# Bronze Wrangler

The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature.
The awards were first presented in 1961. The Wrangler is a bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback, and is designed by artist John Free.
The awards program also recognizes inductees into the prestigious Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers as well as the recipient of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award, named in honor of the Museum's founder.

## Award categories
### Film and television

Theatrical Motion Picture
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1960s |||||
| 1961 | The Alamo | John Wayne (director), James Edward Grant (screenplay) | Batjac/United Artists | |
| 1962 | The Comancheros | Michael Curtiz (director), James Edward Grant (screenplay), Clair Huffaker (screenplay), Paul I. Wellman (original novel) | 20th Century Fox | |
| 1963 | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | John Ford (director), James Warner Bellah (screenplay), Dorothy M. Johnson (original short story) | Paramount Pictures | |
| 1964 | How the West Was Won | John Ford (director), James R. Webb (screenplay) | Cinerama/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
| 1965 | Cheyenne Autumn | John Ford (director), James R. Webb (screenplay), Mari Sandoz (original story) | Warner Bros. | |
| 1966 | The Sons of Katie Elder | Henry Hathaway (director), William H. Wright (screenplay), Allan Weiss (screenplay), Harry Essex (screenplay), Talbot Jennings (original story) | Hal B. Wallis/Paramount Pictures | |
| 1967 | The Appaloosa | Sidney J. Furie (director), James Bridges (screenplay), Roland Kibbee (screenplay), Robert MacLeod (original novel) | Universal Pictures | |
| 1968 | The War Wagon | Burt Kennedy (director, screenplay), Clair Huffaker (screenplay, original novel) | Universal Pictures | |
| 1969 | Will Penny | Tom Gries (director, screenplay) | Paramount Pictures | |
| 1970s |||||
| 1970 | True Grit | Henry Hathaway (director), Marguerite Roberts (screenplay), Charles Portis (original novel) | Hal B. Wallis/Paramount Pictures | |
| 1971 | A Man Called Horse | Elliot Silverstein (director), Jack DeWitt (screenplay), Dorothy M. Johnson (original short story) | Cinema Center Films/National General Pictures | |
| 1972 | The Cowboys | Mark Rydell (director), Irving Ravetch (screenplay), Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay), William Dale Jennings (original novel) | Warner Bros. | |
| 1972 | Jeremiah Johnson | Sydney Pollack (director), John Milius (screenplay), Edward Anhalt (screenplay), Raymond W. Thorp (story), Robert Bunker (story) | |
| 1973 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1974 | The New Land | Jan Troell (director, screenplay), Bengt Forslund (screenplay), Vilhelm Moberg (original novel) | Svensk Filmindustri | SWE |
| 1975 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1976 | Bite the Bullet | John C. Champion (director), Richard Brooks (director, screenplay) | Columbia Pictures | |
| 1977–1981 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1980s |||||
| 1982 | Heartland | Richard Pearce (director), Beth Ferris (screenplay), William Kittredge (screenplay), Elinore Randall Stewart (original story) | Levitt-Pickman | |
| 1983 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1984 | Never Cry Wolf | Carroll Ballard (director), Curtis Hanson (screenplay), Sam Hamm (screenplay), Richard Kletter (screenplay), Farley Mowat (original story) | |
| 1985–1989 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | Young Guns | Christopher Cain (director), John Fusco (screenplay) | Morgan Creek Productions | |
| 1991 | Dances with Wolves | Kevin Costner (director), Michael Blake (screenplay, original novel) | Orion Pictures | |
| 1992 | Thousand Pieces of Gold | Nancy Kelly (director), Anne Makepeace (screenplay), Ruthanne Lum McCunn (original novel) | Mother Lode Productions | |
| 1993 | Unforgiven | Clint Eastwood (director), David Peoples (screenplay) | Malpaso Productions/Warner Bros. | |
| 1994 | Geronimo: An American Legend | Walter Hill (director), John Milius (screenplay), Larry Gross (screenplay) | Columbia Pictures | |
| 1995 | Legends of the Fall | Edward Zwick (director), Bill Wittliff (screenplay), Jim Harrison (original novella) | TriStar Pictures | |
| 1996–1998 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1999 | The Hi-Lo Country | Stephen Frears (director), Walon Green (screenwriter), Max Evans (original novel) | Gramercy Pictures | |
| 2000s |||||
| 2000–2002 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 2003 | Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron | Kelly Asbury (director), Lorna Cook (director), John Fusco (screenplay) | DreamWorks Pictures | |
| 2004 | Open Range | Kevin Costner (director), Craig Storper (screenplay), Lauran Paine (original novel) | Tig Productions | |
| 2005 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2006 | The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada | Tommy Lee Jones (director), Guillermo Arriaga (screenplay) | EuropaCorp/Javelina Film Company | FRA |
| 2007 | Truce | Matthew Marconi (director, screenplay) | Anthem Pictures | |
| 2008 | 3:10 to Yuma | James Mangold (director), Halsted Welles (screenplay), Michael Brandt (screenplay), Derek Haas (screenplay), Elmore Leonard (original short story) | Lionsgate | |
