank-robbing half brother—only to return very much alive and bent on revenge. Joined by Bonnie, a thirteen-year-old Indigenous girl he rescues along the way, Kilt’s journey unfolds through... Read More →
avatar for Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck is an author, historian, and tour guide in Santa Fe, specializing in adventure travel and historic and cultural interpretation. He leads the Willa Cather’s Santa Fe tour, teaches stargazing, and leads many other tours.  
avatar for Cosmo Langsfeld

Cosmo Langsfeld

I grew up in the Gunnison Valley, Colorado. My family lived on 38 acres that bordered National Forest land above a ranch, with trails and the outdoors in general being integral to my day-to-day life as a kid. 
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Grace Atrium

4:00pm MDT

Benjamin Percy Fiction THRILL ME
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Join acclaimed author Benjamin Percy to learn how contemporary writers engage plot, character, dialogue, and suspense. Percy's book, Thrill Me, is an urgent and entertaining book on craft that brims with Percy's distinctive blend of anecdotes and advice, all in the service of one dictum: thrill the reader.
Speakers
avatar for Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels, including The Sky Vault, The Unfamiliar Garden, The Ninth Metal, and Red Moon, as well as three acclaimed short story collections. His craft book, Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, is widely taught in creative writing programs. His fiction... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

4:00pm MDT

Poet Tiana Clark in Conversation with Rajiv Mohabir
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Tiana Clark is the author of the poetry collections Scorched Earth (Washington Square Press/Simon & Schuster, 2025), which was named a finalist for the 2025 National Book Awards, and I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018), which won the 2017 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize. She also wrote the chapbook Equilibrium (Bull City Press, 2016), selected by Afaa...
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Speakers
avatar for Rajiv Mohabir

Rajiv Mohabir

Poet, memoirist, and translator, Rajiv Mohabir is the author of five books of poetry that have been awarded gold in Forward Indies and Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur. His other honors include being finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/America Open Book Award... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Steddy Theater

4:00pm MDT

Publishing Panel Discussion with Karen Terrey, Terri Lewis, Dane Bahr, Phil Coleman
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Writing and publishing is a world in constant flux. Join this panel of authors for a discussion about publishing alternatives and what a writing career looks like in 2026.
Speakers
avatar for Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey serves as Poet Laureate for Nevada County, CA, where her mission is to support a welcoming arts community that encourages collaboration and growth. She's an editor and writing coach, offering creative writing workshops online and in Truckee through her business, Tangled... Read More →
avatar for Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis fell in love with history in college. Not the dates or wars, but the mysterious daily lives of people. Her debut, Behold the Bird in Flight, tells the story of an unknown British queen, Isabelle d’Angoulême, abducted by King John of Magna Carta fame. It was named one... Read More →
avatar for Dane Bahr

Dane Bahr

Set in Montana, 1935, The Dead Ringer follows Benjamin Kilt, a man left for dead by his bank-robbing half brother—only to return very much alive and bent on revenge. Joined by Bonnie, a thirteen-year-old Indigenous girl he rescues along the way, Kilt’s journey unfolds through... Read More →
avatar for Phil Coleman

Phil Coleman

Phil Coleman writes speculative fiction and adventure novels for younger audiences. His works include The Quickborn Odyssey and The Quickwild Odyssey for upper middle grade readers, and Riddled Worlds, When James Fell, and Lockspell for young adults. His books and stories are all... Read More →
Saturday May 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

9:00pm MDT

Stargazing with Garrett Peck
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00pm - 9:45pm MDT
After sunset, the stars come out at Crested Butte in all their wonder. The town is an excellent place for stargazing, as it is far removed from city lights to see the Milky Way. The Mountain Words Festival will host stargazing on the park space near the Center for the Arts on Saturday, May 23 at 9pm. We’ll meet outside the arts center, then walk to the stargazing spot. Your host is festival...
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Speakers
avatar for Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck

