Nelson Coral Nye (1907–1997) was an American writer, editor, and reviewer of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
fiction, and wrote non-fiction books on
quarter horses
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...
. Besides Nelson C. Nye he also wrote fiction using the pseudonyms Clem Colt and Drake C. Denver. He wrote over 125 books, won two
Spur Award
Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...
s: one for best Western reviewer and critic, and one for his novel ''Long Run'', and in 1968 won the
Saddleman Award for "“Outstanding Contributions to the American West.”
Nelson Nye was born September 28, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois. Before becoming a ranch hand in 1935, he wrote publicity releases and book reviews for the Cincinnati Times-Star and the Buffalo Evening News. He published his first novel in 1936 and continued writing for 60 years. He served with the U.S. Army field artillery during World War II. He worked as the horse editor for Texas Livestock Journal from 1949–1952.
In 1953 Nye co-founded the
Western Writers of America (WWA) and served as its first president during 1953–1954. He was also the first editor of ''ROUNDUP'', the WWA periodical that is still published today.
From 1958–1962 he was the frontier fiction reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, and served a second term as president of the WWA from 1960–1961.
Nye became a breeder and trainer of, and expert on, quarter horses, and wrote several non-fiction books on quarter horses and quarter racing. Nye died October 4, 1997 in Tucson at the age of 90.
Publications
Nonfiction
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Fiction
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* (novelization of the screenplay by
Leon Uris
Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books including '' Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976).
Life and career
Uris was born in Ba ...
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References
External links
Western Writers of America*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nye, Nelson C
1907 births
1997 deaths
Western (genre) writers
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
Novelists from Arizona
Writers from Tucson, Arizona
20th-century American male writers