| 2009 | Appaloosa | Ed Harris (director, screenplay), Robert Knott (screenplay), Robert B. Parker (original novel) | Warner Bros. Pictures | |
| 2010s |||||
| 2010 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2011 | True Grit | Joel and Ethan Coen (directors, screenplay), Scott Rudin (producer), Charles Portis (original novel) | Paramount Pictures | |
| 2012 | Yellow Rock | Nick Vallelonga (director), Lenore Andriel (screenplay), Steve Doucette (screenplay) | Enlightenment Films Inc./Vallelonga Productions | |
| 2013 | Django Unchained | Quentin Tarantino (director, screenplay) | The Weinstein Company | |
| 2014 | The Cherokee Word for Water | Charlie Soap (director), Tim Kelly (director, screenplay), Louise Rubacky (screenplay), Gary Miranda (screenplay) | Kamama Films | |
| 2015 | The Homesman | Tommy Lee Jones (director, screenplay), Kieran Fitzgerald (screenplay), Wesley Oliver (screenplay), Glendon Swarthout (original novel) | Javelina Film Company/Ithaca Films | FRA |
| 2016 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2017 | Hell or High Water | David Mackenzie (director), Taylor Sheridan (screenplay) | Film 44/OddLot Entertainment/Sidney Kimmel Entertainment | |
| 2018 | Wind River | Taylor Sheridan (director, screenplay) | The Weinstein Company | |
| 2019 | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Joel and Ethan Coen (directors, screenplay) | |
Outstanding Docudrama
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) |
| 1990s |||||
| 2013 | Hatfields & McCoys | Kevin Reynolds (director), Bill Kerby (screenplay), Ted Mann (screenplay), Leslie Greif (executive producer), Nancy Dubuc (executive producer), Dirk Hoogstra (executive producer) | History |
| 2014 | Gold Fever | Stephen David (producer) | Discovery Channel |
| 2015 | The Road to Valhalla | Ken Spurgeon (director, writer) | Lone Chimney Films |
Television Feature Film
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | Lonesome Dove | Simon Wincer (director), William D. Wittliff (screenplay), Larry McMurtry (original novel) | CBS | |
| 1991 | Across Five Aprils | Kevin Meyer (director, screenplay), Irene Hunt (original novel) | The Family Channel | |
| 1992 | Conagher | Reynaldo Villalobos (director), Sam Elliott (screenplay), Katharine Ross (screenplay), Jeffrey M. Meyer (screenplay) Louis L'Amour (original novel) | TNT | |
| 1993 | O Pioneers! | Glenn Jordan (director), Robert W. Lenski (screenplay), Willa Cather (original novel) | CBS | |
| 1994 | Return to Lonesome Dove | Mike Robe (director), John Wilder (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1995 | Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee | Frank Pierson (director), Bill Kerby (screenplay), Mary Crow Dog (original story) | TNT | |
| 1996 | Streets of Laredo | Joseph Sargent (director), Diana Ossana (screenplay), Larry McMurtry (screenplay, original novel) | CBS | |
| 1997 | Riders of the Purple Sage | Charles Haid (director), Gill Dennis (screenplay), Zane Grey (original novel) | TNT | |
| 1998 | Last Stand at Saber River | Dick Lowry (director), Ronald M. Cohen (screenplay), Elmore Leonard (original novel) | TNT | |
| 1999 | Two for Texas | Rod Hardy (director), Larry Brothers (screenplay) | TNT | |
| 2000s |||||
| 2000 | Purgatory | Uli Edel (director), Gordon T. Dawson (screenplay) | TNT | |
| 2000 | You Know My Name | John Kent Harrison (director, screenplay) | TNT | |
| 2001 | The Virginian | Bill Pullman (director), Larry Gross (screenwriter), Owen Wister (original novel) | TNT | |
| 2002 | Crossfire Trail | Simon Wincer (director), Charles Robert Carner (screenplay), Louis L'Amour (original novel) | TNT | |
| 2003 | King of Texas | Uli Edel (director), Stephen Harrigan (screenplay) | TNT | |
| 2004 | Monte Walsh | Simon Wincer (director), Michael Brandman (screenplay), Robert B. Parker (screenplay), David Z. Goodman (screenplay), Lukas Heller (screenplay), Jack Schaefer (original novel) | TNT | CAN |
| 2005 | The Trail to Hope Rose | David S. Cass Sr. (director), Kevin Cutts (screenplay) | Larry Levinson Productions/Hallmark Channel | |
| 2006 | Into the West | (multiple directors and writers) | DreamWorks Television/TNT | |
| 2007 | Broken Trail | Walter Hill (director), Alan Geoffrion (screenplay) | AMC | |
| 2008 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Yves Simoneau (director), Daniel Giat (screenplay) | Wolf Films/Traveler's Rest Films/HBO Films | |
| 2010s |||||
| 2011 | Temple Grandin | Mick Jackson (director), Christopher Monger (screenplay), William Merritt Johnson (screenplay) | A Ruby Films/Gerson Saines Production/HBO Films | |
| 2012 | Love's Christmas Journey | David S. Cass Sr. (director), George Tierney (screenplay), Janette Oke (original novel) | Larry Levinson Productions/Hallmark Channel | |
| 2013 | Shadow on the Mesa | David S. Cass Sr. (director), Lee Martin (screenplay) | Larry Levinson Productions/Hallmark Channel | |
| 2014 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2015 | Klondike | Simon Cellan Jones (director), Paul Scheuring (screenplay), Josh Goldin (screenplay), Rachel Abramowitz (screenplay) | Scott Free Productions/Discovery Channel | |
| 2016 | Texas Rising | Roland Joffé (director), Leslie Greif (screenplay), Darrell Fetty (screenplay), George Nihil (screenplay) | A&E Studios/ITV Studios America/ThinkFactory Media | |
