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Can a shadowed heart be healed? Can love grow where least expected?
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Welcome Coffee Fans! Looking for people to share your interest in books on the web? Then you have come to the right place. Take your time and browse though and enjoy the time.
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We invite you to find us and let us join your area in any of the following groups, organizations, and neat places (wink)
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Looking for a book club to discuss books that fits in YOUR schedule? We chat about new books every month and have some wonderful ladies who are happy to share with you and discuss a different book every month and answer the reader’s questions. Meet with your favorite author, find a new author, and talk with them about their books. Readers get chances to win a prizes or a new book from the author(s) of the month.
Check out the schedule below and mark your calendars!
Come and join the fun now - Enter here
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| January |
Erotic Muses In the deep of night, do you think of something you read in a "naughty" book and turn to your lover to share? During meetings, do your thoughts turn to your sweetheart and a feather, and the tantalizing results of play? Do you look at your partner across the dinner table and think of more than the oven's heat? If so, you understand the Muse--the Erotic Muse. Bonnie Dee, Veronica Wilde, Jayelle Drewry, Laura Bacchi and Dee S. Knight have joined together to share our thoughts and adventures with you in our blog, Erotic Muses. There are no limits to what an Erotic Muse can do; no places an Erotic Muse can't go. Please join us five days a week and see how our Erotic Muse can inspire you. Erotic Muses Blog |
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| February |
The Hussies -
We are the Hussies A bevy of brazen strumpets who write books that would have gotten us into serious trouble just a few decades ago. Now trollops and good girls alike read our books to satisfy their lust for romance, adventure, suspense, exotica, mystery, and, well, lust. Erotica, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, you name it; we take it to places you've never imagined before. What about the Hunks? Well, what's an adventure without at least one handsome, brave swashbuckler with skilled hands and a big, uh, sword? Cowboys, vampires, warriors and werewolves, we love them all and bring them to you in stories and pictures that will singe your retinas and bits farther south.
Hussies Blog
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| March |
Midnight Muses -
Coffee, sex, and a little bit of the Paranormal is our motto.
We haunt local coffee shops in Charlotte, NC planning our world domination by writing hot, spicy, sexy romance.
We muses are inspired by anything that go bump in the night, decadent cheesecake, and anything with fangs.
We three authors can rock your world and turn it upside down.
Come and see what we're all about.
Prizes & Gifts: 3 free downloads of one our books (1 from each author) . Small gift basket. |
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| April |
Destination Romance - Three authors teamed up to fight the forces of evil by writing romance – well, that’s almost how we got started. Actually we met in a chat room and started talking about how sexy men looked in boots – cowboy boots, construction boots, fisherman boots, all kinds of boots. Someone mentioned they’d look good with boots and nothing else, and you can imagine how the conversation went from there……. We’ve been friends ever since. Like you, we just love romance, plain and simple. We like it complicated too, with sprinklings of suspense, history, paranormal, western and you-name-it all over! Do the math – three authors x three styles x three realities = a limitless universe of possibilities. In other words, no matter what type of romance you like best, we have a story for you! All our books and contact info are listed on our website. You’ll find our blog and latest news and events on our MySpace page. And don’t forget, we have our very own chat group plus you can sign up for our newsletter. Prizes --- Catherine’s in charge of the Magic Suitcase and she’ll be pulling out three Destination Romance Goody Bags and three of our ebooks to send to lucky winners. |
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| May |
Petticoats & Pistols: Romancing the West - We're a batch of sweet and sassy western romance authors from Wildflower Junction, USA. We shoot straight for the heart with stories about hard-loving, hard-living, rugged-to-the-bone men and the spirited women who match them stride for stride.
You'll find us blogging at www.petticoatsandpistols.com where you can put in your two bits and stay awhile, so come join us and have some fun! Yee-Haw! Petticoats and Pistols - Romancing the West |
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| August |
August - Jewels of the Quill
What are the Dames up to now?
Writing Treasures for Every Taste...
Jewels of the Quill is a group of award-winning women authors. We write in over 40 categories of fiction, nonfiction, and everything in between. Among the 12 authors in the group, we've had over 300 books published with 68 contracted for by 78 publishers. We've won or finaled for almost 180 awards. Our books are available in mass market paperback, trade paperback, hardcover, electronic, Large Print, and audio formats. In short, we offer something for every reader.
