News Since the Last Newsletter Cowboy Poetry Week Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch www.CowboyPoetry.com.

Search WWW Search cowboypoetry.com

News Since the Most Recent Newsletter:

On this page:

Awards News and Deadlines

See a list of the contents for all pages on Page 1 of News Since the Last Newsletter

Awards News

The National Day of the Cowboy organization has announced the 2010 Cowboy Keeper Awards. From their announcement:

Recipients of the 2010 Cowboy Keeper Award™ have been selected by the National Day of the Cowboy nonprofit organization and its Board of Directors. Each year the award is bestowed upon individuals and organizations that make a substantial contribution to the preservation of pioneer heritage and cowboy culture. The award was conceived to help raise awareness for the National Day of the Cowboy and increase participation in its celebration.

Those whose efforts will be honored in 2010 are Don & Sharon Endsley—Producers of the Great American Wild West Show; the Desert Cowboys who protected freedom in the Middle-East; acclaimed singer and poet Doc Stovall; Western Jubilee Recording Company—the hallmark of excellence in Western music, and the Grant Harris Family—producers of Pilestown New Jersey’s Cowtown Rodeo, started by the Harris family back in 1929.
The Endsley’s Great American Wild West Show is an entertaining, fast paced extravaganza in the tradition of Bill Cody’s Wild West productions and features some of the best western performers in the country. It’s action packed, complete with trick ropers, trick riders, chuck wagon races, stagecoach robberies, longhorns, Native American dances by the Begay Family, and historic characters like sharp shooter, Annie Oakley, and Buffalo Bill himself. The Endsley’s mission is to keep the American West alive and produce a caliber of show Buffalo Bill himself would produce in the 21st century.

Western Jubilee Recording Company, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, sets the bar for recording excellence in the world of western music and cowboy poetry. Scott O’Malley and Kathleen Collins are the dedicated ramrods for WJRC and Scott O’Malley & Associates. Not only do they produce premier cowboy and western artists like Michael Martin Murphey, Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, Wylie & the Wild West, and Sons of the San Joaquin, they offer intimate concerts in their classic “Warehouse Theater,” provide artist representation and booking, attend many western events, and helped start the Ride for the Brand Ranch Rodeo. They are a dynamic and highly respected duo, working tirelessly to “offer the finest in American music traditions since 1982.”

The Desert Cowboys are a unique group of brave men and women who served in the deserts of the Middle East, leaving homesteads, ranches, and farms to protect our freedom and promote freedom in foreign lands. In the superior execution of their duties, SFC Russell Anderson and his Desert Cowboys demonstrated that Cowboys are as adaptable and resourceful as ever and that the Cowboy Code is as relevant today as it was in the Old West in one's quest for a life lived with total integrity. While deployed overseas, the Desert Cowboys proudly flew their National Day of the Cowboy flag over their barracks and took time out to share their barrel-roping skills with the locals.

Doc Stovall is a native Virginian who’s been associated with music most of his life. His earliest influences include traditional music from the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountain areas of the South, handed down through generations from Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. He’s well loved as a Western singer and cowboy poet, and was honored in 2002 as Georgia’s Official Cowboy Balladeer by the Georgia State Legislature. In 2004, Stovall was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, the first cowboy singer so honored. In addition, he leads discussions on the origins of traditional cowboy music and presents programs and seminars on the writing and recitation of cowboy poetry, tracing the genre to its beginnings at the back of the chuck wagon on cattle drives. Doc is a co-founder of the Cowboy Performing Arts Society and he is the Entertainment and Sponsorship Manager for the Booth Western Art Museum in Georgia, where he assists with the educational outreach program.

