Applications are now open for the next Elk River Writers Workshop, October 18-23, 2026, at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Montana. This year’s faculty include best-selling novelist Jamie Ford; memoirist and poet Deborah Miranda; former Montana poet laureate Chris La Tray; and novelist, educator and “bog steward” Diane Wilson. In addition, the 2026 program has an exciting new feature: a field trip for all students into Yellowstone National Park. Each day of the week, retired Forest Service biologist