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Spur Awards are literary prizes given annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur Awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA was founded. An author need not be a member of the WWA to receive a Spur Award. Among previous Spur Award winners are Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove, Michael Blake for Dances with Wolves, Glendon Swarthout for The Shootist, and Tony Hillerman for Skinwalkers.
The Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement in Western fiction, first awarded in 1961, is also a Western Writers of America award, distinct from the Spur Awards.
Initially, there were five Spur Awards categories: western novel, historical novel, juvenile, short story, and reviewer. The categories have expanded and changed (or been renamed) over the years. There is no guarantee an award will be made in each category every year. The 2015 Spur Awards have the following categories:
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