2025 Free Events
Pay what you can… or nothing at all.
Access to the festival is central to our mission. The weekend features over 10 free community events including panel discussions, receptions, and readings!
To see the full festival schedule, click here!
Thursday, May 22
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Mountain Words honors one the Gunnison Valley’s most influential writers with the debut of a short film and a medley of guests presenters who have intersected with George Sibley.
Saturday, May 24
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2024 National Book Award Longlister Ernest Scheyder and Land Desk bard Jonathan Thompson take on the most pressing question facing public lands no one is talking about, where will the green future come from? The answer is from the ground and likely beneath our own feet.
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Winner of the Rachel Carson Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism, Ben Goldfarb and WildEarth Guardians Executive Director, Hop Hopkins discuss the human impacts of 40 million miles of roads around the planet on wildlife and how conservationists are working to restore habitats.
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Where do you start as a writer? Is an MFA right for me? How do you publish a poem? What are the different paths to publication? Three writers are here to answer whatever questions you have about writing life and the many paths one can take. (Dan Manzanares, Suzi Q. Smith, Steven Dunn)
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Pulitzer Prize Finalist and MacArthur Fellow Karen Russell joins Colorado State University professor and award winning novelist Ramona Ausubel to discuss Russell’s new novel, The Antidote. Described by Editor and Chief of Knopf as, “a singularly great American novel,” this is a must attend event for Mountain Words 2025.
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National Book Award Finalist, Hugo and Nebula Award winning author Paolo Bacigalupi discusses his newest book, Navola with author Olivia Chadha.
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Journalist Will Cockrell discusses his book, Everest, Inc. The Renegades and Rouges Who Built and Industry at the Top of the World.
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