Craig Johnson reads latest Christmas story to Campbell County crowd
Wyoming writer Craig Johnson signs a few books and talks with the crowd following his annual holiday visit to Gillette to read his latest Christmas story. Photo by David Neri, Gillette News Record.
GILLETTE — A fancy Christmas Eve party, a Game and Fish Warden 17 hours out of town, an irate socialite and one possibly rabid skunk spelled a recipe for one interesting evening for Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire in author Craig Johnson’s latest Christmas story, “Scents of the Season.”
Reading to a packed room at the Campbell County Public Library Saturday for the first stop in the author’s annual Christmas Tour, Johnson, a resident of Ucross, said this latest story was inspired in part by his own personal experience, leading to what the storyteller described as a “truly Olympic-level shot put.”
By the time Johnson began his latest Christmas story, it was standing room only in the Wyoming Room.
“I think the turnout was great,” said CCPL Executive Director John Jackson. “I believe it was more than we had last year. I did not get a count, but by the feel of the room, every chair was full, including the extra ones.”
Looking back over the past few months, 2025 has proved to be a big year for Johnson. The longtime Wyoming resident was awarded the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature back in March while his 21st novel in the Longmire series, “Return to Sender,” hit the shelves back in May.
Following the reading, Johnson also had the chance to answer a few questions from the audience and drop a few tidbits on his next Longmire novel: “The Brothers McKay.” Set to be released in 2026, Johnson described the story as a retelling of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” but, in his words, “on a dude ranch in Wyoming.”
Asked about his thoughts on his latest Christmas story after getting the chance to read it aloud, he said he always finds little things to fix at each stop, long ago having accepted what he termed “artistic dissatisfaction” when taking a look at his own work.
“You never stop,” Johnson said. “Every time you read it you are always like, ‘I got to fix that, that’s not right, I got to do this, I got to do that.’ I have accepted that, after 20 years, it’s just a normal response.”
Gillette was the first to hear his new Christmas story.
Johnson’s tour included readings of “Scents of the Season” at the Story Branch Library on Friday, Ten Sleep Library and the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo on Saturday and the Tongue River Branch Library in Ranchester and the Sheridan Fulmer Public Library on Sunday.
Johnson said that this Christmas tradition, now going on 17 years, gives him the opportunity to see longtime fans.
“My favorite part is getting to see everybody,” he said. “Generally, I only get to see readers when I am on a tour in the spring or in the summer, so tonight’s an opportunity to be able to see everybody and say ‘hi’ and share something funny. It is always great to be here, and I’ll be back in the spring.”
This story was published on Dec. 16, 2025.