Spur Award

Given by Western Writers of America Inc. (WWA)

660 Works / 670 Items 92,031 Books 3,635 Reviews 4.0

Western Writers of America annually honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West with the Spur Awards. Since 1953 the Spur Awards have been considered one of the most prestigious

show more awards in American literature. Spurs are given for the best western historical novel, best western traditional novel, best western contemporary novel, best short story, best short nonfiction. Also, best contemporary nonfiction, best biography, best history, best juvenile fiction and nonfiction, best drama, best documentary, best poem, best song, best children’s picture book and best first novel as well as best first nonfiction book. show less

Stages:: All, Winner (435), Finalist (235)
Categories:: All, Biography (10), Children's Picture Book (4), First Nonfiction Book (6), First Novel (22), First Western Novel (1), Historical Novel (34), Juvenile (24), Juvenile Fiction (33), Juvenile Nonfiction (33), Mass Market Paperback Novel (8), Medicine Pipe Bearer Award (14), Nonfiction (37), Nonfiction-Biography (12), Nonfiction-Contemporary (15), Nonfiction-Historical (12), Novel (32), Novel of the West (19), Original Mass Market Paperback (14), Original Mass Market Paperback Novel (3), Original Paperback (16), Original Paperback Novel (1), Poetry (5), Romance (2), Romance Novel (1), Storyteller (18), Storyteller (Illustrated Children’s Book) (2), Storyteller (llustrated Children’s Book) (1), Storyteller Award (8), Traditional Novel (9), Western Audiobook (3), Western Biography (9), Western Contemporary Nonfiction (23), Western Contemporary Novel (24), Western Historical Nonfiction (22), Western Historical Novel (15), Western Juvenile Fiction (23), Western Juvenile Nonfiction (17), Western Long Novel (16), Western Mass Market Paperback Novel (7), Western Nonfiction Biography (17), Western Nonfiction Contemporary (16), Western Nonfiction Historical (16), Western Novel (22), Western Romance Novel (4), Western Short Fiction (1), Western Short Novel (14), Western Storyteller (2), Western Storyteller (Illustrated Childrens' Book) (2), Western Storyteller, illustrated Children’s Book (2), Western Traditional Novel (15), No Category (4)
Years:: All, 2023 (22), 2022 (30), 2020 (22), 2019 (28), 2018 (31), 2017 (21), 2016 (29), 2015 (24), 2014 (27), 2013 (22), 2012 (26), 2011 (27), 2010 (21), 2009 (29), 2008 (9), 2007 (12), 2006 (11), 2005 (13), 2004 (9), 2003 (10), 2002 (11), 2001 (11), 2000 (8), 1999 (6), 1998 (9), 1996 (10), 1995 (8), 1994 (7), 1993 (8), 1992 (7), 1991 (6), 1990 (7), 1989 (4), 1988 (5), 1987 (5), 1986 (5), 1985 (4), 1984 (4), 1983 (3), 1982 (5), 1981 (5), 1980 (3), 1979 (2), 1978 (3), 1977 (4), 1976 (5), 1975 (4), 1974 (3), 1973 (4), 1972 (5), 1971 (4), 1970 (5), 1969 (5), 1968 (5), 1967 (6), 1966 (4), 1965 (5), 1964 (3), 1963 (5), 1962 (4), 1961 (3), 1960 (3), 1959 (4), 1958 (4), 1957 (4), 1956 (4), 1955 (2), 1954 (2), 1953 (3)

