2004 Will Rogers Medallion Award
for Cowboy Poetry Books

2004 media release from the Academy of Western Artists:

GENE AUTRY, Okla -- The Academy of Western Artists is proud to confer the Will Rogers Medallion Award on six Cowboy Poetry books released in 2003, books that exemplify outstanding excellence in content and design. The Will Rogers Medallion Award is presented annually to books that meet demanding criteria for artistic merit, quality presentation and universal appeal. It is designed to recognize and honor those publications that advance the Academy's mission to preserve and perpetuate the traditions, values, and heritage of the American West.

AWA Director Bobby Newton says "Poets and publishers of Cowboy Poetry continue to raise the bar for excellence in publications that honor and celebrate the West, and we proudly recognize these five books with the Will Rogers Medallion Award. Each of these books showcases the strong talent of its writer and the high standards of its publisher, and all make significant and lasting contributions as the best examples of preservation and celebration of the history and spirit of the West."

The Will Rogers Medallion honorees are:

Arizona Herstory: Tales from Her Storied Past by Dee Strickland Johnson (Buckshot Dot), Cowboy Miner Productions, ISBN: 1931725055

Born to this Land, by Red Steagall and Skeeter Hagler, Texas Tech University Press, ISBN: 0896724921

Ground Tied, by Lyn Messersmith, EZ Rein Publishing, ISBN: 1575792567 Pat Richardson Unhobbled, by Pat Richardson, Pine Hill Press, ISBN: 1575792729

Time Not Measured by a Clock, by Carole Jarvis, Cowboy Miner Productions, ISBN: 1931725071

Turning to Face the Wind, by Jane Ambrose Morton, Cowboy Miner Productions, ISBN: 193172508x

A blind jury selects the winning books. Each of the award-winning Will Rogers Medallion books and many others are eligible for the Buck Ramsey award. That award is given based on the result of votes by AWA members and announced at the annual AWA Awards show held each July in Fort Worth, Texas in conjunction with the organization's annual trade show and convention. The Will Rogers Medallion Award winners will also be introduced in Ft. Worth. Call 580-389-5350 for more information.

Time Not Measured by a Clock, by Carole Jarvis

Years of cowboying and ranching across the West inform Carole Jarvis's impressive prose and poetry. From humorous ranch-wife stories to well crafted poetry, her knowledge and honesty lay a firm foundation for her engaging work. The sensitive illustrations by Larry Bute unfailingly match the spirit of the writing.

To read more about the winners of the Will Rogers Medallion Award, click here.