WWA Forevermore

 by Charlotte Hinger

My trip to the Western Writers of America convention got off to a rocky start this year. I intended to take off for Kansas Monday, stay in Nicodemus with my friend Angela Bates that night and we would leave for Tulsa Tuesday morning. But Sunday evening I gashed my leg on an open bottom dresser drawer and ended up going to ER for stitches. 

Between a dramatic rise in blood sugar and blood pressure due to the trauma, I wasn't fit to drive the next day and we ended up leaving a day later. 

So much of the pleasure I take in this event is visiting with old friends. There are three of us members who attended the Santa Fe convention in 1982: Loren Estleman, Preston Lewis, and myself. That's a long time to be devoted to an organization. 

This year I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Quintard Taylor receive the cherished Wister Award. It's given to an individual who has made a signicant contribution to the literature of the West over their lifetime. Not only has Dr. Taylor written an avalance of books and articles about the West, he also founded a website, BlackPast.org with an amazing 10,000 pages created by over 1,000 academics and independent researchers. It's an amazing resource! 

Dr. Quintard Taylor

No session is complete without our wonderful Roundup editor, Johnny D. Boggs

This is nearly the only time I dress Western

And here's Angela:

WWA Conference

 by Charlotte Hinger

The annual Western Writers of America convention will always be my favorite event. It was due to connections made at this conference that I sold my first book. Ironically, I had been warned away by an official in another writers' organization. He said "it's not for the likes of you. This is a business conference with a lot of New York editors in attendance." 

I decided that's where I wanted to go. Because real editors went. And because it was a business conference

The conference is held in a different locale every year. This year it was in Great Falls, Montana and next year will be in Rapid City, South Dakota. The group is intensely interested in history and the settlement of the West. Learning about different regions and tours is an important feature of the meetings. 

Our attendance was down this year. We are still feeling the effects of the Covid scare. The event was cancelled in 2020.

I wouldn't have missed for anything because my best friend in the writing community is and always will be Irene Bennett Brown, and she received the Wister Award for lifetime achievement. She began with award-winning children's books, then later moved on to novels for adults, and at the age of 90 (this year) Irene signed a new two-book contract. She and her husband, Robert, recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary and were married at 19. 

Angela Bates, my friend from Nicodemus, and I drove. Even though it was a 12 hour drive we clipped right along. We got up at 5:00 am and arrived in Great Falls at 5:00 pm.

One of the highlights of WWA is the Roundup Room. Every evening, after sensible members head off to bed, there are a group of musicians who keep us entertained. I always stay until the last dog is hung. I could listen to W.C. Jameson all night. 

Our panels are terrific. One of my favorites involved a spirited discussion about cultural appropriation, censorship, and book burning. As historians, we struggle with over-zealous editors who worry about offending readers. Bad things have always happened and we feel duty-bound to write about them. David Heska Wanbli Weiden, a Lakota Sioux, has won the Spur award for his novel, Winter Count, and this year for "Skin" a short story. 

Next year's convention is at Rapid City, South Dakota. You bet your life I'll be there. Boots and hat and all.