2019 Winners

Best Western Historical Novel

Winner:River of Porcupines , by G.K. Aalborgand published by Five Star Publishing

Finalists:This Scorched Earth: A Novel of the Civil War, by William Gearand published by Forge

Finalists:Line Of Glory: A Novel of the Alamo, by Thomas D. Clagettand published by Five Star Publishing

Finalists:The Long Shadow, by Beth Kanelland published by Five Star Publishing

Best Western Contemporary Novel

Winner:The Flicker of Old Dreams, by Susan Hendersonand published by HarperCollins

Finalists:Deep Fire Rise, by Jon Goschand published by Latah Books

Finalists:Broken Field: A Novel, by Jeff Hulland published by Arcade-Skyhorse Publishing

Best Western Mass Market Paperback Novel

Winner:Hawke’s War, by Reavis Z. Worthamand published by Pinnacle/Kensington

Finalists:No Justice In Hell, by Charles G. Westand published by Pinnacle/Kensington

Finalists:Where the Bullets Fly, by Terrence McCauleyand published by Pinnacle/Kensington

Best Western Romance Novel

Winner:The Woman Who Built a Bridge, by C. K. Criggerand published by Wolfpack Publishing

Finalists:Out of the Ashes, by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouseand published by Bethany House

Finalists:Courting Carrie in Wonderland, by Gina Welborn and Becca Whithamand published by Zebra/Kensington Publishing

Best Western Traditional Novel

Winner:The Return of Kid Cooper, by Brad Smithand published by Arcade-Skyhorse Publishing

Finalists:The River by Starlight, by Ellen Notbohmand published by She Writes Press

Finalists:Born to the Badge, by Mark Warrenand published by Five Star Publishing

Best Western Biography

Winner:White Hat: The Military Career of Captain William Philo Clark, by Mark J. Nelsonand published by University of Oklahoma Press

Finalists:Polly Pry: The Woman Who Wrote the West, by Julia Bricklinand published by TwoDot

Finalists:The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt, by Michael F. Blakeand published by TwoDot

Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction

Winner:The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border, by Francisco Cantúand published by Riverhead Books

Finalists:The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West, by John Branchand published by W.W. Norton & Co.

Finalists:Folly Cove: A Smuggler’s Tale of the Pot Rebellion, by Kermit Schweideland published by Cinco Puntos Press

Finalists:Acid West: Essays, by Joshua Wheelerand published by MCD x FSG Originals

Best Western Historical Nonfiction

Winner:Native but Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American Borderlands, by Brenden W. Rensinkand published by Texas A&M University Press

Finalists:Bonanza King: John Mackay and the Battle Over the Greatest Riches in the American West, by Gregory Crouchand published by Scribner

Finalists:West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express, by Jim DeFeliceand published by William Morrow

Best Western Juvenile Fiction

Winner:Taos Lightning, by Johnny D. Boggsand published by Center Point Large Print

Finalists:Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary, by Rod Millerand published by Five Star Publishing

Finalists:Hardscrabble, by Sandra Dallasand published by Sleeping Bear Press

Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction

Winner:Buffalo Heartbeats Across the Plains: The Last Great Hunts and Saving the Buffalo, by Francie M. Bergand published by Dakota Buttes Visitors Council

Finalists:Lust For Glory: An Epic Story of Early Texas and the Sacrifice that Defined a Nation, by Stephen L. Hardinand published by State House Press

Best Western Storyteller

Winner:Montana for Kids: The Story of Our State, by Allen Morris Jonesand published by Bangtail Press

Finalists:Fergus and the Night Before Christmas, by Jean Abernathyand published by Trafalgar Square Books

Best Western Short Fiction

Winner:Buck’s Last Ride, by Therese Greenwoodand published by Coffin Hop Press

Finalists:Wren’s Perch, by Vonn McKeeand published by Five Star Publishing

Finalists:Byrd’s Luck, by Jeffrey J. Mariotteand published by Western Fictioneers

Best Western Short Nonfiction

Winner:Art, Agency, and Conservation: A Fresh Look at Albert Bierstadt’s Vision of the West, by Peter H. Hassrickand published by Montana the Magazine of Western History

Finalists:Railroad Man, by Clay Reynoldsand published by New Madrid: Journal of Contemporary Literature

Finalists:The Piikuni and the U.S. Army’s Piegan Expedition: Competing Narratives of the 1870 Massacre on the Marias River, by Rodger C. Hendersonand published by Montana: The Magazine of Western History

Best Western Poem

Winner:Prairie Center, by John D. Nesbittand published by R.R. Productions

Finalists:Americana West, 1911: Sidney, Montana, by Red Shuttleworthand published by Blue Horse Press

Best Western Song

Winner:The Outside Circle, by Mike Blakely and Damon Rogersand published by Quien Sabe Music

Finalists:And the River Ran Red, by Brenn Hill and Rod Millerand published by Defenders Recording Co.

Finalists:The Ballad of Josiah Wilbarger, by Mike Blakelyand published by Quien Sabe Music

Best Western Drama Script

Winner:The Rider, by Chloe Zhaoand published by Sony Pictures

Best First Western Novel

Winner:The River by Starlight, by Ellen Notbohmand published by She Writes Press

Best First Western Nonfiction Book