Kent Nelson, writer of literary
and eco-fiction
Kent Nelson, birding in Big Bend, TX
Kent Nelson Bio
Kent Nelson is the author of four novels and six story collections. His work has earned wide acclaim, including the Colorado Book Award and the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still, the Edward Abbey Prize for Ecofiction for Language in the Blood, and the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize for The Spirit Bird. His fiction, shaped by place, environmental, and social themes, has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, Pushcart, and The O. Henry Awards, as well as many other anthologies and respected literary magazines.
A Yale graduate and Harvard-trained environmental lawyer, Nelson has also worked as a doorman, dishwasher, tennis pro, innkeeper, city judge, ad salesman, and hired man on an alfalfa ranch—experiences that have informed his characters and landscapes. His extensive travel to find birds has enabled him to use many different landscapes for his stories. His bird list in North America is 771 species.
Nelson played varsity ice hockey and tennis in college, was ranked 6th in the U.S. in age-group squash, and has run five marathons, including the Pikes Peak marathon twice.
He lives in the mountain town of Ouray, Colorado.
Critical Praise
“Kent Nelson has published more short stories than almost any other American writer in our time. His descriptions of land and light create perfect backgrounds for characters, both men and women, who struggle to find meaningful ways to live their lives.”
Kent Haruf, author of Plainsong
Photos Below
Kent Nelson and daughter Alvie
Nelson and daughter Alvie in Ouray, Colorado
Nelson in his writing studio
Birder Kent Nelson
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Kent Nelson