Stages List

Winner 435

Work	Category	Year
The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show by Casey Day Rislov	Children's Picture Book	2023
American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Years, 1865-1890 by Clyde W. Toland	First Nonfiction Book	2023
Before Billy the Kid by Melody Groves	Western Biography	2023
A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, New Mexico by Bob Rosebrough	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2023
Beasts of the Earth by James Wade	Western Contemporary Novel	2023
Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America by Megan Kate Nelson	Western Historical Nonfiction	2023
Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins	Western Historical Novel	2023
Wish Upon a Crawdad by Curtis W. Condon	Western Juvenile Fiction	2023
Joe Foss, Fighter Pilot: American Ace by Hector Curriel	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2023
Dead Man's Trail (A Carson Stone Western Book 1) by Nate Morgan	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2023
Proving Her Claim: On the Dakota Frontier by CK Van Dam	Western Romance Novel	2023
The Secret in the Wall: A Novel (Silver Rush Mysteries Book 8) by Ann Parker	Western Traditional Novel	2023
Charlie Russell and the Gnomes of Bull Head Lodge by Emily Crawford Wilson	Children's Picture Book	2022
Public Waters: Lessons from Wyoming for the American West by Anne MacKinnon	First Nonfiction Book	2022
The Loving Wrath of Eldon Quint by Chase Pletts	First Novel	2022
The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon's Life of Science and Art by Wynne Brown	Western Biography	2022
Defending the Arctic Refuge: A Photographer, an Indigenous Nation, and a Fight for Environmental Justice (Flows, Migrations, and Exchanges) by Finis Dunaway	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2022
Dark Sky by C. J. Box	Western Contemporary Novel	2022
Cheyenne Summer: The Battle of Beecher Island: A History by Terry Mort	Western Historical Nonfiction	2022
Ridgeline: A Novel by Michael Punke	Western Historical Novel	2022
Cow Boyhood: The Adventures of Wilder Good #7 by S. J. Dahlstrom	Western Juvenile Fiction	2022
This Side of Hell (A Widowmaker Jones Western) by Brett Cogburn	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2022
Imperfect Promise (Wheeler Publishing Large Print Softcover Western) by Susanna Lane	Western Romance Novel	2022
The Loving Wrath of Eldon Quint by Chase Pletts	Western Traditional Novel	2022
Nighthawk Rising: A Biography of Accused Cattle Rustler Queen Ann Bassett of Brown's Park by Diana Kouris	Biography	2020
The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story by David Crow	First Nonfiction Book	2020
On Swift Horses: A Novel by Shannon Pufahl	First Novel	2020
Someplace to Call Home by Sandra Dallas	Juvenile Fiction	2020
Spotted Tail by David Heska Wanbli Weiden	Juvenile Nonfiction	2020
Cherokee America by Margaret Verble	Traditional Novel	2020
Country Music: An Illustrated History by Dayton Duncan	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2020
On Swift Horses: A Novel by Shannon Pufahl	Western Contemporary Novel	2020
Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power by Pekka Hämäläinen	Western Historical Nonfiction	2020
Let 'er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People's Champion by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson	Western Storyteller	2020
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú	First Nonfiction Book	2019
The River by Starlight: A Novel by Ellen Notbohm	First Novel	2019
White Hat: The Military Career of Captain William Philo Clark by Mark J. Nelson	Western Biography	2019
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2019
The Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson	Western Contemporary Novel	2019
Native but foreign : indigenous immigrants and refugees in the North American borderlands by Brenden W. Rensink	Western Historical Nonfiction	2019
River of Porcupines by G. K. Aalborg	Western Historical Novel	2019
Taos Lightning by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Juvenile Fiction	2019
Hawke's War by Reavis Z. Wortham	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2019
The Return of Kid Cooper by Brad Smith	Western Traditional Novel	2019
Frank Little and the IWW: The Blood That Stained an American Family by Jane Little Botkin	First Nonfiction Book	2018
Double Wide by Leo W. Banks	First Western Novel	2018
Silver City: A Novel of the American West (A Cash McLendon Novel) by Jeff Guinn	Traditional Novel	2018
Frank Little and the IWW: The Blood That Stained an American Family by Jane Little Botkin	Western Biography	2018
A land apart : the Southwest and the Nation in the twentieth century by Flannery Burke	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2018
Double Wide by Leo W. Banks	Western Contemporary Novel	2018
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann	Western Historical Nonfiction	2018
The Coming by David Osborne	Western Historical Novel	2018
Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival by Matthew P. Mayo	Western Juvenile Fiction	2018
Hell Hath No Fury by Charles G. West	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2018
The Promise Bride (A Montana Brides Romance) by Gina Welborn	Western Romance Novel	2018
Fergus and the greener grass by Jean Abernethy	Western Storyteller	2018
The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting by Fernanda Santos	First Nonfiction Book	2017
Return to Red River by Johnny D. Boggs	Original Mass Market Paperback Novel	2017
Seasons of the Bear: A Yosemite Story by Ginger Wadsworth	Storyteller (Illustrated Children’s Book)	2017
Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe Jackson	Western Biography	2017
New Deal Cowboy: Gene Autry and Public Diplomacy by Michael Duchemin	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2017
Off the Grid by C. J. Box	Western Contemporary Novel	2017
The Apache Wars by Paul Andrew Hutton	Western Historical Nonfiction	2017
Trouble Returns (Ruby and Maude Adventure) by Nancy Oswald	Western Juvenile Fiction	2017
The Wolves of Currumpaw by William Grill	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2017
The Mustanger and the Lady (The Brandiron) by Dusty Richards	Western Traditional Novel	2017
American Copper by Shann Ray	First Novel	2016
Lords of an Empty Land by Randy Denmon	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2016
Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T. J. Stiles	Western Biography	2016
The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin by Leisl Carr Childers	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2016
Crazy Mountain Kiss by Keith McCafferty	Western Contemporary Novel	2016
William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest by William Heath, 1942-	Western Historical Nonfiction	2016
Paradise Sky by Joe R. Lansdale	Western Historical Novel	2016
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson	Western Juvenile Fiction	2016
This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon by Nancy Plain	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2016
Buckaroo Bobbie Sue by JoJo Thoreau	Western Storyteller (Illustrated Childrens' Book)	2016
The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas	Western Traditional Novel	2016
Red Light to Starboard: Recalling the Exxon Valdez Disaster by Angela Day	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2015
Bad Country by CB McKenzie	Western Contemporary Novel	2015
American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890 by Jerome A. Greene	Western Historical Nonfiction	2015
Wild Ran the Rivers (Five Trails West) by James D. Crownover	Western Historical Novel	2015
Tasunka: A Lakota Horse Legend by Donald F. Montileaux	Western Storyteller (Illustrated Childrens' Book)	2015
The Big Drift by Patrick Dearen	Western Traditional Novel	2015
Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman	First Novel	2014
Yosemite's Songster: One Coyote's Story by Ginger Wadsworth	Storyteller	2014
Light of the World by James Lee Burke	Western Contemporary Novel	2014
Silent We Stood by Henry Chappell	Western Historical Novel	2014
Papa's Gold by Ellen Gray Massey	Western Juvenile Fiction	2014
Jack London: An American Life by Earle Labor	Western Nonfiction Biography	2014
Vacationland: Tourism and Environment in the Colorado High Country (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books) by William Philpott	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2014
Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's Greatest Escape by Mark Lee Gardner	Western Nonfiction Historical	2014
Crossing Purgatory: A Novel by Gary Schanbacher	Western Traditional Novel	2014
Panhandle by Brett Cogburn	First Novel	2013