Factual Narrative
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | Billings Bound | Bob Kane (director, producer) | CGI Films | |
| 1991 | ABC World of Discovery: "Cougar: Ghost of the Rockies" | Dennis B. Kane (executive producer), Jim Dutcher (producer), David R. O'Dell (writer), Richard Kiley (narrator) | ABC | |
| 1992 | Primetime Live: "Chances With Wolves" | Richard Kaplan (producer), Bob Calo (producer), Jay Schadler (correspondent) | ABC | |
| 1993 | Legends of the West | Jack Palance (host, producer), Igo Kantor (producer), Tom Daniels (producer), Dennis Casey Park (producer), John "Bud" Cardos (director), Roger Galloway (writer) | 819 Productions | |
| 1994 | Beyond Eden's Gate | Steve King (producer), Trish Neiworth (producer) Larry Bollinger (director), Jeff Gustin (photographer) Jack McGowan (narrator) | KPTV/Oregon Public Television | |
| 1995 | Day One: "Poachers' Paradise" | Tom Yellin (producer), Kevin Cosgrove (producer), John McKenzie (writer), Kevin Cosgrove (writer), John McKenzie (reporter) | ABC | |
| 1996 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1997 | Austin City Limits: "Sagebrush Symphony" | Jim Norman (producer), Terry Lickona (producer), Tim Weeks (producer), Kevin Kipp (producer), Gary Menotti (director), Michael Martin Murphey (narrator) | KLRU-TV/PBS | |
| 1998 | The Oklahoma Traveler In No Man's Land | Scott Thompson (producer, writer), Grant Gerondale (photographer) | KOTV | |
| 1999 | The New Explorers: "Betrayal At Little Big Horn" | Bill Kurtis (producer), Gary Foreman (producer, writer) | | |
| 2000s |||||
| 2000 | Biography: "Annie Oakley: Crackshot in Petticoats" | Craig Haffner (producer), Donna E. Lusitana (producer), Arthur Drooker (director, producer, writer) | A&E | |
| 2001 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2002 | There's No Place Like California | Donald E. Collins (producer), Dr. Peter G. Mehas (producer), Dan Pessano (director) Jack Hannah (narrator, writer) | Fresno County Office of Education | |
| 2003 | Spirit of Colorado: "Cowboys" | John W. Burshtan (producer), Lisa D. Olken (producer), Kim Kendrick (producer), Lisa D. Olken (director) | KRMA-TV/Rocky Mountain PBS | |
| 2004 | ABC News Nightline: "The Cowboy Way" | Leroy Sievers (executive producer), Tom Bettag (executive producer), Sara Just (senior producer), Ted Koppel (managing editor), Chris Bury (anchor) | ABC | |
| 2005 | EKN Teen Kids News: "Cowgirl Museum" | Al Primo (creator), Alan J. Weiss (creator) | Alan Weiss Productions | |
| 2006 | American Masters: "Willa Cather: The Road Is All" | Christine Lesiak (producer, writer), Joel Geyer (director, producer) | NET/PBS | |
| 2007 | Gallery: "Young At Art" | Bill Perry (producer), Bill Thrash (producer), Randy Hayes (photographer) | OETA | |
| 2008 | 100 Years of John Wayne | Jeff Hildebrandt (producer), Elizabeth Daly (producer) | Starz Encore Westerns | |
Factual Television Program (awarded from 1961 until 1989)
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1960s |||||
| 1961 | Death Valley Days: "The Great Lounsberry Scoop" | Ruth Woodman (producer), Nat Perrin (writer) | | |
| 1962 | Project Twenty: "The Real West" | Donald B. Hyatt (producer), Philip H. Reisman Jr. (screenplay), Gary Cooper (narrator) | NBC | |
| 1963 | Death Valley Days: "The Hat that Wore the West" | Sidney Salkow (director), Robert Stabler (producer), Irwin Winehouse (writer), A. Sanford Wolf (writer), Frank Buxton (actor) | | |
| 1964 | Discovery '63: "The American Cowboy" | Jules Power (producer), Lou Volpicelli (director), Sol Stember (writer), Frank Buxton (actor) | ABC | |
| 1965 | The Hanging Judge | Gene Allen (producer), Jerry Powell (writer), Virgil Dominic (narrator) | WKY-TV | |
| 1965 | Hollywood and the Stars: "They Went That-a-Way" | Jack Haley Jr. (director), Terry Sanders (producer) | NBC | |
| 1966 | Custer to the Little Bighorn | William Hartigan (photographer), John and Helen Jean Rogers (directors), John H. Secondari (producer) | ABC | |
| 1966 | The Journals of Lewis and Clark | Dexter Alley (photographer), Richard Norling (photographer), Calvin P. Tompkins (writer), Ted Yates (producer), Lorne Greene (narrator) | NBC | |
| 1967 | Discovery: "An Iron Horse in Silver Pastures" | Joseph Hurley (writer), Daniel Wilson (producer), Virginia Gibson (actor), Bill Owen (actor) | ABC | |
| 1968 | Project Twenty: "The End of the Trail" | Robert Garthwaite (producer) | NBC | |
| 1969 | The Bonanza Years | Aldo H. Constant (general manager) | KRON-TV | |
| 1970s |||||
| 1970 | Project Twenty: "The West of Charles Russell" | Robert Garthwaite (producer), Donald B. Hyatt (producer), Richard Hansen (director), Frederic G. Renner (consultant) | NBC | |
| 1971 | The Last of the Westerners | James Benjamin (producer), David Tapper (director), Robert Ryan (narrator) | ABC | |
| 1972 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1973 | America: "Gone West" | Alistair Cooke (writer), Michael Gill (producer), Tim Slessor (director) | NBC | |
| 1974 | Conrad Schwiering, Mountain Painter | Duane Barr (director), Jack Rosenthal (producer) | KTWO-TV | |
| 1975 | The American Parade: "The 34th Star" | Joel Heller (producer), Robert Markowitz (director), Richard Kiley (actor), Ronnie Claire Edwards (actor) | CBS | |
