Carolyne Whelan

Board Secretary
Carolyne Whelan is a freelance writer and editor with a focus on adventure sports and wildness. She's been with Writing Coaches of Montana since 2024. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University and is the recipient of the Jan-ai Fellowship to the Murphy Winter Writing Conference, Ralph Waldo Emerson Fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center, a scholarship to the Community of Writers at Lake Tahoe, as well as to the Tupelo Press Truchas Peaks Conference. Her first chapbook, The Glossary of Tania Aebi, was published by Finishing Line Press, with other small press releases to follow. Her work has appeared in Sierra, ESPN, Bicycling, Belt, Roads & Kingdoms, and many other trade and literary journals. Previously, Carolyne was the editor-in-chief of Adventure Cyclist and Dirt Rag and editorial director at Overland Expo, and is the founder and head coach at Forward Motion Writing, which supports athletes in their journeys turning transformative experiences into inspiring stories. She lives in Missoula, Montana where she can often be found emerging from a trail with twigs caught in her hair.