The Coyote Tracker (A Josiah Wolfe Novel) by Larry D. Sweazy	Original Mass Market Paperback	2013
Wide Open by Larry Bjornson	Western Juvenile Fiction	2013
Light on the Prairie by Nancy Plain	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2013
With Blood in Their Eyes by Thomas Cobb	Western Long Novel	2013
Geronimo by Robert M. Utley	Western Nonfiction Biography	2013
Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History by Deanne Stillman	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2013
With Golden Visions Bright Before Them: Trails to the Mining West, 1849-1852 (Overland West Series) by Will Bagley	Western Nonfiction Historical	2013
Tucker's Reckoning by Matthew P. Mayo	Western Short Novel	2013
Double Crossing by Meg Mims	First Novel	2012
West Texas Kill by Johnny D. Boggs	Original Mass Market Paperback	2012
Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat by Bryan Langdo	Storyteller Award	2012
Birdie by Candace Simar	Western Juvenile Fiction	2012
Migrant mother : how a photograph defined the Great Depression by Don Nardo	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2012
Remember Ben Clayton by Stephen Harrigan	Western Long Novel	2012
George Crook: From the Redwoods to Appomattox by Paul Magid	Western Nonfiction Biography	2012
The Bitterroot and Mr. Brandborg: Clearcutting and the Struggle for Sustainable Forestry in the Northern Rockies by Frederick H Swanson	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2012
The Mormon Rebellion: America's First Civil War, 1857-1858 by David L. Bigler	Western Nonfiction Historical	2012
Legacy of a Lawman: A Western Story (Five Star Western Series) by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Short Novel	2012
Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto	First Novel	2011
Damnation Road (Pinnacle Westerns) by Max McCoy	Original Mass Market Paperback	2011
Last Train from Cuernavaca by Lucia St. Clair Robson	Western Long Novel	2011
Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. Haley	Western Nonfiction Biography	2011
The Frontier of Leisure: Southern California and the Shaping of Modern America by Lawrence Culver	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2011
The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers	Western Nonfiction Historical	2011
Snowbound by Richard S. Wheeler	Western Short Novel	2011
Stranger in Thunder Basin by John D. Nesbitt	Original Mass Market Paperback	2010
Echoes of Glory by Robert Flynn	Western Long Novel	2010
Peg Leg : the improbable life of a Texas hero, Thomas William Ward, 1807-1872 by David C. Humphrey	Western Nonfiction Biography	2010
Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead	Western Short Novel	2010
The Wheat Doll by Alison Randall	Storyteller	2009
I Am Apache by Tanya Landman	Western Juvenile Fiction	2009
The Trial of Standing Bear by Frank Keating	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2009
Shavetail by Thomas Cobb	Western Long Novel	2009
Frontiersman: Daniel Boone and the Making of America by Meredith Mason Brown	Western Nonfiction Biography	2009
Full Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Champions of the World by Linda Peavy	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2009
Hunting the American West: The Pursuit of Big Game for Life, Profit, and Sport, 1800-1900 by Richard C. Rattenbury	Western Nonfiction Historical	2009
Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson	Western Short Novel	2009
God's Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana by Carol Buchanan		2009
The Night Birds by Thomas Maltman	First Novel	2008
Doubtful Cañon by Johnny D. Boggs	Juvenile Fiction	2008
Sagebrush and Paintbrush: The Story of Charlie Russell, the Cowboy Artist by Nancy Plain	Juvenile Nonfiction	2008
Gall: Lakota War Chief by Robert W. Larson	Nonfiction-Biography	2008
Lone Star Lawmen: The Second Century of the Texas Rangers by Robert M. Utley	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2008
Creating Minnesota: A History from the Inside Out by Annette Atkins	Nonfiction-Historical	2008
Hellfire Canyon by Max McCoy	Original Paperback	2008
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle	Western Long Novel	2008
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas	Western Short Novel	2008
Broken Trail by Alan Geoffrion	First Novel	2007
Geronimo by Joseph Bruchac	Juvenile Fiction	2007
Bleeding Kansas and the violent clash over slavery in the heartland by Jeff C. Young	Juvenile Nonfiction	2007
Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life by Kingsley M. Bray	Nonfiction-Biography	2007
Copper chorus : mining, politics, and the Montana press, 1889-1959 by Dennis L. Swibold	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2007
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides	Nonfiction-Historical	2007
The Horse Creek Incident (Herschel Baker) by Dusty Richards	Original Paperback	2007
Across the High Divide by Laurie Wagner Buyer	Poetry	2007
Tatanka And the Lakota People: A Creation Story by Donald F. Montileaux	Storyteller	2007
The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook	Western Long Novel	2007
Comanche Moon - Part 1	Western Short Fiction	2007
The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman	Western Short Novel	2007
Black Storm Comin' by Diane Lee Wilson	Juvenile Fiction	2006
The First Americans: The Story of Where They Came From and Who They Became by Anthony Aveni	Juvenile Nonfiction	2006
Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People (American Heroes) by Candy Moulton	Nonfiction-Biography	2006
Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923 by David Dorado Romo	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2006
High Country: A Novel (Literature of the American West) by Willard Wyman	Novel of the West	2006
Dakota by Matt Braun	Original Paperback Novel	2006
The voice of the Borderlands by Drum Hadley	Poetry	2006
Klondike Gold by Alice Provensen	Storyteller	2006
Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show by Louis S. Warren	Western Historical Nonfiction	2006
Camp Ford by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Novel	2006
The Undertaker's Wife by Loren D. Estleman	Western Novel	2006
Field of Honor by D. L. Birchfield	First Novel	2005
Fire In the Hole! by Mary Cronk Farrell	Juvenile Fiction	2005
Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories from a Native American Childhood by EdNah New Rider Weber	Juvenile Nonfiction	2005
Black Kettle : The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace but Found War by Thom Hatch	Nonfiction-Biography	2005
The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920 by III Harris Charles H.	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2005
Beasts of the Fields: A Narrative History of California Farmworkers, 1769-1913 by Richard Steven Street	Nonfiction-Historical	2005
People of the Raven by Kathleen O'Neal Gear	Novel of the West	2005
Vengeance Valley by Richard S. Wheeler	Original Paperback	2005
A Thousand Miles of Stars: Poems by Walt McDonald	Poetry	2005
Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) across the Plains by Deborah Hopkinson	Storyteller	2005
Buy the Chief a Cadillac: A Novel by Rick Steber	Western Novel	2005
The Sergeant's Lady by Miles Hood Swarthout	First Novel	2004
Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers by Ginger Wadsworth	Juvenile Nonfiction	2004
River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West by Rebecca Solnit	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2004
One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West before Lewis and Clark by Colin G. Calloway	Nonfiction-Historical	2004
So Wild a Dream by Win Blevins	Novel of the West	2004
Plain Language: A Novel by Barbara Wright	Original Paperback	2004
Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat by Paul Zarzyski	Poetry	2004
The Star People: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson	Storyteller	2004
I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company: A Novel of Lewis and Clark by Brian Hall	Western Novel	2004
The Big Burn by Jeanette Ingold	Juvenile Fiction	2003
Raising La Belle by Mark G. Mitchell	Juvenile Nonfiction	2003
Sam Houston by James L. Haley	Nonfiction-Biography	2003
Diné: A History of the Navajos by Peter Iverson	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2003
Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Will Bagley	Nonfiction-Historical	2003
Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling	Novel of the West	2003
Oblivion's Altar:: A Novel of Courage by David Marion Wilkinson	Original Paperback	2003
The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas	Western Novel	2003
In the Days of the Vaqueros: America's First True Cowboys by Russell Freedman	Juvenile Nonfiction	2002