| 1976 | I Will Fight No More Forever | Richard T. Heffron (director), Stan Margulies (producer), David L. Wolper (producer), James Whitmore (actor), Ned Romero (actor), Sam Elliott (actor) | ABC | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | The American Idea: The Glory Road West | Terry Sanders (producer), Henry Fonda (narrator), Chad Everett (narrator), Buffy Sainte-Marie (narrator) | ABC | |
| 1979 | Ishi: The Last of His Tribe | Robert Ellis Miller (director), Edward and Mildred Lewis (producers), Christopher Trumbo (screenplay), Dalton Trumbo (screenplay), Eloy Casados (actor) | NBC | |
| 1980s |||||
| 1980 | John Denver's Rocky Mountain Reunion | Mark Stouffer (producer), John Denver (actor) | ABC | |
| 1981 | The Lone Star Cowboy | David K. Boles (producer), Kenneth D. Cockroft (photographer) | KPRC-TV | |
| 1982 | Hidden Places | Philip Abbott (host), Gene Bunge, (director), Steve Robbins (producer) | NET | |
| 1983 | Light in the West: Photographers of the American Frontier, 1860-1880 | Michael Blackwood (producer), Ray Witlin (director) | | |
| 1984 | Cowboy | John Bass (producer), Steve Torbeck (producer) | | |
| 1985 | Good Morning America: "Custer's Battlefield" | Fred Farrar (producer) | ABC | |
| 1986 | The New Capitalists: Economics in Indian Country | Stephen R. Heiser (director), Char B. Rowlinson (executive director), Eric Sevareid (narrator) | | |
| 1987 | Houston: The Legend of Texas | Frank Q. Dobbs (producer, writer), John Binder (writer), Peter Levin (director) | CBS | |
| 1988 | 20/20: "On the Range" | Rob Wallace (producer), Bob Brown (writer) | ABC | |
| 1989 | POV: "Cowboy Poets" | Kim Shelton (producer) | PBS | |
Fictional Television Drama
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1960s |||||
| 1961 | Rawhide: "Incident at Dragoon Crossing" | Ted Post (director), John Dunkel (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1962 | Rawhide: "The Sendoff" | George Templeton (director), John Dunkel (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1963 | Stoney Burke: "The Contender" | Leslie Stevens (director, screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1964 | Rawhide: "Incident of Iron Bull" | Christian Nyby (director), Carey Wilber (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1965 | Rawhide: "Corporal Dasovic" | Bernard L. Kowalski (director), Lionel E. Siegel (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1966 | The Virginian: "The Horse Fighter" | Anton Leader (director), Richard Fielder (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1967 | The Monroes: "The Intruders" | Bernard L. Kowalski (director), Otis Carney (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1967 | Gunsmoke: "Death Watch" | Mark Rydell (director), Calvin Clements Sr. (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1968 | The Virginian: "Bitter Autumn" | Don McDougall (director), Andy and David Lewis (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1969 | The High Chaparral: "The Buffalo Soldiers" | David Dortort (director), Walter Black (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1970s |||||
| 1970 | Bonanza: "The Wish" | David Dortort (director), Michael Landon (director, screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1971 | Run, Simon, Run | George McCowan (director), Lionel E. Siegel (screenplay), Aaron Spelling (producer) | ABC | |
| 1972 | Gunsmoke: "Pike" | Bernard McEveety (director), Jack Miller (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1973 | Hec Ramsey: "The Century Turns" | Daniel Petrie (director), Harold Jack Bloom (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1974 | Pioneer Woman | Buzz Kulik (director), Suzanne Clauser (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1975 | Little House on the Prairie | Ed Friendly (producer), Michael Landon (actor), Melissa Sue Anderson (actor), Melissa Gilbert (actor), Karen Grassle (actor) | NBC | |
| 1976 | The Macahans | Jim Byrnes (creator, screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion | Michael O'Herlihy (director), Jack Turley (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1979 | Centennial: "The Longhorns" | Virgil W. Vogel (director), John Wilder (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1980s |||||
| 1980 | The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang | Dan Curtis (director), Earl W. Wallace (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1981–1982 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1983 | The Legend of Walks Far Woman | Mel Damski (director), Evan Hunter (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1984 | September Gun | Don Taylor (director), William Norton (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1985 | Calamity Jane | James Goldstone (director), Suzanne Clauser (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1986 | The Dream | Joseph Pytka (director), Ben Johnson (narrator) | | |
| 1987 | Stagecoach | Ted Post (director), James Lee Barrett (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1988 | Independence | John Patterson (director), Gordon T. Dawson (screenplay) | NBC | |
