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