Nature Writing Concentration
David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota nation and the author of a debut novel garnering an enormous amount of attention, is now a part of the faculty at Western’s MFA / Nature Writing program. Winter Counts, his recently-released crime fiction, is a main selection of the Book of the Month Club, an Indie Next Great Reads pick, and has been mentioned as one of 2020’s most anticipated books by Library Journal, O, USA Today, Washington Post, Time, Salon, CrimeReads, Mystery Tribune, BuzzFeed, and The Rumpus and has received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Washington Post and others.
“We could not be more excited about David joining our team, and the attention his beautiful book is getting is fantastic and well-deserved,”
said Laura Pritchett, director of the MFA/Nature Writing program.
“That’s the special thing about this concentration—we have a focus on great teaching by faculty who are publishing exciting, cutting-edge work in all genres. This program’s hallmark feature is its focus on fostering writers who are changing the world now. David, in his writing and teaching, is doing just that. He brings his expertise as a crime writer, as a teacher, and as an advocate for social and environmental justice. This is truly exciting.”
“I’m delighted to join the MFA / Nature Writing program at WCU,”
Weiden said.
“This is one of the most innovative writing programs in the country, and I can’t wait to work with the great faculty and students.”
David Heska Wanbli Weiden
His next novel, Wounded Horse, is under contract, and his children’s book, Spotted Tail, was published in 2019. He’s the recipient of the PEN America’s Writing for Justice Fellowship and several fellowships. Weiden received his MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts, his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
His last name, Weiden, is pronounced “Why-den.” Heska Wanbli is prounounced “Heh-ska Wahn-blee.” Weiden is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and lives in Denver.
