The Idaho Commission on the Arts (Arts Idaho) appointed
Professor Mitch Wieland as the 2026–2027 Idaho Writer in Residence, the state’s highest literary honor. Wieland teaches undergraduate and graduate-level creative writing at Boise State University, where he co-founded the Creative Writing MFA Program.
The two-year Writer in Residence appointment involves serving as Idaho’s literary ambassador, conducting readings and outreach programs across the state. Arts Idaho selects the Idaho Writer in Residence through a highly competitive, peer-reviewed process. The appointment “recognizes an Idaho author’s exceptional achievement and ongoing commitment to fostering the literary arts statewide,” according to their website.
“As Writer in Residence, I hope to continue building connections among Idaho’s diverse literary communities,” Wieland said. “After nearly 30 years of teaching and writing here, I’m eager to give back — to help writers in every corner of the state find their voices and audiences.”
About Mitch Wieland
Professor Mitch Wieland, a teacher for nearly three decades, co-founded Boise State University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. During his time at Boise State, Wieland founded The Idaho Review, an award-winning literary journal edited and published by the MFA Program. Wieland authored two acclaimed novels: “Willy Slater’s Lane” and “God’s Dogs,” winner of the Idaho Book of the Year Award and finalist for the John Gardner Fiction Book Prize. Regal House Publishing will publish his third novel, “The Ghosts of Okuma,” in 2026. Wieland’s short fiction appears in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, The Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, and numerous anthologies, including Best of the West. Wieland received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the Alexa Rose Foundation. Wieland has also served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and
received Boise State’s Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award in 2024.
Read more about Mitch Wieland here.
Learn more about the Boise State Creative Writing MFA Program.
About the Idaho Commission on the Arts
The Idaho Commission on the Arts is the official state agency dedicated to supporting and advancing the arts in Idaho. Through programs, partnerships, and investments, the commission “promotes
excellence, lifelong arts learning, access to the arts, and community vitality,” according to their website.