WILLA Literary Award

WILLA Literary Award honors outstanding literature featuring women's stories, set in the Western United States, published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the Women's West, underwrites and presents the nationally recognized award annually.

The award is named in honor of Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, one of the country's foremost novelists. The awards are presented at the WWW Fall Conference.

Recipients

WILLA Literary Award Recipients
Year Category Book Author Contributor(s)
1999[1] Contemporary Fiction Waltzing the Cat Pam Houston
Historical Fiction Daughter of Joy JoAnn Levy
Memoir/Essay Writing Down the River Kathleen Jo Ryan
Nonfiction Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder John Miller
Young Adult Fiction Riding Freedom Pam Muñoz Ryan
Children’s Fiction Prairie Dog Pioneers Jo Harper
Original Paperback River of Our Return Gladys Smith
2000[2] Contemporary Fiction Close Range Annie Proulx
Historical Fiction Daughter of Fortune Isabel Allende
Memoir/Essay Begosa Cabin Mari Graña
Nonfiction Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth Kristen Iversen
Young Adult Fiction The Birchbark House Louise Erdrich
Children’s Fiction Red Flower Goes West Ann Turner
Children’s Nonfiction Children of the Gold Rush Claire Murphy and Jane Haigh
Original Paperback Prophet Annie Ellen Recknor
2001[3] Contemporary Fiction The Spirit Woman Margaret Coel
Historical Fiction For California’s Gold JoAnn Levy
Original Paperback Dead Man Falls Paula Boyd
Memoir/Essay One Degree West: Reflections of a Plainsdaughter Julene Bair
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction Esperanza Rising Pam Muñoz Ryan
Poetry Swan, What Shores? Veronica Patterson
2002[4] Contemporary Fiction This House of Women Paul Scott Malone
Historical Fiction The Good Journey Micaela Gilchrist
Nonfiction Eye of the Blackbird Holly Skinner
Memoir/Essay She Flies Without Wings Mary D. Midkiff
Original Paperback Across the Sweet Grass Hills Gail Jenner
Poetry Blood Sister, I Am to These Fields Linda Hussa
Children’s/Young Adult Cissy Funk Kim Taylor Blakemore
2003[5] Contemporary Fiction Perma Red Debra Magpie Earling
Historical Fiction Enemy Women Paulette Jiles
Memoir/Essay Breaking Clean Judy Blunt
Nonfiction Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest Arnold Berke
Original Paperback Small Rocks Rising Susan Lang
Poetry Miracles of Sainted Earth Victoria Edwards Tester
Children’s/Young Adult Circle of Time Marisa Montes
2004[6] Contemporary Fiction All Over Creation Ruth Ozeki
Historical Fiction Silver Lies Ann Parker
Memoir/Essay Predators, Prey and Other Kinfolk Dorothy Allred Solomon
Nonfiction Bold Spirit: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America Linda Lawrence Hunt
Original Softcover Deliverance Valley Gladys Smith
Poetry Original Fire Louise Erdrich
Children’s/Young Adult Rodzina Karen Cushman
2005[7] Memoir/Essay Into the Canyon: Seven Years in Navajo Country Lucy Moore
Nonfiction Isabella Greenway: An Enterprising Woman Kristie Miller
Contemporary Fiction The Real Minerva: A Novel Mary Sharrat
Historical Fiction Tombstone Travesty: Allie Earp Remembers Jane Candia Coleman
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Nothing Here but Stones Nancy Oswald
Original Softcover Fiction Echoes Erin Grady
Poetry I Am Madagascar Ellen Waterston
2006[8] Contemporary Fiction Sky Bridge Laura Pritchett
Historical Fiction New Mercies Sandra Dallas
Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) Summer of Fire Linda Jacobs
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction A Heart for Any Fate: Westward to Oregon, 1845 Linda Crew
Memoir/Essay The Lady Rode Bucking Horses Dee Marvine
Other Nonfiction Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie Susanne Bloomfield
Poetry Beasts in Snow Jane Elkington Wohl
2007[9] Contemporary Fiction The Girl from Charnelle K. L. Cook
Creative Nonfiction Montana Women Writers: Geography of the Heart Caroline Patterson, Editor with introduction, Sue Hart
Scholarly Nonfiction Revolutionary Heart: The Life of Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering Crusade for Women’s Rights Diane Eickhoff
Historical Fiction The Night Journal Elizabeth Crook
Poetry To Sing Along the Way: Minnesota Women Poets from Pre-Territorial Days to the Present Connie Wanek, Joyce Sutphen, Thom Tammaro, Editors
Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) Hallowed Ground Lori G. Armstrong
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Harvey Girl Sheila Wood Foard
2008[10] Contemporary Fiction What the Thunder Said Janet Peery
Creative Nonfiction What Wildness Is This: Women Write About the Southwest Susan Wittig Albert, Susan Hanson, Jan Epton Seale, Paula Stallings Yost, Editors
Scholarly Nonfiction Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life Pamela Smith Hill
Historical Fiction Harp Song Rilla Askew
Poetry Raven Eye Margo Tamez
Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) A Tendering in the Storm Jane Kirkpatrick
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Exiled: From Tragedy to Triumph on the Missouri Frontier Louise A Jackson
2009[11] Contemporary Fiction The Last Cowgirl Jana Richman