In 1929, the Howard Harris family started the Cowtown Rodeo in rural Salem County, New Jersey. It was suspended during World War II but resumed operations in 1955. Today the Harris family still presents rodeo action every Saturday night, May through September, as the longest running regular Saturday night rodeo in the U.S. It’s a stop on the professional circuit and draws competitors from across the country. It is one of only two ongoing weekly sanctioned rodeos in America. Grant and Betsy Harris live on the "home ranch" and are carrying on the tradition of Cowtown Rodeo. Grant runs the daily operations while Betsy secretaries the rodeos. She is President of the First Frontier Rodeo Circuit and oversees the entire rodeo circuit in the northeast. Grant and Betsy have two daughters, Courtney and Katy. Courtney married Jake Morehead of the Three Hills Rodeo Company in Bernard, Iowa, where they continue the family’s rodeo tradition in the Midwest. Katy lives on the "home ranch" following in the footsteps of the generations before her keeping the traditions of Cowtown Rodeo alive.

The National Day of the Cowboy organization is privileged to recognize the dedication and commitment of these five recipients of its 2010 Cowboy Keeper Award. Don and Sharon Endsley, Doc Stovall, Western Jubilee Recording Company, the Desert Cowboys, and the Grant Harris family are representative of our finest, most valiant guardians of pioneer heritage and the cowboy culture.

“Simple Things," the quietly inspiring artwork chosen as the image for the 2010 Cowboy Keeper Award, is the creation of Kansas artist, Jim Clements. Jim expressed a desire to “honor the spirit of the west in all of his paintings.” This beautiful oil on canvas depicts a peaceful chuck wagon scene that says without words, "Cowboy life is good," and deftly captures on canvas that ethereal quality of the West Jim Clements envisions.

Past recipients of the Cowboy Keeper Award include Wyoming U.S. Senator Craig Thomas, Cheyenne Frontier Days Executive Committee, the Golden Boot Organization, Arizona U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Producer Julie Ream, the Reel Cowboys, singer/songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, Publisher Dakota Livesay, poet wrangler Margo Metegrano, and Fort Worth's Texas Trail of Fame.

Find more and links here at the National Day of the Cowboy web site.
[painting: Cowboy Keeper Award art, "Simple Things," by Jim Clement]
Posted 7/21

Western Writers of America announced the winners of the 2010 Spur Awards on March 20, 2010 at the Festival of the West.

The Spur Awards have been given annually since 1953 "...for distinguished writing about the American West." Awards will be presented at the Western Writers of American annual convention, June 22-26, 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Best Western Poem award was given to Paul Zarzyski for ""Bob Dylan Bronc Song," and Paul Zarzyski and Wylie Gustafson of Wylie & the Wild West were awarded Best Western Song for their collaboration, "Hang-n-Rattle," from the CD, Hang-n-Rattle. Paul Zarzyski's poem is a "hidden track" on the CD. Read more about the CD here and at the Wylie & the Wild West web site.

Additional Best Western Poem finalists for the 2010 awards include Texas poet Larry D. Thomas, for "Glass Mountains" and David Memmott for "Where the Yellow Brick Road Meets the West." The Best Western Song finalists were Daron Little for "Pete French" and Steve Moulton for "Steamboat."

Other awards included:

Best Western Short Novel: Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead
Best Western Long Novel: Echoes of Glory by Robert Flynn
Best Original Mass Market Paperback: Stranger in Thunder Basin by John D. Nesbitt
Best Western Nonfiction Biography: Peg Leg by David C. Humphrey
Best Western Nonfiction Historical: Fort Laramie by Douglas C. McChristian
Best Western Nonfiction Contemporary: The Secret War in El Paso: Mexican Revolutionary Intrigue, 1906-1920
     by Charles H. Harris, III & Louis R. Sadler
Best Western Short Fiction Story: "At the End of the Orchard" by John D. Nesbitt
Best Western Short Nonfiction: "Teddy's Ride to Recovery" by Roger Di Silvestro,
Best Western Juvenile Fiction: Hard Winter by Johnny D. Boggs
Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction: With One Sky Above Us by Nancy Plain
Storyteller Award: Finding Susie by Sandra Day O'Connor & Tom Pohrt
Best Western Documentary: In Pursuit of a Dream by Candy Moulton
Best Western Audiobook: River Thunder by Gary McCarthy

Find a list of all of this year's finalists, all past years' awards, and more here at the Western Writers of America web site.