| 1989 | Paradise: "Stray Bullet" | Michael Caffey (director), David Jacobs (creator), Robert Porter (creator) | CBS | |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | The Young Riders: "The Kid" | Jonas McCord (director), Ed Spielman (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1991 | The Young Riders: "Requiem for a Hero" | Virgil W. Vogel (director), Bruce Reisman (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1992 | The Young Riders: "The Peacemakers" | James Keach (director), Charles Grant Craig (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1993 | The Young Riders: "Shadowmen" | James Brolin (director), Charles Grant Craig (screenplay) | ABC | |
| 1994 | Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times: "Oscar" | David Hemmings (director), Stephen Harrigan (writer), William D. Wittliff (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1995–1996 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1997 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: "Legend" | Alan J. Levi (director), Beth Sullivan (screenplay), Carl Binder (screenplay) | CBS | |
| 1998 | Dead Man's Gun: "Buryin' Sam" | William Gereghty (director), Ed Spielman (screenplay) | Showtime | |
| 1999 | Dead Man's Gun: "The Judgment of Joe Dean Bonner" | René Bonnière (director), Howard Friedlander (screenplay) | Showtime | |
| 2000s |||||
| 2000 | Dead Man's Gun: "The Regulator" | Paul Etherington (director), Rogers Turrentine (screenplay) | Showtime | |
| 2001–2003 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 2004 | Peacemakers: "29 Seconds" | Jean de Segonzac (director), Rob Wright (screenplay) | USA Network | |
| 2005–2010 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 2010s |||||
| 2011 | Yella Fella & The Lady from Silver Gulch | Norton Dill (director), Slats Slaton (screenplay) | | |
| 2012 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2013 | Longmire | John Coveny, (creator, screenplay), Hunt Baldwin (creator, screenplay) | A&E | |
| 2014 | Hell on Wheels: "One Less Mule" | David Straiton (director), Deran Sarafian (director), John Wirth (screenplay), Lolis Eric Elie (screenplay) | AMC | |
| 2015 | Hell on Wheels: "Return to Hell" | Billy Gierhart (director), Jami O'Brien (screenplay) | AMC | |
| 2016 | Hell on Wheels: "Hungry Ghosts" | Neil LaBute (director), Jami O'Brien (screenplay), Miki Johnson (screenplay) | AMC | |
| 2017 | Longmire: "Chrysalis" | Adam Bluming (director), Tony Tost (screenplay) | Netflix | |
| 2018 | Godless: "Homecoming" | Scott Frank (director, screenplay) | Netflix | |
| 2019 | Yellowstone | Taylor Sheridan (creator, screenplay) | Paramount Network | |
Western Documentary
| Year | Film | Creators(s) | Publisher(s) | Ref. |
| 1960s |||||
| 1961 | Four Seasons West | Max Howe (director, producer) | Max Howe Film Productions | |
| 1962 | 101 | Scott Berner (director), Gary Allen (producer) | WKY-TV | |
| 1963 | Appaloosa | Brown Meggs (director, writer) | Fred Rice Productions | |
| 1964 | Pioneer Painter | Cliff Atkins (director), Gene Allen (producer) | WKY-TV | |
| 1965 | Age of the Buffalo | Nicholas Balla (director), Austin Campbell (director), M. Charles Cohen (author) | National Film Board of Canada | |
| 1966 | The Beautiful Tree - Chishkale - Tan Oak | Clyde B. Smith (director), William R. Heick (photographer) | University of California | |
| 1967 | The Five Civilized Tribes: An Unfinished Journey | Jack Morris (director), Harold Statum (photographer), Bob Gregory (author) | KTUL-TV | |
| 1968 | Colorado: Prehistoric Man | Kenneth A Meyer (director) | Barbre Productions Inc./State Historical Society for Colorado | |
| 1968 | Time of the West | Charles Guggenheim (director) | Guggenheim Productions/Jefferson National Expansion Memorial | |
| 1969 | Born to Buck | Casey Tibbs (producer), Richard McCarty (photographer) | Casey Tibbs Productions | |
| 1960s |||||
| 1970 | The Golden Spike | Kenneth A. Meyer (director), Royal Dano (narrator) | Barbre Productions Inc./National Park Service | |
| 1971 | Rodeo | Carroll Ballard (director), Gaby Monet (producer) | Concepts Unlimited Inc./Contemporary Films-McGraw Hill | |
| 1972 | The Last of the Wild Mustangs | Norman Muse (producer), Gus Jekel (director), Orson Welles (narrator) | Leo Burnett Co./Marlboro Cigarettes | |
| 1973 | Bighorn! | Marty Stouffer (producer) | | |
| 1974 | The Great American Cowboy | Kieth Merrill (director, producer) | | |
| 1975 | Goin' Down the Road | Kieth Merrill (director, producer) | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. | |
| 1976 | Red Sunday: The Battle of the Little Bighorn | Jack Graff (producer), James R. Graff (producer), Robert A. Henkel (producer), James B. Kelly (director), John McIntire (narrator), Mary Actor (author) | Pyramid Films | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | More Than Bows & Arrows | Roy Williams (producer), Conrad W. Denke (director), N. Scott Momaday (narrator), Ron Forsell (author) | Cinema Associates Inc. | |
| 1979 | Lucy Covington: Native American Indian | Steve Heiser (director) | Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation/Odyssey Productions | |
| 1980s |||||
| 1980 | Art in Taos: The Early Years | Dana E. Balibrera (director, producer, writer) | Danamar Film Productions | |
| 1981 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1982 | Oklahoma Gems | Steve Newmann, Lee Allen Smith | KTVY-TV | |
| 1983 | Edward Fraughton, of Heroes and Horses | Kenneth and Claudia Meyer (producers), William G. Kerr | Ken Meyer Productions | |
| 1984 | Buffalo Cokedale | Jim Redmond (producer) | Colorado Cowboy Life | |
