News & Reviews                                                       Events & Appearances

Lookout was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction's 2023 Debut Novel Award! Interview here.

The Write Question: Interview/Podcast with Lauren Korn on Montana Public Radio: 

Author Ayana Mathis chooses Lookout as a top book of the year in the WSJ: "I was utterly smitten with Christine Byl’s deft and subtle novel “Lookout”—such luminous prose!—about a complicated Montana family."

Anchorage Daily News' Best of 2023: "a beautifully written and deeply compassionate story of a rural family in northwest Montana." Full ADN review here.

Review of Lookout at Shelf Awareness: "An unforgettable novel, both stunning and subtle, written with nuance and compassion"

Review of Lookout at Terrain.org: "Byl’s gift to readers is refusal of stereotype and received language about a place often and easily stereotyped. In the absence of labels for what we think we ought to know about place and people, Byl allows a world of nuance to come to life."

Reviews behind pay wall at Wall St. Journal, Fairbanks Daily News Miner.
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                                DIRT WORK

Nominee for the 2014 WILLA Award in NF. 
Dirt Work was one of three books nominated by librarians to the short-list for the NF WILLA, an award given annually to the best books written by women about the American West.

"10 Best Non-Fiction Books, 2013" Shelf Awareness
Byl's expressive and descriptive prose opens the doorway to a hard but fulfilling way of life that few people notice or get to experience firsthand.
 
Amazon "Best Books of the Month" for April 2013

Publisher's Weekly *Starred Review* "With language that is lyrical despite the earthiness of its subject, Byl turns the words of work into found poetry (“brake on, choke on, pull, pull, fire”), offering a bridge for readers to those “who would not speak like this themselves”--a beautiful memoir of muscle and metal." 

High Country News "Through sheer physicality, Byl breaks open encrusted dichotomies: Nature-culture; work-pleasure; male-female; mind-body."

Missoula Independent    "a beautifully written memoir that will...inspire to greater efforts"

Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments "Packing a Leatherman, she still takes time to observe; Byl is, after all, a philosopher. In sentences laid out as carefully as her trails, laborer and poet meet."

Christian Science Monitor Promising Spring Books 
  "Former “traildog” Christine Byl turns her years spent doing heavy labor in US national parks into a moving memoir."

Appalachia Journal 
"a smart, muscular and beautiful book...like a well-built rock staircase, Dirt Work is as poetic as it is practical."

Biographile 
    "Humility, dedication, and insight are integrated into all levels of Byl’s working life -- the blue collar and white collar. We're lucky to have her connect those too often polarized worlds for us."

Kirkus Reviews

"Much of her evocative book recalls pranks, projects and camaraderie; the tools essential to outdoor labor; and trailside moments, from singing the “Montana Cowgirl’s Mating Song” (“Get it up, get it in, get it out, don’t muss my hair-doooooo!”) to eating her favorite outdoor sandwich (ham, cheddar cheese, heavy on the mayo).... A beguiling journey of self-discovery."

Library Journal

"Byl’s writing is superb and doesn’t romanticize her dirty work. For readers who have visited a National Park or would like to, this book provides insight into what it takes to maintain these American oases and reveals a cast of characters behind the preservation efforts."

Upcoming Events 

• May 21 Fairbanks, AK

Reading at Noel Wien Library, Alaska Interior Writers Series

• April 16-18, 2026 Grand Rapids, MI

​Festival of Faith & Writing
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Past Events/2024

• Oct 4 Fairbanks, AK

Midnight Sun Literary Series, UAF Campus. Details TBA.

• Sept 1 McKinley Village, AK

In conversation with J. Drew Lanham, Denali Education Center

• July 22-26 Kantishna, AK

Special Emphasis Series Speaker at Camp Denali 

• May 29-June 1 Skagway, AK

North Words Writers Symposium, fiction faculty

Past Events/2023 

• Dec. 1--Brooklyn, NY

Reading at the Center for Fiction's Fiction Fete with fellow Debut Novel Award Finalists, 5-9 pm

• Nov. 29--Phoenixville, PA 

Reading at Reads & Co., 7pm

• Nov 17 Grand Rapids, MI 

Reading at Books & Mortar, 7pm

• Nov 14 Dallas, TX

Reading & Conversation w/ Lucian Childs at Deep Vellum Books​

• Nov 12 Austin, TX

Panel at Texas Book Festival, 12:30-1:15pm (signing after)

• Nov 4 Hamilton, MT

Signing at Chapter One Books, 11am-1pm

• Nov 2 Missoula, MT

Reading at Fact & Fiction, 7pm​

• ​Oct 4 Alaska Book Week

 Panel discussion w/ Melissa Moustakis et al. Zoom link here.