[Thanks also to Jeri L. Dobrowski for the Spur Awards news.]

Posted 3/22

Nominations for the Academy of Western Artists Will Rogers Cowboy Awards are open in all categories.

Director Bobby Newton sent the following submission information:

Poetry:

Categories Male-Female-Book-Album/CD-Humor (book and album/cd must be released in 2009)
NOTE: Send names to working_cowboy@hotmail.com, for books and cds, see below

Western Music
Categories-Male-Female-Duo/Group-Album/CD-Song-Yodeler (all albums/cds/songs must have been released in 2009)
NOTE: Send names to working_cowboy@hotmail.com, for albums and cds, see below

Western Swing
Categories: Male-Female-Duo/Group-Album/CD-Song-Instrumentalist (album/cd/song must be released in 2009)
NOTE: Send names to working_cowboy@hotmail.com , for albums and cds, see below

Pure Country
Categories: Male-Female-Duo/Group-Album/CD-Song (album/cd/song must have been released in 2009)
NOTE: Send names to working_cowboy@hotmail.com, for albums and cds, see below

Arts
Western Art-Cartoonist (send resume to working_cowboy@hotmail.com, see below)

Gear
Spurmaker-Saddlemaker-Engraver-Hitcher/Braider
Note: on Arts and Gear, resumes and photos can be sent to working_cowboy@hotmail.com for consideration, mailing address below

Chuckwagon
Send resume for wagon, person or organization you wish to nominate to working_cowboy@hotmail.com

Media
Disc Jockey-Radio Station-Record Producer-Record label (these are for media involved with western music/western swing/ classic country, send name and address of nominee to working_cowboy@hotmail.com)

Lifetime Achievement
(not an annual award, send complete resume for consideration)

Special Recognition
(not an annual award, send complete resume for consideration)

Mailing Information

Please send as much as possible through the internet, photos, resumes, etc., if possible. If we require more, we will contact you.

*On poetry and music, books, cd/s, please send 2 copies to AWA, P O Box 35, Gene Autry, OK 73436 if material is not well known. Before you send, you might want to contact working_cowboy@hotmail.com first.

*All nominations must be in by April 15, 2010

Blind Juries, expert in each area, will determine the finalists.

*All resumes, photos, etc., for the art and gear should be sent to AWA, P O Box 35, Gene Autry, OK 73436

Nominations will be posted at www.AWAawards.org

Find information about the 2009 winners below.

Posted 3/9

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum has announced the recipients of its prestigious Western Heritage Award, the "Wrangler Award." From their media release:

For the 49th time, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum announces the Western Heritage Awards. The awards honor and encourage the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film and television reflect the significant stories of the American West.

The Western Heritage Awards are presented at a black-tie banquet at the Museum, set for April 17, 2010. Each winner in attendance receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback. Awards presented in 2010 are for works completed in 2009. Qualified professionals outside the Museum staff judge all categories.

The awards announced are (some with the museum's comments):

    Western Music Awards

Outstanding New Artist: Steve Moulton, Cowboys & Campfires. "This award is given to someone in the first five years of their career, who has never received a Wrangler in an individual category and is striving to continue to produce music of the Western genre. When Moulton isn’t ranching or building custom furniture, he entertains weekly at the A Bar A Guest Ranch, near Encampment, Wyoming. He sings and plays both mandolin and guitar and serves as president of the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering, performs there and also at the Heber City Cowboy Gathering. Moulton’s first CD includes his original song, “Steamboat,” a musical story of the great Wyoming bucking horse. His great grandfather, Guy Holt, is one of the few cowboys to ride the horse."

Outstanding Original Composition: “The Great Western Trail” by LeRoy Jones, composed by Dave Copenhaver, Terry Scarberry and LeRoy Jones. "Off the album “Looking Back,” the song tells the tale of a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas and conjures up memories of the old West. The entire album combines authentic Western music with song about gathering, branding, letters home and the dangers of trail life."

