The Spur Awards, given to the best in "western" fiction, were established in 1953 by the Western Writers of America, and have been presented annually ever since. When originally established, the awards were presented for the Best Western Novel, Best Historical Novel, Best Juvenile and Best Short Story. Over the years, the awards have been modified and expanded to include several other types of writing about the west. The modern Spur Awards are presented for Best Western Novel [short novel], Best Novel of the West [long novel], Best Original Paperback Novel, and several other categories which are not included on the list below (including screenplays, short fiction, poetry, non-fiction and westerns for youth). For a complete history of the Spur Awards and a listing of the winners in all of the categories, visit the official History of the Spur Awards web site, hosted by the Western Writers of America. Book titles "hotlinked" in the list below are owned by the Lincoln City Libraries, and the link will take you to the holdings screen in our catalog, where you can check on the current availability of that title. Notes: In 1997, the WWA adjusted the Spur Awards to begin reflecting the year the awards were presented, rather than the year the books were published. This resulted in the appearance of no awards being presented in 1997. In 2007, the categories were noticeably adjusted - "Novel of the West" was eliminated; "Best Western Novel" was broken into Long and Short categories; and other changes occured.