Laura Pritchett

Laura Pritchett grew up on a small ranch in northern Colorado. She received her BA and MA in English at Colorado State University in 1995.[https://www.laurapritchett.com/about] She has a PhD in English with an emphasis in Contemporary American Literature and Creative Writing from Purdue University.{{cite web|url=http://lib.colostate.edu/develop/events/2006/toc/pritchett.html|title=Laura Pritchett|author=Gregory Vogl|publisher=Lib.colostate.edu|access-date=January 9, 2015}}

In 2024 she released two books: [https://books.google.com/books?id=S-vtEAAAQBAJ Playing with (Wild)Fire], released by [https://www.torreyhouse.org/product-page/playing-with-wildfire Torrey House Press] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=aHnjEAAAQBAJ Three Keys], released by Ballantine. Her 2014 novel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DXCQEAAAQBAJ Stars Go Blue], released by Counterpoint, was heavily inspired by her father's struggle with Alzheimer's disease and the impact of his disease on her extended family. The book had an enthusiastic critical reception, including starred reviews from Booklist, and Library Journal. It won the High Plains Literary Award and was a finalist for several others. Her other novels include [https://books.google.com/books?id=yA-uDQAAQBAJ The Blue Hour], [https://books.google.com/books?id=m3zioQEACAAJ Red Lightning], [https://books.google.com/books?id=s2MUnwEACAAJ Sky Bridge], and [https://books.google.com/books?id=LWkYlet2MTsC&dq=hell%27s+bottom+colorado&pg=PP1 Hell’s Bottom, Colorado], which won the PEN USA Award for Fiction{{Cite web |date=2018-12-19 |title=Past Winners |url=https://pen.org/literary-awards/past-winners/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=PEN America |language=en}} and the Milkweed National Fiction Prize.{{Cite web |title=Laura Pritchett |url=https://western.edu/people/laura-pritchett-phd/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=Western Colorado University |language=en-US}}

Pritchett also writes for several magazines, most often about environmental issues in the American West.{{cite web|url=http://thenormalschool.com/?page_id=144|title=The Normal People|publisher=Thenormalschool.com|access-date=January 9, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.5280.com/tag/authors/laura-pritchett|title=Laura Pritchett|publisher=5280.com|access-date=January 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109163508/http://www.5280.com/tag/authors/laura-pritchett|archive-date=January 9, 2015|url-status=dead}} She was a regular columnist with The Colorado Sun.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-11 |title=Laura Pritchett, Author at The Colorado Sun |url=https://coloradosun.com/author/laura-pritchett/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=The Colorado Sun |language=en-US}}

She teaches for writing programs around the United States and is the Director of the Nature Writing MFA program at Western Colorado University.{{cite web|url=https://lighthousewriters.org/person/facdetail/person/173/name/laura_pritchett_phd/|title=Lighthouse Writers Workshop - Laura Pritchett, PhD|publisher=Lighthousewriters.org|access-date=January 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109162649/https://lighthousewriters.org/person/facdetail/person/173/name/laura_pritchett_phd/|archive-date=January 9, 2015|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=Laura Pritchett |url=https://western.edu/people/laura-pritchett-phd/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Western Colorado University |language=en-US}}