Outstanding Traditional Western Album: Welcome to the Tribe, recorded by Andy Wilkinson and Andy Hedges and produced by Lloyd Maines and Andy Wilkinson. "This new album joins singers/songwriters Wilkinson and Hedges and the combination results in a classic Western album. Both Andys are poets, songwriters and performers—making this album inspirational. This CD offers a mix of classic songs with new arrangements and a fresh set of original music. Make sure to read the liner notes which add meaning to each of the melodies." [Read more in the news item below]

    Literary Awards

Outstanding Western Novel: The Sundown Chaser by Dusty Richards

Outstanding Nonfiction Book: The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story by Elliott West

Outstanding Art Book: The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell: A Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture by Joan Carpenter Troccoli

Outstanding Photography Book: Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby by Craig Varjabedian

Outstanding Juvenile Book: Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams

Outstanding Magazine Article: “My Heart Now Has Become Changed to Softer Feelings, A Northern Cheyenne Woman and Her Family Remember the Long Journey Home” by John H. Monnett, published in Montana, The Magazine of Western History

Outstanding Poetry Book: Work Is Love Made Visible by Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

    Film and Television

Outstanding Docudrama: “Cowboys & Outlaws: The Real Wyatt Earp” by Half Yard Productions. Written and directed by Pip Gilmour and produced by Sean Gallagher, Abby Greensfelder and Paul Cabana

Outstanding Documentary, Contemporary: “Born to Ride: Cody Wright and the Quest for a World Title” by SUTV, Southern Utah University, produced by Jon Smith, written and directed by Lyman Hafen and narrated by Wilford Brimley

Outstanding Documentary, Historical, “She Wrote ‘My Friend Flicka.’ ” Directed by Letitia C. Langord and produced by Rudy Calvert and Kyle Nicholoff, Wyoming PBS

Read the entire announcement here.

[pictured, photo courtesy of the National Western and Cowboy Heritage Museum: "The coveted Wrangler, a stunning bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback, is presented by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 15 categories of Western music, film, television and literature in the Western genre." ]

Posted 3/2

Welcome to the Tribe by Andy Hedges and Andy Wilkinson (www.andywilkinson.net) has been named as the recipient of the prestigious Western Heritage Award, the "Wrangler Award," for Outstanding Traditional Western Album by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The award will be presented at banquet at the Oklahoma City museum on April 17, 2010.

From our 2009 review of the CD:

Welcome to the Tribe...marries tradition and the present in an important, masterful album that celebrates the "keepers of the code" and the "members of the tribe." With a mix of classic cowboy songs and fresh originals—some written by Andy Wilkinson and some collaborations by the two—it's not about exclusion, but it's about principle. The songs on Welcome to the Tribe are sometimes frank, sometimes funny, and always entertaining.

Both Hedges and Wilkinson are songwriters, poets, and performers—and folk historians. In the liner notes for the opening track, "Welcome to the Tribe (for Buck, Buster, and Bob)," Andy Wilkinson writes about his inspiration for the song and sets up all that is to come, "While making an introduction of Bob Moorhouse, Buster Welch listed the three things that it takes to make a cowboy....the very best, most succinct description of the cowboy code I've heard since Buck Ramsey defined it as 'being in the right place at the right time....'"

Welcome to the Tribe offers one sterling performance after another.

Traditional selections shine with carefully crafted arrangements. They include "The Cowboy's Soliloquy," "Diamond Joe," the lesser known "Wild West Rambler," and a resonant a cappella performance of "The Dreary Dreary Life" by Andy Wilkinson. Their "Old Paint Medley" is an entrancing study of the familiar cowboy standard, with an infrequently-sung verse by Woody Guthrie and the inspired incorporation of "The Horse With a Union Label."

