Nick Neely

Nick Neely serves as an Assistant Professor of English/Writing at Eastern Oregon University where he directs the university's low-residency MFA program with a special concentration in Landscape, Ecology, and Community (LEC). His academic work bridges creative writing with environmental studies, focusing on place-based literature and nature writing.

Neely earned his educational credentials through a series of prestigious programs: MFA in Memoir from Hunter College (2015), MFA in Poetry from Columbia University (2014), MA in Literature and Environment from the University of Nevada, Reno (2009), and AB in Literary Arts/Environmental Studies from Brown University (2007).

His research interests center on creative nonfiction, nature writing, and environmental literature, with particular emphasis on California landscapes, Pacific Northwest ecology, and the intersection of personal narrative with environmental consciousness. Neely's work explores how physical landscapes shape cultural identity and personal experience through literary forms that blend memoir, history, and natural observation.

His publications reveal a consistent focus on place-based narratives, with particular attention to California's historical landscapes and ecological systems. The trajectory of his work shows increasing sophistication in blending historical research with personal narrative, culminating in his acclaimed books that have established him as a significant voice in contemporary nature writing.

• John Burroughs Medal finalist for Coast Range
• CLMP's Firecracker Award in Creative Nonfiction
• LA Times bestseller for Alta California
• AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award
• John Burroughs Nature Essay Award (2015)
• PEN Northwest's Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency
• UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship

Neely teaches across the writing curriculum at EOU, including courses in exploratory prose, writing genres, professional editing, and graduate workshops. His professional experience includes editorial work at High Country News and Audubon magazine, along with residencies at the Djerassi Resident Artist Program and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. He lives in La Grande, Oregon with his wife, painter Sarah Bird, and their children.