Garrett Peck is an author, historian, and tour guide in Santa Fe, specializing in adventure travel and historic and cultural interpretation. He leads the Willa Cather’s Santa Fe tour, teaches stargazing, and leads many other tours.  
Saturday May 23, 2026 9:00pm - 9:45pm MDT
OUTDOOR (Near Center for the Arts)
 
Sunday, May 24
 

9:00am MDT

Novel Conversation- Skylark with Paula McLain and Shelley Read
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Acclaimed author of the books The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun, and Love and Ruin, Paula McLain sits down with Colorado author Shelley Read to discuss her newest novel, Skylark. The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during...
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Speakers
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read is the author of the international bestselling debut novel Go As A River, translated into thirty-four languages and featured on bestseller lists worldwide. The novel won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, and... Read More →
avatar for Paula McLain

Paula McLain

Paula McLain is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun, and Love and Ruin, as well as two collections of poetry and a memoir. Her work has been published in over thirty-five countries, and featured in The New York Times, The... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Steddy Theater

9:00am MDT

Map Your Memoir Part 1 - Orientation
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Take your Pantsing and Planning to the next level and become a Mapper instead. In this two-part seminar, writing coaches Doug Kurtz and Dan Manzanares will introduce you to the Story Map, their breakthrough tool that helps memoirists of all stripes and skill levels unlock the potential of their books. Part 1, Orientation, is an introduction to the Story Map and how to use it, followed by an open...
See More →
Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares is an award-winning literary arts advocate and educator. He received his MFA with a concentration in genre fiction from Western Colorado University. For years, he worked on staff at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative... Read More →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz has spent nearly three decades teaching writers in universities, nonprofits, international retreats, and through his coaching practice. He is the co-creator of the Story Map, a holistic methodology that helps novelists write deeply impactful books. His clients have signed... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

9:00am MDT

Poetry with Suzi Q Smith
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Join Denver based poet, writer, storyteller, organizer, and activist, Suzi Q. Smith for a poetry workshop to remember.
Speakers
avatar for Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith is an award-winning author, artist, educator, and organizer who lives in Denver, Colorado. While primarily known for her poetry, Suzi is also a singer-songwriter, playwright, and interdisciplinary creative. She has created, curated, coached, and taught for over 20 years... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Hawk Studio

10:15am MDT

Novel Conversation-How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder with Nina McConigley and Megha Majumdar
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Nina McConigley, the West's brightest literary star will share her new novel, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder. Join her and award winning writer, Megha Majumdar in this lively discussion of McConigley's work.  NOTE: This will be a shorter session without q&a. Nina will be available for questions at the Townie Books signing table afterwards. How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is...
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Speakers
avatar for Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley is an award-winning writer whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural intersections in the American West. She is the author of Cowboys and East Indians, which won the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, and her work has appeared in The New... Read More →
avatar for Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar is the author of the novel "A Guardian and a Thief," which was named a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize, and selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Her debut novel, the New York Times bestseller “A Burning,” was nominated for the National Book... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:00am MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

10:15am MDT

The Bible Says So with Dan McClellan and Ian Wrisley with special Music Performance
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Bible scholar and popular TikToker Dan McClellan confronts misconceptions about the Bible.The Bible is the world’s most influential book, but do we really know what it says? Every day across social media and in homes, businesses, and public spaces, people try to cut debate short by claiming that "the Bible says so!" However, they commonly disagree about what it actually does and doesn't say,...
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Speakers
avatar for Ian Wrisley

Ian Wrisley

Ian Wrisley is the pastor of the Gunnison Congregational Church. His family has lived in the Valley for nearly a decade. He has been involved in various ministries, local organizations, the Crested Butte Mountain Theatre, and he has worked as a carpenter, as well.

