And the Winners Are . . .

Western Writers of America, Inc., the writers' organization that celebrates "Literature of the West for the World," has announced the Winners and Finalists for the 2012 Spur Awards. Winners will receive their award plaques in a gala ceremony on June 16, 2012, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

2012 Spur Award Winners and Finalists

BEST WESTERN LONG NOVEL
Winner:
Stephen Harrigan, Remember Ben Clayton, Alfred A. Knopf

Finalists:
Thomas Fox Averill, Rode, University of New Mexico Press
James Lee Burke, Feast Day of Fools, Simon & Schuster

BEST WESTERN SHORT NOVEL
Winner:
Johnny D. Boggs, Legacy of a Lawman, Five Star Publishing

Finalists:
Joe Henry, Lime Creek, Random House
Alan C. Huffines, Killed by Indians 1871, Texas Wesleyan University Press

BEST ORIGINAL MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Winner:
Johnny D. Boggs, West Texas Kill, Pinnacle Books/Kensington

Finalist:
Cameron Judd, The Long Hunt, Signet/Penguin
Dusty Richards, Between Hell and Texas, Pinnacle Books/Kensington

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Winner:
Meg Mims, Double Crossing, Astraea Press

Finalists:
Tammy Hinton, Unbridled, Roots & Branches/AWOC Publishing
Stephen B. Smart, Whispers of the Greybull, High Mule Publishing

BEST WESTERN NONFICTION – HISTORICAL (TO 1900)
Winner:
David L. Bigler and Will Bagley, The Mormon Rebellion, University of Oklahoma Press

Finalists:
Paul L. Hedren, After Custer, University of Oklahoma Press
Richard White, Railroaded, W.W. Norton & Company

BEST WESTERN NONFICTION – CONTEMPORARY (1900 TO PRESENT)
Winner:
Frederick H. Swanson, The Bitterroot and Mr. Brandborg, University of Utah Press

Finalists:
Jim Kristofic, Navajos Wear Nikes, University of New Mexico Press
Rachel St. John, Line in the Sand, Princeton University Press

BEST WESTERN NONFICTION – BIOGRAPHY
Winner:
Paul Magid, George Crook, University of Oklahoma Press

Finalists:
Louis Kraft, Ned Wynkoop and the Lonely Road from Sand Creek, University of Oklahoma Pres
Richard D. White, Jr. Will Rogers: A Political Life, Texas Tech University Press

BEST WESTERN SHORT FICTION STORY
Winner: (TIE)
Rod Miller, “The Death of Delgado,” Western Fictioneers
Clay Reynolds, “The Deacon’s Horse,” Ink Brush Press

Finalists:
Shann Ray, “The Great Divide,” Graywolf Press

BEST WESTERN SHORT NONFICTION
Winner:
Paul Andrew Hutton, “The Alamo, Well Remembered,” Wild West Magazine

Finalists:
John R. Wunder, “That No Thorn Will Pierce Our Friendship,” Western Historical Quarterly
Mark Dworkin, “The Wild West’s Premier Mythmaker,” Wild West Magazine

BEST WESTERN JUVENILE FICTION
Winner:
Candace Simar, Birdie, North Star Press of St. Cloud

Finalists:
Johnny D. Boggs, South by Southwest, Five Star Publishing/Gale
Nancy Oswald, Rescue in Poverty Gulch, Filter Press

BEST WESTERN JUVENILE NONFICTION
Winner:
Don Nardo, Migrant Mother, Compass Point Books/Capstone

Finalists:
Jean A. Lukesh, Wolves in Blue, Field Mouse Productions
Linda L. Osmundson, How the West Was Drawn, Pelican Publishing

BEST WESTERN DRAMA SCRIPT (FICTION)
Winner:
John Logan, Rango, Nickelodeon Movies

Finalists:
Jonathan Raymond, Meek’s Cut-Off
Miguel Barros, Blackthorn, Rogue Pictures

BEST WESTERN DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT (NONFICTION)
Winner:
Cindy Meehl, Director, and Julie Goldman, Producer, Buck, Cedar Creek Productions

No finalists

STORYTELLER AWARD
Winner:
Bryan Langdo, Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat, Marshall Cavendish

Finalists:
Mary Casanova. The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Mary Dodson Wade, Henrietta King, Bright Sky Press

BEST WESTERN POEM
Winner:
Rod Miller, “Tabula Rasa,” Port Yonder Press

Finalists:
Floyd Collins, “What Harvest: Poems on the Siege & Battle of the Alamo,” Somondoco Press
Larry D. Thomas, “The Red, Candle-lit Darkness,” El Grito del Lobo Press

BEST WESTERN AUDIOBOOK
No Award Given

BEST WESTERN SONG
Winner:
Jon Chandler. “Morning Star Moon,” Western Dog Publishing

Finalists:
Wylie Gustafson, “Raven on the Wind,” Two Medicine Music
Bob Thomas, “The Cowboy,” Easy Bob Music

Congratulations to all of you!