Workshop
Schedule
2026 Workshop Schedule
Sunday, October 18
2 pm: 406 Shuttle leaves Bozeman airport for Chico (Reservations required – contact Andrea Peacock for details)
2-5 pm: Check-in at Chico Convention Center
*All activities occur at the Chico Convention Center unless otherwise noted
5:30-6 pm: Getting to Know You Happy Hour
6-8 pm: Welcome Dinner with a keynote address by Taylor Brorby
8:30-10 pm: Student readings, Convention Center
Monday, October 19
Morning
7:30-8:45 am: Breakfast
8 am-4 pm: Yellowstone Expedition (group one)
9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)
Afternoon
Noon-1 pm: Lunch
Noon-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open
Think of it as your favorite coffee shop. Browse books, engage in conversation, grab a bottle of wine to share, write, and relax. This space and time are reserved for spontaneous conversation, meet-ups, writing time, or just relaxing in the convention center.
1:30-3 pm: Faculty reading and craft talk
3:30-5 pm: Student readings, Convention Center
Evening
Dinner on your own
7-8:30 pm: Beyond America 250 Salon A guided discussion focusing on oral histories, the power of local narrative, and how stories shape our understanding of place.
Tuesday, October 20
Morning
7:30-8:45 am: Breakfast
8 am-4 pm: Yellowstone Expedition (group two)
9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)
Afternoon
Noon-1 pm: Lunch
1-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open
1:30-3 pm: Faculty reading and craft talk
3:30-5 pm: Student readings, Convention Center
Evening
Dinner on your own
7-8:30 pm: Beyond America 250 Salon – The Wilderness Idea & Deep Time
A ecology panel focusing on the long memory of landscape, and Wilderness as a uniquely American idea that is under siege. We will discuss the deep time of the Yellowstone Caldera, Indigenous stewardship long before 1776, and what true wildness means as America looks to its next 250 years.
Wednesday, October 21
Morning
7:30-8:45 am: Breakfast
8 am-4 pm: Yellowstone Expedition (group three)
9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)
Afternoon
Noon-1 pm: Lunch
Noon-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open
1:30-3 pm: Faculty reading and craft talk
3:30-5 pm: Student readings, Convention Center
Evening
Dinner on your own
7-8:30 pm: Beyond America 250 –The Writer as Witness
A craft-focused panel/conversation: We use this salon to pull back the curtain on the process. Our 2026 faculty discuss how they write the land, how they document environmental shifts, and how they navigate honoring Indigenous history in their work. It gives attendees a deep dive into the diverse voices shaping the next 250 years of American nature writing.
Thursday, October 22
Morning
7:30-8:45 am: Breakfast
8 am-4 pm: Yellowstone Expedition (group four)
9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)
Afternoon
Noon-1 pm: Lunch
1:30-3 pm: Publishers’ Forum – Small group meetings with six literary publishers in the Chico Saloon.
3 – 5:30 pm: Free time! Schedule a massage, ride a horse, go for a hike or … get some writing done!
Evening: Farewell Party
5:30-10 pm: Farewell Party
Beyond America 250: Closing keynote with hearty appetizers: A celebration of the future of American wilderness with a focus on Refugia—finding sanctuary as marginalized people, protecting the wild, and how we build an American landscape that acts as a refuge for the next 250 years.
Cocktails, food, silent auction, music and a whole lot of fun!
Friday, October 23
Breakfast on your own
8 am: 406 Shuttle departs Chico for Bozeman airport (Reservations required – contact Andrea Peacock for details)
11 am: Check out and depart