Ian tends toward caution when talking about God — everyone means something a little different. Recently, this word, “numinous,” has started showing up in his thinking, his conversation. It means hinting at divinity, and he thinks that’s a good way to think about all of life... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Steddy Theater

10:15am MDT

Building a Sustainable Writing and Editing Group
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
I have two writing degrees and have taken tons of other writing workshops, but for the last twelve years, our weekly writing group has been the absolute best thing for my writing career/life. Inspired by the Soulquarians music collective and Gail McGuire and Jo Reger’s ideas of Feminist Co-Mentoring, we’ll discuss a possible model for a writing group that centers collaboration, longevity, and...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Dunn

Steven Dunn

A 2021 Whiting Award winner, and shortlisted for Granta magazine’s “Best of Young American Novelists,” Steven Dunn is the author of two books from Tarpaulin Sky Press: water & power (2018) and Potted Meat, which was a co-winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards, a finalist... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Hawk Studio

10:15am MDT

Map Your Memoir Part 2 - Implementation
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Take your Pantsing and Planning to the next level and become a Mapper instead. In this two-part seminar, writing coaches Doug Kurtz and Dan Manzanares will introduce you to the Story Map, their breakthrough tool that helps memoirists of all stripes and skill levels unlock the potential of their books. Part 1, Orientation, is an introduction to the Story Map and how to use it, followed by an open...
See More →
Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares is an award-winning literary arts advocate and educator. He received his MFA with a concentration in genre fiction from Western Colorado University. For years, he worked on staff at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative... Read More →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz

Doug Kurtz has spent nearly three decades teaching writers in universities, nonprofits, international retreats, and through his coaching practice. He is the co-creator of the Story Map, a holistic methodology that helps novelists write deeply impactful books. His clients have signed... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

10:15am MDT

Four Poets Read
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Four poets of at the height of their prowess with the written word come together to share their voices with the community. Join Karen Terrey, Suzi Q Smith, Erica Reid, and Wendy Videlock as they each read a selection of poems that celebrate the written and spoken word. 
Speakers
avatar for Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith

Suzi Q. Smith is an award-winning author, artist, educator, and organizer who lives in Denver, Colorado. While primarily known for her poetry, Suzi is also a singer-songwriter, playwright, and interdisciplinary creative. She has created, curated, coached, and taught for over 20 years... Read More →
avatar for Erica Reid

Erica Reid

Erica Reid is the author of Ghost Man on Second, winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize (Autumn House Press, 2024). Erica’s poems appear in Rattle,Cherry Tree, Colorado Review, and more. Erica is a 2025 Fellow at the Vermont Center for the Creative Arts and teaches in Western... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock

Wendy Videlock lives on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies. Her poems, reviews and essays appear most notably in Best American Poetry, the New York Times, Hudson Review, Rattle and O Magazine. Her syndicated newspaper column, The Barefoot Laureate, appears across the Four Corner... Read More →
avatar for Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey serves as Poet Laureate for Nevada County, CA, where her mission is to support a welcoming arts community that encourages collaboration and growth. She's an editor and writing coach, offering creative writing workshops online and in Truckee through her business, Tangled... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Grace Atrium

11:30am MDT

Ramona Ausubel UNSTUCK! A Writer's Guide
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Unstuck: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page is about staying in love with your writing: feeling excited, mischievous, productive, and hopeful—the opposite of being stuck.Critically acclaimed, award-winning author and beloved teacher Ramona Ausubel offers 101 exercises that promise to welcome you back to the page again and again; to reinvigorate your process and help...
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Speakers
avatar for Ramona Ausubel

Ramona Ausubel

Ramona Ausubel’s fifth book, The Last Animal was a national bestseller, a Barnes & Noble book of the month and named a best book of 2023 by NPR, Kirkus and the Oprah quarterly. Her previous books are Awayland: stories, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, A Guide to Being Born... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

11:30am MDT

Poetry with Erica Reid: Plains Poems & Prairie Tarot
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Poet Erica Reid returns to Mountain Words with another excellent generative poetry workshop.Class begins with an exploration of prairie poems old and new, from poets including Emily Dickinson, Heid E. Erdrich, and Camille Dungy. Afterwards we will generate plains-flavored poems of our own, aided by a prairie-specific divination deck that includes thistle for patience, hawks for insight, fire for...
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Speakers
avatar for Erica Reid

