CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Feb. 4, 2026 – The Wyoming Arts Council has named John Clayton of Red Lodge, Montana, as the recipient of the 2026 Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship for his submission, “Yellowstone’s Greatest Art.”

Honorable mentions were awarded to Shawnee Real Bird of Busby, Montana, for “Horse Across Way,” and Brian Beauvais of Cody, Wyoming, for “Sportsmen, Market Hunters, and Game Hogs.”

The Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship is made possible through generous support from the Pattie and Earle Layser Memorial Fund. The annual fellowship recognizes a creative writer or journalist whose work demonstrates serious inquiry and dedication to the Greater Yellowstone region. Eligible disciplines include poetry, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, photojournalism, videography, documentary filmmaking, and print or online media.

Clayton is the author of Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon, which will be reissued in paperback in early 2026. As part of the fellowship, Clayton will complete his project, “Yellowstone’s Greatest Art,” which will support research for his forthcoming book, The Auto-Biography of Yellowstone: How Cars Continually Transform America’s Natural Treasure, scheduled for publication by Bison Books in 2027. Additionally, he will have the opportunity to participate in a housing residency in the region.

His previous works include The Cowboy Girl, Stories from Montana’s Enduring Frontier, and Natural Rivals. Clayton is a regular contributor to Mountain Journal, Big Sky Journal, Montana Quarterly, and WyoHistory.org, and he publishes a weekly email newsletter, Natural Stories. He has lived full-time in the Greater Yellowstone region since 1990.

Jurors for the 2026 Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship were Kim Barnes and Steven Coughlin.

For more information about the fellowship, visit wyomingartscouncil.org or contact Kimberly Mittelstadt, creative arts specialist at the Wyoming Arts Council, at (307) 274-6673 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Figure 1: John Clayton of Red Lodge, Montana, is the recipient of the 2026 Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship.

Contact: Kimberly Mittelstadt, (307) 274-6673; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.