Visit our Web Site |
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| September |
Midnight Seductions
Midnight Seductions is a group of thirty exciting romance authors who've banded together for mutual support and promotion. Our members are published at over thirty-two print and e-book publishers and our stories range from sweet and lovely to sizzling hot and include all genres of romance and erotic romance. Our logo tells the story:
Midnight Seductions where the true power of the heart is unleashed
We'll be with you at the Reader's Retreat for the entire month of September, with excerpts to tantalize you, great conversation and lots of prizes. We hope you'll stop by our many online sites and check out our fabulous authors:
MySpace
Blog
Yahoo group
If you join our Yahoo Reader Group during the month of September and let us know you found us at the CoffeeTime Reader's Retreat, you'll be entered in a special grand prize drawing for a $20 gift certificate at Fictionwise! |
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| October |
Vampire Vixens
The Vampire Vixens are a group of vampire romance and fantasy
authors. The Vixen Authors are
Dominique Adair,
Angelique Armae,
L.A. Banks,
Jennifer Dunne,
Tate Hallaway,
Michele Hauf,
Kate Hill,
Sherrilyn Kenyon,
Angela Knight,
Rosemary Laurey,
Patrice Michelle,
Candace Sams,
Susan Sizemore,
Kerrelyn Sparks,
Susan Squires,
Diane Whiteside,
J.C. Wilder.
Visit the Vampire Vixens |
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| November |
Novel Sisterhood
Novel Sisterhood members will be visiting the Coffee Time Romance & More Readers Retreat during the month of November. We are 300+ members strong, and do we have a treat for you! Plenty of juicy excerpts, and books to discuss, lots of give-a-ways and contests. To learn more about our group, please visit our web site |
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Are you a published writer? Or are you looking to get published? We are here to help. We have some wonderful people who volunteered their time and their talents to help you with your quest in this field.
These seminars are free and are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Stop by today.
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| March |
Nikki Leigh - Promoting your Book
March 3-7
For 12 years before I began writing seriously, I did many types of promotional work. This background has been beneficial in preparing my book manuscripts for publication and in promoting my books. We all know that the vast majority of authors need to promote themselves. I talk to many authors each week and most writers have little promotional experience. That is one of the reasons why I wrote Book Promo 101 – Learn the Basics of Book Promotion. It’s also a reason why I spoke with Karenne and agreed to be available during the week of March 3-7 to answer promotional questions. There are many different ways to promote. Some of the topics we can discuss include: Develop Your Marketing Mind – Is It Ever Too Early to Promote – Design Your Book for Promotion Create a Marketing Plan – Utilize Press Releases – Develop a Press Kit – Build Your Credibility Use Blogs and Websites to Promote – Promotional Items for Your Promotion – Where to Sell Books … and much, much more. These are some of the topics that I discuss in Book Promo 101 and I’m working on Book Promo 201 – which discusses a wide variety of online promotional options. During the week of March 3-7, I’ll be on the Coffee Times forum to talk with you all about ways to promote your books. In the mean time, feel free to visit a web page that links to about 100 promotional interviews and articles that I compiled here. If you’d like some additional information about my background, feel free to visit me . I look forward to getting to know each person in March.
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| April |
S. J. Willing - The Secrets of Writing Humor
*Molasses Thief Comes to a Sticky End! *
Have I got your attention yet? Good, because everyone talks about sex selling a romance story or novel but what most people don’t know is that humor can be just as effective in bonding readers to your work. If you want to learn about writing comedy moments that will have your readers howling, or simply smiling knowingly to themselves, come along to the Coffee Time Romance April Seminar, Psssst – The Secrets of Writing Humor. S.J. Willing, creator of the Agent Double D.3 Reports and the PIACT Undercover Agent series will share some of his hard-learned techniques for this particularly tricky area in fiction writing.
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| May |
Sascha Illyvich - BDSM in Romance: Marketing properly towards the fringe crowd!
