2015 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists

Congratulations to all!

Women Writing the West (WWW) is proud to announce the 2015 WILLA Literary Award competition Winners and Finalists, representing the best of 2014 published literature for women’s or girl’s stories set in the American West. WWW is the underwriter and annual presenter of this nationally recognized award.

Chosen by professional librarians, historians and university affiliated educators, the winning authors and their books will be honored in Redmond, Oregon, October 9-11, 2015, during the 21^st Annual Conference.

The 2015 honorees are listed with the designation of Winner and Finalist in each category.

 CONTEMPORARY FICTION

WINNER: Point of Direction by Rachel Weaver (Ig Publishing)

FINALIST: Monday, Monday by Elizabeth Crook (Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

FINALIST: Stars Go Blue by Laura Pritchett (Counterpoint Press)

HISTORICAL FICTION

WINNER: A Quilt For Christmas by Sandra Dallas (St. Martin’s Press)

FINALIST: Agnes Canon’s War by Deborah Lincoln (Blank Slate Press)

FINALIST: Timber Rose by J. L. Oakley

ORIGINAL SOFTCOVER FICTION (TRADE OR MASS MARKET)

WINNER: A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick (Revel/Baker)

FINALIST: The Story Is The Thing by Amy Hale Auker (Pen-L Publishing)

FINALIST: Walls for the Wind by Alethea Williams (Whiskey Creek Press/Start Publishing)

CREATIVE NONFICTION

WINNER: Diary of A Citizen Scientist by Sharman Apt Russell (Oregon State University Press)

FINALIST: Xylotheque by Yelizaveta P. Renfro (University of New Mexico Press)

FINALIST: Altitude Adjustment by Mary Beth Baptiste (Rowan & Littlefield)

SCHOLARLY NONFICTION

WINNER: Quite Contrary: The Litigious Life of Mary Bennett Love by David J. Langum, Sr. (Texas Tech University Press)

FINALIST: Marymount College of Kansas: A History by Patricia Ackerman (The History Press)

POETRY

WINNER: The Secret Life of Us Kids by Bonnie B. Maldonado (Far Country Press)

FINALIST: Souvenir by Aimee Suzara (Word Tech Communications)

FINALIST: Red Stain by Liza Porter (Finishing Line Press)

CHILDREN’S/YOUNG ADULT FICTION AND NONFICTION

WINNER: Searching for Silver Heels by Jeannie Mobley (Simon & Schuster)

FINALIST: Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas (Sleeping Bear Press)

FINALIST: Oveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist by Debra Winegarten (The University of Texas Press)

WWW will be seeking entries for the 2016 WILLA Literary Awards, honoring books published in 2015. The entry period begins December 1, 2015. The deadline for submission is February 1, 2016.

Visit our website at www.WomenWritingtheWest.org .