Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. Although its founders wrote traditional

Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

, the more than 600 current members also include historians and other nonfiction writers, as well as authors from other genres. WWA was founded by six authors, including D. B. Newton.

Awards

The WWA presents the

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 annually for distinguished writing in several categories, and an annual

Owen Wister Award ''Owen Wister Award'' is an annual award from the Western Writers of America given to lifelong contributions to the field of Western literature. Named for writer Owen Wister ('' The Virginian''; 1902), it is given for "Outstanding Contributions to ...

for lifelong contributions to the field of Western literature.

References

External links

* * American writers' organizations Western (genre) writers Organizations based in Wyoming Arts organizations established in 1953 1953 establishments in the United States {{US-arts-org-stub