Great Plains Writers' Tour
Acclaimed writers at our doorstep!
True to our Catholic Benedictine values, Mount Marty University hosts the Great Plains Writers' Tour (GPWT), which brings award-winning professional writers to campus for readings, discussions, and class workshops each year. Established in 2007, the writers’ tour explores various elements of the arts and humanities, such as poetry, prose presentations, and storytelling.
For Mount Marty, the writers’ tour continues our heritage of a well-rounded, liberal arts education and our commitment to lifelong learning. Our guest authors are carrying on a tradition of rich storytelling rooted in Midwestern and Plains culture. Since its inception, we’ve welcomed such greats as former United States poet laureate Ted Kooser, American Book Award winner Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, David Lee, and William Kloefkorn.
For more information regarding upcoming GPWT dates, please email Dr. Jim Reese.
Patrick Hicks & Jim Reese
September 17, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Marian Auditorium
Rachael Hanel
October 8, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Mother Jerome Schmitt Library
John T. Price
November 3, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Mother Jerome Schmitt Library
Theodore Wheeler
February 25, 2026 | 12:00 p.m.
Marian Auditorium
J.D. Schraffenberger
April 8, 2026 | 12:00 p.m.
Marian Auditorium
Past Great Plains' Writers
April 2025
- Sonya Huber, Author and Professor of English at Fairfield University
- Tom Gannon, Professor of English and Indigenous Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
October 2024
- Patrick Hicks, Author & Write-in-Residence at Augustana University
- Bonnie Johnson-Bartee, Poet, and Neil Harrison, Poet
September 2024
- Sarah Henning, Poet and Assistant Professor at Marshall University
April 2024
- J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times Best Selling Author
October 2023
- Kent Meyers, Author
September 2023
- Matt Mason, Nebraska State Poet
- John Price, Author
April 2023
- Keith Pilapil Lesmeister, Author, Founding Editor of CutLeaf and EastOver Press, and Instructor at Northeast Iowa Community College
October 2022
- Mary Woster Haug, Writer & Editor
September 2022
- New York Times Best Selling Author Marc Cameron, Dr. Jim Reese, Dr. Stephen Bell, Javier Murguia, Josh Klimek and Jerod Abarolle, A Discussion About Cops and Criminals - Writing Facts in Fiction
April 2022
- Dr. Seema Sehgal
- Maria Mazziotti Gillan, American Book Award Winner and Social Activist
March 2022
- Chris Vondracek, Journalist and Agriculture Reporter for the Star Tribune
- Lori Walsh, South Dakota Public Broadcasting Host and Senior Producer of "In the Moment"
September 2021
- Fritzi Horstman, Sept. 2021 Grammy award-winning producer and Founder & Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project
April 2021
- Kelly Hertz, Journalist & Editor of the Yankton Press and Dakotan
March 2021
- Geitner Simmons, Deputy Opinions Editor of the Omaha World Herald
February 2021
- Kevin Carey, Writer & Filmmaker
September 2020
- Jamie Sullivan & John Sibley Williams
March 2019
- Dante Di Stefano
- Kent Meyers
- Raymond Hammond
- Bernie Hunhoff
October 2018
- Mark Sanders
- Sara Henning
- Kim Verhines
April 2017
- Allen Eskens
March 2017
- Jim Daniels
November 2016
- Stephen Coyne
- Christine Stewart-Nuñez
- Debra Marguart
September 2015
- Ted Kooser
March 2015
- Gailmarie Pahmeier
- David Lee
October 2014
- Patrick Hicks
- Joe Weil
March 2014
- Charles Bowden
- Molly Molloy
November 2013
- Maria Mazziotti Gillan
March 2013
- Writing for Transformative Justice
February 2013
- Dan O'Brien
September 2012
- William Trowbridge
April 2012
- George Bilgere
February 2012
- David Lee
- Neil Harrison
November 2011
- Lisa Sandlin
- Barbara Schmitz
October 2011
- Sarah McKinstry-Brown
- Marge Saiser
October 2010
- Daryl Farmer
March 2010
- Neil Harrison
- Don Welch
February 2010
- Kent Meyers
October 2009
- Vivian Shipley
March 2008
- Maria Mazziotte Gillan
October 2007
- Dave Pichaske
- Patrick Hicks
September 2007
- Brian Bedard
- John Price