The Mari Sandoz legacy lives on: Nature Writing Student Jamie Siebrase awarded scholarship

Longtime Denver journalist, trained naturalist, and environmental writer Jamie Siebrase has been awarded the 2026–2027 Mari Sandoz Nature Writing Scholarship to attend Western Colorado University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing (GPCW) with a concentration in Nature Writing.

Siebrase is the author of four Falcon guidebooks, a nature-based children’s book, and also writes for The Denver Post and other publications.

“I can’t stop thinking about how excited I am to start the Nature Writing program this summer. For lack of a better simile, I’ve been feeling like a 6-year-old on Christmas Eve,” Siebrase said, joking that she “fully expects to be crafting more creative comparisons after completing Western Colorado’s MFA program.”

Scholarship funds are provided by the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society. Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) wrote extensively about pioneer life and Native peoples. A novelist and biographer, she wrote about the environmental and human landscape of the West.

To ensure the legacy of Mari Sandoz’s passion for writing and love of the landscapes and peoples of the West, Western awards one scholarship in her name each academic year. The scholarship supports a student in Western’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing with a concentration in Nature Writing.

“I’ve been writing for twenty years, but I’ve mainly thought of myself as a journalist, as opposed to an artist. But I think I have the talent and passion to explore the artistic side of writing—and I think art is more important now than ever before, as we experience a breakdown in civil discourse at the same moment generative AI has begun replacing human thought,” Siebrase noted.

“I’m in my 40s, so sometimes I feel like I’m way too old to be getting a wild hair,” she said, adding that she then recalled a section from Laura Pritchett’s novel Three Keys about how “women in midlife (and beyond) still have so much to offer the world, and we can’t let the general public forget that we’re here.”

Because they both began new chapters later in life, Siebrase sees parallels between her own journey and Mari Sandoz’s.

“I’m currently doing a deep dive into Mari’s life and work, and I was thrilled to learn that things didn’t really start happening for her, career-wise, until she was my age,” Siebrase explained. “Learning about Sandoz’s grit, tenacity, and commitment to her craft has been an unexpected wellspring of inspiration, and I’m genuinely excited to read work from this amazing writer as I begin my journey into the next stage of life, whatever that might be.”

And that stage might be harder to set if it weren’t for support from the Mari Sandoz Nature Writing Scholarship.

“I can’t express how much this financial help means to students,” said Dr. Laura Pritchett, who directs Western’s Nature Writing program. “The simple truth is that money is the number one reason talented applicants are not able to pursue an advanced degree. Let’s face it: Schooling is expensive, writing is often not lucrative, and money is a barrier. This scholarship not only supports significant writing about place and helps a student, but it also has the benefit of reminding contemporary writers of one of our great forebears. Sandoz’s name and spirit are kept alive. It’s a win-win.”