| 1985 | 1915: Panama Pacific Fair | Burton Benedict (producer, narrator), Monica Fletcher (director) | University of California at Berkeley | |
| 1986 | Cowgirls: Portraits of American Ranch Women | Nancy Kelly (director, producer), Teresa Jordan (writer) | PBS | |
| 1987 | The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt | Harrison Engle (producer), Marilyn S. Engle (producer), Theodore Strauss (writer), George C. Scott (narrator) | ABC | |
| 1988 | A $10 Horse and a $40 Saddle | Bryan Dew (director, producer), John Crowley (writer), Levon Helm (narrator) | American Frontier Project/Direct Cinema Limited | |
| 1989 | Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo | Martha Sandlin (producer), Barbara Abrash (producer) | Oklahoma State University | |
| 1990s |||||
| 1990 | Oklahoma Passage | Kenneth A. Meyer (director), Bill Thrash (producer), Robert L. Allen (producer) | OETA | |
| 1991 | Custer's Last Trooper | Bill Armstrong (producer) | A&E | |
| 1992 | The Platte River Road | Michael Farrell (director, producer, writer) | NETV | |
| 1993 | American Experience: "The Donner Party" | Ric Burns (director, producer, writer), Judy Crichton (producer), Lisa Ades (producer) | Steeplechase Films/WGBH | |
| 1994 | The Real West | Craig Haffner (executive producer), Donna E. Lusitana (executive producer), Steven Lewis (executive producer), Kenny Rogers (narrator) | Greystone Communications/A&E | |
| 1995 | Ishi: The Last Yahi | Jed Riffe (producer), Pamela Roberts (producer), Stephen Lighthill (photographer), Anne Makepeace (writer) | Ishi Film Project | |
| 1996 | How The West Was Lost | Chris Wheeler (producer), Sonny Hutchison (director), Michael Winship (writer) | KUSA-TV/Discovery Channel | |
| 1997 | Bloomers To Ballots | Lisa D. Olken (producer, photographer), Sherry Niermann (series producer) | KRMA-TV | |
| 1998 | Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery | Ken Burns (director, producer), Dayton Duncan (producer, writer) | WETA-TV/PBS | |
| 1999 | The New Explorers - Betrayal At Little Big Horn | Bill Kurtis (producer), Gary Foreman (producer, writer) | Kurtis Productions | |
| 2000s |||||
| 2000 | TimeWatch: "Tales of the Oklahoma Land Runs" | Jonathan Gili (producer, writer), Laurence Rees (producer) | BBC Two | UK |
| 2001 | Time Machine: "The Real Cowboy: Portrait of An American Icon" | Bill Kurtis (producer), Nicole Ewing (producer, writer), Gary L. Foreman (producer, writer) | The History Channel | |
| 2002 | Seth Eastman: Painting the Dakota | Fred de Sam Lazaro (producer), Kristian Berg (director, producer, writer), Peter Coyote (narrator) | Afton Historical Society Press/Twin Cities Public Television | |
| 2003 | Daniel Boone and The Westward Movement | Gary Foreman (producer), Carolyn Raine (producer), Paul Hutton (writer), Scott New (narrator) | Native Sun Productions | |
| 2004 | Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American | Jason Witmer (director), Chris O'Brien (director), Brock DeShane (producer, writer) | Starz Encore Westerns | |
| 2005 | Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Tom Thurman (director), Tom Marksbury (writer) | FBN Productions/Starz Encore | |
| 2006 | Independent Lens: "The Last Cowboy" | Jon Alpert (director, producer) | DCTV/PBS | |
| 2007 | Ride Around the World | Jeff Fraley (producer), Brady Dial (producer), Harry Lynch (director, producer, writer) | Trinity Films Corp./Giant Screen Films/Janson Media | |
| 2008 | Cowboys in Tall Grass | Ken Greenwood (producer) | Cox Communications | |
| 2009 | The Challenge of Champions: The Story of Lane Frost & Red Rock | David Wittkower (producer), Clyde and Elsie Frost (narrators), John Growney (narrator) | Lighthouse Productions | |
| 2010s |||||
| 2010 | Cowboys & Outlaws: "The Real Wyatt Earp" | Pip Gilmour (director, writer), Sean Gallagher (producer), Abby Greensfelder (producer), Paul Cabana (producer) | The History Channel | |
| 2010 | Born to Ride: Cody Wright and the Quest for a World Title | Jon Smith (producer), Lyman Hafen (director, writer), Wilford Brimley (narrator) | SUTV/Southern Utah University | |
| 2010 | My Friend Flicka | Letitia C. Langord (director), Ruby Calvert (producer), Kyle Nicholoff (producer) | Wyoming PBS | |
| 2011 | American Experience: "Wyatt Earp" | Mark Samels (producer), Rob Rapley (producer) | PBS | |
| 2012 | Main Street, Wyoming | Ruby Calvert (producer), Tom Manning (producer, writer), Kyle Nicholoff (director) | PBS | |
| 2013 | The Dust Bowl | Ken Burns (director), Dayton Duncan (writer) | PBS | |
| 2014 | Behind the Gate | Jack Lucarelli (director), Mark Giardino (director, writer) | GGG Productions | |
| 2015 | Stateline: "Cowboys of Color" | Bill Perry (producer), Robert Burch (producer), Dave Tamez (producer) | OETA | |
| 2016 | Unbranded | Phillip Baribeau (director) | Fin & Fur Films/Implement Productions | |
| 2017 | What Was Ours | Mat Hames (director) | Alpheus Media Inc. | |
| 2018 | Floating Horses: The Life of Casey Tibbs | Justin Koehler (director) | Nowlin Town Productions/Static Age Productions | |
| 2019 | UmoNhoN Iye The Omaha Speaking | Brigitte Timmerman (writer, director) | Range Films, LLC | |
| 2020 | Country Music | Ken Burns (director), Julie Dunfey (producer), Dayton Duncan | Florentine Films WETA | |
