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2023 WRMA FINALISTS


Finalists are listed in alphabetical order by the authors' last names, followed by the publishing companies in parentheses. Ranking of the winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony, October 21, 2023.

WESTERN BIOGRAPHIES/MEMOIRS
Wild Bill Hickok & Buffalo Bill Cody: Plainsmen of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (TwoDot)
Where the Wind Never Sleeps by Ruth M. Sherwood
(Ruth M. Sherwood, publisher)
American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Years
by Clyde W. Toland (Flint Hills Publishing)
WESTERN TRADITIONAL FICTION
Bullets and Silver by Nik James (Sourcebooks)
Rio Hondo by Preston Lewis (Five Star)
Oklahoma Odyssey by John Mort (Bison Books)
Bozeman Paymaster: A Tale of the Fetterman Massacre
by Robert Lee Murphy (Five Star)
The Accidental Sheriff by Ron Schwab (Leafcutter Publishing)
WESTERN ROMANCE
Henley by Shanna Hatfield (Wholesome Hearts Publishing)
Change of Fortune by K.S. Jones (Five Star)
In Honor's Defense by Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House)
WESTERN FICTION SHORT STORIES
"Heart's Great Temptation" from Rebel Hearts Anthology 
by Carol Crigger (Wolfpack)
"No Quarter" from Rebel Hearts Anthology by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Wolfpack)
"Minuet" from Over Western Trails by Gail Heath (Western Fictioneers)
"Lozen's War" from Saddlebag Dispatches by Michael Norman (Saddlebag Dispatches)
"Irish Kelly and the Heartbreak Kid" from Rebel Hearts Anthology by Sharon Sala (Wolfpack)
WESTERN MODERN FICTION
Hired Hand by John Hansen (Summit Creek Press)
Echoes of Forgotten Places by Helen F. Wand (Luminare Press)
The Texas Job by Reavis Z. Wortham (Poisoned Pen Press)
WESTERN YOUNG READERS/NON-FICTION
Woopaa! by Joy K. Gallegos, Illustrated by Bob Adams (Lil' Bit of Heaven Books)
WESTERN COOKBOOKS 
The Tombstone Cookbook: Recipes and Lore from the Town Too Tough to Die by Sherry Monahan (TwoDot)
Cowgirls Cook for the Great Outdoors: More than 90 Delicious Recipes for Picnic, Potlucks, and Pack Lunches by Jill Charlotte Stanford and Robin Betty Johnson (TwoDot)
WESTERN HUMOR
Granny Gets Her Gun by Carole T. Beers (Turquoise Sky)
Outlaw West of the Pecos by Preston Lewis (Wolfpack)
The Westering Trail Travesties: Five Little Known Tales of the Old West that Probably Ought to a' Stayed That Way by Mark Warren
(Five Star)
WESTERN INSPIRATIONAL
A Hill Country Christmas: Hope for Hardscrabble Times by Lynn Dean, Gail Kittleson, Michael Barr, Gina Lister, Shannon McFarland (Wordsworth Publishing)
The End of Nowhere by Patrick Dearen (Five Star)
Texas Faith by Andrew Roth (Elk Lake Publishing)
WESTERN MYSTERY
Hardly Any Shooting Stars Left by B.K. Froman (Iron Stream Media)
Funeral Train by Laurie Loewenstein (Akashic Books)
The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker (Sourcebooks)
WESTERN MAVERICK
Blood West by Thomas D. Clagett (Five Star)
WESTERN NON-FICTION
The Dakota Way of Life by Ella Cara Deloria, Edited by Raymond J. DeMallie and Thierry Veyrie (Bison Books)
Along Came a Cowgirl: Daring and Iconic Women of the Rodeo & Wild West Shows by Chris Enss  (Farcountry Press)
The Widowed Ones: Beyond the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Chris Enss & Howard Kazanjian (TwoDot)
Billy the Kid: El Bandido Simpatico by James B. Mills (University of North Texas Press)
From Sand Creek to Summit Springs: Colorado's Indian Wars by Linda Wommack (Caxton Press)
COWBOY RECORDED POETRY
No Better Life by Valerie Beard (Valerie Beard)
Wisdom in the Wind by Sherl Cederburg (Butch Hause)
Trails and Crossings by John D. Nesbitt (RR Productions)
COWBOY WRITTEN POETRY
A Bard in Boots by Darrell Arnold (Arizona Cowboy Connection)
Bad Blessings: Poems and Images of the Texan Persuasion by Barbara Brannon (Boldface Books)
Windmill on the Prairie by Yvonne Hollenbeck (Yvonne Hollenbeck)
WRMA 2023 ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR
Bob Adams (Woopaa!)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION
Wish Upon a Crawdad by Curtis W. Condon (Heart of Oaks Bks)
Tenmile by Sandra Dallas (Sleeping Bear Press)
Rowdy: Dead or Alive by Chris Mullen (Wise Wolf Books)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION/ILLUSTRATED
Galaxy: The Best Friend a Cowboy Ever Had by Timothy Lange, Illustrated by Timothy Lange (Lee Press/Oghma Creative Media)
The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show by Casey Rislov, Illustrated by Zachary Pullen (Mountain Stars Press)
Fast as the Wind: The Story of Johnny Fry, Pony Express Rider
by Clarissa Willis, Illustrated by Creative Illustrations Studio (Solander Press)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/NON-FICTION/ILLUSTRATED
The River That Wolves Moved: A True Tale from Yellowstone
by Mary Kay Carson, Illustrated by David Hohn (Sleeping Bear Press)
The Jingle Horse by Mary Fichtner, Illustrated by Roslan Fichtner (Rusty's Reading Remuda)
Buzz the Not-So-Brave by Dani Nichols, Illustrated by Kristin McNess Moran (Punchline Publishers)
 
WESTERN SHORT NON-FICTION
"Elizabeth McDonald Watson: Soldier of the Living" by Chris Enss (The Union)
"The Kid's Mom" by Melody Groves (Wild West Magazine)
"There'll Be a Caterwauling in the Old Town Tonight" by Preston Lewis (Wild West Magazine)
"Gunpowder and Smoke" by Bill Markley (True West Magazine)
"Northwest Passage" by P.A. O'Neil (Saddlebag Dispatches)
WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS
Face to Face with the American West, edited by CJ Hadley, written by Carolyn Dufurrena, designed by John Bardwell (Range Conservation Foundation & RANGE Magazine)
Beyond the Desert: Stories of the Dying Art of Cowboying
by Victoria Jackson (V Hanging Heart Media)
Adventures Down the Texas Rabbit Hole by Alice Liles
(Samba Jo Publishing)
WESTERN FILM - DOCUMENTARY
The Battle of Red Buttes, written by Candy Moulton &
Bob Noll, produced by Candy Moulton (BPI)
Unlucky 13: Western Stars Who Died Too Young, written and produced by Rob Word, RJ Word (associate producer) Word TV
WESTERN FILM - DRAMA
Dead For a Dollar, written by Walter Hill, produced by Carolyn McMaster, Neil Dunn, Jeremy Wall (CHAOS & Polaris Pictures)
Eye for Eye, written and produced by LJ Martin, produced by David Mirisch (Wolfpack Productions)
Miner's Candle, written and produced by Manuela Schneider, songs written by Carol Markstrom, produced by Christian Meza
(Exothermic Films)
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