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

^ "1999 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2000 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2001 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2002 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2003 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2004 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2005 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2006 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2007 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2008 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2009 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2010 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2011 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2012 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2013 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2014 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2015 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2016 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
^ "2017 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
^ "2018 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
^ "2019 WILLA Finalists & Winners". Women Writing the West. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
^ "2020 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2021 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2022 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "2023 WILLA Literary Award Winners and Finalists". Women Writing the West. Women Writing the West. Retrieved 4 November 2023.