Open Book Club
Imagine this. In small-town Seeley Lake and Condon, book lovers can meet prominent Western authors 6-10 evenings each year, listen to them read from their work, and engage in discussion. AAI's Open Book Club has made these author readings an enjoyable reality. We're not a “real book club.” We’re OPEN in the sense that everyone is welcome, all the time.
Russel Rowland at Holland Lake Lodge
Starting each autumn and running through spring, the Open Book Club brings in authors to read and discuss their work. In the past, it was held most often at Seeley Lake's Grizzly Claw Trading Company, and recently in the West Wing of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building. We occasionally relocate in the summer to Swan Valley locations such as the Historical Museum or Holland Lake Lodge. Our enthusiasm is a surprise to many authors, who often praise the level of audience participation. Past authors have included John Maclean, William Kittredge, Jamie Ford, Peter Stark, Pete Fromm, Annick Smith, and Gretel Ehrlich.
“Sometimes, you find grace and true kindness in the most unexpected of places. When I was originally invited to participate in the Open Book Club, I truly did not know what to expect. They couldn't get me off the stage! I answered questions for over an hour, and our conversation became such an indelible, important discussion that I wish it had been recorded. I have never experienced that feeling before. The Open Book Club allowed me to be the very best version of myself, and I felt truly free to be open and honest. It stopped being a performance, and became an experience, one that I knew would never be duplicated.”
— Author Richard Fifield, The Flood Girls
The Open Book Club collaborates with the Creative Writing Program at Seeley Swan High School, featuring a student author reading from their work to begin the evening's program.
“In my experience, reading for the AAI Open Book Club has been such an amazing opportunity because it give young writers stage time and experience. We also get to meet published authors who can give us advice and some praise. This gives so much opportunity to young up and coming artists. I'm thankful for what they have done for me and I look forward to what they will do with lot of other great young artists.”
— Kyle Peltier, AAI Senior Scholarship Recipient, 2019
Current Schedule
The next Open Book Club event will be…
Saturday, June 21 at 7 PM
in the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building.
Author Steve Lamar
will be sharing his latest book …
Steve is a Condon resident who over the years has accumulated wonderful stories from backcountry adventures.
We hope you can make it to this event.
Everyone is Welcome to this Free Event
In May,
Fred Haefle, shared his book
The Essential Book of Pickup Trucks
Fred is a writer out of Missoula and read three excerpts from his book. Although pickup trucks are featured in the book, it is much more than that, bringing out delightful stories across Fred’s lifetime.
In April,
Marc Beaudin, shared his book,
These Creatures of a Day
Published April, 2024, this is a collection of 56 new poems from the author of Life List and Vagabond Song: Neo-Haibun from the Peregrine Journals
Marc Beaudin, an Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation artist-in-residence, is a poet, theatre artist and bookseller in Livingston, Montana, dubbed “America’s finest open-air asylum” for multiple reasons.
In February 2025,
Sally Thompson, shared her latest book, Black Robes Enter Coyote's World: Chief Charlo & Father De Smet in the Rocky Mountains
Sally Thompson tells the story of how Jesuit values played out in the lives of the Bitterroot Salish people. The famous Black Robe (Jesuit) Father Pierre-Jean De Smet actually spent little time among his “beloved Flatheads.” Instead, he traveled extensively between the Pacific and the Rockies, mapping the pathways and noting the valuable resources. His popular writings helped spark the westward movement of white settlers.
In this up-close account of the Bitterroot Salish people during the lifetime of Chief Charlo, Thompson examines the fundamental differences in the ways Euro-Americans and Native Americans related to land and nature.
Book description from Amazon.com
In December, 2024
Co-authors Smoke Elser and Eva-Marie Maggie sharing Smoke’s new memoir, Hush of the Land: A Life Time in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
This inspirational memoir describes the six-decade quest of packer and outfitter Smoke Elser to protect wildlands, especially the Bob Marshall Wilderness. It chronicles his adventures, encounters with wildlife, and nights spent around campfires as he guided groups in some of West's last wild lands.