Corps of Discovery: A Novel of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-1806 by Jeffrey W. Tenney	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	2002
American Character: The Curious Life of Charles Fletcher Lummis and the .... by Mark Thompson	Nonfiction-Biography	2002
Bone Wars: The Excavation Of Andrew Carnegie's Dinosaur by Tom Rea	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2002
Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars by Robert V. Remini	Nonfiction-Historical	2002
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel by Brady Udall	Novel of the West	2002
Drum's Ring (G K Hall Large Print Western Series) by Richard S. Wheeler	Original Paperback	2002
Blood Sister, I Am to These Fields by Linda Hussa	Poetry	2002
The Legend of Strap Buckner: A Texas Tale by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge	Storyteller	2002
The Way of the Coyote by Elmer Kelton	Western Novel	2002
The Midnight Train Home by Erika Tamar	Juvenile Fiction	2001
Stories of Young Pioneers: In Their Own Words by Violet T. Kimball	Juvenile Nonfiction	2001
The Chivalry of Crime by Desmond Barry	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	2001
A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell by Donald Worster	Nonfiction-Biography	2001
What You See in Clear Water: Life On the Wind River Reservation by Geoffrey O'Gara	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2001
Pacific Destiny: The Three-Century Journey to the Oregon Country by Dale L. Walker	Nonfiction-Historical	2001
The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan	Novel of the West	2001
Bound for the Promise-Land by Troy D. Smith	Original Paperback	2001
Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella by Susan Lowell	Storyteller	2001
Summer of Pearls by Mike Blakely	Western Novel	2001
Wrango by Brian Burks	Juvenile Fiction	2000
The Wild Colorado: The true adventures of Fred Dellenbaugh, age 17, on the second Powell Expedition into the Grand Canyon by Richard Maurer	Juvenile Nonfiction	2000
Knight Without Armor: Carlos Eduardo Castaneda, 1896-1958 by Félix D. Almaráz	Nonfiction-Biography	2000
The Real Wild West by Michael Wallis	Nonfiction-Contemporary	2000
Prophet Annie by Ellen Recknor	Novel of the West	2000
Mine Work by Jim Davidson	Original Paperback	2000
The Prairie Train by Antoine O Flatharta	Storyteller	2000
Masterson by Richard S. Wheeler	Western Novel	2000
Petey by Ben Mikaelsen	Juvenile Fiction	1999
Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne by Ronald L. Davis	Nonfiction-Biography	1999
Devil's Bargains: Tourism in the Twentieth-Century American West by Hal K. Rothman	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1999
The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley	Novel of the West	1999
Slim and Miss Prim by Robert Kinerk	Storyteller	1999
Journey of the Dead by Loren D. Estleman	Western Novel	1999
Danger Along the Ohio by Patricia Willis	Juvenile Fiction	1998
Rattlesnake dance : true tales, mysteries, and rattlesnake ceremonies by Jennifer Dewey	Juvenile Nonfiction	1998
Keepers Of The Earth (Hell Yes, Texas Women's Series) by LaVerne Harrell Clark	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1998
Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America by J. Anthony Lukas	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1998
El Llano Estacado : exploration and imagination on the High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, 1536-1860 by John Miller Morris	Nonfiction-Historical	1998
Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry	Novel of the West	1998
Leaving Missouri by Ellen Recknor	Original Paperback	1998
Bootmaker And The Elves by Susan Lowell	Storyteller	1998
The Kiowa Verdict by Cynthia Haseloff	Western Novel	1998
Far North by Will Hobbs	Juvenile Fiction	1996
The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman	Juvenile Nonfiction	1996
Death of a Healing Woman: A Texana Jones Mystery by Allana Martin	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1996
John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas by Leon Claire Metz	Nonfiction-Biography	1996
New Westers: The West in Contemporary American Culture by Michael L. Johnson	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1996
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose	Nonfiction-Historical	1996
Sierra by Richard S. Wheeler	Novel of the West	1996
Potter's Fields by Frank Roderus	Original Paperback	1996
The Worry Stone by Marianna Dengler	Storyteller	1996
Blood of Texas by Will Camp	Western Novel	1996
Indio by Sherry Garland	Juvenile Fiction	1995
General Vallejo and the Advent of the Americans by Alan Rosenus	Nonfiction-Biography	1995
We Are a People in This World: The Lakota Sioux and the Massacre at Wounded Knee by Jr. Conger Beasley	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1995
Seeking Pleasure in the Old West by David Dary	Nonfiction-Historical	1995
Stone Song: A Novel of the Life of Crazy Horse by Win Blevins	Novel of the West	1995
Thunder in the valley by Jim R. Woolard	Original Paperback	1995
Dandelions by Eve Bunting	Storyteller	1995
The Dark Island by Robert J. Conley	Western Novel	1995
The Trail of Tears (American Events) by David K. Fremon	Juvenile	1994
Hero of Beecher Island by David Dixon	Nonfiction-Biography	1994
Raven's Exile: A Season on the Green River by Ellen Meloy	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1994
Precious Dust: The Saga of the Western Gold Rushes by Paula Mitchell Marks	Nonfiction-Historical	1994
The Far Canyon by Elmer Kelton	Novel of the West	1994
Survival: A Novel of the Donner Party by K. C. McKenna	Original Paperback	1994
St. Agnes' Stand by Thomas Eidson	Western Novel	1994
Leaving Eldorado by Joann Mazzio	Juvenile Fiction	1993
Cowboys, Indians, and Gunfighters: The Story of the Cattle Kingdom by Albert Marrin	Juvenile Nonfiction	1993
People of the Whistling Waters by Mardi Oakley Medawar	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1993
Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles by Margaret Leslie Davis	Nonfiction-Contemporary	1993
The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull by Robert M. Utley	Nonfiction-Historical	1993
Empire of Bones by Jeff Long	Novel of the West	1993
The Gila River by Gary McCarthy	Original Paperback	1993
friends by Charles Hackenberry	Western Novel	1993
The Haymeadow by Gary Paulsen	Juvenile Fiction	1992
Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley	Juvenile Nonfiction	1992
John Stone and the Choctaw Kid by Wayne Davis	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1992
Let Me Be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy by David Lavender	Nonfiction	1992
Slaughter by Elmer Kelton	Novel of the West	1992
The Golden Chance by Theodore V. Olsen	Original Paperback	1992
Nickajack by Robert J. Conley	Western Novel	1992
Rescue Josh McGuire by Ben Mikaelsen	Juvenile Fiction	1991
The Sixth Rider by Max McCoy	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1991
Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed by John S. Gray	Nonfiction	1991
The Medicine Horn by Jory Sherman	Novel of the West	1991
Rage in Chupadera by Norman Zollinger	Original Paperback	1991
Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson	Western Novel	1991
Honey Girl by Madge Harrah	Juvenile Fiction	1990
Woodsong by Gary Paulsen	Juvenile Nonfiction	1990
Caesar of Santa Fe: A Novel from History by Tim MacCurdy	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1990
Helen Hunt Jackson and Her Indian Reform Legacy by Valerie Sherer Mathes	Nonfiction	1990
Home Mountain by Jeanne Williams	Novel of the West	1990
The Changing Wind by Don Coldsmith	Original Paperback	1990
Sanctuary by Gary D. Svee	Western Novel	1990
My Daniel by Pam Conrad	Juvenile	1989
Great Plains by Ian Frazier	Nonfiction	1989
Panther in the Sky by James Alexander Thom	Novel of the West	1989
Fool's Coach by Richard S. Wheeler	Western Novel	1989
In The Face of Danger by Joan Lowery Nixon	Juvenile	1988
Spirit of the Hills by Dan O'Brien	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1988
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure by Joseph E. Stevens	Nonfiction	1988
The Homesman by Glendon Swarthout	Novel of the West	1988
Mattie by Judy Alter	Western Novel	1988
Wanderer Springs by Robert Flynn	Historical Novel	1987
A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon	Juvenile	1987
Jenny's Mountain by Elaine Long	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1987
Jessie Benton Frémont : a biography by Pamela Herr	Nonfiction	1987
Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman	Western Novel	1987
Roman by Douglas C. Jones	Historical Novel	1986
Make Way for Sam Houston by Jean Fritz	Juvenile	1986
Come Spring by Charlotte Hinger	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1986
