Fromm returns for luncheon series

A record-breaking Montana author returns to Havre on Wednesday as the next featured speaker in the Heritage Center Celebrity Luncheon series.

Peter Fromm, who was a featured speaker in 2002, has won his fourth award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Associates, the first author to win four in the 39-year history of the organization.

Fromm, who lives in Great Falls, was tied with three other authors with three awards each when he spoke in Havre in 2002. Those authors are former Montanan Ivan Doig, the late Montana author James Welch, and Craig Lesley of Walla Walla, Wash.

Fromm received the award for his 2003 novel, "As Cool As I Am," which tells of the coming of age of a teenage girl who is trying to deal with her parents' attempts to recover their youth.

A native of Milwaukee, Fromm graduated with honors from the University of Montana in 1981, receiving a degree in wildlife biology. He worked for Grand Teton National Park as a river ranger before turning to writing.

His first book, a collection of stories titled "The Tall Uncut," was published in 1992.

Fromm has published more than 100 stories since then. "Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter in the Bitterroot Wilderness," an autobiographical work published in 1993, won Fromm his first Pacific Northwest Booksellers award and won the Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Achievement Award.

"Monkey Tag," selected by the New York City Library as one of the best novels for teenagers, was published in 1994. He also published his second story collection, "King of the Mountain," that year.

His 1997 story collection, "Dry Rain," also was honored with a Pacific Northwest Booksellers award and earned Fromm a second Wisconsin Library Association award.

His fourth collection, "Blood Knot," was published in 1998, and 1999's collection, "Night Swimming," won Fromm another Wisconsin Library Association Award.

He published his first adult novel, "How All This Started," in 2000. It earned Fromm his third Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award.

Fromm will be available to autograph books, which will be sold at the luncheon.

The luncheon starts at noon in the third-floor courtroom at the Heritage Center and costs $15. People are asked to call 265-7258 to reserve a seat.