Today I’d like to introduce a Northern Colorado native, Laura Pritchett. Novelist, writing coach and workshop instructor, editor, and environmental writer — her list of accomplishments is long and her work highly respected in this neck of the woods.

As Novelist and Short Story Author:

Sky Bridge was a winner of the WILLA Literary Award and a finalist for the Dublin International Award and the Colorado Book Award.

“A supermarket clerk in a small dusty town, 22-year-old Libby is full of dreams but lacks the means to pursue them. When her younger sister Tess becomes pregnant, Libby convinces her not to have an abortion by promising to raise the child herself. But then Tess takes off after the baby is born and Libby finds that her new role puts her dreams that much further away. Her already haphazard life becomes ever more chaotic. The baby’s father, a Christian rodeo rider, suddenly demands custody.”

A collection of short stories, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, won the PEN USA award and the Milkweed National Fiction Prize.

“On Hell’s Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a ‘little hell swirled with their heaven’ and men like Ben, her husband, who’s ‘gotten used to smoothing over Renny’s excesses.’ There is a daughter who plays it too safe and a daughter plagued by only ‘half-wanting’ what life has to offer. The ranch has been the site of birth and deaths of both cattle and children, as well as moments of amazing harmony and clear vision. Focusing on one extended ranching family in Colorado, this book balances gritty material with genuine warmth and understanding of character.”

As Editor:

“With its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park and flowing down Poudre Canyon, through Fort Collins, and out to the South Platte River near Greeley, the Cache la Poudre’s future is in jeopardy. Moved by their love for the river, and filled with hopeful optimism for its restoration, (Gary) Wockner and (Laura) Pritchett sent out invitations to writers and poets in Northern Colorado . These contributions became Pulse of the River, and all royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to the Colorado Water Trust, the organization setting the most realistic goals for the future of sustainable Colorado rivers.”

“All Americans, whether they live in city or country, whether they lean politically left or right, whether they prize open space for the view or the productive capacity of the land, and whether they know a Hereford from an Angus, should read this book. If you care about the West, you must care about the lands of the West—lands that are disappearing rapidly, along with the people and cultures that go along with it. This book brings together the best writers in the West today—poets, ranchers, and conservationists—in a one-of-a-kind, unique look at the West, literally our Home Land. All royalties from this book are being donated to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.” Edited with Richard Knight and Jeff Lee.

“Never mind the Ph.D. and middle-class trappings—Laura Pritchett is a Dumpster diver and proud of it. Ever since she was old enough to navigate the contents of a metal bin, she has reveled in the treasures found in other people’s cast-offs. For Going Green, Pritchett has gathered over twenty writers to tell their personal stories of Dumpster diving, eating road kill, salvaging plastic from the beach, and forgoing another trip to the mall for the thrill of bargain hunting at yard sales and flea markets. They look not just at the many ways people glean but also at the larger, thornier issues dealing with what re-using—or not—says about our culture and priorities.”

For more about Laura’s books, visit her website. She is currently working on three books: a new novel entitled Blue Moon Mountain, a memoir called The Normal One, and an anthology about sex and nature.