The LAURA Award showcases Women Writing the West members’ writing talents and celebrates the short story form. Entries must feature a female protagonist and the story must be set in the American West in the present time, the past, or the future. Open only to WWW members.
Quick Links:
Criteria, Guidelines & Rubrics | 2025 Winner & Finalists | Previous LAURA Journals
The LAURA Short Fiction Award entry closed May 1, 2026
The entries are now with the screeners and Judge
For information on the 2026 LAURA Short Fiction Award, please contact LAURA Short Fiction Award Chair, Susan Tweit.
2026 LAURA Short Fiction Contest
Final Judge Lisa Bessone
Lisa Bessone, a graduate of Dartmouth College, has worked on the writing and editorial staffs of Sports Illustrated in New York and Outside in Chicago and Santa Fe. At SI, she was among the first female reporters to enter the locker rooms of pro teams. At Outside, she edited the book news section, and developed the prototype for both a women’s and kids’ version of Outside. She also edited a coffee table book of the magazine’s award-winning photographers.
She left Outside to become VP and Global Director of Communications for Christie’s International Real Estate, the realty arm for Christie’s fine art auction house. In that capacity, she wrote marketing materials, including books and videos, aimed at selling the world’s finest art and real estate.
The mother of two, and recently a proud grandmother, she lives in Santa Fe with her husband, horse, dog and two cats. She is working on a novel set in the Santa Fe area featuring a woman who loves horses (surprise, surprise!) and taking fiction-writing courses toward her certificate at Stanford University.
WWW is pleased to announce the Winner and Finalists for the 2025 LAURA Short Fiction Award
Final placings were announced during the 2025 Virtual Conference, October 16 – 18.
Congratulations!
First Place
“The Homeplace”
by Michelle Ferrer
Second Place
“William’s Cup”
by Betsy Randolph
Third Place – Tie
“The Gamble”
by Pamela Redcliff
Third Place – Tie
“Forest Dark”
by Bonnie Hobbs
The 2026 LAURA Short Fiction Awards entry period will open February 1, 2026.
The LAURA Short Fiction Award is open to members of WWW only.
Entries will be accepted between February 1 and May 1, 2026.
In 2007, President-Elect Kathleen Ernst presented a seed of an idea to the WWW Board of Directors. Her proposal, a short story contest, offered a threefold foundation: showcase WWW members’ writing talents, celebrate the short story form, and add another benefit to membership. Unlike the WILLA Literary Awards, only WWW members would be eligible to enter their previously unpublished story featuring a female protagonist, and set in the American West, past, present or future.
Approaching its second year, the WWW Short Story Contest gained a new name: the LAURA Award. Mirroring a part of the traditions of our WILLA Literary Award, which is named after one of America’s foremost authors, Willa Cather, the Short Story Committee decided to give the contest a recognized name, as well. In honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the contest was christened the LAURA Award.
WWW members enthusiastically embraced the contest. Spurred by members’ requests to have an opportunity to read the winning stories, and eager to showcase the extraordinary talent of our members, the WWW LAURA Committee decided to present a collection of the winning stories in an online journal, available here, at the WWW website.
So, sit down, pull up to your computer, and take a trip with us through the American West. We have a hunch Ms.Wilder herself would be mightily entertained!
The LAURA Journal