Paper Medicine Man: John Gregory Bourke and His American West by Joseph C. Porter	Nonfiction	1986
The Blind Corral (Contemporary American fiction) by Ralph Beer	Western Novel	1986
The Snowblind Moon by John Byrne Cooke	Historical Novel	1985
Prairie Songs by Pam Conrad	Juvenile	1985
Phil Sheridan and His Army by Paul Andrew Hutton	Nonfiction	1985
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry	Western Novel	1985
Gone the Dreams and Dancing by Douglas C. Jones	Historical Novel	1984
Trapped in the Slickrock Canyon by Gloria Skurzynski	Juvenile	1984
Winterkill by Craig Lesley	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1984
Hashknife Cowboy: Recollections of Mack Hughes by Stella Hughes	Nonfiction	1984
Sam Bass by Bryan Woolley	Historical Novel	1983
Thunder on the Tennessee by G. Clifton Wisler	Juvenile	1983
Leaving Kansas by Frank Roderus	Novel	1983
Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson	Historical Novel	1982
Before the Lark by Irene Bennett Brown	Juvenile	1982
Carry the Wind by Terry C. Johnston	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1982
Albuquerque: A narrative history by Marc Simmons	Nonfiction	1982
Match Race by Fred Grove	Novel	1982
Aces and Eights by Loren D. Estleman	Historical Novel	1981
The Last Run by Mark Jonathan Harris	Juvenile	1981
Ride down the wind (A Double D western) by Wayne Barton	Medicine Pipe Bearer Award	1981
Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries by David Dary	Nonfiction	1981
Eyes of the Hawk by Elmer Kelton	Novel	1981
Getting There: Frontier Travel Without Power by Suzanne Hilton	Juvenile	1980
The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyenne by Stan Hoig	Nonfiction	1980
The Valiant Women, Vol. 1 (The Arizona Saga) by Jeanne Williams	Novel	1980
The Apaches: Eagles of the Southwest (Civilization of the American Indian Series) by Donald Emmet Worcester	Nonfiction	1979
Holdouts by William Decker	Novel	1979
The No-Return Trail by Sonia Levitin	Juvenile	1978
Pueblo, Hardscrabble, Greenhorn: Society on the High Plains, 1832-1856 by Janet Lecompte	Nonfiction	1978
Riders to Cibola by Norman Zollinger	Novel	1978
Swimming Man Burning: A Rip-Roaring Novel of the American West by Terrence Kilpatrick	Historical Novel	1977
A shepherd watches, a shepherd sings by Louis Irigaray	Juvenile	1977
The Cowgirls by Joyce Gibson Roach	Nonfiction	1977
The Great Horse Race by Fred Grove	Novel	1977
The Kincaids by Matt Braun	Historical Novel	1976
"All aboard!": The story of passenger trains in America by Phillip H. Ault	Juvenile	1976
The vanishing white man by Stan Steiner	Nonfiction	1976
The Spirit Horses by Lou Cameron	Novel	1976
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer by Douglas C. Jones	Novel	1976
Dust of the Earth by Vera Cleaver	Juvenile Fiction	1975
Ride 'em cowgirl! by Lynn Haney	Juvenile Nonfiction	1975
Lamy of Santa Fe by Paul Horgan	Nonfiction	1975
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout	Novel	1975
Susy's Scoundrel by Harold Keith	Juvenile	1974
Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket by C. L. Sonnichsen	Nonfiction	1974
A Hanging in Sweetwater by Stephen Overholser	Novel	1974
Freedom Trail by Jeanne Williams	Juvenile Fiction	1973
Red Power on the Rio Grande: The American Revolution of 1680. by Franklin Folsom	Juvenile Nonfiction	1973
Burnt-out Fires, California's Modoc Indian War by Richard H. Dillon	Nonfiction	1973
The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton	Novel	1973
Chiricahua by Will Henry	Historical Novel	1972
Only Earth and Sky Last Forever by Nathaniel Benchley	Juvenile Fiction	1972
The Tiguas: the lost tribe of city Indians by Stan Steiner	Juvenile Nonfiction	1972
The Time of the Buffalo by Tom McHugh	Nonfiction	1972
A Killing in Kiowa by Lewis B. Patten	Novel	1972
The Black Mustanger by Richard Wormser	Juvenile Fiction	1971
Lords of the Earth: A History of the Navajo Indians. by Jules Loh	Juvenile Nonfiction	1971
Western life and adventures, 1889 to 1970, by Elliott Speer Barker	Nonfiction	1971
The Day the Cowboys Quit by Elmer Kelton	Novel	1971
Cayuse courage by Evelyn Lampman	Juvenile Fiction	1970
Retreat to the Bear Paw; The story of the Nez Percé by Marian T. Place	Juvenile Nonfiction	1970
Search for the Seven Cities; the Opening of the American Southwest by John Upton Terrell	Juvenile Nonfiction	1970
The Buffalo: The Story of American Bison and Their Hunters from Prehistoric Times to the Present by Francis D. Haines	Nonfiction	1970
The Last Days of Wolf Garnett by Clifton Adams	Novel	1970
The White Man s Road by Benjamin Capps	Historical Novel	1969
The Meeker Massacre by Wayne D. Overholser	Juvenile Fiction	1969
Conquistadors and Pueblos: The Story of the American Southwest 1540-1848 by Olga Hall-Quest	Juvenile Nonfiction	1969
Boss Cowman: The Recollections of Ed Lemmon, 1857-1946 by Ed Lemmon	Nonfiction	1969
Tragg's Choice by Clifton Adams	Novel	1969
The Red Sabbath by Lewis B. Patten	Historical Novel	1968
Middl'un by Elizabeth Burleson	Juvenile Fiction	1968
Rifles and war bonnets by Marian T. Place	Juvenile Nonfiction	1968
Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West by Vardis Fisher	Nonfiction	1968
Down the Long Hills by Louis L'Amour	Novel	1968
The Wolf Is My Brother by Chad Oliver	Historical Novel	1967
The dunderhead war; a novel by Betty Baker	Juvenile Fiction	1967
Half-breed by Evelyn Sibley Lampman	Juvenile Fiction	1967
American Heritage Junior Library: To the Pacific with Lewis and Clark by Ralph K. Andrist	Juvenile Nonfiction	1967
America's Western Frontiers: The Exploration and Settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West by John Arkas Hawgood	Nonfiction	1967
The Valdez Horses by Lee Hoffman	Novel	1967
Hellfire Jackson by Garland Roark	Historical Novel	1966
Valley of the Smallest: The Life Story of a Shrew by Aileen Lucia Fisher	Juvenile Nonfiction	1966
America's Frontier Heritage by Ray Allen Billington	Nonfiction	1966
My Brother John by Herbert Purdum	Novel	1966
Gold in California! by Todhunter Ballard	Historical Novel	1965
Mountain Man by Vardis Fisher	Historical Novel	1965
The Stubborn One by Rutherford George Montgomery	Juvenile	1965
The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.	Nonfiction	1965
Sam Chance by Benjamin Capps	Novel	1965
Indian Fighter by E. E. Halleran	Historical Novel	1964
Ride a Northbound Horse by Richard Wormser	Juvenile	1964
The Trail to Ogallala by Benjamin Capps	Novel	1964
The Gates of the Mountains by Will Henry	Historical Novel	1963
By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman	Juvenile	1963
The Story Catcher by Mari Sandoz	Juvenile	1963
The Bonanza West: The Story of the Western Mining Rushes, 1848-1900 by William S. Greever	Nonfiction	1963
Follow the Free Wind by Leigh Brackett	Novel	1963
Moontrap: A Novel by Don Berry	Historical Novel	1962
The Western Horse :A Handbook by Natlee Kenoyer	Juvenile	1962
Great Surveys of the American West (American Exploration and Travel Series) by Richard A. Bartlett	Nonfiction	1962
Comanche Captives by Fred Grove	Novel	1962
The Winter War by William Wister Haines	Historical Novel	1961
The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill by Don Russell	Nonfiction	1961
The Honyocker by Giles A. Lutz	Novel	1961
From Where the Sun now Stands by Will Henry	Historical Novel	1960
South Pass, 1868: James Chisholm's Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush by James Chisholm	Nonfiction	1960
The Nameless Breed by Will C. Brown	Novel	1960
The Buffalo Soldiers by John Prebble	Historical Novel	1959
Hold Back the Hunter by Dale White	Juvenile Nonfiction	1959
The Day of San Jacinto by Frank X. Tolbert	Nonfiction	1959
Long Run by Nelson Nye	Novel	1959
The Fancher train by Amelia Bean	Historical Novel	1958
Steamboat Up the Missouri by Dale White	Juvenile	1958
Cripple Creek Days, A Nostalgic Reminiscence of the Last of the Great Gold Rush Towns by Mabel Barbee Lee	Nonfiction	1958
Short cut to Red River by Noel M. Loomis	Novel	1958
The Silver Mountain by Dan Cushman	Historical Novel	1957
Wolf Brother by Jim Kjelgaard	Juvenile	1957
This is the West by Robert West Howard	Nonfiction	1957
Buffalo Wagons by Elmer Kelton	Novel	1957
Generations of Men by John Clinton Hunt	Historical Novel	1956
Trapping the silver beaver by Charley Niehuis	Juvenile	1956
Men to Match My Mountains: The Opening of the Far West, 1840-1900 by Irving Stone	Nonfiction	1956
High gun by Leslie Ernenwein	Novel	1956
Whoop-up country; the Canadian-American West, 1865-1885 by Paul F. Sharp	Nonfiction	1955
Somewhere They Die by L. P. Holmes	Novel	1955
Bent's Fort by David Lavender	Nonfiction	1954
The Violent Land by Wayne D. Overholser	Novel	1954
The wheel and the hearth by Lucia Moore	Historical Novel	1953
Sagebrush sorrel by Frank C. Robertson	Juvenile	1953
Law Man by Lee Leighton	Novel	1953