This workshop is for authors particularly in the romance genre who dabble BDSM in any form, be it writing spanking stories, light bondage, or like myself, heavier darker things. What authors often fail to recognize about Kink and BDSM is that the term BDSM is a BLANKET TERM encompassing many different things that if utilized properly and marketed appropriately can expand an author’s audience. So, in order of author responsibilities after we’ve written the novel of course:
- Establish the Brand (I’m Sascha Illyvich, paranormal erotica/BDSM romance author)
- Maintain the Brand (Primarily through PR, I write about wolves, fae, vampires, but you’ll never see me write a western!)
- Grow the Brand (I write paranormal romances, which puts me in with the anime crowd who likes dark fantasy!)
This workshop will focus on Number 3: Grow the Brand. What authors often fail to realize is that in including different elements like spanking or light bondage that they are writing for their normal audiences but with a little more effort could target not just the fringe readers; those who are closeted about their darker desires, but those who are a little open with their darker desires.
Location: Coffee Time Romance Forums
Length: The entire month of May
Cost: $25 a head (Valued at $200) (via paypal to stpbigbangbaby@yahoo.com with a subject line of May Seminar)
I have been writing in this genre for the last eight years, worked two large BDSM events in Houston with HPEP, been actively involved on mailing list discussions, read a few books, met and spent time with Jay Wiseman (Author of SM 101: A Realistic Introduction) Oh, and as I mentioned before, my Mom is a Lifestyle Domme – meaning when she realized that she enjoyed kinky sex, she sought out knowledge and became who she is today. My previous workshop, Writing from the Male POV and creating better heroes was a success both at Coffee Time Romance and at Collette Thomoas’s Erotic Workshop yahoo group. |
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| June |
Vicki M. Taylor -Promotion: Shameless or Smart?
There are many different ways to promote. Kick your ego in the pants and let yourself shine. We'll be discussing promoting online and offline and how much time to devote to each. We'll have open discussions so keep your mind sharp. I'll be offering links to promotion sites to give you some ideas about what's available. You may have some links of your own to share. Don't be shy. That's what this workshop is all about. Sharing information. I look forward to getting to know all of you throughout the month of June.
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| August |
Laurie Sanders - Getting into Deep Point of View: Why It’s Important for You and Your Readers
All Month Long
If you’ve ever received a rejection letter there’s a good chance your story was written in shallow rather than deep point of view. Shallow viewpoint is the leading reason that I reject manuscripts. Worse than the rejection slip is that a book written in shallow point of view does not deliver what the reader wants and will leave the reader disappointed, something that neither you nor your publisher wants.
Viewpoint is one of the most powerful tools in the author’s toolbox and is also one of the most often misused. In this workshop we will look beyond the basics of viewpoint and examine why it is such an important tool and how to use the deeper nuances of viewpoint to add emotion, texture, motivation, conflict, and drama to a manuscript.
I will be addressing the following topics, however most of the workshop time will be spent going over exercises provided by workshop participants.
The goal will be to show through practical examples and a hands on approach how to use deep point of view to deepen the reader’s experience of the story.
- What do fiction readers want?
- Connecting the dots – how does deep point of view give readers a satisfying experience? How is the reader’s experience different with shallow point of view versus a deep point of view?
- How to decide whose point of view to use for key scenes, and how to make the best use out of that viewpoint.
- Deciding when and where and how to change point of view. Is changing viewpoint in the middle of a scene always bad?
- Author invisibility -- avoiding author point of view.
- Choosing details that deepen point of view
- Infusing dialogue with point of view.
- Point of view and character motivation – your character has done a bad, bad thing – how can you use point of view to make the reader still root for him or her?
Questions can be submitted before the workshop. Please send them to: LaurieSanders@fusemail.com Please use the subject WORKSHOP QUESTION so that they will be sure to get through the spam filters.
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| September |
Pollyanna Williamson - Celtic Knot work: Weaving Together Characterization and Plotting
September 1-12, 2008
This course is for intermediate level writers, advanced writers if they have a weakness in this area.
Blurb: Learn how characterization and plotting weave together to make your story come alive.
Outline of lessons and discussion topics:
Characterization
- Character profile questions and interviewing your characters
- Creating backstory and when to use it
- Character is Action
- **GMC: Goal, motivation and conflict. This will also be discussed with plot.
- Writing strong characters and viewpoint
- Three Dimensional Characters
- No Sagging Middles
Plot and Characterization and discussion topics
- What is Plot? What does it do?
