American writer (born 1971)
Laura Pritchett is an American author whose work is rooted in the natural world. Known for championing the complex and contemporary American 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, and others. Both her fiction and nonfiction often focus on issues of ecology, conservation, climate change, and social justice issues.
Primarily a novelist, her seven works of fiction hail from various presses, including Ballantine, Counterpoint, Milkweed Editions, and Torrey House. She cites her childhood on a ranch in northern Colorado as a primary influence on both her writing and environmental ethic.
Biography.
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. She has a PhD in English with an emphasis in Contemporary American Literature and Creative Writing from Purdue University.
In 2024 she released two books: Playing with (Wild)Fire, released by Torrey House Press and Three Keys, released by Ballantine. Her 2014 novel, 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 The Blue Hour, Red Lightning, Sky Bridge, and Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, which won the PEN USA Award for Fiction and the Milkweed National Fiction Prize.
Pritchett also writes for several magazines, most often about environmental issues in the American West. She was a regular columnist with The Colorado Sun.
She teaches for writing programs around the United States and is the Director of the Nature Writing MFA program at Western Colorado University.
In the Media.
Critical Reception.
"Playing with Wild(fire)"
References.
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