The original songs are filled with novel, smart lyrics. "The Palm Leaf Lid" pokes fun at the "all hat" types ("Now if you never break a sweat nor pitch into a wreck, it's logical to wear a Silver Belly 100X...but if you mix it up outside an air-conditioned rig..."). Their amusing, catchy, and absolutely sparkling "The Glitterbus" says all there is to say about "fame" (the liner notes simply caution, "It's best to stay off this bus."). Andy Wilkinson's "The Lost Lonesome High" is a plain-truth story of today's cowboy "All day in the pickup runnin' errands to town, when I shoulda been horseback, prowlin' some ground, what once was the orders for a half-dozen hands is now the to-do list for a single camp man."

Another standout is Wilkinson's "The Keepers of the Code" (for Jack and Peter)." Again, the liner notes make an important statement, "Some of us think that Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood oaters would have completely gutted cowboy music if it hadn't been for the folk revival of the 1950s, in particular the work of Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Peter LaFarge. This song is for them." The lyrics make their case and offer lines for an enduring cowboy music philosophy and anthem: "It don't matter where you're from, it's just where you're goin', it don't matter what you've done, it's just what you do, sing where you live, live where you're singin', it don't matter who's listenin' to you."

Amanda Shires, Lloyd Maines, Bob Livingston, and other top musicians join Hedges and Wilkinson with a level of excellence that holds throughout the entire project, from the songwriting, singing, and continuity to the package design.

If they are spinning CDs in the Great Beyond, the likes of Buck Ramsey, Jack Thorp, Alan Lomax, and other members of the tribe and keepers of the code will have Welcome to the Tribe on their top shelves.

Find more here in our review and see the entire track list here in our feature about Andy Hedges).

Andy Wilkinson has received two previous Wrangler Awards.

Andy Wilkinson and Andy Hedges have a just-released CD, Long Ways from Home. Read about that CD in an announcement here.

Posted 2/17

Ramblin' Jack Elliott received a GRAMMY award for his traditional blues album, A Stranger Here, at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY awards show on January 31, 2010. He left the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering a bit early—after several outstanding performances—to attend the GRAMMY show. See a photo of Ramblin' Jack accepting the award here (by Matt Sayles of the Associated Press.)

A short documentary about the making of A Stranger Here is available here on YouTube. Find more at Ramblin' Jack's web site, ramblinjack.com.

The awards are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievements in the music industry. "Traditional Blues" was included in this year's new GRAMMY division, "American Roots," which also encompassed other categories of Western interest, including Michael Martin Murphey's Buckaroo Blue Grass in the Bluegrass category and Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel's Willie And The Wheel in the Americana category. Find all of the American Roots nominees here. The winners in all categories are listed here.

Posted 2/2

An announcement from Joe Baker of Backforty Bunkhouse Productions:

A new Western Swing award debuts in 2010, honoring Living Legends, presented by Backforty Bunkhouse Productions in cooperation with the Cowtown Society Of Western Music (CSWM) (www.cowtown-swm.org).

These awards will be given at the 12th Annual Cowtown Society Of Western Music Swing Fest in Mineral Wells, Texas on May 1, 2010.

Recipients of the Living Legends Award will be notified along with the CSWM Heroes Of Western Swing Music in February, 2010.

Anyone who is a current member of the Cowtown Society Of Western Music can nominate a living legend as long as the nominee has near 80-plus years of age and is still active in performing and promoting the western swing/western music industry.

The creation of this prestigious award has been "longtime goal" says Joe Baker, owner of Backforty Bunkhouse
Productions, "After discussing this project with CSWM President, Gary Beaver and weighing our ideas, 'Living
Legends' seemed to please both of us."

The Living Legends is a new addition to the CSWM Annual Swing Fest and every year will be presented by Backforty Bunkhouse Productions.

For more information on the Living Legends Awards or to join the Cowtown Society Of Western Music, please contact Joe Baker at (575)808-4111 or email at: joe@backfortybunkhouse.com or Gary Beaver, CSWM President at (817) 558-7580 or visit www.cowtown-swm.org.

Posted 12/31

The 52nd Annual GRAMMY award nominations—presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievements in the music industry—were announced December 2, 2009.