- Plot is Action
- GMC: Goal, motivation and conflict
- Stimulus and Response
- No Sagging Middles
- **Scene and sequel
Putting it all together. |
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| October |
Mistresses, Queens and Witches – Writing Historical Romance
October 12-18
A week with three historical romance writers; Lyn Armstrong (The Last Celtic Witch, The Celtic Witch & The Sorcerer, Heart of a Warlock), Delilah Marvelle (Mistress of Pleasure), and Minnette Meador (The Centurion & The Queen, The Edge of Honor), plus other writers who will share their experience. Everything you wanted to know about historicals, but were afraid to ask.
- How to make research fun & fast
- Creating Worlds, Both Historical & Fantasy: Are horses faster than unicorns?
- Tips and Tricks on Writing Historical Romance
- Making history come alive on the page: How to make your reader’s heart race!
- Historical Hunks & Kick-Ass Heroines: Characterization in Historicals
- Sex Through the Centuries: Making ancient love sizzle
- Plus much, much more
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| November |
Kayelle Allen - Creating Believable Worlds
Paid Class - $25
- Your dogma matters - what do you believe?
- Historical accuracy - how important is it?
- Writing your own history
- Creating a structure big enough to support your story
- Laying out the world and its environment
- Languages and communication
- Keeping it legal - laws and customs
- Your society and its outlaws - fringe groups
- Keeping track of your own rules - the bible
- Where do you start?
The course will run two one-hour classes per week for four weeks (8 hours total), with personal critiques offered. Limit of ten people per class.
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We all love books and there are many MANY events that points out the excellence and achievements in this industry, but sometimes it is hard to find them. So we are working on gathering all of this information so you can find it in one place. If you know of something that isn't here, tell us!
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ARIANA
The best cover in each category will win the ARIANA Best in Category award. The fifteen ARIANA winners will go on to compete for the QUASAR Best Cover of 2008 Award. The QUASAR and the ARIANA are engraved awards presented at the EPICon awards banquet. Awards are mailed to any winners not present. |
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Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. |
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The New Covey Awards
Cover Awards
Currently there are two Award Categories.
- Most Eye-Catching Cover
- Most Relevant Cover
What do these categories mean?
Most Eye-Catching Cover is simple. This is the Cover that would make you stop and pick up the novel for a closer look.
Most Relevant Cover refers to how relevant the Cover is in relation to the back cover blurb. In other words, does the cover reflect the idea of the novel?
Trailer Awards
The NEW Covey Trailer Awards are the same as The NEW Covey Awards but for Book Trailers (sometimes also called Book Peeks) instead of Book Covers.
The goal of The NEW Covey Trailer Awards is to recognize Book Trailers that would make you interested in the book, make you stop and perhaps visit the authors website to read the excerpt. Like The NEW Covey Awards, it is also a forum that provides additional exposure for new authors.
Each person who wins a NEW Covey Trailer Award will receive an icon and will be listed as an Award Recipient. The icon and a link can be posted on their website or blog to show the world that their Book Trailer rocks.
Trailer Awards Site |
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Cupid and Psyche Awards
What are the CAPA's? They are awards given by The Romance Studio for excellence in romantic and erotic fiction. Categories include inspirational, contemporary, fantasy, historical, mainstream, paranormal, romantic suspense, erotic contemporary, erotic fantasy, erotic historical, erotic novella, erotic paranormal, erotic anthology, BDSM, and the Ariana Overton Award for Best Cover Art or the Ari.
The Romance Studio will be giving the fourth annual Cupid and Psyche Awards on Valentine's Day 2008! |
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Bram Stoker Awards
Each year, the Horror Writer's Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. The Stoker Awards were instituted immediately after the organization's incorporation in 1987. While many members, including HWA's first President, Dean Koontz, had reservations about awards for writing -- since the point of HWA was for writers to cooperate for their mutual benefit, not to compete against one another -- the majority of members heavily favored presenting awards, both to recognize outstanding work in the horror field and to publicize HWA's activities.
