Good news.

Western Writers of America just announced the results of the 2026 Spur Awards for literary works published in 2025.

“Leftovers,” from the collection Buckoffs and Broken Barriers: Rodeo Poems, was named a Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Poem. It is a lighthearted verse bemoaning the state of an old, broke-down rodeo cowboy long, long past his questionable prime, reminiscing about the past. It is not altogether autobiographical.

“Rawhide Robinson Faces Fear” was honored as a Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Short Fiction. The story appears in the collection Shiny Spurs and Gold Medallions, which features award-winning stories from the past (and a few more) by yours truly and fellow author Michael Norman. Now, Rawhide Robinson has truly earned his place in the book. (Rawhide Robinson is, by the way, winner of a Spur Award and twice a Spur Award Finalist as the subject of previous novels.)

Since 1953, Western Writers of America Spur Awards have honored writers “for distinguished writing about the American West. . . . Spur Awards have been one of the most prestigious awards in American literature.” In addition to the Spur winner, two Finalists are named in each category. I have been fortunate to have won four Spur Awards—two for short fiction, one for poetry, and one for a novel.

These two new Finalists bring the total to eight for that recognition, joining other Finalists for short fiction and poetry, as well as novels and a song (with stellar cowboy singer/songwriter Brenn Hill).

Sometimes you get lucky. I just got a little bit lucky again. Twice.

 

Express mail.

With a gash in his side and an arrow lodged in his shoulder, Pony Express rider Thomas Jefferson Jackson fights off pain, fatigue, and blood loss in his quest to reach the home station and pass along the mochila. Above all, the mail must get through.

His meandering thoughts continually turn to Loriann, the girl he left behind, and he wonders if his imaginative efforts to communicate with her through marked passages on pages torn from the pocket-size Bible provided by Express company Russell, Majors, and Wadell, will reach her and convey his feelings for her.

You’ll ride with Tom through dangerous desert plains, mountains, and canyons across Utah Territory’s West Desert in The Mail Must Get Through, a heart-wrenching story of courage, commitment, and love.

The Mail Must Get Through is available in paperback and eBook. Follow the link, or watch for it on your favorite online bookseller site and on eBook sites.