Nominees from the Western music world include:

Michael Martin Murphey's Buckaroo Blue Grass (Bluegrass, along with Jim Lauderdale, Steve Martin, Bryan Sutton And Friends, and Rhonda Vincent);

Ramblin' Jack Elliott's A Stranger Here (Traditional Blues, along with The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band Featuring Rick Vito, John Hammond, Duke Robillard, and Various Artists of Chicago Blues: A Living History);

and Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel's Willie And The Wheel (Americana, along with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Wilco, and Lucinda Williams).

All of those awards are a part of a new GRAMMY category, "American Roots." Find all of the American Roots nominees here, in the list of all of the 2010 GRAMMY nominations.

The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on January 31, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, broadcast live on CBS television.

Posted 12/7

True West magazine's 2010 Best of the West Sourcebook, the "eighth annual guide to everything Western," singles out cowboy poets and Western musicians in its Best of West awards, which also honor other "special places and people who keep the spirit and heritage of the West alive" in 30 categories.

Among those honored are Paul Zarzyski and Wylie & the Wild West as Best Living Wild West Troubadours; Waddie Mitchell as Best Living Cowboy Poet; Dave Stamey as Best Living Western Solo Musician; Sons of the San Joaquin as Best Living Western Music Group; Bill Anton as Best Artist to Watch; and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering as Best Annual Western Event.

The Best of the West awards are combined in the 160-page publication with extensive Western business listings, display ads, and editor Bob Boze Bell's enthusiastic introduction about the state of the West and its arts and activities.

Visit the True West magazine web site: www.truewestmagazine.com

Posted 12/3

The Western Music Association held its 21st Annual Western Music Association Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 19-22, 2009 and presented its annual awards.
Award winners include:

Entertainer of the Year: Dave Stamey
Female Poet: Doris Daley
Male Poet: Waddie Mitchell

Cowboy Poetry Book: Trail Mix by Diane Tribitt
Cowboy Poetry CD: Beneath a Western Sky by Doris Daley
Poet/Musician Collaboration: Les Buffham and Judy Coder, "Song Of The Mourning Dove"
Traditional Duo/Group: Sons of the San Joaquin
Traditional Album: Juni Fisher for Gone for Colorado

Cowboy/Western Swing Duo/Group: Asleep at the Wheel
Cowboy/Western Swing Album: Hang-n-Rattle by Wylie & the Wild West
Female Performer: Juni Fisher
Male Performer: Bill Barwick

Instrumentalist: Curly Musgrave

Songwriter: Marvin Odell
Song: "Jesus and Roy," Marvin O'Dell
President's Award: Marvin Odell for the Silver Screen Cowboys Project

Crescendo Award: Horse Crazy

Radio DJ: Barbara Richhart

Western Radio Station: Ralph's Back Porch
"Marilyn Tuttle Award": Prickly Pair and the Cactus Chorale

WMA Hall of Fame Inductees: Flying W Wranglers, John Avery Lomax, and Rich O'Brien
Bill Wiley Award: Ray Amerine

Yodeling Award contest winners:
Youth: Naomi Bristow
Adult: Ryan Hildebrand

Harmony Award contest winners:
Duo: The Outlaw & Miss Devon
Trio: Horse Crazy
Open Category: Journey West

Posted 11/23

The National Day of the Cowboy organization announced the recipients of its 2009 Cowboy Keeper Award: Dakota Livesay, Publisher of Chronicle of the Old West; The Texas Trail of Fame Organization; and Margo Metegrano, editor of CowboyPoetry.com.

From their media release:

The Cowboy Keeper Award is bestowed upon individuals and organizations that make a substantial contribution to the preservation of pioneer heritage and cowboy culture. The award was conceived in support of the organization’s mission to increase awareness for the Day of the Cowboy; a day of heritage celebration proclaimed by Congress, state legislatures, and governors each July since 2005.
....

Art for the 2009 Cowboy Keeper Award, ”She’s a Hand,” is the work of renowned Oregon artist, the late Joelle Smith, whose exquisitely impressive renderings of the West she loved so much have graced the cover of Western Horseman Magazine three times.