Finalist 235

Work	Category	Year
A Place for Harvest: The Story of Kenny Higashi by Lauren R. Harris	Children's Picture Book	2023
River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan	Western Contemporary Novel	2023
The Widowed Ones: Beyond the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Chris Enss	Western Historical Nonfiction	2023
The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation by Mark Lee Gardner	Western Historical Nonfiction	2023
Pony Boys (Curse of the Niobrara Trilogy, 1) by Richard Prosch	Western Historical Novel	2023
Justice for All: The Search for Big Poker Tom by Wayne E. Purcell	Western Historical Novel	2023
Tenmile by Sandra Dallas	Western Juvenile Fiction	2023
Elmer Kelton's The Unlikely Lawman: A Hewey Calloway Adventure (Hewey Calloway, 4) by Steve Kelton	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2023
All My Sins Remembered: Classic Western Series (Bloody Joe Mannion Book 5) by Peter Brandvold	Western Traditional Novel	2023
A Man Called Justice: A Classic Western Series with Heart (Silent Justice Book 1) by John Deacon	Western Traditional Novel	2023
Montana's Memory Day: a nature-themed foster/adoption story by Sue Lawrence	Children's Picture Book	2022
Jim Bridger : trailblazer of the American West by Jerry Enzler	Western Biography	2022
Cockeyed Happy: Ernest Hemingway's Wyoming Summers with Pauline by Darla. Worden	Western Biography	2022
Making Circles: The Memoir of a Cowboy Journalist by Barney Nelson	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2022
Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana by Abe Streep	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2022
Dissolution (The Wyoming Chronicles, #1) by W. Michael Gear	Western Contemporary Novel	2022
A Particular Madness by Sheldon Russell	Western Contemporary Novel	2022
Iron Women: The Ladies Who Helped Build the Railroad by Chris Enss	Western Historical Nonfiction	2022
War on the Border: Villa, Pershing, the Texas Rangers, and an American Invasion by Jeff Guinn	Western Historical Nonfiction	2022
The Last Comanche Warrior by James D. Crownover	Western Historical Novel	2022
The Healing of Natalie Curtis by Jane Kirkpatrick	Western Historical Novel	2022
Bats, Bandits & Buggies: Ruby and Maude Adventure Book 4 by Nancy Oswald	Western Juvenile Fiction	2022
Maddie McDowell and the Rodeo Robbery by Luann M Rod	Western Juvenile Fiction	2022
Ralph Compton the Too-Late Trail (The Trail Drive Series) by Matthew P. Mayo	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2022
Lost Mountain Pass by Larry D. Sweazy	Western Mass Market Paperback Novel	2022
The Transformation of Chastity James by Kathleen Morris	Western Romance Novel	2022
The Comanche Kid by James Robert Daniels	Western Traditional Novel	2022
Deputized (Five Star Western) by T L Davis	Western Traditional Novel	2022
The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber	Historical Novel	2020
The Fang of Bonfire Crossing: Legends of the Lost Causes by Brad McLelland	Juvenile Fiction	2020
The Cost of Dying (Lou Prophet, Bounty Hunter) by Peter Brandvold	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2020
Dark Territory by Terrence McCauley	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2020
The Telegraph Proposal (A Montana Brides Romance) by Gina Welborn	Romance Novel	2020
Rowdy Randy by Casey Rislov	Storyteller	2020
The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story by David Crow	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2020
Saving Grand Canyon: Dams, Deals, and a Noble Myth by Byron E. Pearson	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2020
Sweep Out the Ashes: A Novel by Mary Clearman Blew	Western Contemporary Novel	2020
This Side of Night by J. Todd Scott	Western Contemporary Novel	2020
Terror on the Santa Fe Trail: Kit Carson and the Jicarilla Apache by Doug Hocking	Western Historical Nonfiction	2020
The Mormon Handcart Migration: "Tounge nor pen can never tell the sorrow" by Candy Moulton	Western Historical Nonfiction	2020
The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Michael F. Blake	Biography	2019
Line of Glory: A Novel of the Alamo (Thorndike Press Large Print Western) by Thomas D. Clagett	Historical Novel	2019
This Scorched Earth: A Novel of the Civil War by Gear William	Historical Novel	2019
The Long Shadow (Winds of Freedom) by Beth Kanell	Historical Novel	2019
Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas	Juvenile Fiction	2019
Lust for Glory: An Epic Story of Early Texas and the Sacrifice That Defined a Nation by Stephen L. Hardin	Juvenile Nonfiction	2019
Where the Bullets Fly by Terrence McCauley	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2019
No Justice in Hell by Charles G. West	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2019
Out of the Ashes by Tracie Peterson	Romance	2019
The River by Starlight: A Novel by Ellen Notbohm	Traditional Novel	2019
Born to the Badge (Wyatt Earp: An American Odyssey) by Mark Warren	Traditional Novel	2019
The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West by John (Watusi) Branch	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2019
Folly Cove: A Smuggler's True Tale of the Pot Rebellion by Kermit Schweidel	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2019
Acid West: Essays by Joshua Wheeler	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2019
Deep Fire Rise by Jon Gosch	Western Contemporary Novel	2019
Broken Field: A Novel by Jeff Hull	Western Contemporary Novel	2019
The Bonanza King: John Mackay and the Battle over the Greatest Riches in the American West by Gregory Crouch	Western Historical Nonfiction	2019
West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express by Jim DeFelice	Western Historical Nonfiction	2019
Tom Jeffords, friend of Cochise by Doug Hocking	Biography	2018
Tejano Tiger : José de los Santos Benavides and the Texas-Mexico borderlands, 1823-1891 by Jerry D. Thompson	Biography	2018
Moon Hunt by W. Michael Gear	Historical Novel	2018
Copper Sky by Milana Marsenich	Historical Novel	2018
Viva, Rose! by Susan Krawitz	Juvenile Fiction	2018
The True Story of Jim the Wonder Dog by Marty Rhodes Figley	Juvenile Nonfiction	2018
Lotta Crabtree: Gold Rush Fairy Star by Lois Harris	Juvenile Nonfiction	2018
Bold Women in Montana History by Beth Judy	Juvenile Nonfiction	2018
Buzzard Bait (A Widowmaker Jones Western) by Brett Cogburn	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2018
Valley of Bones (A Byrnes Family Ranch Novel) by Dusty Richards	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2018
Courting Carrie in Wonderland by Carla Kelly	Romance	2018
Abraham (Mount Rushmore Presidential Series) by Frank Keating	Storyteller	2018
Lexie the Word Wrangler by Rebecca Van Slyke	Storyteller	2018
Huck Out West: A Novel by Robert Coover	Traditional Novel	2018
Slate Creek: Journey to the White Clouds (Five Star Western Series) by Wallace J Swenson	Traditional Novel	2018
Lakota performers in Europe : their culture and the artifacts they left behind by Steve Friesen	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2018
Behind the Carbon Curtain: The Energy Industry, Political Censorship, and Free Speech by Jeffrey A. Lockwood	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2018
Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon	Western Contemporary Novel	2018
Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West by Christopher Knowlton	Western Historical Nonfiction	2018
Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde by John Boessenecker	Biography	2017
Nobody Rich or Famous: A Family Memoir by Richard Shelton	Biography	2017
The Green Colt: The Adventures of Wilder Good #4 by S. J. Dahlstrom	Juvenile Fiction	2017
