Since its inception, the Dobie Paisano Fellowship, a writing residency located on an isolated ranch of the edge of the Texas Hill Country, has been the origin point for a series of unforgettable novels, groundbreaking essays, and extraordinary poems. Under the leadership of Audrey Slate, the program became one of the most prestigious writer retreats in the country, hosting not only some of the most important Texas writers but some of the most distinguished national and international writers as well, including Sandra Cisneros, Stephen Harrigan, Jan Reid, Oscar Casares, Dagoberto Gilb, and Lisa Sandlin.

In this fascinating memoir/history of the fellowship's first forty years, Audrey Slate traces the ongoing evolution of a fellowship that has become a sanctuary for literary minds. Through interviews, personal accounts, and deep archival research, Forty Years at Paisano narrates the lives of writers who found inspiration at Paisano Ranch and the landscape that shaped their words.