News from Women Writing the West:

Gracious. Generous. Determined.

Three words that come to mind when I think about the Women Writing the West members I’ve known over the years.

I’ve come to know people best by attending WWW conferences. New writers with an idea for a book sit across the banquet table with New York Times best-selling authors during meals at conferences. City-dwellers ask ranchers questions. Old friends visit and include newcomers. And the room echoes with stories of the West.

It doesn’t matter what genre a person writes, where they live, or which side of the fence they are on concerning any subject; encouraging words flow and friendships grow.

How did this all start?

Thirty years ago, authors Sybil Downing and Jerrie Hurd met for lunch to discuss how to promote their upcoming books and reach a wider audience.

Could they form an organization for women who wrote about the West while promoting women’s contributions to the West?

They shared the idea with women writers at the Western Writers of America Convention in El Paso, Texas. A small group met again in Casper, Wyoming to incorporate and launch the organization. Women Writing the West filed articles of incorporation in Colorado on November 19, 1994.

61 women, men, authors, literary agents, publishers, a television writer and producer, and the Women of the West Museum paid $100 to become Founding Members of Women Writing the West.

Women Writing the West became an internationally recognized organization and set the standard in writing, inspiring and honoring the stories of Western women.

The Women Writing the West 30^th Anniversary Conference will be held October 10-12, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. The theme, “Through A Woman’s Eyes,” honors both the perspective of women writers and the stories of the women of the West. Workshops related to the theme will focus on craft and marketing. Special recognition will be made to the Founding Members who were recently bestowed Lifetime Memberships by the 2023-2024 Board of Directors.

If you are a writer whose work is set in the West, whether you are published yet or not, whether you write the stories of women or the stories of men, we invite you to become a member of Women Writing the West. And join us in Denver!