Creative Nonfiction Salt in Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman’s Wife Michele Longo Eder
Scholarly Nonfiction Full Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School, Basketball Champions of the World Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith
Historical Fiction Charley’s Choice: The Life and Times Of Charley Parkhurst Fern J. Hill
Poetry Between Desert Seasons Ellen Waterston
Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) Buffalo Bill’s Defunct: A Latouche County Mystery Sheila Simonson
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Dreams on the Oregon Trail Barbara Linsley
2010[12] Contemporary Fiction Wild Sorrow Sandi Ault
Creative Nonfiction No Place Like Home: Notes from a Western Life Linda Hasselstrom
Scholarly Nonfiction Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits Linda Gordon
Historical Fiction My Name Is Falon: One Woman’s Saga from Scotland to the Texas Frontier Kim Wiese
Poetry Work Is Love Made Visible Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market) A Flickering Light Jane Kirkpatrick
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Hellie Jondoe Randall Platt
2011[13] Contemporary Fiction Unbroken Jamie Lisa Forbes
Historical Fiction Take Me Home Brian Leung
Original Softcover Fiction Light on a Distant Hill B. J. Scott
Creative Nonfiction To the Woods: Sinking Roots, Living Lightly, and Finding True Home Evelyn Searle Hess
Scholarly Nonfiction A Force for Change: Beatrice Morrow Cannady and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Oregon, 1912–1936 Kimberley Mangun
Poetry Blood Desert: Witnesses, 1820–1880 Renny Golden
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Follow the Dream Heidi M. Thomas
2012[14] Contemporary Fiction Raising Wrecker Summer Wood
Historical Fiction The Bride’s House Sandra Dallas
Original Softcover Fiction The American Café Sara Sue Hoklotubbe
Creative Nonfiction Rightful Place Amy Hale Auker
Scholarly Nonfiction Recollecting: Lives of Aboriginal Women of the Canadian Northwest and Borderlands Sarah Carter and Patricia McCormack, Editors
Poetry Married into It Patricia Frolander
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction The Year We Were Famous Carole Estby Dagg
2013[15] Contemporary Fiction Theft BK Loren
Historical Fiction True Sisters Sandra Dallas
Original Softcover Fiction The Bones and the Book Jane Isenberg
Creative Nonfiction Kissed by a Fox: And Other Stories of Friendship in Nature Priscilla Stuckey
Scholarly Nonfiction Women in Wonderland: Lives, Legends, and Legacies of Yellowstone National Park Elizabeth A. Watry
Poetry Steam Laundry Nicole Stellon O’Donnell
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Liberty’s Christmas Randall Platt
2014[16] Contemporary Fiction Bone Horses Leslie Poling-Kempes
Historical Fiction Dollybird Anne Lazurko
Original Softcover Fiction Junction, Utah Rebecca Lawton
Creative Nonfiction Gaining Daylight: Life on Two Islands Sara Loewen
Scholarly Nonfiction Trail Sisters: Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890 Linda Williams Reese
Poetry Losing the Ring in the River Marge Saiser
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Written in Stone Rosanne Parry
2015[17] Contemporary Fiction Point of Direction Rachel Weaver
Historical Fiction A Quilt for Christmas Sandra Dallas
Original Softcover Fiction A Light in the Wilderness Jane Kirkpatrick
Creative Nonfiction Diary of a Citizen Scientist Sharman Apt Russell
Scholarly Nonfiction Quite Contrary: The Litigious Life of Mary Bennett Love David J. Langum Sr.
Poetry The Secret Life of Us Kids Bonnie B. Maldonado
Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Searching for Silver Heels Jeannie Mobley
2016[18] Contemporary Fiction Firebreak Tricia Fields
Scholarly Nonfiction Ladies of the Canyons: A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest Lesley Poling-Kempes
Historical Fiction The Bookseller Cynthia Swanson
Poetry Report to the Department of the Interior: Poems Diane Glancy
Original Softcover Fiction Hidden Shadows Linda Lucretia Schuler
Children's / Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Shadow of the Hawk K. S. Jones
Creative Nonfiction American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest Hannah Nordhaus
2017[19] Contemporary Fiction Piano Tide Kathleen Dean Moore
Scholarly Nonfiction Soap Suds Row: The Bold Lives of Army Laundresses 1802-1876 Jennifer J. Lawrence
Historical Fiction Basque Moon Julie Whitesel Weston
Poetry Demimonde Kierstin Bridger
Original Softcover Fiction Beloved Over All: Historical Fiction Irene Sandell
Children's / Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Soldier Sister, Fly Home Nancy Bo Flood
Creative Nonfiction Fast into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and Their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail Debbie Clarke Moderow
2018[20] Contemporary Fiction Zetty Debra Whiting Alexander
Scholarly Nonfiction Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast Through Cross-Cultural Marriages Candace Wellman
Historical Fiction Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival Matthew P. Mayo
Poetry Rock Tree Bird Twyla M. Hansen
