Photo by Chris Zahniser
For Beth Judy, researching and writing Bold Women in Montana History was a dream come true, since Beth loves Montana history, women’s history, and Montana. Since Bold Women’s publication, Beth has traveled nonstop (until Covid!) to Plentywood, Libby, Dillon, Absarokee, and lots of places in between, telling the stories of the women in her book—and enjoying the hell out of doing so. Like Beth, Montanans tend to love their state’s history; men and women alike entertain especial regard and respect for their foremothers. It’s a pleasure and honor to celebrate them together.
Beth moved to Montana in 1992 to attend the University of Montana in Missoula, earning an MFA in Creative Writing (1995). As a freelance writer, she has written for Montana Magazine, Via (print and online), The Montanan, Vision, Catalyst, and Peabody Review.
From 1994 to 2016, Beth was a producer at Montana Public Radio. Her medicinal-plants program, The Plant Detective, was syndicated across the U.S. Beth produced news and features for High Plains News and National Native News, additional radio series called Etymological Dig and Spice Chest, and also coproduced Storylines Northwest, a project of the American Library Association. In 2006, she wrote background for Garrison Keillor for the live Missoula broadcast of Prairie Home Companion.
Beth majored in English at Harvard College. Her first job in 1983 was at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta writing training. She has also worked as a line editor, proofreader, commercial writer, book editor, managing editor, researcher, and indexer, and in public relations.
Beth grew up in Chicago. As a kid, she crafted little books and worked in bookstores from age 12 through college. Books and reading are a number-one love.