• Sept 9 Missoula, MT, Montana Festival of the Book

​Panel discussion on literary fiction, w/ Sonora Jha and Kristen Millares Young at Missoula Public Library, 7pm

• June 15 McKinley Village, AK

Reading/conversation with Erica Watson at Denali Education Center, 7pm

• May 13-16 Homer, AK

Kachemak Bay Writers Conference; reading & craft talk 

• March 26 Online (​Alaska Quarterly Review YouTube Channel)

Reading & Craft Conversation with Elizabeth Bradfield​

• ​April 13 Anchorage, AK

​Reading & signing with Don Rearden at the Writers Block Bookstore & Cafe, 6pm 

• April 5, Online (A Mighty Blaze YouTube Channel) 

Podcast, Authors Love Bookstores/A Mighty Blaze, w/ Will Evans

• March 18 Palmer, AK​

Reading & signing at Fireside Books, 1-3pm (reading at 1:30pm)

• March 15 Portland, OR

​LOOKOUT launch at Powells Books! Reading and conversation w/ Molly Gloss, 7pm 

• ​March 9-11 Seattle, WA

AWP Writer's Conference, book signings at Deep Vellum Booth


2021

• Nov 17 Online

​Recorded talk/Q & A with the Glacier Conservancy Book Club 

• Aug 16 Fairbanks, AK

​Joint Reading with Erica Watson at Fairbanks Arts Bear Gallery, 5:30 pm

• Feb 19 Alaska Public Radio

Outdoor Explorer: Conversation with Martha Rosenstein on trailbuilding, being an expert, apprenticeship, gender and more

• Oct 30 Bunnell Street Arts Center via Zoom

Conversation with Sara Tabbert and Asia Freeman

2019

• Oct 4 Haines, AK

Landfalls: Dedications to Alaska Women Writers and Storytellers. Art Show Opening with gallery talk by artist Katie Craney with Heather Lende, Ernestine Hayes, and Krista Christensen. Haines Museum, 6:30-8:30 pm. 

• Aug 13 Online

Hike Like a Woman podcast: online book club discussion

• June 8 Fairbanks, AK

Landfalls: Dedications to Alaska Women Writers and Storytellers. Art Show Opening by Katie Craney, with artist/writers gallery talk. Bear Gallery, 7pm. 

• March 20 Grand Junction, CO

Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) annual Conference. Panel discussion on "Women in Trail-building." 1:15 pm

2017

• July 9  McKinley Village, AK

Denali National Park Centennial Panel with Kim Heacox & Erica Watson. Denali Education Center, 7 PM. 

• Apr 4-6 Unalaska, AK

Writer-in-the-School visit, Unalaska City School​

2016 

• March 31 Los Angeles, CA 

Associated Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, LA Convention Center  Panel: "Women At Work: Labor & the Writing Life," 4:30 PM, R 518

• June 1 McKinley Village, AK

Joint reading: "First, Earth: An Homage to Abbey et al." (with Sean Prentiss, Erica Watson, Tom Walker). 7 PM 

Archived Events & Links to Radio Interviews

2015 EVENTS

• Feb 19 Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, AK

Reading & Signing at Unalaska Public Library, 7 PM

• Feb 19-20 Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, AK

Classroom Visits at Unalaska Public School

• May 27-30 Skagway, AK

North Words Writers Symposium; Registration Required

• June 6 McKinley Park, AK 7 pm

Reading to Kickoff NPS Climate Anthology (with Carolyn Kremers, Erica Watson & Julie Collins)

• Oct 8,  Homer, AK

ARPA (Alaska Recreation & Park Association) Conference,
Keynote Speaker, 8:30 am
Conversation Session, 12:45pm
Registration required.

• Oct 9, Homer, AK

"13 Ways of Looking: Writing Deeply in Place" on Kachemak Bay Campus. Free for members of 49 Writers. Registration required. 1:30-4:30pm 

• Oct 14  Overland Park, KS

Keynote Speaker at BEOS (Built Environment & the Outdoors) Summit Registration required.

2014 EVENTS

• Jan 14 Interview: The Write Question with Cherie Newman;

Montana Public Radio.

• Feb 11 Talkeetna, AK 

Class for 49 Writers, Registration Required: "The Good, the Bad & the Buggy: Writing the Complexities of Place"

• Feb 15 Anchorage, AK 

Class for 49 Writers, Registration Required: "Lyric Tinkering: The Poem as a Tool for Prose Writers"

• Feb 26-Mar 1 Seattle, WA

Associated Writers/Writing Programs (AWP) Conference. 
       Fri: "True North: Alaska Literary Non-Fiction", 10:30 AM
              "Writing in the Margins", 1:30 PM

• Mar 12 Anchorage, AK

Crosscurrents/49 Writers "Essaying Alaska: Beyond Images of the Last Frontier" A Conversation with Sherry Simpson

• Apr 2 Stonewall Jackson State Park, WV

Professional Trail Builders' Association Registration Required
Evening Keynote, 8pm: "Trail Work Matters: Notes from the Field"