To ameliorate the competitive nature of awards, the Stokers are given "for superior achievement," not for "best of the year," and the rules are deliberately designed to make ties fairly probable. The first awards were presented in 1988 (for works published in 1987), and they have been presented every year since. The award itself is an eight-inch replica of a fanciful haunted house, designed specifically for HWA by sculptor Steven Kirk. The door of the house opens to reveal a brass plaque engraved with the name of the winning work and its author. |
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EPPIE Awards
The EPPIE Awards have been given annually since the first EPIC conference to recognize outstanding achievement in e-publishing.
The categories are judged by members of EPIC, all published authors. After the first round of judging, the works of the finalists are sent to another panel of judges, and winners in all eighteen categories are selected. The winners are announced at the EPIC conference's gala award ceremony at the annual EPICon Convention.
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The Hammett Prize
IACW/NA awards THE HAMMETT PRIZE annually for literary excellence in the field of crime-writing, as reflected in a book published in the English language in the US and/or Canada. The winner receives a "Thin Man" trophy, designed by sculptor Peter Boiger.
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James Beard/KitchenAid Award
The James Beard/KitchenAid Awards recognize the best books on culinary topics in categories including Cookbook of the Year, Wine and Spirits and Baking and Desserts. James Beard is recognized as the father of American gastronomy, and his restaurant awards are considered extremely prestigious.
Click on the sidebar to see winners from previous years. Past winners include "A Vineyard Garden" by Molly Chappellet and "A Mediterranean Feast" by Clifford A. Wright.
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Man Booker Prize for Fiction
The Man Booker Prize promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year. The prize is the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and even publishers.
The Man Booker judges are selected from the country's finest critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent excellence of the prize. The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives £50,000 and both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales. |
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Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. |
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Nobel Prize in Literature
The very first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 1901 to the French poet and philosopher Sully Prudhomme, who in his poetry showed the "rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect". Over the years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has distinguished the works of authors from many different languages and cultural backgrounds. The prize has been awarded to unknown masters as well as authors acclaimed worldwide. |
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PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is a national prize which honors the best published works of fiction by American citizens in a calendar year. Three judges, chosen annually by the directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, select five books from among the more than 300 works submitted, making this the largest peer-juried award in the country. The winning writer and four finalists are honored at a ceremony held in Washington at the Folger Shakespeare Library in May. |
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PRISM Awards
PRISM 2007 Contest for Published Authors, sponsored by the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Special Interest Chapter of RWA. |
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Pulitzer Prize
The will of Joseph Pulitzer, a crusading newspaper journalist, provided for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes. Since its inception in 1917, the prizes have recognized the best in journalism, letters, drama and music. Many consider it the most prestigious award a journalist or author can achieve. |
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QUASAR
Recognizing Excellence in E-book Covers |
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Rita Awards
The RITA Award. RITA awards are presented annually to the best published romance novels of the year. The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for the best in published romance fiction. |
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The Ruby Awards
The Ruby Award for Website Excellence is to encourage authors who are using the internet in positive and innovative ways to market their writing, and for community groups providing reviews, education, and other services for authors. It will be offered in four parts.
- Author - Author designed sites
- Design - Professionally designed sites (graphic will go to author and to designer)
- Simple - Simple free sites such as freewebs, geocities, etc.
- Community - Community sites providing reviews, education, or other services
Each award will be held for a one year period.
Prizes may include free featured author space, banner creation, author promos, marketing workshops, promo material, interviews, book promos, advertising, and more.
After the conclusion of the nomination period (open to the public), a panel of judges will visit nominated sites and vote. An online presentation party will be held in a live chat format and the awards will be announced. Nominees will receive graphics to post on their sites, and the winners will receive recognition on sites sponsoring the event and awards (i.e., Coffee Time Romance, Romance Junkies, The Romance Studio, and AuthorMBA Blog have already expressed interest). |
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The Spur Awards
The Spur Awards, given annually for distinguished writing about the American West, are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. In 1953, when the awards were established by WWA, western fiction was a staple of American publishing. At the time awards were given to the best western novel, best historical novel, best juvenile, and best short story.
Since then the awards have been broadened to include other types of writing about the West. Today, Spurs are offered for the best western novel (short novel), best novel of the west (long novel), best original paperback novel, best short story, best short nonfiction. Also, best contemporary nonfiction, best biography, best history, best juvenile fiction and nonfiction, best TV or motion picture drama, best TV or motion picture documentary, and best first novel (called The Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award). |
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