• Milkweed National Fiction Prize, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, 2001.{{Cite web|url=http://milkweed.org/authors/laura-pritchett/|title = Laura Pritchett|date = October 4, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://ouray.colibraries.org/award-winning-books/milkweed-prize-winners.html|title=Milkweed Prize Winners|publisher=Ouray.colibraries.org|access-date=January 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109162257/http://ouray.colibraries.org/award-winning-books/milkweed-prize-winners.html|archive-date=January 9, 2015|url-status=dead}}
• PEN USA West Literary Award for Fiction, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.penusa.org/hells-bottom-colorado|title=Hell's Bottom, Colorado|publisher=Penusa.org|access-date=January 9, 2015}}
• WILLA Literary Award for Sky Bridge, 2006.{{cite web|publisher=Womenwritingthewest.org|title=2006 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists|url=http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/pdffiles/2011/willa/2006%20WILLA%20Winners-Finalists.pdf|access-date=9 January 2015}}
• Colorado Book Award, Home Land: Ranching and a West That Works, 2007. (anthology){{Cite web |url=http://www.coloradohumanities.org/content/colorado-book-awards-history |title=Colorado Book Awards History | Colorado Humanities |access-date=April 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119202212/http://www.coloradohumanities.org/content/colorado-book-awards-history |archive-date=November 19, 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• High Plains Book Awards, Stars Go Blue, 2015.{{Cite web |title=Winners |url=https://highplainsbookawards.org/winners/#2015 |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=highplainsbookawards.org}}
• Booklist Editor’s Choice, The Blue Hour, 2017.{{Cite book |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice-Adult-Books-2017/pid=9320420 |title=Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2017, by {{!}} Booklist Online}}
• Colorado Book Award, The Blue Hour, 2018

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=LWkYlet2MTsC&dq=hell%27s+bottom+colorado&pg=PP1 Hell’s Bottom, Colorado] Milkweed Editions. 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-57131-036-1}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=s2MUnwEACAAJ Sky Bridge] Milkweed Editions. 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-57131-054-5}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=DXCQEAAAQBAJ Stars Go Blue] Counterpoint. 2014. {{ISBN|978-1-61902-308-6}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=094REAAAQBAJ Red Lightning] Counterpoint. 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-61902-533-2}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=cH9LEAAAQBAJ The Blue Hour] Counterpoint. 2017. {{ISBN|978-1-61902-889-0}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=S-vtEAAAQBAJ Playing with Wild(fire)] Torrey House Press. 2024. ISBN 1948814900
• [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/736309/three-keys-by-laura-pritchett/ Three Keys] Ballantine Books. 2024. ISBN 9780593724200

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=MvlCngEACAAJ Great Colorado Bear Stories] Riverbend Publishing. 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-60639-051-1}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=2LuvDgAAQBAJ Making Friends with Death: A Field Guide for Your Impending Last Breath (to be read, ideally, before it's imminent!)] Simon and Schuster. 2017. ISBN 9781632280602

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=FbZN7qf3lQIC&dq=pulse+of+the+river+laura+pritchett&pg=PR3 Pulse of the River: Colorado Writers Speak for the Endangered Cache la Poudre] Co-editor, contributor. Big Earth Publishing. 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-55566-392-6}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=aBq3_gWcyEIC&dq=home+land%3A+ranching+and+a+west&pg=PP1 Home Land: Ranching and a West that Works] Co-editor, contributor. Johnson Books. 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-55566-400-8}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhnmMoKZEUkC&dq=going+green+laura+pritchett&pg=PP1 Going Green: True Tales from Gleaners, Scavengers, and Dumpster Divers] Editor, contributor. University of Oklahoma Press. 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-80614-013-1}}