Entertaining Women: Actresses, Dancers, and Singers in the Old West by Chris Enss	Juvenile Nonfiction	2017
Widowmaker Jones (A Widowmaker Jones Western) by Brett Cogburn	Original Mass Market Paperback Novel	2017
Voices of the western frontier by Sherry Garland	Storyteller (Illustrated Children’s Book)	2017
News of the World by Paulette Jiles	Traditional Novel	2017
The Contractor by James C. Work	Traditional Novel	2017
The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting by Fernanda Santos	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2017
Stories from Afield: Adventures with Wild Things in Wild Places (Outdoor Lives) by Bruce L. Smith	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2017
Hidden Star by Corinne Joy Brown	Western Contemporary Novel	2017
Juan Bautista de Anza: The King's Governor in New Mexico by Carlos R. Herrera	Biography	2016
The Gray Fox: George Crook and the Indian Wars by Paul Magid	Biography	2016
Playing Custer by Gerald Duff	Historical Novel	2016
The Memory Weaver: A Novel by Jane Kirkpatrick	Historical Novel	2016
Chili Queen: Mi historia by Marian Martinello	Juvenile Fiction	2016
Rawhide Robinson Rides The Range: True Adventures Of Bravery by Rod Miller	Juvenile Fiction	2016
Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them by Terri Farley	Juvenile Nonfiction	2016
Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People by S.D. Nelson	Juvenile Nonfiction	2016
Thunder at Dawn (Frontier) by S. K. Salzer	Mass Market Paperback Novel	2016
Frontier by S. K. Salzer	Original Mass Market Paperback Novel	2016
The Hero Twins : A Navajo-English Story of the Monster Slayers (2015) by Jim Kristofic	Storyteller (llustrated Children’s Book)	2016
The Long High Noon by Loren D. Estleman	Traditional Novel	2016
Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River by Kenna Lang Archer	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2016
Unbranded by Ben Masters	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2016
The Darkness Rolling: A Novel (Yazzie Goldman) by Win Blevins	Western Contemporary Novel	2016
The Canyon: A Novel by Stanley Crawford	Western Contemporary Novel	2016
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck	Western Historical Nonfiction	2016
Ladies of the Canyons: A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest by Lesley Poling-Kempes	Western Historical Nonfiction	2016
Tom Horn in Life and Legend by Larry D. Ball	Biography	2015
The Life and Legends of Calamity Jane by Richard W. Etulain	Biography	2015
Wilderburbs: Communities on Nature's Edge by Lincoln Bramwell	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2015
Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land by Dan O'Brien	Western Contemporary Nonfiction	2015
Any Other Name by Craig Johnson	Western Contemporary Novel	2015
The Red Bird All-Indian Traveling Band (Sun Tracks) by Frances Washburn	Western Contemporary Novel	2015
South Pass: Gateway to a Continent by Will Bagley	Western Historical Nonfiction	2015
Chasing the Santa Fe Ring: Power and Privilege in Territorial New Mexico by david l. caffey	Western Historical Nonfiction	2015
A Light in the Wilderness: A Novel by Jane Kirkpatrick	Western Historical Novel	2015
Backlands by Michael McGarrity	Western Historical Novel	2015
Poison Spring (Five Star Western Series) by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Juvenile Fiction	2015
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas	Western Juvenile Fiction	2015
Battle of Little Bighorn by John Hamilton	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2015
How the West Was Drawn: Women's Art by Linda Osmundson	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2015
Tumbleweed Baby by Anna Myers	Western Storyteller, illustrated Children’s Book	2015
Alice from Dallas by Marilyn Sadler	Western Storyteller, illustrated Children’s Book	2015
Dance With the Devil (The Devil's Own) by JD March	Western Traditional Novel	2015
The Poachers Daughter (Five Star Western Series) by Michael Zimmer	Western Traditional Novel	2015
The Buffalo Rock (A Novel) by Bob Faulkner	First Novel	2014
Crossing Purgatory: A Novel by Gary Schanbacher	First Novel	2014
La Grulla by John R. Wright	First Novel	2014
May Finds Her Way - The Story of an Iditarod Sled Dog by Betty Selakovich Casey	Storyteller	2014
Standing in for Lincoln Green by David Mackintosh	Storyteller	2014
The Old Man's Love Story (Chicana and Chicano Visions of the Americas series) by Rudolfo Anaya	Western Contemporary Novel	2014
Kind of Kin by Rilla Askew	Western Contemporary Novel	2014
Greasy Grass: A Story of the Little Bighorn (Five Star Western Series) by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Historical Novel	2014
The Promise by Ann Weisgarber	Western Historical Novel	2014
Summer of the Star: A Western Story (Five Star Western Series) by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Juvenile Fiction	2014
How I Became A Ghost by Tim Tingle	Western Juvenile Fiction	2014
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party by Nathan Hale	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2014
Cowboy Stuntman: From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen by Dean Smith	Western Nonfiction Biography	2014
Trees in Paradise: A California History by Jared Farmer	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2014
Bright Light City: Las Vegas in Popular Culture by Larry Gragg	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2014
The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend by Bob Drury	Western Nonfiction Historical	2014
Destiny Made Them Brothers by Andrew J. Fenady	Western Traditional Novel	2014
The Hardest Ride by Gordon L. Rottman	Western Traditional Novel	2014
Wide Open by Larry Bjornson	First Novel	2013
The Secret of Lodestar by Tim Champlin	Original Mass Market Paperback	2013
Redemption: Hunters by James Reasoner	Original Mass Market Paperback	2013
And There I'll Be a Soldier: A Western Story by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Juvenile Fiction	2013
Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake	Western Long Novel	2013
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin	Western Long Novel	2013
Ho! For the Black Hills: Captain Jack Crawford Reports the Black Hills Gold Rush and Great Sioux War by Paul L. Hedren	Western Nonfiction Biography	2013
"That Fiend in Hell": Soapy Smith in Legend by Catherine Holder Spude	Western Nonfiction Biography	2013
Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West by Ruben Martinez	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2013
Terrible Justice: Sioux Chiefs and U.S. Soldiers on the Upper Missouri, 1854–1868 by Doreen Chaky	Western Nonfiction Historical	2013
Deliverance from the Little Big Horn: Doctor Henry Porter and Custer's Seventh Cavalry by Joan Nabseth Stevenson	Western Nonfiction Historical	2013
Lonesome Animals by Bruce Holbert	Western Short Novel	2013
City of Rocks: A Western Story (Five Star Western Series) by Michael Zimmer	Western Short Novel	2013
Unbridled by Tammy Hinton	First Novel	2012
The Long Hunt by Cameron Judd	Original Mass Market Paperback	2012
Between Hell and Texas: A Byrnes Family (A Byrnes Family Ranch Novel) by Dusty Richards	Original Mass Market Paperback	2012
The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town by Mary Casanova	Storyteller Award	2012
Henrietta King: A Queen Named King by Mary Dodson Wade	Storyteller Award	2012
South by Southwest: A Western Story (Five Star Western Series) by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Juvenile Fiction	2012
Wolves in Blue: Stories of the North Brothers and Their Pawnee Scouts by Jean A. Lukesh	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2012