In November, 2024
Chris La Tray, Montana’s Poet Laureate for 2023–2025 shared his latest book
Chris La Tray didn't always fully understand his heritage as a Métis and a member of the Little Shell band of Chippewa Indians. Chris' Indigenous heritage revealed itself over time as he sought out family and others who filled in the missing pieces of his story.
At the same time, the Little Shell people were nearing the culmination of a 150-year quest to receive Federal recognition as a distinct Indigenous nation.
The story Chris tells in Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home is powerful and revealing, both for the historic denial of First Peoples' history and continued presence in this place now called Montana, and for the will and power of community to overturn these historic wrongs.
More details about Chris can be found on his website:
In August 2024,
Timothy Shilling shared his book,
The Writings of Norman Maclean: Seeking Truth amid Tragedy
This book offers a current and complete analysis of Maclean — one of the most iconic figures in Western American literature.
Last year’s schedule (autumn 2023 - summer 2024 ) included…
In July 2024,
Rick Bass
read from his book,
With Every Great Breath,
New and Selected Essays, 1995 - 2023
Rick shared portions of two essays as well as telling about his current environmental activism - stopping the Black Ram logging project from going through, thereby protecting old growth trees up along the Canadian border in the Yaak.
in June 2024,
Rebecca McCarthy, author of
Norman Maclean A Life of Letters and Rivers
shared her insights and experiences.
Associating Norman Maclean with Seeley Lake and the Blackfoot River is something common for many in the audience. Rebecca McCarthy expanded the those views to also include Norman’s life in Chicago by sharing personal experiences and anecdotes. Her book holds many more gems and offers insights from her friendship with Norman.
In May 2024,
Brad Orsted
author of Through the Wilderness - My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild,
shared experiences from his memoir dealing with the death of his 15-month old daughter and his journey to recovery. This included stages of grief, guilt, substance abuse and fortunately healing through outdoor experiences and animal encounters especially while working in Yellowstone National Park.
During the Q&A session, he shared thoughts about writing, photography, shooting movies and being a wilderness therapy instructor. He described being adopted by a Crow family, which has kept him grounded and moving in a positive direction.
To learn more about Brad,
visit his website: https://www.bradleyorsted.com/
Near the end of February 2024,
Betsy Gaines Quammen
shared her book:
TRUE WEST -
Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America
“True West explores myths of the West and how, if left unexamined, they distort the realities of the present and exacerbate polarizations. These misperceptions about land, politics, liberty, and self-determination threaten the wellbeing of western communities overrun by newcomers seeking a dream the country, unless America recognizes the dangers of building a national identity on illusion. “ from Betsy’s
website: https://www.betsygainesquammen.com/true-west
In January 2024,
Author Peter Stark discussed with Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray Stark’s latest historical novel:
Gallop Toward the Sun:
Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation
The book is a vivid account of the rivalry between future president William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh—and of the Native American alliance that fought westward expansion.
In October 2023, author
Christopher J. Preston
talked about his book, Tenacious Beasts, explaining what is meant by the term as well as sharing thoughts on the recovery of various animals, including bison and wolves and how knowledge into their recovery can help inform decisions about wildlife management. Certainly this is an important topic in Montana (and the West in general) making this an insightful book to read.
In September 2023, Alpine Artisans in partnership with the
Seeley Lake Public Library, had author
Jess Walter, The Cold Millions: A Novel
It was a grand evening, with a good crowd that delighted in learning more about the book, how it came together and interested in the similarities of issues in 1910 as in today.
To learn more about the event, read the September 28, Seeley Swan Pathfinder article by Griffen Smith by clicking HERE.
This was funded in part by NEA Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
The Open Book Club was recently in the news.
Humanities Montana awarded Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club the Montana Center for the Book Prize.
Read the complete article from the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, October 22, 2020 here.
OBC Archives
Open Book Club was founded by Sara Wilcox in 2007, and to date has presented over 100 authors.
View the full archive of authors below.