• [https://thesunmagazine.org/issues/282/dry-roots "Dry Roots," The Sun, June 1999.]
• [https://thesunmagazine.org/issues/291/last-bid "Last Bid," The Sun, March 2000.]
• [https://thesunmagazine.org/issues/368/under-the-apple-tree "Under the Apple Tree," The Sun, August 2006.]
• [https://www.thenormalschool.com/volume-1-issue-1 "Painting the Constellations,"] The Normal School, Issue 1, 2008. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize{{cite web|url=http://thenormalschoolblog.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/pushcart-time.html|title=The Normal School|author=T. Marlin Normal|date=December 2, 2008|publisher=Thenormalschoolblog.blogspot.co.uk|access-date=January 9, 2015}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214859/http://www.therocky.com/news/2008/nov/10/color-impression/ "The Color of the Impression," The Rocky Mountain News, November 2008.] Adapted for Stories on Stage in "A Colorado Collection".{{cite web|url=http://blogs.denverpost.com/runninglines/2011/08/06/stories-on-stage-another-all-star-lineup-in-2011-12/3656/|title=Stories on Stage: Another all-star lineup in 2011-12|work=Running Lines|date=January 28, 2013|access-date=January 9, 2015}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140525063628/http://www.thepinchjournal.com/issue/past-issues/ "The Sky Behind the Trees," The Pinch, Spring 2010.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140513011012/http://highdesertjournal.com/print-issue/high-desert-journal-12/ "Plan B," High Desert Journal, Fall 2010.]
• [http://thenormalschool.com/index.php/i-am-the-devil-by-laura-pritchett/ "I Am the Devil," The Normal School, Spring 2011.]
• [http://www.spiltinfinitive.com/imaginary-me/#.U2ulV61dXno "Imaginary Me," Split Infinitive, September 2013.]
• [https://www.thenormalschool.com/volume-12-issue-1 "One, Two, Three," The Normal School, Spring 2019.]
• [https://tinyseedjournal.com/2020/12/28/spring-thunderstorm/ "Spring Thunderstorm," Tiny Seed Literary Journal, December 2020.]
• [https://www.camasmagazine.org/shop/current-issue “Calling Mother Earth,” Camas, Winter 2021.]
• [https://issuu.com/sfcc_pubs/docs/2022_sfcc_2020-literary-review_inside “Bluestem,” Santa Fe Literary Review, June 2022.]
• [https://www.terrain.org/2024/fiction/sleeping-bear-speaks-to-nova/ "Sleeping Bear Speaks to Nova," Terrain, February 2024.]
• [https://ecotonemagazine.org/ "Deer in the Poppies," Ecotone, 2024.]

• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/318/16194 "Resurrecting J. Thomas," High Country News, March 2006.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215223/http://highdesertjournal.com/print-issue/high-desert-journal-10/ "Wildfire Stars," High Desert Journal, Issue 10, Fall 2009.]
• [http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/409 "The Bird at the Window," The Sun Magazine, Issue 409, January 2010.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/42.8/little-doses-of-danger "Little Doses of Danger," High Country News, May 2010.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/42.16/the-western-lit-blues "The Western Lit Blues," High Country News, September 2010.]
• [http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/431/drag "Drag," The Sun Magazine, November 2011.]
• [http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.20/can-an-old-mine-become-a-work-of-art "Can an Old Mine be a Work of Art?" High Country News, November 2011.]
• [http://www.hcn.org/issues/44.3/i-dont-love-my-dog "I Don’t Love My Dog," High Country News, February 2012.]
• [http://www.pw.org/content/seven_days_on_playas_new_planet_notes_from_the_edge_of_the_writing_world "Seven Days on Playa's New Planet: Notes From the Edge of the Writing World," Poets & Writers, March/April 2012.]
• [http://www.salon.com/2012/07/26/when_the_fires_came_for_us/ "When the Fires Came for Us," Salon, July 2012.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140509065555/http://www.5280.com/magazine/2012/09/bridging-gap "Sustainable Living Fair: Bridging the Gap," 5280: The Denver Magazine, September 2012.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/46.2/an-ode-to-snow "An Ode to Snow," High Country News, February 2014.]
• [https://www.oprah.com/spirit/how-to-care-for-elderly-parents-elder-care/all “Caregiving: I’ll do it my way,” O Magazine, November 2014.]
• [https://tinhouse.com/the-last-memory/ "The Last Memory," Tin House, June 2014.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/47-16/writing-beyond-the-reservation-stereotype/ “A QA with Native American Author Erika Wurth,” High Country News, September 2015.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/articles/he-didnt-die-with-dignity-so-i-threw-a-party/ “My father’s death did not have dignity (so I threw a party),” Writers on the Range, 2015.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/47-19/an-ode-to-germs-guts-and-gardens/ “An Ode to Gardens and Dirt,” High Country News, November 2015.]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/style/modern-love-no-sound-no-fury-no-marriage.html “No sound, no fury, no marriage.” New York Times, Modern Love. May 2016.]
• [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/72439-a-writer-s-tip-for-writing-better-sex-scenes-steal.html “A Writer's Tip for Writing Better Sex Scenes,” Publisher’s Weekly, January 2017.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/articles/breathing-again-after-an-unexpected-election/ “Breathing Again,” High Country News, Writers on Range, February 2017.]
• [https://bloomsite.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/the-middle-ages/ “The Middle Ages: Sex Scenes of the Middle Aged in Literature,” Bloom, February 2017.]
• [https://lithub.com/the-great-west-has-more-than-one-story-to-tell/ “The Great West Has More than One Story to Tell,” Literary Hub, February 2017.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/49-19/what-would-you-do-if-the-world-was-ending/ “Thoughts on the End of the World,” co-written with Ana Maria Spagna, High Country News, November 2017.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/issues/50-2/essays-on-love-in-death-valley-and-whats-been-lost/ “On Love in Death Valley: And What’s Been Lost,” High Country News, February 2018.]
• [https://readwildness.com/12/pritchett-migrations "Migrations,” Wildness Literary Journal, February 2018.]
• [https://www.cowboysindians.com/2019/03/the-west-on-wheels-climbing-mountains-side-by-side/ “The West on Wheels: Climbing Colorado’s Mountains,” Cowboys and Indians Magazine, March 2019.]
• [https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/23/write-on-laura-pritchett-coronavirus-colorado/ “Write On, Colorado,” The Colorado Sun, March 2020.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/articles/opinion-wildfire-colorados-wildfires-require-a-drastic-and-collective-fix/ “Wildfires Need a Collective Fix,” Writers on the Range, October 2020.]
• [https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/541/play-hands “Play, Hands,” The Sun Magazine, January 2021.]
• “[https://deepwildjournal.com/2021/06/29/dieback-beetlekill/ Dieback, Beetlekill,” Deep Wild, June 2021.] Nominated for a Pushcart.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-19 |title=Our 2021 Pushcart Prize Nominations! |url=https://deepwildjournal.com/2021/11/19/our-2021-pushcart-prize-nominations/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Deep Wild Journal |language=en}}
• [https://www.terrain.org/2021/nonfiction/ten-seconds/ “Ten Seconds,” Terrain, October 2021.]
• [https://writersontherange.org/telling-the-truth-about-the-way-we-live-now/ "GenDread writers try to tell the truth about the way we live now,” Writers on the Range, November 2021.]
• [https://creativenonfiction.org/writing/renovations/ "Renovations," Creative Nonfiction, Spring 2022.] Nominated for a Pushcart.{{Cite web |title=LAURA PRITCHETT |url=https://www.laurapritchett.com/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=LAURA PRITCHETT |language=en-US}}
• [https://orionmagazine.org/article/in-defense-of-facebook/ "In Defense of Facebook," cowritten with CMarie Fuhrman, Orion Magazine, 2023.]
• [https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2024/06/02/man-bear-question-tiktok-women-safety/73922718007/ "Bear v. Man," USA Today, June 2, 2024.]
• "The Wild and Urgent Power of Words: Capturing Climate Chaos in Fiction," She Writes, July 2024.
• [https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-08-05/united-states-mexico-border-immigration-migrants "Opinion: When it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border, can people think beyond politics?" Los Angeles Times, August 2024.]

• [https://www.laurapritchett.com/dirt-a-terra-nova-expedition Dirt: A Terra Nova Expedition] premiered at [https://basbleu.org/ Bas Bleu Theatre]. 2018.{{Cite web |title="Dirt: A Terra Nova Expedition" Premieres at Bas Bleu theatre |url=https://fortcollinschamber.com/news/dirt-a-terra-nova-expedition-premieres-at-bas-bleu-theatre/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Maddie |title=CSU alumna Laura Pritchett's play, 'Dirt, A Terra Nova Expedition,' to open at Bas Bleu Thursday |url=https://collegian.com/articles/aande/2018/04/csu-alumna-laura-pritchetts-play-dirt-a-terra-nova-expedition-to-open-at-bas-bleu-thursday/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=The Rocky Mountain Collegian}}

