Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship
Exploring the Greater Yellowstone Region Through Storytelling
The Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship is a prestigious $3,500 award open to creative writers and journalists whose work demonstrates a deep commitment to the Greater Yellowstone region. This national opportunity supports projects that thoughtfully explore the intersection of science, education, conservation, and current events to elevate the region’s natural and societal significance through compelling storytelling.
Eligible applicants include poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, photojournalists, videographers, documentary filmmakers, and other journalists working in print or online media. The selected fellow will be expected to create or complete a publishable or produced work and may be invited to give public presentations. In addition to the financial award, recipients may opt into a one-week housing residency at a prearranged location within the Greater Yellowstone region, based on availability. Both established and emerging writers are encouraged to apply.
History of this Fellowship
The Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship was established in 2019 by Earle Layser in memory of his late wife, Pattie Layser. Their story—one of love, loss, and a shared passion for the natural world—was chronicled in Earle’s memoir Darkness Follows Light. The fellowship honors Pattie’s adventurous spirit, artistic vision, and commitment to the Greater Yellowstone region.
A gallery owner in Bozeman, Montana, Pattie fell in love with the outdoors later in life, embracing fly fishing, mountain biking, paddling, and backcountry travel alongside Earle. Together, they spent over two decades exploring and writing about the landscapes they cherished. Even through hardship—including both partners facing cancer diagnoses—their shared dedication to living fully and expressing that joy through writing endured.
Pattie’s voice, preserved in notes, letters, and Earle’s own storytelling, continues to inspire this fellowship. Through this award, her legacy lives on by encouraging thoughtful, creative exploration of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—one of the world’s most iconic and fragile natural regions.
Grant Guidelines
- $3,500 annual fellowship award
- Open to writers and journalists (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, photojournalism, video, documentary, print/online media)
- Accepting work in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, journalism, photojournalism, videography, and documentary
- Intended for those demonstrating meaningful engagement with the Greater Yellowstone region
- Includes optional one-week residency at select locations within the region (based on availability)
- Recipient may be encouraged to give public presentations
- Coordinated through the Wyoming Arts Council; no Wyoming residency required
- Applications reviewed by a panel of literary and journalism professionals
Eligibility and Funding Requirements
Before applying, all applicants must review the Wyoming Arts Council’s Grant Guidelines to ensure eligibility and understand the application process. This fellowship is open to:
- Wyoming residency is not required
- Established, emerging, and mid-career creative writers and journalists
- Applicants who can demonstrate serious inquiry and dedication to the Greater Yellowstone region
- Applicants who are not full-time students or current faculty members
How to Apply
The application period for this fellowship is currently closed. It will reopen in September 2026.
Timeline
- Application Opens: September
- Application Closes: October/November
- Recipients Notified: January
- Project and optional residency period: Spring–Summer of the following year
2026 Fellowship Recipient
John Clayton has been named the recipient of the 2026 Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship for his project, Yellowstone’s Greatest Art. His work was selected for its thoughtful inquiry and deep engagement with the cultural and environmental significance of the Greater Yellowstone region.
Clayton is the author of Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon, which will be reissued in paperback in early 2026. Through the fellowship, he will complete Yellowstone’s Greatest Art, supporting research for his forthcoming book, The Auto-Biography of Yellowstone: How Cars Continually Transform America’s Natural Treasure, scheduled for publication by Bison Books in 2027. As part of the award, Clayton will also have the opportunity to participate in a housing residency within the Greater Yellowstone region.
A longtime resident of the Greater Yellowstone area since 1990, Clayton’s previous works include The Cowboy Girl, Stories from Montana’s Enduring Frontier, and Natural Rivals. He is a regular contributor to Mountain Journal, Big Sky Journal, Montana Quarterly, and WyoHistory.org, and publishes a weekly newsletter, Natural Stories.
Honorable Mentions
- Shawnee Real Bird (Busby, Montana) for Horse Across Way
- Brian Beauvais (Cody, Wyoming) for Sportsmen, Market Hunters, and Game Hogs
Meet the 2026 Jurors
Kim Barnes spent her childhood in the logging camps and small towns along the North Fork of Idaho’s Clearwater River. Her first memoir, In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the PEN/Jerard Fund Award for Nonfiction. In addition to a second memoir, she is the author of three novels, including A Country Called Home, winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Fiction; and In the Kingdom of Men, a story set in the 1960s oil camps of Saudi Arabia, long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her essays, poems, and stories have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, including The New York Times, WSJ, The Georgia Review, Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Oprah Magazine, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. A recipient of the Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and a University of Idaho Distinguished Professor Emerita, she lives with her husband in the mountains of northern Idaho.
Steve Coughlin has published two full-length collections of poetry, Another City and Deep Cuts, as well as a chapbook, Driving at Twilight. His poems and essays have appeared in several notable literary journals and magazines, including the Gettysburg Review, New Ohio Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast, and Slate. Coughlin directs the undergraduate Creative Writing program at Western Colorado University and also teaches in the Nature Writing concentration in Western’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. Since 2020, Coughlin has served as editor of Western Press Books. He lives in Gunnison, Colorado, with his wife and daughter.
Previous Layser Fellowship Recipients
2026: John Clayton of Red Lodge, MT
2025: Gregory Nickerson of Laramie, WY
2024: Todd Burritt of Livingston, MT
2023: Austin Kirchhoff, Bozeman, MT
2022: Katie Christiansen, Evergreen, CO
2021: Hannah Habermann, Jackson, WY
2020: Sarah Keller, Bozeman, MT
2019: Melodie Edwards, Laramie, WY
