ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ

SkyWords Visiting Writers Series connects students and the Durango community with emerging and established writers in dialogue about the power of story.

SkyWords provides a space for engagement in discussion about narrative, writing craft, and the big ideas engaging our culture. The diversity of voices, backgrounds, traditions, and visions for the future showcased by SkyWords writers captures the possibilities writing offers for connection, understanding, and change.

2025 SkyWords Common Reading Experience

Water Stories Project

SkyWords, the Four Corners Water Center, and the Political Engagement Project present the 2025 SkyWords Water Stories Project, a year-long exploration of how water shapes our lives and landscapes.

Water Stories features two nonfiction texts: A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko and Water Bodies, edited by Laura Paskus. These works honor water as creation, sustenance, rebirth, and renewal and guide conversations around five questions:

• What does it mean to be in community with water?
• What are your water stories?
• What have you learned from water?
• How can we be more respectful of water?
• How can we ensure that all beings have access to clean water?

For copies of the books, contact Candace Nadon.

Water Stories Calendar of Events

• Kevin Fedarko Talk & Book Signing | Oct. 9 | Student Union Ballroom | Doors open at 5:30 pm |
  Tickets: Free for ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ students, faculty, and staff • $25 for community members (supports SkyWords programming & the Tribal Water Media Fellowship)
• Water Connections Community Conversation | Nov. 6 | Student Union Ballroom | 6 pm
• Water Bodies Reading & Book Signing | Nov. 12 | Noble 130 | 6 pm
  Featuring Cristi Bode, CMarie Fuhrman, Laura Paskus, Santana Shorty, and Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk
• Tribal Water Media Showcase | Nov. 14 | Student Union Ballroom | Reception 5–6 pm • Screening 6 pm
• Water Stories Creative Writing Reading & Postcard Showcase | Dec. 3 | CSWS Gallery | 4:30 pm

Featured author: Kevin Fedarko

Kevin Fedarko has spent two decades writing about adventure, conservation, and the Grand Canyon. His work appears in National Geographic, The New York Times, and Esquire, and a trio of his stories is anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing.

His acclaimed debut The Emerald Mile became a New York Times bestseller and won the National Outdoor Book Award and the Reading the West Award. His latest book, A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, is also a New York Times bestseller and winner of the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Event Details:
Wednesday, Oct. 9 • Student Union Ballroom • Doors open 5:30 pm
Tickets: Free for ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ students, faculty, and staff • $25 for community members

Water Bodies Reading

Tuesday, Nov. 12 • Noble 130 • 6 pm
Reading, conversation, and book signing with Cristi Bode, CMarie Fuhrman, Laura Paskus, Santana Shorty, and Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk.
Bios coming soon.

View Past Events