Owen Wister Award is an annual award from the Western Writers of America given to lifelong contributions to the field of Western literature. Named for writer Owen Wister (The Virginian; 1902), it is given for "Outstanding Contributions to the American West".Owen Wister Award . - Western Writers of America. - Retrieved: 2008-07-05
Originally given for "best book of the year", it was expanded in 1967 to include anyone advancing Western literature.
From 1961 to 1990 it was called the Saddleman Award (sculptor Spero Anargyros; polished bronze statuette of a cowboy in Levi’s, saddle slung over his right shoulder, branding iron in his left hand ) and sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. After Levi Strauss dropped its sponsorship, the award was retitled the Owen Wister Award for "Lifetime Achievement" in Western history and literature. From 1991 to 1994 recipients received an engraved bronze figure of a cowboy, since 1994 winners have received a bronze buffalo design on wood base from sculptor Robert H. Duffie.
Winners List of recipients of the Saddleman and Owen Wister.
Saddleman Saddleman honorees are: 1961: Will Henry 1962: Jeanne Williams 1963: Fred Grove 1964: Mari Sandoz 1965: Benjamin Capps 1966: Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. 1967: S. Omar Barker 1968: Nelson C. Nye 1969: Frederick D. Glidden 1970: John Wayne 1971: Thomas Thompson 1972: John Ford 1973: Glenn Vernam 1974: W. Foster-Harris 1975: Nellie Snyder Yost 1976: Dorothy M. Johnson 1977: Elmer Kelton 1978: A. B. Guthrie, Jr. 1979: Lewis B. Patten 1980: C. L. Sonnichsen 1981: Louis L'Amour 1982: Eve Ball 1983: Bill Gulick 1984: Dee Brown 1985: Leon Claire Metz 1986: Jack Warner Schaefer 1987: Clint Eastwood 1988: Don Worcester 1989: Wayne D. Overholser 1990: Max Evans
Owen Wister Owen Wister honorees are: 1991: Glendon Swarthout 1992: Tom Lea 1993: Douglas C. Jones 1994: Robert M. Utley 1995: Gordon D. Shirreffs 1996: David Lavender 1997: José Cisneros No award was given in 1998. 1999: Norman Zollinger 2000: Dale L. Walker 2001: Richard S. Wheeler 2002: David Dary 2003: Don Coldsmith 2004: Matt Braun 2005: Judy Alter 2006: Andrew J. Fenady 2007: John Jakes 2008: Tony Hillerman 2009: Elmore Leonard 2010: N. Scott Momaday 2011: James A. Crutchfield 2012: Loren D. Estleman 2013: Jory Sherman 2014: Robert J. Conley 2015: Winfred Blevins 2016: Lucia St. Clair Robson 2017: Louise Erdrich 2018: Rudolfo Anaya 2019: Will Bagley 2020: Johnny D. Boggs 2021: Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear 2022: Irene Bennett Brown 2023: Joseph M. Marshall III 2024: Quintard Taylor
References