April 4-7, 2026. Missoula, MT.
In 2027 Hooks for Books will be SKWALA-TASTIC! We are moving our fall dates to spring to chase big trout with skwala flies. This is a special fishing event limited to 20 attendees, with dates that historically offer the best fishing of the year for large fish on dry flies.
About Hooks for Books
Hooks for Books is a charitable fly-fishing event that benefits the University of Montana’s Creative Writing Program. All net proceeds support the program. It was founded in 2021 by UM Alumni, Tim O’Leary and Chris Dombrowski, combining their love of literature, fly fishing, and the UM. O’Leary is an entrepreneur and writer, and Dombroski is a renowned poet, fly-fishing guide, and Director of the MFA program.
Like many universities, UM has experienced severe budget cuts that continue to impact the Creative Writing Department, and Hooks for Books supports those shortfalls to build a new generation of writers, while giving visitors the opportunity to experience some of the world’s finest trout fishing and the beautiful community of Missoula—a place where “the river literally runs through it.”
UM’s Creative Writing Program is one of our nation’s oldest and most prestigious, with an international reputation. Founded in 1920, it began offering one of the first M.F.A. degrees in 1966, and has boasted such iconic Western writers as Richard Hugo, Madeline DeFrees, Judy Blunt, James Lee Burke, Rick DiMarinis, and William Kittredge, while hosting Pulitzer Prize winners, Richard Ford and Jorie Graham, and literary luminaries, David James Duncan, Jess Walter, Susan Cheever, Barry Lopez, Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, and dozens of others. Graduates have become essential voices in literature and the arts, penning bestsellers, critically acclaimed books (many that have been adapted into films), while being awarded Pulitzer’s, Pushcarts, and almost every literary honor. We appreciate the support offered by Hooks for Books contestants and sponsors to continue this important legacy of literature.
Register
Registration opens soon and will be very limited. Please email us if you want to be notified.
Schedule
We’ll be announcing a schedule soon! Check back for more details!
Accommodations
We’ll be announcing accommodations soon! Check back for more details!
Writers on Water
We’ll be announcing a 2027 award recipient soon! Check back for more details!
2023 Writers on Water Award recipient,
John Gierach
2024 Writers on Water Award recipient,
Tom McGuane
2025 Writers on Water Award recipient,
Carl Hiaasen
2026 Writers on Water Award recipient,
John Maclean
Donate
Can’t make the event but would like to support the UM Creative Writing Program? Please donate below:
Sponsors & Supporters
We’ll be announcing our 2027 supporters soon! Check back for more details!
2026 Recap
Our 5th annual sold-out 2026 Hooks for Books set a new record, raising over $170,000 to help the University of Montana MFA program train the next generation of writers.