Original Softcover Fiction Hidden Ones: A Veil of Memories Marcia Fine
Children's / Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction The Tragically True Adventures of Kit Donovan Patricia Bailey
Creative Nonfiction Women Artists of the Great Basin Mary Lee Fulkerson Susan E Mantle
2019[21] Contemporary Fiction The Flicker of Old Dreams Susan Henderson
Scholarly Nonfiction Beyond the Rebel Girl: Women and the Industrial Workers of the World in the Pacific Northwest, 1905-1924 Heather Mayer
Historical Fiction The Which Way Tree Elizabeth Crook
Poetry Coming Out of Nowhere Linda Schandelmeier
Original Softcover Fiction See Also Proof Larry D. Sweazy
Children's Fiction & Nonfiction Hard Scrabble Sandra Dallas
Creative Nonfiction My Ranch Too Mary Budd Flitner
Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction The Communing Tree Theresa Verboort
2020[22] Contemporary Fiction The Lager Queen of Minnesota J. Ryan Stradal
Historical Fiction The Glovemaker: A Novel Ann Weisgarber
Original Softcover Fiction The Red Dirt Hymnbook Roxie Faulkner Kirk
Creative Nonfiction I Am a Stranger Here Myself Debra Gwartney
Scholarly Nonfiction Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women Lynn Downey
Poetry We Make a Tiny Herd: Poems to Honor the Burro Lady of Far West Texas Lucy Griffith
Children’s Fiction & Nonfiction (Tie) Someplace to Call Home Sandra Dallas
Children’s Fiction & Nonfiction (Tie) The Seagirls of the Irene KB Taylor
Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Professor Renoir’s Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights Randall Platt
2021[23] Contemporary Fiction Hanging Falls: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Margaret Mizushima
Historical Fiction Wild Rivers, Wild Rose Sarah Birdsall
Original Softcover Fiction 142 Ostriches April Dávila
Creative Nonfiction Miracle Country: A Memoir of a Family and a Landscape Kendra Atleework
Scholarly Nonfiction Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice: Women and the Vote in the Prairie Provinces Sarah Carter
Poetry Second Wind Patricia Frolander
Children’s Fiction & Nonfiction The Girl Who Moved to the Town That Wasn’t There Suzanne Hovik Fuller
Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Taylor Before and After Jennie Englund
2022[24] Multiform Fiction Striking Range: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Margaret Mizushima
Historical Fiction The Children’s Blizzard Melanie Benjamin
Romance A Texas Christmas Miracle Justine Davis
Creative Nonfiction The Forgotten Botanist Sarah Plummer
Scholarly Nonfiction Sally in Three Worlds: An Indian Captive in the House of Brigham Young Virginia Kerns
Poetry Sometimes a Woman Kimberly K. Williams
Children’s Fiction & Nonfiction Headstrong Hallie!: The Story of Hallie Morse Daggett, the First Female “Fire Guard” Aimée Bissonette
Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Runaway Moon Carole T. Beers
2023[25] Multiform Fiction Happy for You: A Novel Claire Stanford
Historical Fiction Woman of Light Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Romance Henley Shanna Hatfield
Creative Nonfiction Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West Katie Hickman
Scholarly Nonfiction The Widowed Ones: Beyond the Battle of the Little Bighorn Chris Enss and Howard Kazanjian with Chris Kortlander
Children’s Fiction & Nonfiction The Other Side of the River Alda P. Dobbs
Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction Meg and the Rocks Katy Hammel
Poetry Prairie Midden Athena Kildegaard

References

  1. ^ "1999 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. ^ "2000 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ "2001 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. ^ "2002 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  5. ^ "2003 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  6. ^ "2004 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  7. ^ "2005 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  8. ^ "2006 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. ^ "2007 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  10. ^ "2008 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ "2009 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  12. ^ "2010 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  13. ^ "2011 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  14. ^ "2012 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  15. ^ "2013 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  16. ^ "2014 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  17. ^ "2015 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  18. ^ "2016 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  19. ^ "2017 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  20. ^ "2018 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  21. ^ "2019 WILLA Finalists & Winners". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  22. ^ "2020 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  23. ^ "2021 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  24. ^ "2022 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  25. ^ "2023 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.