About

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