Literature of the West for the World®
Western Writers of America, Inc., was founded in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West and bestow Spur Awards for distinguished writing in the Western field. The founders were largely authors who wrote traditional Western fiction, but the organization swiftly expanded to include historians and other nonfiction authors, young adult and romance writers, and writers interested in regional history.
This is WWA today:
- Annual Convention involving editors, agents, and offering sessions on the business of writing, history, and marketing
- Spur Awards program
- Educational Symposia
- Promotion of the Literature of the American West, this country’s unique contribution to world literature
- More than 700 members from around the world
- Packing the West Educational Program
Literature of the West for the World® describes the collective product of WWA members. Western literature ranges far and wide across Western America. It includes many styles, from traditional western fiction to penetrating historical analysis, from mysteries to biographies, from romance to short stories, and from screenplays and documentaries to short stories, poetry, and songs. The Western literature our members create encompasses yesterday and today and imagines tomorrow. It is the literature of America’s society. Our members seek to uncover new facts, deal with new issues, seek more understanding, and offer more for readers to enjoy.
WWA Board:
President: Phil Mills Jr.
Vice President: Melody Groves
Secretary-Treasurer: Rocky Gibbons
Board Members: Terry A. Del Bene, Nancy Oswald, Jane Little Botkin, Deb Goodrich
WWA Appointees:
Elections: Ollie Reed
2022 Convention: Rocky Gibbons rocky@rockygibbons.com
Spur Chair: R. G. Yoho, wwa.spurawards@gmail.com
Membership: Micki Fuhrman, wwa.membershipchair@gmail.com
Subscriptions: Rocky Gibbons rocky@rockygibbons.com
Contact the WWA Office at rocky@rockygibbons.com
WWA Presidents:
2022-Present Phil Mills Jr.
2020-2022 Chris Enss
2018-2020 Nancy Plain
2016-2018 Kirk Ellis
2014-2016 Sherry Monahan
2012-2014 Dusty Richards
2010-2012 Robert J. Conley
2008-2010 Johnny D. Boggs
2006-2008 Cotton Smith
2004-2006 Rita Cleary
2002-2004 Paul Andrew Hutton
2000-2002 Loren D. Estleman
1998-2000 Mike Blakely
1996-1998 Preston Lewis
1994-1996 W. C. Jameson
1992-1994 Dale L. Walker
1990-1992 Nancy Hamilton
1988-1990 David Dary
1986-1988 Francis L. Fugate
1985-1986 Judy Alter
1984-1985 Richard C. House
1983-1984 Don Coldsmith
1982-1983 Natlee Kenoyer
1981-1982 Will C. Knott
1980-1981 Leon C. Metz
1979-1980 Paul Bailey
1978-1979 C. L. Sonnichsen
1977-1978 Roberta Cheney
1976-1977 Mel Marshall
1975-1976 Robert McCaig
1974-1975 Jeanne Williams
1973-1974 Don Worcester
1972-1973 Elsa Barker
1971-1972 William R. Cox
1970-1971 Wayne C. Lee
1969-1970 Eric Allen
1968-1969 Gordon C. Baldwin
1967-1968 Brian Garfield
1966-1967 Thomas Thompson
1965-1966 William R. Cox
1964-1965 Charles N. Heckelmann
1963-1964 William O. Turner
1962-1963 Elmer Kelton
1961-1962 Bill Burchardt
1960-1961 Nelson Nye
1959-1960 Frank C. Robertson
1958-1959 S. Omar Barker
1957-1958 Thomas Thompson
1956-1957 Bill Gulick
1955-1956 Steve Frazee
1954-1955 Noel Loomis
1953-1954 Nelson Nye
WWA Executive Directors:
2022-present Rocky Gibbons
2011-2022 Candy Moulton
2006-2011 Paul Andrew Hutton
2004-2006 James A. Crutchfield
1992-2004 James A. Crutchfield (Secretary-Treasurer)