Past recipients of the Cowboy Keeper Award include U.S. Senator Craig Thomas, Cheyenne Frontier Days Executive Committee, the Golden Boot Organization, Old Cowtown Museum, rancher Dorothy Wood, Producer Julie Ream, U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and singer/songwriter Michael Martin Murphey.

Read the entire media release here at the National Day of the Cowboy web site: www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com.

Posted 10/8

The Academy of Western Artists announced the recipients of its 2009 Will Rogers Awards at the 14th Annual Will Rogers Awards held September 22, 2009 in Garland, Texas.

Western Music-Male....Daron Little

Western Music-Female....Devon Dawson

Western Music-Duo/Group....Flying J Wranglers

Western Music-Song....Bob Davidson "Western Sky"

Western Music-Album....Liz Masterson "Roads To Colorado"

Western Music-Yodeler....Carin Mari Lechner

Western Swing-Male....John England

Western Swing-Female....Kelli Grant

Western Swing-Duo/Group....Brady Bowen & Swing Country

Western Swing-Song....Mary Allen-Keating "Let's Make Music In The Country"

Western Swing-Album/CD....Billy Mata "This Is Tommy Duncan"

Western Swing-Instrumentalist....Buddy Hrabel

Pure Country-Male....Tony Booth

Pure Country-Female....Leighan Cortes

Pure Country-Duo/Group....Landon Dodd & The Dance Hall Drifters

Pure Country- Song....Kimberly Murray/Jake Hooker "Living And Learning"

Pure Country-Album/CD....Mickey Clark "Winding Highways"To

Will Rogers Lifetime Achievement.....Wayne Mitchell

The Art and Gear, Poetry, and Media awards were announced previously (see the item below for more on the Poetry awards).

Art and Gear Awards

Artist-Wayne Justus, Pagosa Springs, CO
Braider-Wayne Bevan, Glenwood, AB, Canada
Spurmaker-Todd Hansen, Molt, MT
Engraver-Jerry Falkner, Ft. Davis, TX
Cartoonist-Bob Rohan, Houston, TX
Garnet Books Chuckwagon Award-Cliff Teinert, Albany, TX
Saddlemaker-Cary Schwarz, Salmon, ID
Don King Lifetime Saddlemaker Award-Billy Wootres, Albuquerque, NM

Poetry Awards

Male-Mike Puhallo, Kamloops, BC ,Canada
Female-Jo Lynne Kirkwood, Sigurd, UT
Book/CD- Reminiscin', Slim McNaught, New Underwood, SD
Skinny Rowland Humor Award-Andy Nelson, Pinedale, WY
Buck Ramsey Book Award- Tracks That Won't Blow Out, Ray Owens, Artesia, NM

Media Awards

Disc Jockey-Dallas Wayne XM-Sirrus Radio
Record Label-Bear Family Records, Germany
Record Producer-BGM Studios, San Antonio, TX
Radio Station-KBAL, San Saba, TX

Find complete information at the organization's web site: www.awa-awards.org.

Posted 9/24

From the Will Rogers Medallion Award Committee:

2009 Will Rogers Medallion Award Winners

The Will Rogers Medallion Award Committee (www.willrogersmedallionaward.org) is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Will Rogers Medallion Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Publishing of Western Literature. The books, film, authors and publishers to be honored this year are:

Cowboy Poetry

A Prairie Prayer
Author – Bruce Roseland, Seneca, SD

Publisher- North Dakota Institute For Regional Studies,Fargo, ND

“The stories are real...Anyone with a farming or ranching background can relate to them...”

Cowboy Poetry: Tracks That Won't Blow Out

Author - Ray Owens/Verna Owens, Artesia, NM

Publisher - Cowboy Miner Publications, Phoenix, AZ

"So good I almost cried...This is one of the best cowboy poetry books of this or any other year..."

Lost Trails
Author - Willard Hollopeter, Woodlake, NE
Publisher - Pine Hill Press, Sioux Falls, SD

"A very well done book...Mr. Hollopeter sure has a sense of humor..."Rodeo" touched my heart..."

