THE WILLA LITERARY AWARD
The WILLA Literary Awards, named in honor of Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Willa Cather, recognizes the best in literature, featuring women’s or girls’ stories set in the North American West that are published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a nonprofit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the Women’s West, underwrites and presents the nationally recognized award annually at the WWW Fall Conference.
The entry period for the 2025 WILLA Award, for books published in 2024, will open on November 1, 2024.
WWW is proud to announce the 26th Annual WILLA Literary Award Competition Winners and Finalists, representing the best of 2023 published literature for women’s or girls’ stories set in the North American West.
Winners and Finalists will be honored during the 30th Annual Conference, October 10 – 12, 2024.
Women Writing the West®
2024 WILLA Literary Award WINNERS and FINALISTS
HISTORICAL FICTION
WINNER: Roccie Hill, The Blood of My Mother
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Editor: Morgen Bailer
FINALIST: Sandra Dallas, Where Coyotes Howl
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Editor: Elisabeth Dyssegaard
FINALIST: Tracey Rose Peyton, Night Wherever We Go
Publisher: Ecco/HarperCollins
Editor: Sara Birmingham
MULTIFORM FICTION
WINNER: Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories
Publisher: Torrey House Press
Editor: Kirsten Johanna Allen
FINALIST: Ausma Zehanat Khan, Blood Betrayal
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Editor: Catherine Richards
FINALIST: Debra Thomas, Josie and Vic, A Novel
Publisher: She Writes Press
Editor: Patricia Daniels
ROMANCE
WINNER: Carmen Peone, Broken Bondage
Publisher: Iron Stream Fiction
Editor: Susan Cornell
FINALIST: K.S. Jones, Tastefully Texas
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Editor: Mike Bray
FINALIST: Roxanne Snopek, The Cowboy’s Lost Family
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group
Editor: Sinclair Sawhney
CREATIVE NONFICTION
WINNER: Joan Jacobson, Dr. Martha Cannon of Utah: The Unexpected Victorian Life of America’s First Female State Senator
Publisher: The History Press
Editor: Artie Crisp
FINALIST: Morgan Sjogren, Path of Light: A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon
Publisher: Torrey House Press
Editor: Kirsten Johanna Allen
FINALIST: Marcia Hensley, Away From It All: A Wyoming Love Story
Publisher: Deep Wild Press
Editor: Rick Kempa
SCHOLARLY NONFICTION
WINNER: Janelle Molony, Emigrant Tales of the Platte River Raids
Publisher: M Press Publishing
Editor: Janelle Molony
FINALIST: J.v.L. Bell and Jan Gunia, Women of the Colorado Gold Rush Era
Publisher: Filter Press
Editor: Laura Alderson
FINALIST: The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau, Janelle Molony, ed.
Publisher: M Press Publishing
Edited By Janelle Molony
CHILDREN’S FICTION AND NONFICTION
WINNER: Jessica Vitalis, Coyote Queen
Publisher: Greenwillow/HarperCollins
Editor: Martha Mihalick
FINALIST: Susan Lynn Meyer, A Sky Full of Song
Publisher: Union Square & Co./Union Square Kids
Editor: Laura Schreiber
FINALIST: Roni McFadden, Romeo and Emilia: How one brave girl rose up from, a wheelchair onto the back of a horse
Publisher: The Biscuit Press
Editor: Roni McFadden
Illustrator: Roni McFadden
YOUNG ADULT FICTION AND NONFICTION
WINNER: Heidi M. Thomas, Goth-girl to Cowgirl, a novel
Publisher: SunCatcher Publications
Editor: Heidi M. Thomas
Illustrator: Heidi M. Thomas
FINALIST: V.P. Felmlee, Autumn and the Silver Moon Stallion
Publisher: TCS Publishing
Editor: Rosco Betunada
POETRY
WINNER: Joni Wallace, Landscape With Missing River
Publisher: Barrow Street Press
Editor: Peter Covino
FINALIST: Erin Block, How You Walk Alone in the Dark
Publisher: Middle Creek Publishing & Audio
Editor: David A. Martin
FINALIST: Liza Porter, Del Bac
Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Editor: Christen Kincaid
Previous WILLA Literary Award
Winners and Finalists
The 2025 WILLA Literary Award Categories
Contemporary
FICTION:
Entries will feature the stories of western women and girls set within the fifty years prior to the book’s publication date.
HISTORICAL FICTION:
Books featuring women’s or girls’ stories set in the North American West prior to contemporary times. WWW defines Historical Fiction as any story set a minimum of 50 years prior to the publication date.
ROMANCE:
Entries in the Romance Category should have a central plot focus on the development of a relationship between two people. The plot builds toward an optimistic conclusion without including the use of erotica or erotic themes.
MYSTERY/THRILLER
Mystery entries must feature stories which focus on a puzzling crime, situation, or circumstance that needs to be solved by the protagonist. Thriller entries must feature plots which give the reader heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, anticipation, and anxiety.
CREATIVE NONFICTION:
Entries are true accounts, well told, featuring the story of a woman or girl and set in the North American West. Includes autobiographical works.
SCHOLARLY NONFICTION:
Entries in this category are typically academic or
educational in nature. Scholarship, research, organization and presentation are some of the judging criteria. Includes edited diaries, also anthologies.
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS:
Entries must have a storyline that is appropriate for ages 4-8, with short, easy-to-follow sentences. They must also have a narrative that is easy to read out loud with pictures that match the story.
MIDDLE GRADE FICTION AND NONFICTION
Fiction entries can be written about issues important to modern day readers ages 9-14, such as divorce, bullying, but without foul language or sexual content. Nonfiction books should show the importance of research, with topics that challenge readers.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION AND NONFICTION:
Entries can range from young adult books with mature themes to picture books and graphic novels; from fiction to nonfiction to poetry.
The WILLA Literary Award Guidelines
Download The WILLA Literary Award Guideline PDF for complete information
APPLICATION PERIOD FOR THE 2025 WILLA LITERARY AWARD OPENS NOVEMBER 1, 2024
Honoring Books First Published in 2024
Winners and Finalists will be announced in August, and Awards presented at the 31th Annual Conference in October, 2025.
Questions? Please contact 2025 WILLA Chair Laura Drake at [email protected]
DONATE TO THE WILLA LITERARY AWARD FUND
Your generous donation supports the annual WILLA Literary Award, which honors the best in published literature featuring women’s or girls’ stories set in all North America west of the Mississippi and includes Alaska and Hawaii. Donations of any amount are accepted throughout the year and are tax deductible!