Join the Lewis & Clark Library Foundation and Lewis & Clark Library to celebrate the writing journey of writer Caroline Patterson. The celebration is Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at Lewis & Clark Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana.

Missoula writer Caroline Patterson writes about the West in many genres: novel, short story, essay. While Patterson may be best known for editing Montana Women Writers: A Geography of the Heart—which won a Willa Award—she is just as skilled as a writer. Her novel, The Stone Sister, won the High Plains Book Award for women’s fiction and the 2020 Big Moose Prize for fiction from Black Lawrence Press. Writers William Kittredge praised her “terrific storytelling,” and Susanna Sonnenberg noted that “she is a savvy and gleeful interpreter of the lightning-strike epiphanies that comprise our daily lives.” Patterson’s short story collection, Ballet at the Moose Lodge, illustrates her literary depth. In 2021, Patterson received an Artist’s Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council.

A Stegner Fellow in Fiction from Stanford University, Patterson received fellowships from the Henfield Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Alison Deming Money for Women. She received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana-Missoula, where she studied with the late William Kittredge. Patterson is currently the executive director of the Missoula Writing Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that brings professional writers into western Montana classrooms to teach creative writing. The Collaborative currently reaches 39 tribal and rural schools. In October, Patterson led a writing workshop as part of Lewis & Clark Library’s Community Read.

For more information, visit Patterson’s website at http://carolineepatterson.com/.

Celebrating a Writer's Journey was launched in 2016 to celebrate Helena writer and educator Virginia Reeves, followed by journalist Jim Robbins and poet Melissa Kwasny.  Former Foundation Board member Joe Furshong envisioned this event as a way to learn about and honor local writers who have chosen writing as their life’s journey. Writers share their personal stories of inspiration, persistence, publication, and how writing defines their lives.

A brief reception will follow the presentation and Patterson will have books for sale.

Events at Lewis & Clark Library are always free and open to the public.  Visit us at http://lclibfoundation.org and on Facebook.  For more information, contact Library Director John Finn at (406) 447-6699 or jfinn@lclibrary.org.