W I L L R O G E R S M E D A L L I O N A W A R D
®
2025 WRMA WINNERS
Winners are listed in alphabetical order by the authors' last names (publisher is noted in parenthesis).
Final rankings will be announced November 1st, 2025, at the annual WRMA Banquet and Award Ceremony
WRMA 2025 Golden Lariat Award: INSP Network
WRMA 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award: Preston Lewis
WESTERN BIOGRAPHIES/MEMOIRS
Twisting in Air: The Sensational Rise of a Hollywood Falling Horse By Carol Bradley (Bison Books)
Dances with Fire: Lessons on Life, Faith & Firefighting
By Kate Hamberger (Story Architect)
Edward S. Curtis, Printing the Legends: Looking at Shadows in a West Lit Only by Fire By Dr. Larry Len Peterson (Dr. Larry Len Peterson)
WESTERN TRADITIONAL FICTION
Summer's Lease By John D. Nesbitt (Thorndike Press)
Blizzard By Ron Schwab (Leafcutter)
The Journey South By Reavis Z. Wortham (Pinnacle)
WESTERN MODERN FICTION
Mary's Place By Charlotte Hinger
(University of Nebraska Press)
Blue Wild Indigo By James Jennings (Plum Bay)
The Broken Truth By Reavis Z. Wortham (Poisoned Pen)
WESTERN ROMANCE
Luna By Shanna Hatfield (Wholesome Hearts)
Cloaked in Beauty By Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House)
If the Boot Fits By Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House)
WESTERN MYSTERY
Knife River By Baron Birtcher (Open Road Media)
First Frost By Craig Johnson (Viking)
Tooth and Claw By Craig Johnson (Viking)
WESTERN INSPIRATIONAL
The Big Dry By Patrick Dearen (TCU Press)
Heidi's Faith By Jill Dewhurst (Jill Dewhurst)
The Reluctant Pioneer By Julie McDonald Zander
(St. Helens Press)
WESTERN NON-FICTION
Sandoz Studies, Volume 2: Sandoz and the Battle of the Little Bighorn By Rene'e M. Laegreid (Bison Books)
A Phantom Storm: Sitting Bull, America, and the Ghost Dance By Norman E. Matteoni
(South Dakota Historical Society Press)
Black Robes Enter Coyote's World: Chief Charlo and Father De Smet in the Rocky Mountains By Sally Thompson
(Bison Books)
WESTERN SHORT NON-FICTION
“Love and the Gold Miner” By Chris Enss
(Saddlebag Dispatches)
“Sarah Royce's Journey West”
By Chris Enss (Saddlebag Dispatches)
“The Immortal Life of John 80” By WK Stratton
(Texas Monthly)
WESTERN COOKBOOKS
End of the Trail Eats: Cowboy-Approved Recipes from the Cowtown Cafe to the Saloon By Natalie Bright (TwoDot)
What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking
By Caroline Chambers (Union Square & Co.)
Victorian Recipes with a Side of Scandal
By Sherry Monahan (Otterford)
WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS
Indian City USA By Dr. Bobbie Chew Bigby and Randy Palmer (Arcadia)
The Cavalry Trilogy: John Ford, John Wayne and the Making of Three Classic Westerns By Michael F. Blake (TwoDot)
Mexico Lindo! Ah, You Have No Eyes: The Making of Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch By John Farkis
(BearManor Media)
WESTERN FICTION SHORT STORIES
“My Friend Tom” By Ben Henry Bailey
(Saddlebag Dispatches)
“Go On” By Jim Jones from Through Western Storms (Lohman Hills Creative LLC)
“Windmiller” By Jackson Lowry from Through Western Storms (Lohman Hills Creative LLC)
WESTERN MAVERICK BOOK
Driving Marilyn: The Life and Times of Legendary Hollywood Agent Norman Brokaw By Joel Brokaw (Lyons Press)
COWBOY WRITTEN POETRY
Running Iron
By Jesse Bradfield, Bob Spahle, Bill Cavaliere, Jane Moor, Mark Finley, Craig McEwan, Deborah L. Lawson, Paul Retzlaff, Heather Rose, Carol Markstrom (Cochise County Coral)
Yonderin' Tales By Rik "Yonder" Goodell
(Yonderin' Tales Press)
Ranch Call: Original Cowboy Poetry from the Vet Truck and Beyond By Miska Paget (Miska Paget)
COWBOY RECORDED POETRY
Cowboyin' with God By Rik “Yonder” Goodell (Aarom Meador)
Real Hands and Treasured Friends by Miska Paget (Windy Whitle Ranch)
WESTERN WRITTEN POETRY
Notes from a Fall By Sally Harper Bates
(Arizona Cowboy Connection)
Tangled Trails: Family, Friends & Folly