Erica Reid

Erica Reid is the author of Ghost Man on Second, winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize (Autumn House Press, 2024). Erica’s poems appear in Rattle,Cherry Tree, Colorado Review, and more. Erica is a 2025 Fellow at the Vermont Center for the Creative Arts and teaches in Western... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Hawk Studio

11:45am MDT

River Selby in Conversation with Laura Krantz HOTSHOT: A Life On Fire
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:45am - 12:45pm MDT
From 2000 to 2010, River Selby was a wildland firefighter whose given name was Anastasia. This is a memoir of that time in their life—of Ana, the struggles she encountered, and the constraints of what it means to be female-bodied in a male-dominated industry. An illuminating debut from a fierce new voice, Hotshot is a timely reckoning with both the personal and environmental dangers of wildland...
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Speakers
avatar for River Selby

River Selby

River Selby worked as a hotshot and wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD. Their work has been published in Vox... Read More →
avatar for Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz

Laura Krantz is a journalist, editor and producer, in both radio and print, and co-founder of Foxtopus Ink. Her podcast, Wild Thing has received critical acclaim from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic, which named it one of the best 50 podcasts in 2018 and 2020... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 11:45am - 12:45pm MDT
Steddy Theater

1:30pm MDT

Fiction workshop with Nina McConigley
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Fiction workshop with Nina McConigley
Speakers
avatar for Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley is an award-winning writer whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural intersections in the American West. She is the author of Cowboys and East Indians, which won the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award, and her work has appeared in The New... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
King Room 606 Sixth St. Crested Butte, CO 81224

1:30pm MDT

On Fire for God: Fear, Shame, Poverty, and the Making of the Christian Right – a Personal History with Josiah Hesse and Ian Wrisley
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
One part Educated, one part rebuttal to Hillbilly Elegy, On Fire for God explores the ways evangelical Christianity has preyed upon its followers while galvanizing them into the political force known today as the Christian right.“Of all the books I’ve read about young people devastated by the fundamentalist religion they’ve grown up with, this one stands out.”­— Frances FitzGerald,...
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Speakers
avatar for Josiah Hesse

Josiah Hesse

Josiah Hesse is an author and journalist from Denver, Colorado, whose work has appeared in Vice, Esquire, Politico, and The Guardian. Hesse casts a wide net in his journalistic curiosities, covering everything from science, crime and politics, to pop culture, the arts, sex and drugs... Read More →
avatar for Ian Wrisley

Ian Wrisley

Ian Wrisley is the pastor of the Gunnison Congregational Church. His family has lived in the Valley for nearly a decade. He has been involved in various ministries, local organizations, the Crested Butte Mountain Theatre, and he has worked as a carpenter, as well.

Ian tends toward caution when talking about God — everyone means something a little different. Recently, this word, “numinous,” has started showing up in his thinking, his conversation. It means hinting at divinity, and he thinks that’s a good way to think about all of life... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Steddy Theater

1:30pm MDT

What Kind of Essay Are You? With River Selby
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
What Kind of Essay Are You?The essay is a dynamic and flexible structure, capable of doing anything the writer wishes...but figuring out what one wants the essay to do can be quite difficult! In this workshop, we'll look at a few innovative essay moments and discuss how to approach the essay as an extension of the self, extending a question into the world and diving into the mystery. This is not a...
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Speakers
avatar for River Selby

River Selby

River Selby worked as a hotshot and wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD. Their work has been published in Vox... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Hawk Studio

2:45pm MDT

Fiction with Shelley Read
Sunday May 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT

Speakers
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read is the author of the international bestselling debut novel Go As A River, translated into thirty-four languages and featured on bestseller lists worldwide. The novel won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, and... Read More →
Sunday May 24, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm MDT
Jones Performance Hall 606 Sixth St, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA
 
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