Loren D. Estleman to Receive 2012 Owen Wister Award

Loren D. Estleman, recognized for both his Western and mystery novels, is the 2012 recipient of the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.  The award is given by Western Writers of America (WWA) as its highest honor and will be presented during the organization’s annual convention in June in Albuquerque, NM.

The Michigan resident, a past president of Western Writers of America, has already received Spur Awards for his novels The Undertaker’s Wife, Journey of the Dead, Aces & Eights, and his short stories, “The Bandit,” and “The Alchemist.”

He has received Western Heritage Wrangler Awards for Journey of the Dead, The Master Executioner, and his short story, “Iron Dollar.” Among his other publications are the novels Roy & Lillie: A Love Story (2010); The Branch and the Scaffold (2009); The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion (2006), and Black Power, White Smoke (2002).

“Loren’s contributions to the literature will endure for generations,” said Owen Wister Award recipient and Spur Award-winning writer Richard S. Wheeler. “He is the master of understatement, the quiet phrase that opens up whole worlds of character, or throws and arc light on the event he is portraying.”

Tom Doherty, president and publisher at Tom Doherty Associates, Tor/Forge Books, noted that Estleman is a master storyteller. “I’ve had the privilege of publishing Loren’s work for over 20 years and as I begin each book, I know I’m in for a new and special treat,” Doherty said.

The Wister Award is a bronze statue of a buffalo created especially for Western Writers of America by artist Robert Duffie. It will be presented June 16.