what she has to say for herself

As a writer, I’ve worn many hats: poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, journalist. It’s been an auspicious journey. Along the way, I was mentored by then US Poet Laureate Howard Nemerov; novelist Harry Crews; and by my parents, accomplished writers in their own right.

My work has been recognized by the Montana Newspaper Association for excellence in the areas of Freedom of Information, Community Service, feature writing, health care, education, history and sports. I am proud to be the recipient of the Silver Gavel Award, a fellow of the Montana Arts Council and a two time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.

I’ve interviewed celebrities, death row inmates, federal judges, bus drivers, divas, other writers, foxhunters, coroners, cops, strippers, ranchers, stockyard workers, hockey players, actors, railroadmen, the man who fired Walter Cronkite, and a lot of regular people with extraordinary stories. My mother says that “Tell Me Your Story” must be written across my forehead, and maybe it is, because people do. And that’s fine, I never get tired of the stories.

A book of essays is in the works, balanced with my other full time endeavors as wife, mother to a gifted cellist, and dog nanny. We live in the Midwest, with a houseful of American Foxhounds and a couple of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

                                                                                                                              ~ Larkin Vonalt