• Apr 10-12 Grand Rapids, MI

Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College
        Thur 1:45pm "Inside Out: Writing In Place" (solo talk)
        Sat 10 am "Commanding Our Attention" (non-fiction panel)

• Apr 25 Anchorage, AK

Alaska Trails Statewide Trail Conference: Registration Required
Lunchtime Keynote, 12pm "Trail Work Schooled Me"

• July 6 Sheldon Center at Denali Education Center, Denali Park, AK 

"Over the Hills: 5 Writers Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act" with Seth Kantner, Marybeth Holleman, Sean Hill & Erica Watson, 7 PM

• July 12  Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park           

Parsons Memorial Lodge Summer Series, 2-3:30 PM

• Aug 8-10 Kantishna, AK 

Camp Denali Special Emphasis Series, Registration Required

2013 EVENTS

• Apr 16  Healy, AK

Publication Day Reading and Signing! Tri Valley Community Library. National Library Week Kick-off, 7 PM

• April 22 Earth Day Radio Interview: KBOO Portland

• Apr 23 Anchorage, AK

Reading and Signing at UAA Consortium Library; Co-sponsored by UAA MFA Department and Alaska Quarterly Review, 7:30 PM

• Apr 24 Palmer, AK

Book signing at Fireside Books, 4-6 PM 

• Apr 25 Palmer, AK

Book signing at Wild & Scenic Film Festival, 5:30-7 PM

• Apr 26 Radio Interview: KVON Napa Valley

• Apr 30 Grand Rapids, MI

Live Interview, WGVU Public Radio

• April 30 Grand Rapids, MI

Reading and signing, Schuler Books and Music, 7:00 PM

• May 2  Grand Rapids, MI

All-Campus Talk in the Gender & Sexuality Series at Calvin College, 
3:30 PM

• May 3 Grandville, MI 

Book signing at Barnes & Noble, 3-5 PM

• May 14 Anchorage, AK

Guest on "Talk of Alaska" live, with Steve Heimel, APRN

• May 18 Fairbanks, AK

Reading & book signing at Gulliver's Books, 6:00 PM

• May 29-April 1, Lawrence, KS 

Association for the Study of Literature & Environment (ASLE) conference; Panel discussion May 29 with Elizabeth Bradfield & Eva Saulitis 

• May 29, Lawrence, KS 

Reading at The Raven Bookstore, 7 PM

• May 31, Wisconsin Public Radio

Guest on "45 North on WPR" live, with Ann Strainchamps, 10-11 AM CT

• June 12, Kansas City Public Radio 

Guest on "Up to Date" on KCUR, live, 11 AM CT

• June 14-18, Homer, AK

Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference

• July 2, Public Radio Nationwide 

Guest on "The Story", edited, times vary by Time Zone

• July 13, Talkeetna, AK

Reading and Book-signing with Denali Arts Council,  7 PM

• July 23, Fairbanks, AK, 

Fairbanks Fine Arts Festival, Visiting Writer

• July 24, McKinley Village, AK

Reading and Book-signing with Denali Education Center, 7:30 PM, Sheldon Center

• August 13-24, Middlebury, VT

Breadloaf Writers' Conference, Faculty Fellow

• Sept 25, Ketchikan, AK

Guest on Morning Show, live, Ketchikan Public Radio 
Reading and signing at Ketchikan Public Library, 6:30pm

• Oct 4, Fairbanks, AK

(Both events with Carolyn Kremers)
Craft Talk, UAF Campus Gruening 405, 3pm
Reading in Midnight Sun Visiting Author Series, UAF Woods Center, 7pm

• Oct 7, Healy, AK

Alaska Book Week! Writing Workshop, Tri-Valley Community Library, 7pm

• Oct 8, Anchorage, AK

Alaska Book Week! Signing Books at Barnes and Noble, 7-8pm

• Friday Oct 11 Missoula, MT

Reading at Montana Festival of the Book, 2:30 pm, Holiday Inn Montana Boardroom

• Saturday Oct 12 Missoula, MT

Panel at Montana Festival of the Book, 2:30 pm, Holiday Inn Ballroom A

• Monday Oct 14 Moscow, ID

Reading at BookPeople of Moscow, 7 pm

• Tuesday Oct 15 Seattle, WA

Reading at The Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm

• Wednesday Oct 16 Olympia, WA

Reading at Orca Books, 7 pm

• Thursday Oct 17 Portland, OR

Reading at Patagonia Portland, 7 pm

• Sunday Oct 20 Bellingham, WA

Reading at Village Books, 4 pm

• Monday Oct 21 Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA

Classroom visit at University of Washington marine program

• Friday Oct 25 Missoula, MT

Reading at Shakespeare & Co, 7 pm

• Oct 28-30 Matteson, IL

Mid-American Trails & Greenways Conference, Keynote Speaker

• Thurs Nov 7, Manayunk, PA

Reading at The Spiral Bookcase, 7pm