Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Program

The Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Program was established in 2001 to inspire new generations of writers in honor of Nevada writer Robert Laxalt, who developed from news reporter to fiction and nonfiction author during his prolific career. Considered by many to be Nevada’s finest writer, Laxalt founded the University of Nevada Press and wrote 17 books, four of which were entered for the Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote for National Geographic and served as a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Reynolds School of Journalism for 18 years, teaching magazine writing and literary journalism. Since 2010, Nevada Humanities has joined the Reynolds School of Journalism as a partner in producing this program, which takes place in Reno each fall.

2023 Awardee Jon Ralston

The University of Nevada, Reno Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, in partnership with Nevada Humanities, presents the 2023 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Jon Ralston. Jon Ralston has been covering politics in Nevada for more than 30 years and is the founder and CEO of The Nevada Independent. His blog, Ralston Reports, was founded in 2012 and now lives on The Nevada Independent website. Jon wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal for 15 years, the last seven as a freelance columnist. In 1999, Greenspun Media Group purchased his political newsletter, The Ralston Report, and hired him as a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun where his byline appeared until September 2012. He was also a columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal from January 2015 until November 2016, when he left to start The Nevada Independent. Over the years, Jon has hosted several TV programs, and he also writes and publishes Flash, a Nevada-centric newsletter that frames the political agenda for the day, breaks news, and offers analysis and snark. In 2012, Politico named Jon one of the Top 50 "Politicos to Watch." He frequently appears on MSNBC, FOX News, and PBS, and he has also appeared on NBC's long-running Meet the Press.