2008 WILLA Literary Award Winners

Awarded annually for outstanding literature featuring women's stories set in the West, the WILLA Literary Awards are chosen by a distinguished panel of twenty-one professional librarians.

The 2009 WILLA winners and finalists will be announced by early August. The 2010 WILLA competition will open in November.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS!

During the Saturday banquet held at the 2008 Marketing Mavericks Conference, the 2008 WILLA Literary Award Winners were named. From top, clockwise, Jane Kirkpatrick, Louise A. Jackson, Rilla Askew, and Susan Hanson.

The 2008 WILLA Literary Award Finalists were recognized at the 2008 Marketing Mavericks Conference in San Antonio, TX. From left, Velda Brotherton, Linda Jacobs and Carol Darnell Guerrero-Murphy.

	Contemporary Fiction What the Thunder Said, Janet Peery, St. Martin’s Press (Winner) Spanish Dagger, Susan Wittig Albert, Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin Group Deadman’s Switch, Barbara Seranella, St. Martin’s/Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books
	Creative Nonfiction What Wildness Is This: Women Write About the Southwest, Editors: Susan Wittig Albert, Susan Hanson, Jan Epton Seale, Paula Stallings Yost, University of Texas Press (Winner) Navajo Women: Saanii, Betty Reid, Rio Nuevo Publishers Fly With the Morning Dove, Velda Brotherton, PublishAmerica
	Scholarly Nonfiction Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life, Pamela Smith Hill, South Dakota State Historical Society Press (Winner) Searching for Fannie Quigley: A Wilderness Life in the Shadow of Mount McKinley, Jane G. Haigh, Ohio University Press Picturing a Different West: Vision Illustration, and the Tradition of Cather and Austin, Janis P. Stout, Texas Tech University Press
	Historical Fiction Harpsong, Rilla Askew, University of Oklahoma Press (Winner) Hearts of Horses, Molly Gloss, Houghton Mifflin Tallgrass, Sandra Dallas, St. Martin’s Griffin
	Poetry Raven Eye, Margo Tamez, University of Arizona Press (Winner) Table Walking at Nighthawk, Carol Darnell Guerrero-Murphy, Ghost Road Press Tender Wild Things, Diane Jarvenpa, New Rivers Press
	Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) A Tendering in the Storm, Jane Kirkpatrick, WaterBrook Press/Random House (Winner) Shallow Grave, Lori G. Armstrong, Medallion Press, Inc. Lake of Fire, Linda Jacobs, Medallion Press, Inc.
	Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Exiled: From Tragedy to Triumph on the Missouri Frontier, Louise A. Jackson, Eakin Press (Winner) Paint the Wind, Pam Munoz Ryan, Scholastic, Inc. Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer, Gretchen Woelfle, BoydsMills Press

2009 WILLA Award Entries

The 2009 WILLA entry period is now closed.

The WILLA Literary Award is a nationally recognized award given to writers annually for books featuring stories about a woman/girl or women set in the American West. Women Writing the West, a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the Women’s West, underwrites and presents the award. Only books initially published in 2008 (in any form, hardcover, softcover, e-books, CD, Internet downloads, POD, etc.) are eligible for the WILLA Literary Awards. Books previously released/ published in ANY format prior to 2008 are not eligible. All submissions must be made in bound hard copy form. Professional librarians select Winners and Finalists. Awards will be presented at the WWW annual conference in September 2009.

Guidelines & Application

Need help deciding what category your book belongs in or if it's a good fit for the WILLAs? Check out our rubrics for more details on what we're looking for in each category.

Fiction

Creative Nonfiction

Scholarly Nonfiction

Poetry

Children's/YA:
Overview, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Picture Book

Previous Willa Award
winners and finalists