The University of Nevada, Reno Reynolds School of Journalism is pleased to announce John L. Smith as the 2025 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer. A proud Nevadan, longtime journalist and author of several books, Smith will be recognized as this year’s Laxalt Distinguished Writer and present his talk “The Fight to Tell the Nevada Story" on Tuesday, October 7 at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium.

ABOUT JOHN L. SMITH

John L. Smith is a longtime journalist and the author of more than a dozen books. John wrote a daily column for nearly 30 years for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper, and today he freelances widely and writes a Sunday column for The Nevada Independent. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Time, Reader's Digest, and many other publications.

Smith’s most recent book “My Life in Nevada Politics” is a collaboration on the memoirs of legendary U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan.

John has received numerous awards for his writing, including the Foley-Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism from Northwestern University, the Ancil Payne Award for Ethics from the University of Oregon, and the National Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Award. He also has been honored by the National Headliner Awards, Best of the West, and Nevada Press Association. He is a member of the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame, and the recipient of the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Program was established posthumously in 2001 to inspire new generations of writers in honor of 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 in the Reynolds School for 18 years, teaching magazine writing and literary journalism.

PARKING & ACCOMODATIONS

Free parking will be available for attendees in the Whalen Parking Complex. If you require reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this event, please contact Lila Reeves-Hampton at lreeveshampton@unr.edu.

2025 Laxalt Distinguished Writer John L. Smith