| 2021 | Charlie Russell’s Old West | Gus Chambers (director), Paul Saliz writer | Montana PBS | |
| 2022 | Home from School: The Children of Carlisle | Geoff O'Gara (director) | Caldera Productions | |
| 2023 | The Long Rider | Filipe Masetti Leite (director, producer) | Mythic Productions | |
| 2024 | Lakota Nation vs. United States | Jesse Short Bull (director), Laura Tomaselli (director) | Cinetic Media | |
| 2025 | Playing Cowboy | Bob Terry (director, writer), Johnie Terry (director) | Westerns on the Web | |

### Literary

Art Books
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1968 | E. Maurice Bloch | George Caleb Bingham: The Evolution of an Artist | University of California Press | |
| 1969 | Edward Maddin Ainsworth | The Cowboy in Art | World Publishing Co. | |
| 1970 | William Reed | Olaf Wieghorst | Northland Press | |
| 1971 | Robert F. Karolevitz | Where Your Heart Is: The Story of Harvey Dunn | North Plains Press | |
| 1972 | Paul A. Rossi and David C. Hunt | The Art of the Old West | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. | |
| 1973 | Walt Reed | Harold Von Schmidt Draws and Paints the Old West | Northland Press | |
| 1974 | Frank Getlein | The Lure of the Great West | Country Beautiful Corporation | |
| 1975 | Harold G. Davison | Edward Borein: Cowboy Artist | Doubleday and Company | |
| 1976 | Emmie D. Mygatt and Roberta Carkeek Cheney | Hans Kleiber: Artist of the Bighorn Mountains | Caxton Printers | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | John K. Goodman | Ross Stefan: An Impressionistic Painter of the Contemporary Southwest | Northland Press | |
| 1979 | Searles R. Boynton | The Painter Lady: Grace Carpenter Hudson | Interface Corporation | |
| 1980 | Sandra Dallas | Sacred Paint: Ned Jacob | Fenn Galleries Publishing | |
| 1981 | Patricia Janis Broder | Taos: A Painter's Dream | New York Graphic Society | |
| 1982 | Larry Pointer and Donald Goddard | Harry Jackson | Harry N. Abrams | |
| 1983 | William Albert Allard | Vanishing Breed: Photographs of the Cowboy and the West | New York Graphic Society/Little, Brown & Co. | |
| 1984 | Forrest Fenn | The Beat of the Drum and the Whoop of the Dance | |
| 1985 | Jose Cisneros | Riders Across the Centuries | Texas Westerners Press | |
| 1986 | David J. Weber | Richard H. Kern: Expeditionary Artist in the Far Southwest, 1848-1853 | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 1987 | Edwin L. Wade | Arts of the North American Indian | Hudson Hills Press | |
| 1988 | Frederick J. Dockstander | Song of the Loom; New Traditions in Navajo Weaving | Hudson Hills Press | |
| 1989 | Lois Essary Jacka and Jerry D. Jacka | Beyond Tradition: Contemporary Indian Art and its Evolution | Northland Publishing | |
| 1990 | Laura Wilson | Watt Matthews of Lambshead | Texas State Historical Association | |
| 1991 | Alan Axelrod | Art of the Golden West | Abbeville Press | |
| 1992 | Nancy K. Anderson and Linda S. Ferber | Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise | Hudson Hills Press | |
| 1993 | Howard Terpning and Elmer Kelton | The Art of Howard Terpning | Bantam Doubleday Dell and Greenwich Workshop | |
| 1994 | Brian W. Dippie | Charles M. Russell, Word Painter | Arnon Carter | |
| 1995 | Rick Stewart | Charles M. Russell - Sculptor | Arnon Carter | |
| 1996 | Patricia Trenton | Independent Spirits: Women Painters of the American West, 1890-1945 | Autry Museum of Western Heritage | |
| 1997 | Anne Morand | Thomas Moran: The Field Sketches | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 1998 | Nancy Anderson | Thomas Moran | Yale University Press | |
| 1999 | Phil Kovinick and Marian Yoshiki-Kovinick | An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West | University of Texas Press |
| 2000 | Larry Len Peterson | Charles M. Russell, Legacy | Falcon Publishing | |
| 2001 | Kurt Markus | Cowpuncher | Wild Horse Island Press | |
| 2002 | Larry Len Peterson | Philip R. Goodwin: America's Sporting and Wildlife Artist | Coeur d' Alene Art Auction | |
| 2003 | Michael Duty | Cowboy Artists of America | The Greenwich Workshop Press | |
| 2004 | Nancy K. Anderson | Frederic Remington: The Color of Night | Princeton University Press | |
| 2005 | Don Hedgpeth | Joe Beeler: Life of a Cowboy Artist | Diamond Tail Press | |
| 2006 | Joni L. Kinsey | Thomas Moran's West: Chromolithography, High Art and Popular Taste | University Press of Kansas | |
| 2008 | B. Byron Price | Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonne | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2009 | Peter H. Hassrick and Elizabeth J. Cunningham | In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2010 | Joan Carpenter Troccoli | The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell: A Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2011 | Don Hedgpeth | Robert Lougheed Follow the Sun | Diamond Trail Press | |
| 2012 | Jane Ford Aebersold, Christina E. Burke, James Peck, B. Byron Price, W. Jackson Rushing III, Mary Jo Watson and Mark A. White | The Eugene B. Adkins Collection: Selected Works | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2013 | Adam Duncan Harris | Bob Kuhn: Drawing on Instinct | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2014 | W. Raymond Wood and Robert M. Lindholm | Karl Bodmer's America Revisited: Landscape Views Across Time | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2015 | Jennifer Bottomly-O'Looney and Kirby Lambert | Montana's Charlie Russell: Art in the Collection of the Montana Historical Society | Montana Historical Society Press | |
