Welcome to Western Fictioneers
An organization of professional authors of western novels and short stories.
Thanks much folks for the best wishes. I hope we can do an acceptable job and in some small way help grow the group. Ever since I joined up a few years ago I’ve found the Westernfictioneers to be extremely beneficial and supportive. I enjoy hearing the news and new releases of our members and the information that’s passed around. Please do announce you books’ releases on the website. And not just Westerns, but any book you release.
I think our blog is extremely beneficial and entertaining. The great deal of information in the blog posts are extremely valuable research tools. I think it was last week that I posted about our blog. I’ll repeat it.
We used to post many really great articles on the WF Blog Site. That's regretfully slowed down. I know some of us are out of ideas and have much else to do, including WIPs. I'm just as guilty as anyone and I don't post very often on my designated day. I hope to change that.
The blog articles have been great entertainment, educational, motivational, and provide ideas and research sources for our WIPs. So, if you have any articles stashed away, unfinished, or article ideas, please post them.
One thing we can do is re-post some of the old articles that held a particular interest, were popular (indicated by the number of comments and viewers), or are of particular use for research since we forget about some of these gems and we have new members who would benefit from re-posting them. It’s also a great opportunity to expand, update, and add additional details to older articles.
Adding to that, I think it would be appropriate for non-Old West blog posts to be made generally limited to earlier times, from our own youth, for example. A few of those have been posted.
If anyone has ideas for improving the group, just post it and throw it out there for comment. Someone here is bound to let you know what they think about it.
We do hope to see many of you in Oklahoma City. I’m certainly looking forward to it.
And I’ll make one promise. There will be no secret memos passed by this administration…unless necessary.
Best regards all y’alls.
Gordon Rottman
Western Fictioneers President 2018-2019
9th Annual Peacemaker Awards Finalists
for the Best in Western Fiction Published in 2018
Gary McCarthy is this year's winner of the Lifetime Achievement Peacemaker Award.
BEST WESTERN NOVEL
THE PISTOLMAN'S APPRENTICE, Linell Jeppsen (Wolfpack Publishing)
TIMBERLINE, Matthew P. Mayo (Five Star)
GYPSY ROCK, Robert D. McKee (Five Star)
FATHER UNTO MANY SONS, Rod Miller (Five Star)
GRIT, Ron Schwab (Uplands Press)
BEST FIRST WESTERN NOVEL
THE SCARRED ONE, Tyler Boone (Sundown Press)
THE CHAPMAN LEGACY, John Neely Davis (Five Star)
REBECCA'S HOPE, Kimberly Grist (Winged Publications)
WHERE THE BULLETS FLY, Terrence McCauley (Pinnacle)
I AM MRS. JESSE JAMES, Pat Wahler (Blank Slate Press)
BEST CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT WESTERN NOVEL
MYSTERY ON THE PECOS, Alice V. Brock (Pen-L Publishing)
RAWHIDE ROBINSON RIDES A DROMEDARY, Rod Miller (Five Star)
CASTLE BUTTE, John D. Nesbitt (Five Star)
THE CHRISTMAS BEAR, B.N. Rundell (Wolfpack Publishing)
ESCAPE TO FORT ABERCROMBIE, Candace Simar (Five Star)
BEST WESTERN SHORT FICTION
"Byrd's Luck", Jeffrey J. Mariotte (THE UNTAMED WEST, Western Fictioneers)
"The Gamble", Cheryl Pierson (THE UNTAMED WEST, Western Fictioneers)
"Father Pedro's Prayer", Michael R. Ritt (THE UNTAMED WEST, Western Fictioneers)
"Peyote Spirits", Ron Schwab (Uplands Press)
"The Lake Spirit", Troy D. Smith (THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO: FRONTIER JUSTICE, Moonstone Press)
Congratulations to all the finalists! The winners will be announced on June 15. Thanks to everyone who submitted work to this year's competition, and especially to the judges and the awards chair James Reasoner, whose hard work and diligence make the Peacemaker Awards possible in the first place.
Western Fictioneers (WF) having a great time at the 2018 WF Convention
Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, and other professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century. Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms. The Peacemaker Awards are given out annually. Submissions for the Peacemaker Awards for books published in 2018 will be open in July, 2018. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF web site at that time.