• [https://www.cpr.org/news/story/how-beat-writer-s-block "How to Beat Writer's Block," Colorado Public Radio, June 2014.]
• [http://fictionwritersreview.com/interview/grafting-experiences-like-hides-a-conversation-with-laura-pritchett/ "Grafting Experiences Like Hides: A Conversation with Laura Pritchett," Fiction Writers Review, June 2014.]
• [https://www.westword.com/arts/laura-pritchett-on-writing-about-sex-winning-prizes-and-bringing-back-grizzly-bears-10761551 "Laura Pritchett on Sex, Writing Without Limits and Bringing Back Grizzly Bears," Westword, September 2018.]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa45LXflWHo "Jaipur Literature Festival," Colorado & Company, September 2018.]
• [https://coloradosun.com/2024/02/11/sunlit-laura-pritchett-playing-with-wildfire/ "Laura Pritchett’s fiction spurred empathy for real wildfire experience," The Colorado Sun, February 2024.]
• [https://omny.fm/shows/the-colorado-sun/colorado-author-laura-pritchett-talks-about-her-ne?fbclid=PAAaabGmQbd1K-bJEf0aml6pmTXQCAD2O7zu1LFvwydtA0s9E4_HAlJBMXHxQ "Colorado author Laura Pritchett talks about her new novel "Playing with (Wild)fire,"" The Daily Sun-Up, February 2024.]
• [https://www.hcn.org/articles/during-climate-chaos-a-witness-and-champion-of-the-west/ "During climate chaos, a witness and champion of the West," High Country News, February 2024.]
• [https://www.kvnf.org/show/the-pen-and-the-sword/2024-03-12/laura-pritchett-discusses-her-new-novel-playing-with-wildfire "Laura Pritchett discusses her new novel Playing with Wild(fire)," KVNF, March 2024.]
• [https://www.cpr.org/2024/06/10/colorado-author-laura-pritchett-talks-latest-novel-wildfires-covid-and-fiction/ "Wildfires and shared traumas of 2020 inspired Colorado Author Laura Pritchett’s new novel," Colorado Public Radio, June 10, 2024.]
• [https://shewrites.com/the-wild-and-urgent-power-of-words-capturing-climate-chaos-in-fiction/?mc_cid=79b4865fb9&mc_eid=56b1f79c54 "The Wild and Urgent Power of Words: Capturing Climate Chaos in Fiction," She Writes, July 2024.]
• [https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/14/sunlit-laura-pritchett-three-keys/ "Laura Pritchett considered a life of crime — but only in a kind, fictional way," The Colorado Sun, July 14, 2024.]
• [https://dearreader.typepad.com/dear/2024/07/dear-reader-column-july-16-2024.html "Dear Reader Column," Dear Reader, July 16, 2024.]
• [https://www.kvnf.org/show/the-pen-and-the-sword/2024-07-16/laura-pritchett-celebrates-her-new-novel-three-keys "Laura Pritchett celebrates her new novel, Three Keys," KVNF, July 16, 2024.]

• "[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/5-books-will-make-think-means-human 5 books that will make you think about what it means to be human," PBS News Hour, March 2017.]
• [https://fupping.com/natty/2018/04/21/19-books-you-have-to-read-before-you-die/ "19 Books You HAVE To Read Before You Die," Fupping, 2018.]
• [https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-28/american-novels-1001-literary-geography-map-states "A map of 1,001 novels to show us where to find the real America," Los Angeles Times, May 2023.]
• [https://shepherd.com/best-books/delightful-books-about-mama-earth "The best delightful books about Mama Earth," Shepherd, July 2024.]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/books/denver-colorado-books.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb "Read Your Way Around Denver," New York Times, August 2024.]

Playing with Wild(fire)

• [https://www.laurapritchett.com/wildfire-book Starred review from Booklist]
• [https://www.laurapritchett.com/wildfire-book Starred Review from Foreward]

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.laurapritchett.com/ Official website]

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Category:1971 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women writers

Category:21st-century American women