author Pam Houston; photo credit: Adam Karsten
Pam Houston is the author of two collections of linked short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat; the novels, Sight Hound and Contents May Have Shifted; and a collection of essays called A Little More About Me, all published by W.W. Norton.
Her stories have been selected for volumes of Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and Best American Short Stories of the Century. She is the winner of the Western States Book Award, the WILLA award for contemporary fiction, and The Evil Companions Literary Award and multiple teaching awards.
She is the Director of Creative Writing at U.C. Davis and teaches in The Pacific University low residency MFA program, and at writer’s conferences around the country and the world.
She lives on a ranch at 9,000 feet in Colorado near the headwaters of the Rio Grande.
Pam’s Books
Click to view a slideshow of photographs.
Hi Pam Houston,
I will be graduating from UC Davis this summer and just read your essay in Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave, so I was immediately intrigued to learn more about you. I just want you to know that I enjoyed your essay tremendously and think that you handled your experience with more grace and courage than I ever could have. I look forward to reading more of your novels and essays. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for letting me know, Megan. Good luck with everything after college! Pam
I stumbled across your blog entry, an excerpt from Sight Hound, when I was researching sight hounds. You are one hell of a writer.
Thanks, Nancy. Sight Hounds are the best dogs ever.
I was in the midst of rereading Sighthound when I became overwhelmed with the desire to get another sighthound dog after the loss of my Irishwolfhound mix. I now have a rescue American Staghound ( a mix of Irish Wolfhound, Scottish Deerhound, and Greyhound) He has only 3 feet because of the loss of one of his back feet in a barbwire accident on a ranch in Montana. What is it about these gorgeous huge dogs with their eyes full of wisdom and oddly enough a grand sense of humor? Thanks for your inspiration!
Strange that tripping along the internet slightly overgrown side roads I should discover you here after all these years…warmth and light to you. Glen
I know. Everyone says I ought to get a dog that lives longer, but they don’t understand that once you live with a sight hound it is hard to go back. And American Staghound sounds really cool.
I bought Cowboys are My Weakness after reading an article in my local paper, have read all your books by now, and will be looking for the next one in 2012 at my local bookstore. Yes, they will have it here in Missoula, MT. After reading a couple of your books, I was thinking it would be hard to write about some of the subjects without having lived them and said I’d like to know a little more about you. Then came the next one: A Little More About Me. Ha!
Hi Mary Ann. I’ll be up in Missoula for the book festival in October. Hope to see you there.
I am thrilled you have a new book out. You are the sole reason I look forward to reading again after years of hiatus while getting my PhD. I adore your autobiographical-fiction and cant wait to read what you’ve been up to.
I hope you liked it!
Hi. I think your writing is amazing. I know, you’ve heard that before. But I get your writing and where out comes from. I’m a woman who’s been river guiding for 11 years and when I sent cowboys are my weakness to my friend in washington d.c she said reading it felt like she was talking to me. Anyway. I live in durango, colorado and am very excited to meet you this tuesday at marias bookstore. If your not busy after, I would love to buy you a beer at the classically trashy dive bar across the street from the bookstore. Thanks. See you in a few days!
Sorry we missed the chance for that beer, but I will see you next time, or out on the river! Pam
You wrote the short story How to Talk to a Hunter right? Can you tell me if you did any interview(s) about the story, or if anyone did an interview about you involving the story. Im doing a short report on it/you for my short stories class. Thank you!
I love your work, and I appreciate the artistry, intellect and integrity behind it. Please write a book every year and new short story ever quarter. You can have a short sabbatical @ age 60. Then – back to it.
You mom was right, in a way. Having kids does make a woman more like everybody else. Not sure if this is good or bad, but it is a rarely spoken truth. Not a lot of individuality or self-actualization in car pool line, filling out school forms or cleaning barf.
Whatevs.
Would you consider making it more obvious when you offer comments or responses to posts here? Maybe a faint wash of color, when the rest are on white? Or, your pic?
Thanks.
Hi Pam,
Saw you at the Bookworm in Edwards, Co. last night.
It occurred to me driving home to Boulder, that your name spelled backwards is Map. You seem to be all over it in a variety of interesting ways. I love that!
Crazy Mountain Girl
Thanks for coming out in Boulder, Melissa. Seems like that snow storm was a long time ago.
Hi there. I’m just writing to say I love your work. I’ve read all your books and own a few of them. Reading Contents May Have Shifted gives me the travel bug, makes me appreciate my women friends even more, and makes me so grateful for my partner. I hope I get to see you at a reading some time. -writing from Escondido, CA, with an appreciation for hight altitude adventures here and abroad
Hi Shoshana. Thanks for writing. I ought to know my southern California Geography better than I do. I will be reading in Laguna in the Pen On Fire reading series on June 5th. I don’t know how far that is from you, but I hope we meet soon, Pam
Michelle – If you need any volunteer help during the Chautauqua two-day workshop, please contact me. I’d be happy to assist. I’ll try to leave this message on the other blog.
Damn. Stunning, probably life changing. Of the thousands of books I’ve read in my years there might be two or three I could say that about. Thank you.
Ooops P.S. that was re: Contents May Have Shifted
Thanks, Tonya.
I HATE to write. Have read all of your books. Currently reading “Contents May Have Shifted”. I keep thinking someday I may lie on the registration to one of your writer’s workshops and try to attend.–Rene
You don’t have to lie. I hate to write too! Most days, except for that rare day when it is the best thing ever.
Hi–I’ve read all of your books–just finishing “Cowboys”–started with “A Little More About Me.” Was hoping to find more of your writing on line. Maybe in a periodical search? I enjoy your writing style, but it’s your insights that keep me hooked. We’ve lived our lives very differently, but I can certainly connect with your experiences with men. Maybe that’s universal or maybe, again, it’s just your insights into the experiences.
Sue
I have five books all together…if you have read all of those, I have a bunch of uncollected essays on the Byliner site. Do you know about Byliner? It is pretty cool.