By Marcella F. Broyhill (Prairie Poet Press)
Etchings By Betty Lynne McCarthy
(Sunlit Silver Bit)
WESTERN RECORDED POETRY
The Last Sunset By KC LaCourse (KC LaCourse)
WESTERN FILM - DRAMA SHORT
The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger 109: The Prizefighter
Written by Paul Epstein and David Schaye; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
Wild West Chronicles 405: Bronco Bill's Treasure Written by Will Ilgen; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
Memoirs of Madame Moustache Written by Manuela Schneider; Produced by Manuela Schneider (Blind Shade Medial Productions)
WESTERN FILM - DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Jefford's Secret Written by Carol Markstrom; Produced by Carol Markstrom
Window to the West: Horse Sense, Featuring Adan Banuelos Produced by Teton Ridge
MAVERICK - WESTERN FILM
Obsessed with Light Written by Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum; Produced by Elizabeth Chandler (Between the Rivers Productions)
WESTERN HISTORICAL FICTION
Proud Outcast: Days of War, Days of Peace; Chato's Chiricahua Apache Legacy By W. Michael Farmer (Hatcreek)
Sunny Gale, A Novel By Jamie Lisa Forbes
(Pronghorn Press)
Nate: The Texas Story By Mark Warren (Wolfpack)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION/ILLUSTRATED
The Story By Phil Mills, Jr; Illustrated by Jean Abernethy (Young Dragons)
Rosie's Wild Ride By Paige Murray; Illustrated by Kristen Humphrey (Zonderkidz)
The Bonedigger's Daughter: Sara "Sadie" Ellen Felch
By Sheryl Peterson; Designed by Jordan Ellender
(Filter Press)
The Horse Who Wanted to Fly By Pamela Kleibrink Thompson; Illustrated by Melissa Bailey (Firefly Books)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/NON-FICTION/ILLUSTRATED
Georgia Jipp: Blizzard Pilot
By Laura Beth Dean; Illustrated by Jeanne Bowman
(South Dakota Historical Society Press)
The Cows Are Out By Mary Fichtner; Illustrated by Roslan Fichtner (Rusty’s Reading Remuda)
Bloomers on Pikes Peak: The Story of Julia Archibald Holmes By Clarissa Willis; Illustrated by Armand Hayes (Solander Press)
WRMA 2025 ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR
Melissa Bailey
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION
The Untamed Sky By Win & Meredith Blevins
(Wise Wolf)
The Horse Who Carries the Stars By Darby Karchut
(Owl Hollow Press)
Jenny Cameron's Cattle Rustling Catastrophe
By Donna Alice Patton (Lily of the Valley Creations)
WESTERN YOUNG READERS/NON-FICTION
Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time By Harriet Kocher Lewis and Preston Lewis
(Bariso Press)
Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools By Dan SaSuWeh Jones (Scholastic)
WESTERN FILM - DOCUMENTARY LONG
The Birth and History of Western Swing
Written by Mark Markwardt, Mark A. Nobles, Cary Ginell, Robert Huston; Produced by Mike Markwardt (Cowtown Birthplace of Western Swing)
Into the Wild Frontier 402: Jim Beckwourth, The Long Ride Written by Steffen Schlachtenhaufen; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
Legends of the Pony Express Written by Rene Brar; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
WESTERN FILM - DRAMA FEATURE
Reagan Written by Howard Klausner; Produced by Mark Joseph (Rawhide Pictures)
Elkhorn 101: The Greenhorn Written by John Flanagan; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
Elkhorn 106: The Hunt Written by Will Ilgen; Produced by Craig Miller, David Cerullo, Doug Butts, Dale Ardizzone (INSP Network)
WESTERN SONGWRITING
"Out Here in the Sticks" Written by Carol Markstrom
(Carol Markstrom Music)
"Two Wounded Knees" Written by Carol Markstrom
(Carol Markstrom Music)
"This Old Barn" Written by Manuela Schneider and Dan Washburn (Manuela Schneider)
COWBOY SONGWRITING
"On Pegleg's Trail" Written by Jon Chandler (Raven Records)
"Cowboy Heart" Written by Jim Jones and Deanna McCall (Jim Jones Music)