Western Nonfiction

Unbridled Cowboy
Author - Joseph B. Fussell/E.R. Fussell, LeRoy, NY

Publisher - Truman State University Press, Kirksville, MO

“Gripping - I couldn't put it down....A remarkably complete story about growing up in Texas."

Western Fiction– Young Adult

Beyond The Smoke
Author – Terry Burns, Amarillo, TX
Publisher - BJU Press/Journeyforth Books, Greenville, SC

“A very readable book with a worthwhile message...Great for teens and young adults...”

Western Fiction

Sittin' 'Round The Stove—Stories from the Real West

Author – Ken Overcast, Chinook, MT
Publisher – Bear Valley Press, Chinook, MT

“"This book was classified Fiction, although many of the stories are 100% true"..Ken is a storyteller in grand tradition of Will Rogers, Jack Thorp, Will James and Ben K. Green...."

Western Media -Film

On The Trail of Jack Thorp
Director – Susan Gervasi, Greenbelt, MD
Production Company – LazyG Films, Greenbelt, MD

“Extremely well done story of a most interesting and important Westerner...great production values..."

“This is the second year we have included other types of Western Literature along with Cowboy Poetry, and the response has been exciting,” said Charles Williams, Executive Director of the Will Rogers Medallion Committee. “We were especially excited to get an example of Western Media in the DVD about Jack Thorp. It was also gratifying to see more Cowboy Poetry this year. Humor was also well represented, and humor is what helps us get through the tough times. The West still holds a great fascination for Americans and people around the world. The winners represent a truly outstanding selection of Western Literature and Media of all types for many interests and ages. These authors and publishers are examples of the variety and quality that make Western books so popular.”



Will Rogers was a respected writer as well as cowboy entertainer. The Medallion Committee hopes and believes that the Will Rogers Medallion Awards will help to expand the heritage of literature which honors the traditions and values of the American Cowboy, which Will did so much to embody and demonstrate. Initially, the Medallion Award was created to encourage the continued upgrading of the quality of published books of Cowboy Poetry.   The honored books and films continue the establishment of this tradition of presenting Cowboy Poetry and other types of Western Literature and Media to the general public in an appealing and accessible manner. High quality publications like the books above invite readership in competition with many other forms of literature. As with Will’s published words, we believe that Medallion books have that timeless quality which allows them to be enjoyed over and over again.

Outstanding books and films are the result of a collaborative effort between authors, editors, publishers and printers, and the award criterion emphasizes production values as well as artistic merit. The Will Rogers Medallion Award for Outstanding Merit/Excellence in Printing and Production is awarded annually to those publishing houses that contribute the high production values, commercial viability and prestige to volumes of Western literature and to high quality media presentations.

See our feature here about the awards, which includes information about past recipients.

Posted 8/19

Academy of Western Artists Director Bobby Newton announces the re-launching of the organization's web site: www.awa-awards.org.

The site includes information about the forthcoming 14th Annual Will Rogers Awards (September 22, 2009 in Garland, Texas); the 2009 Will Rogers Awards, including the announced winners in several categories (Art and Gear, Poetry, and Media), the nominees in music categories, and past winners; and membership information.

Posted 8/17

The Academy of Western Artists has chosen the recipients for its 2009 Will Rogers Awards in cowboy poetry categories. From Director Bobby Newton:

Cowboy Poet of the Year: Mike Puhallo

Cowgirl Poet of the Year: Jolynne Kirkwood

Album/CD: Slim McNaught, Reminiscin'

Book: Ray Owens, Tracks That Won't Blow Out

Skinny Rowland Humor Award: Andy Nelson

Winners of the 2009 Will Rogers Awards in many categories will be announced September 22, 2009 at the Granville Theater in Garland, Texas at the 14th Annual Academy of Western Artists Will Rogers Awards.

Bobby Newton has announced, "The final nominees in the music categories are out at www.ropeburnsonline.com, under 'Headlines.'" The Western Music and Western Swing nominees are also listed in the item below.

Posted 7/27