Alex Beam, author of Wallace Stegner: Dean of Western Writers – Tanner Humanities Center Skip to content About About the Center Our Team Advisory Boards Support the Center Join our mailing list News and Events News Center Events National Theatre Live Podcast: The Virtual Jewel Box Tanner Book Club How we watch The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Fellowships, research, and professional development Fellowships Current Fellows and Fellowship Events Tanner Labs Research Interest Groups Gateway to Learning Workshops Mormon Studies (mormon.utah.edu) Search Site Powered by the University of Utah Powered by Search Campus Tanner Humanities Center Home Event Alex Beam, author of Wallace Stegner: Dean of Western Writers Alex Beam, author of Wallace Stegner: Dean of Western Writers Date & Time: Monday, October 20, 2025 3:00pm Location: Marriott Library, Learning Space 2753 On/Off Campus: On Campus American writer and journalist Alex Beam will speak about his new biography, Wallace Stegner: Dean of Western Writers, published by Signature Books. Beam’s biography follows Wallace Stegner from his upbringing on the Canadian-American frontier and in Salt Lake City, to his prominent roles as novelist, essayist, teacher, and environmental advocate. The book examines Stegner’s time on the faculty of Stanford University, where he founded the Stegner Writing Fellowship, and his work with the Sierra Club and the U.S. Department of the Interior, including the authorship of the influential “Wilderness Letter” on the importance of open spaces. It also addresses the controversies and debates surrounding his career, including a plagiarism dispute over his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Angle of Repose. Stegner was a student at the University of Utah, graduating in 1930. Beam has written extensively on literature, history, and culture. A longtime columnist for The Boston Globe, he has also worked for Newsweek and BusinessWeek. His nonfiction works include American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church (PublicAffairs); The Feud: Vladimir Nabokov, Edmund Wilson, and the End of a Beautiful Friendship (Pantheon); and Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece (Random House). His writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and Forbes. Directions and parking information from the Marriott Library. For updates and more events, join our mailing list. The Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah supports academic research, public engagement, and educational programming in the humanities. Views expressed in events and programming do not represent the official views of the Center or University. Sponsors: Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks Get Tickets Map Similar Events Cory Doctorow, author of “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It” Tanner Talks and Conversations Wednesday, February 18, 2026 7:00pm Learn More Joseph R. Metz, “The Feeling of the Form: Empathy and Aesthetics from Büchner to Rilke” Tanner Talks and Conversations Tuesday, March 31, 2026 12:00pm Learn More C. Thi Nguyen, “The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game” Tanner Talks and Conversations Wednesday, February 4, 2026 3:00pm Learn More PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST About About the Center Our Team Advisory Boards Support the Center Join our mailing list Fellowships, research, and professional development Fellowships Current Fellows and Fellowship Events Tanner Labs Research Interest Groups Gateway to Learning Workshops Mormon Studies (mormon.utah.edu) Tanner Humanities Center Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building 215 S Central Campus Dr Rm 110 Salt Lake City UT 84112 801-581-7989 News and Events News Center Events National Theatre Live Podcast: The Virtual Jewel Box Tanner Book Club How we watch The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Centers and Programs in Humanities American West Center Asia Center Environmental Humanities International Studies Latin American Studies Middle East Center Mormon Studies Peace and Conflict Studies Second Language Teaching and Research Center Taft-Nicholson Environmental Humanities Education Center © 2026 THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Nondiscrimination & Accessibility Disclaimer Privacy About the U Media Contacts