In the exhilarating spirit of Wild and A Walk in the Park, WILDFIRE DAYS is an adventure-filled memoir of a woman’s struggle to succeed as a wildland firefighter on an elite, male-dominated crew as they battle some of the fiercest wildfires in the West.
Available in hardcover, eBook, and unabridged audiobook (narrated by the author). Use the link above or look for WILDFIRE DAYS at your favorite independent bookstore. If money is an issue, ask your local library to order some copies!
Publisher: Scribner (Simon & Schuster)
“Kelly Ramsey is that combination of a badass and a great writer that we all strive for.”
—Sebastian Junger, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tribe
"Tense action, fraught self-examination, pain, triumph, and romance make Wildfire Days propulsive and unforgettable."
—Shelf Awareness
“A frank, funny, fast-paced, and heartfelt portrait of the grueling work of wildland firefighting, and a deeply moving account of what it means to love someone consumed by the flames of addiction without being sucked into the fire yourself.”
—Ash Davidson, author of Damnation Spring
"[A] vivid debut memoir . . . Arresting prose, plenty of action, and a strong emotional undercurrent make this sing."
—Publishers Weekly
“Nobody has captured the violent dualities of wildfire quite like Kelly Ramsey has in Wildfire Days. I was left in awe.”
—Amanda Monthei, former wildland firefighter and host of Life with Fire podcast
About Kelly
Kelly Ramsey was born in Frankfort, Kentucky. She studied poetry writing at the University of Virginia and earned an MFA in fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. She co-founded The Lighthouse Works, an artists’ residency program on Fishers Island, New York, and later moved to Northern California, where she worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a trail maintenance worker, wilderness ranger, and wildland firefighter on a hotshot crew. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Sierra, Electric Literature, Catapult, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the anthology Letter to a Stranger. She loves creeks, lakes, coffee, the ocean, punishing hikes, diner breakfasts, getting too much sun, and plants—even if their care remains a mystery. She lives in Bishop, California, with her partner, their daughter, and their dog, a lab mix who won’t swim named Rookie.
If your book club is reading Wildfire Days, Kelly is available to visit virtually (or in-person, location depending!). And if you’re a writer seeking help with a manuscript, Kelly offers book coaching to support you and ensure you finish that first draft. Don’t hesitate to reach out! She’d love to hear from you.
Photo by Lindsey Shea
WILDFIRE DAYS In the wild
Read reviews in The LA Times, the Washington Post, Shelf Awareness, and KQED
Read excerpts of the book in OUTSIDE Magazine, Newsweek, and LitHub
Hear Kelly on NPR’s “Here and Now,” Sirius XM’s Road Gang Radio, Life with Fire, and the Living Planet podcast
Hear more on OPB’s Weekend Edition, LAist Air Talk, North State Public Radio’s “Nancy’s Bookshelf,” and the Jefferson Exchange
See me on PBS KVIE’s “Rob on the Road” and Portland’s “AM Northwest”
Some Other WORDS
Beautiful Country Burn Again, the story of fire return and climate trauma, in Sierra
A story about good and bad fire in the National Forest Foundation magazine (Light & Seed)
Story about the Owens Valley Paiute Tribes and the City of Los Angeles, in Sierra
A firefighter pay story in Sierra
Wildland firefighters and unemployment in The Washington Post
Personal essay in Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us
A piece on Women in fire, in Mystery Ranch
A very old fictional story about dating Elon Musk and getting exiled to Mars, in Catapult
your book,
this year.
I offer coaching for writers who are serious about completing a book-length manuscript. Often, this will be an early draft of a debut novel or memoir.
Struggles with self-doubt, limiting beliefs, and inconsistent writing routines can hinder a writer’s progress. Let us help you break through the resistance and get your story down. Not someday—now.
The next coaching cohort begins in January 2026. Spots are limited; apply soon to secure your place in the program!
The Coaching Program includes:
Two 75-minute individual coaching sessions per month
A custom-created goal-setting document
Unlimited email and/or text support
Coaching reads of your work and light developmental feedback
Twice-monthly virtual Accountability Sessions over Zoom with the cohort group, moderated by Kelly
The “Book This Year” weekly plan, customized to achieve your target word count
If you’re ready to finish your book, request an application using the form below.
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I write once or twice a month about house plants and gardening, climate and fire…and mostly—let’s be honest—my feelings.
events!
June 20
Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary & Garden Arts
Berkeley, CA
in conversation with Miriam Bird Greenberg; 7:00 pm
November 8-9
Texas Book Festival
Austin, TX
Date TBD
Spellbinder Books
Bishop, CA
March 14-15, 2026
Tucson Festival of Books
Tucson, AZ
Contact
To contact Kelly directly, please use the form provided.
For other inquiries, please reach out to the following folks:
Literary: Sam Stoloff at Frances Goldin Literary Agency
Publicity: Eleanor Crowley at Scribner, Simon & Schuster