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2023 WRMA WINNERS


WRMA 2023 Golden Lariat Award: Craig Johnson

WRMA 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award: Larry J. Martin

WESTERN BIOGRAPHIES/MEMOIRS
GOLD: Wild Bill Hickok & Buffalo Bill Cody: Plainsmen of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (TwoDot)
SILVER: American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston's Early Yearsby Clyde W. Toland (Flint Hills Publishing)
BRONZE: Where the Wind Never Sleeps by Ruth M. Sherwood
(Ruth M. Sherwood, publisher)
WESTERN TRADITIONAL FICTION
GOLD: Rio Hondo by Preston Lewis (Five Star)
SILVER: Oklahoma Odyssey by John Mort (Bison Books)
BRONZE: Bullets and Silver by Nik James (Sourcebooks)
COPPER: Bozeman Paymaster: A Tale of the Fetterman Massacre
by Robert Lee Murphy (Five Star)
COPPER: The Accidental Sheriff by Ron Schwab (Leafcutter Publishing)
WESTERN MODERN FICTION
GOLD: The Texas Job by Reavis Z. Wortham (Poisoned Pen Press)
SILVER: Hired Hand by John Hansen (Summit Creek Press)
BRONZE: Echoes of Forgotten Places by Helen F. Wand (Luminare Press)
WESTERN ROMANCE
GOLD: In Honor's Defense by Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House)
SILVER: Henley by Shanna Hatfield (Wholesome Hearts Publishing)
BRONZE: Change of Fortune by K.S. Jones (Five Star)
WESTERN FICTION SHORT STORIES
GOLD: "Irish Kelly and the Heartbreak Kid" from Rebel Hearts Anthology by Sharon Sala (Wolfpack)
SILVER: "Minuet" from Over Western Trails by Gail Heath (Western Fictioneers)
BRONZE: "Heart's Great Temptation" from Rebel Hearts Anthology 
by Carol Crigger (Wolfpack)
COPPER: "No Quarter" from Rebel Hearts Anthology by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Wolfpack)
COPPER: "Lozen's War" from Saddlebag Dispatches by Michael Norman (Saddlebag Dispatches)
WESTERN YOUNG READERS/NON-FICTION
GOLD: Woopaa! by Joy K. Gallegos, Illustrated by Bob Adams (Lil' Bit of Heaven Books)
WESTERN COOKBOOKS 
GOLD: The Tombstone Cookbook: Recipes and Lore from the Town Too Tough to Die by Sherry Monahan (TwoDot)
SILVER: 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
GOLD: Outlaw West of the Pecos by Preston Lewis (Wolfpack)
SILVER: 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)
BRONZE: Granny Gets Her Gun by Carole T. Beers (Turquoise Sky)
WESTERN INSPIRATIONAL
GOLD: Texas Faith by Andrew Roth (Elk Lake Publishing)
SILVER: The End of Nowhere by Patrick Dearen (Five Star)
BRONZE: A Hill Country Christmas: Hope for Hardscrabble Times by Lynn Dean, Gail Kittleson, Michael Barr, Gina Lister, Shannon McFarland (Wordsworth Publishing)
 
WESTERN MYSTERY
GOLD: The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker (Sourcebooks)
SILVER: Funeral Train by Laurie Loewenstein (Akashic Books)
BRONZE: Hardly Any Shooting Stars Left by B.K. Froman (Iron Stream Media)
WRMA 2023 ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR
Bob Adams (Woopaa!)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION
GOLD: Tenmile by Sandra Dallas (Sleeping Bear Press)
SILVER: Wish Upon a Crawdad by Curtis W. Condon (Heart of Oaks Bks)
BRONZE: Rowdy: Dead or Alive by Chris Mullen (Wise Wolf Books)
WESTERN YOUNG READER/FICTION/ILLUSTRATED
GOLD: The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show by Casey Rislov, Illustrated by Zachary Pullen (Mountain Stars Press)
SILVER: Galaxy: The Best Friend a Cowboy Ever Had by Timothy Lange, Illustrated by Timothy Lange (Lee Press/Oghma Creative Media)
BRONZE: 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
GOLD: The River That Wolves Moved: A True Tale from Yellowstone by Mary Kay Carson, Illustrated by David Hohn (Sleeping Bear Press)
SILVER: Buzz the Not-So-Brave by Dani Nichols, Illustrated by Kristin McNess Moran (Punchline Publishers)
BRONZE: The Jingle Horse by Mary Fichtner, Illustrated by Roslan Fichtner (Rusty's Reading Remuda)
WESTERN MAVERICK
GOLD: Blood West by Thomas D. Clagett (Five Star)
WESTERN NON-FICTION
GOLD: Billy the Kid: El Bandido Simpatico by James B. Mills (University of North Texas Press)
GOLD: From Sand Creek to Summit Springs: Colorado's Indian Wars by Linda Wommack (Caxton Press)
SILVER: The Widowed Ones: Beyond the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Chris Enss & Howard Kazanjian (TwoDot)
BRONZE: The Dakota Way of Life by Ella Cara Deloria, Edited by Raymond J. DeMallie and Thierry Veyrie (Bison Books)
COPPER: Along Came a Cowgirl: Daring and Iconic Women of the Rodeo & Wild West Shows by Chris Enss  (Farcountry Press)

 
COWBOY RECORDED POETRY
GOLD: Wisdom in the Wind by Sherl Cederburg (Butch Hause)
SILVER: No Better Life by Valerie Beard (Valerie Beard)
BRONZE: Trails and Crossings by John D. Nesbitt (RR Productions)
WESTERN SHORT NON-FICTION
GOLD: "The Kid's Mom" by Melody Groves (Wild West Magazine)
SILVER: "There'll Be a Caterwauling in the Old Town Tonight" by Preston Lewis (Wild West Magazine)
BRONZE: "Gunpowder and Smoke" by Bill Markley (True West Magazine)
COPPER: "Northwest Passage" by P.A. O'Neil (Saddlebag Dispatches)
COPPER: "Elizabeth McDonald Watson: Soldier of the Living" by Chris Enss (The Union)
WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS
GOLD: Face to Face with the American West, edited by CJ Hadley, written by Carolyn Dufurrena, designed by John Bardwell (Range Conservation Foundation & RANGE Magazine)
SILVER: Beyond the Desert: Stories of the Dying Art of Cowboying by Victoria Jackson (V Hanging Heart Media)
BRONZE: Adventures Down the Texas Rabbit Hole by Alice Liles
(Samba Jo Publishing)
COWBOY WRITTEN POETRY
GOLD: A Bard in Boots by Darrell Arnold (Arizona Cowboy Connection)
SILVER: Windmill on the Prairie by Yvonne Hollenbeck (Yvonne Hollenbeck)
BRONZE: Bad Blessings: Poems and Images of the Texan Persuasion by Barbara Brannon (Boldface Books)
WESTERN FILM - DOCUMENTARY
GOLD: The Battle of Red Buttes, written by Candy Moulton &
Bob Noll, produced by Candy Moulton (BPI)
SILVER: Unlucky 13: Western Stars Who Died Too Young, written and produced by Rob Word, RJ Word (associate producer) Word TV
WESTERN FILM - DRAMA
GOLD: Dead For a Dollar, written by Walter Hill, produced by Carolyn McMaster, Neil Dunn, Jeremy Wall (CHAOS & Polaris Pictures)
SILVER: Miner's Candle, written and produced by Manuela Schneider, songs written by Carol Markstrom, produced by Christian Meza (Exothermic Films)
BRONZE: Eye for Eye, written and produced by LJ Martin, produced by David Mirisch (Wolfpack Productions)
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