How the West Was Drawn: Frederic Remington's Art by Linda Osmundson	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2012
rode by Thomas Fox Averill	Western Long Novel	2012
Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke	Western Long Novel	2012
Ned Wynkoop and the Lonely Road from Sand Creek by Louis Kraft	Western Nonfiction Biography	2012
Will Rogers: A Political Life by Richard D. White, Jr.	Western Nonfiction Biography	2012
Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life by Jim Kristofic	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2012
Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border by Rachel St. John	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2012
After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country by Paul L. Hedren	Western Nonfiction Historical	2012
Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America by Richard White	Western Nonfiction Historical	2012
'Nada by Daniel Boyd	First Novel	2011
A Congregation of Jackals by S. Craig Zahler	First Novel	2011
The Lawman: Avenging Angels by Lyle Brandt	Original Mass Market Paperback	2011
Wulf's Tracks (Herschel Baker) by Dusty Richards	Original Mass Market Paperback	2011
Arbor Day Square by Kathryn O. Galbraith	Storyteller Award	2011
Jackson Hole Journey by Linda Jacobs	Western Audiobook	2011
Crosswire by Dotti Enderle	Western Juvenile Fiction	2011
The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors by Francisco Stork	Western Juvenile Fiction	2011
Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2011
Tecumseh: Shooting Star of the Shawnee by Dwight Jon Zimmerman	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2011
Gold Under Ice by Carol Buchanan	Western Long Novel	2011
Going Through Ghosts (WEST WORD FICTION) by Mary Sojourner	Western Long Novel	2011
Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez by John Boessenecker	Western Nonfiction Biography	2011
Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs: The Life of Velma Johnston by David Cruise	Western Nonfiction Biography	2011
Arizona's Little Hollywood: Sedona and Northern Arizona's Forgotten Film History 1923–1973 (Sedona Monthly Books) by Joe McNeill	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2011
Goodbye Wifes and Daughters by Susan Kushner Resnick	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2011
So Rugged and Mountainous: Blazing the Trails to Oregon and California, 1812-1848 (Overland West) by Will Bagley	Western Nonfiction Historical	2011
Beyond Bear's Paw: The Nez Perce Indians in Canada by Jerome A. Greene	Western Nonfiction Historical	2011
Wild Penance by Sandi Ault	Western Short Novel	2011
Roy & Lillie: A Love Story by Loren D. Estleman	Western Short Novel	2011
A Cold Place In Hell by William Blinn	Original Mass Market Paperback	2010
The Lawman: Hanging Judge by Lyle Brandt	Original Mass Market Paperback	2010
Kick the Cowboy by Joe Gribnau	Storyteller Award	2010
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson	Storyteller Award	2010
Mundy's Law: The Legend of Joe Mundy by Monty McCord	Western Audiobook	2010
Journey to Goliad (Mr. Barrington's Mysterious Trunk) by Melodie A. Cuate	Western Juvenile Fiction	2010
The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan	Western Juvenile Fiction	2010
Arizona : Nations and Art by Annica Benning	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2010
Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2010
Tenderfoot by Mary E. Trimble	Western Long Novel	2010
Mormon Convert, Mormon Defector: A Scottish Immigrant in the American West, 1848-1861 by Polly Aird	Western Nonfiction Biography	2010
As Big as the West: The Pioneer Life of Granville Stuart by Clyde A. Milner II	Western Nonfiction Biography	2010
Borderline Americans: Racial Division and Labor War in the Arizona Borderlands by Katherine Benton-Cohen	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2010
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2010
Crossing the Plains With Custer by Paul Horsted	Western Nonfiction Historical	2010
Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886 (Western Lands and Waters) by Wm. B. Shillingberg	Western Nonfiction Historical	2010
Spoon: A Novel by Robert Greer	Western Short Novel	2010
Undiscovered Country: A Novel by Lin Enger	First Novel	2009
Her Enemies, Blue & Gray by Ellen Gray Massey	Juvenile Fiction	2009
The Gold Rush Kid by Mary Waldorf	Juvenile Fiction	2009
The Trespassers (Leisure Historical Fiction) by Andrew J. Fenady	Original Mass Market Paperback	2009
I, Quantrill by Max McCoy	Original Mass Market Paperback	2009
Ten-Gallon Bart and the Wild West Show by Susan Stevens Crummel	Storyteller Award	2009
Daniel Boone's Great Escape by Michael P. Spradlin	Storyteller Award	2009
Letter of the Law by C. K. Crigger	Western Audiobook	2009
A Boy Named Beckoning: The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Intermediate Grades) by Gina Capaldi	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2009
The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman	Western Juvenile Nonfiction	2009
Wolves at Our Door by J.P.S. Brown	Western Long Novel	2009
The Long Knives Are Crying by Joseph M. Marshall, III	Western Long Novel	2009
Horses That Buck: The Story of Champion Bronc Rider Bill Smith (The Western Legacies Series) by Margot Kahn	Western Nonfiction Biography	2009
A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir by Donald Worster	Western Nonfiction Biography	2009
Stricken Field: The Little Bighorn Since 1876 by Jerome A. Greene	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2009
What Men Call Treasure: The Search for Gold at Victorio Peak by David Schweidel	Western Nonfiction Contemporary	2009
Frontier Medicine: From the Atlantic to the Pacific, 1492-1941 by David Dary	Western Nonfiction Historical	2009
A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn--The Last Great Battle of the American West by Jim Donovan	Western Nonfiction Historical	2009
Dreams Beneath Your Feet by Win Blevins	Western Short Novel	2009
Killstraight by Johnny D. Boggs	Western Short Novel	2009
A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher	First Novel	2005
Blood Kin by Henry Chappell	Novel of the West	2005
Where Skulls Speak Wind (Winner, 2004 Texas Review Poetry Prize) by Larry D. Thomas		2005
The callings by Henry Chappell	First Novel	2003
Silver Lies by Ann Parker		2003
Amazing Grace (Winner, 2001 Texas Review Poetry Prize) by Larry D. Thomas		2002
Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend by Ted Yeatman	Western Biography	2001

Descriptions

Western Writers of America annually honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West with the Spur Awards. Since 1953 the Spur Awards have been considered one of the most prestigious awards in American literature. Spurs are given for the best western historical novel, best western traditional novel, best western contemporary novel, best short story, best short nonfiction. Also, best contemporary nonfiction, best biography, best history, best juvenile fiction and nonfiction, best drama, best documentary, best poem, best song, best children’s picture book and best first novel as well as best first nonfiction book.

(English, Award granter)
URL: https://westernwriters.org/spur-awards/

Lists of Spur Award winners are at:
http://westernwriters.org/winners/ (English, Member-written)

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Spur Award

Given by Western Writers of America Inc. (WWA)

Winner 435

Finalist 235

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Spur Award

Given by Western Writers of America Inc. (WWA)

Winner 435

Finalist 235

Descriptions

Tagsshow numbers

Top Members

Links

Images

Similar Awards and Honors

Helpers

New Awards and Honors

Common Knowledge

Tags