| 2016 | Peter H. Hassrick and Mindy N. Besaw | Painted Journeys | |
| 2017 | Susan Hallsten McGarry | Pure Quill: Photographs by Barbara Van Cleve | SF Design/Fresco Books | |
| 2018 | Thomas Brent Smith and Mary-Dailey Desmarais | Once Upon a Time...The Western: A New Frontier in Art and Film | 5 Continents Editions/Denver Art Museum and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts |
Folklore Books
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1978 | Bill Brett | The Stolen Steers: A Tale of the Big Thicket | Texas A&M University Press |
Juvenile Books
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication |
| 1962 | Gene Caesar | King of the Mountain men | E. P. Dutton & Co. |
| 1963 | Charles Clifton | The Book of the West | Bobbs-Merrill Co. |
| 1964 | Betty Baker | Killer-of-Death | Harper & Row |
| 1965 | Paul Iselin Wellman | The Greatest Cattle Drive | Houghlin-Mifflin Co. |
| 1966 | Carl G. Hodges | Land Rush | Duell-Sloan-Pearce Co. |
| 1967 | Marguerite Henry | Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West | Rand McNalley and Co. |
| 1968 | Eric Scott | Down the Rivers, Westward Ho! | Meredith Press |
| 1969 | Weyman B. Jones | Edge of Two Worlds | Dial Press |
| 1970 | Jessie Hosford | An Awful Name to Live Up To | Meredith Press |
| 1971 | Betty Baker | And One Was a Wooden Indian | The Macmillan Co. |
| 1972 | Richard Edward Wormser | The Black Mustanger | William Morrow & Co. |
| 1975 | Harold Keith | Susy's Scoundrel | Thomas Y. Crowell Co. |
| 1976 | N. Scott Momaday | Owl in the Cedar Tree | Northland Press |
| 1979 | Harold Keith | The Obstinate Land | Thomas Y. Crowell Co. |
| 1980 | Barbara M. Walker | The Little House Cookbook | Harper & Row |
| 1984 | Russell Freedman | Children of the Wild West | Clarion Books |
| 1986 | Pam Conrad | Prairie Songs | Harper & Row |
| 1987 | Arlene B. Hirshfelder | Happily May I Walk | Charles Scribner's |
| 1988 | Lynn H. Scott | The Covered Wagon and Other Adventures | University of Nebraska Press |
| 1989 | Francis G. Tunbo | Stay Put, Robbie McAmis | Texas Christian University Press |
| 1990 | Marj Gurasich | Letters to Oma | Texas Christian University Press |
| 1991 | Diane Johnston Hamm | Bunkhouse Journal | High Plains Press |
| 1992 | Vee Brown and Baje Whitehorne? | Monster Slayer: A Navajo Folktale | Northland Press |
| 1993 | Russell Freedman | An Indian Winter | Holdiay House |
| 1994 | Albert Marrin | Cowboys, Indians and Gunfighters | Maxwell Macmillan International |
| 1995 | Robert Crum | Eagle Drum | Simon & Schuster |
| 1996 | Linda Theresa Raczek and Katalin Olah Ehling? | The Night the Grandfathers Dance | Northland Publishing |
| 1997 | Dayton Duncan | The West | Little, Brown and Company |
| 1998 | Diane Johnston Hamm | Daughter of Suqua | Albert Whitman & Company |
| 1999 | Kathryn Lasky | Alice Rose & Sam | Hyperion Books for Children |
| 2000 | Louise Erdrich | The Birchbark House | Hyperion Books for Children |
| 2001 | Sharon E. Heisel | Precious Gold, Precious Jade | Holiday House |
| 2002 | Jo Harper | Delfino's Journey | Texas Tech University |
| 2003 | Lisa Waller Rogers | The Great Storm: The Hurricane Diary of J.T. King | Texas Tech University Press |
| 2004 | Hershell H. Nixon | The Long Way West | Texas Tech University Press |
| 2005 | Simon J. Ortiz | The Good Rainbow Road | University of Arizona Press |
| 2006 | Charlotte Foltz Jones | Westward Ho! Eleven Explorers of the American West | Holiday House |
| 2007 | James M. McPherson | Into The West: From Reconstruction To The Final Days Of The American Frontier | Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
| 2008 | Melodie A. Cuate | Journey to San Jacinto | Texas Tech University Press |
| 2009 | Melodie A. Cuate | Journey to Gonzales | Texas Tech University Press |
| 2010 | Suzanne Morgan Williams | Bull Rider | McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing |
| 2011 | Michael P. Spradlin and Layne Johnson | Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the PonyExpress | Walker & Company |
| 2012 | Emerita Romero-Anderson | Milagro of the Spanish Bean Pot | |
| 2013 | Sandra Dallas | The Quilt Walk | Sleeping Bear Press |
| 2014 | Nasario Garcia | Grandmas Santo on Its Head/El santo patas arriba de mi abuelita | University of New Mexico Press |
| 2015 | Linda L. Osmundson | How The West Was Drawn: Women's Art | Pelican Publishing Company Inc. |
| 2016 | Mike Kearby | "Texas Tales Illustrated: The Trail Drives" | |
| 2017 | S.J. Dahlstrom | The Green Colt | Paul Dry Books |
| 2018 | Lois V. Harris | Lotta Crabtree: Gold Rush Fairy Star | Pelican Publishing Co. |
Magazine Article
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1961 | W. Bruce Bell | "The Old Chisholm Trail" | Kiwanis Magazine | |
| 1962 | Mari Sandoz | "The Look of the Last Frontier" | American Heritage | |
| 1963 | George R. Stewart | "The Prairie Schooner Got Them There" | American Heritage | |
| 1964 | Herman Lehmann | "Nine Years Among the Indians" | Frontier Times | |
| 1965 | J. Frank Dobie | "Titans of Western Art" | The American Scene | |
| 1966 | Donald Dean Jackson | "How Lost Was Zebulon Pike" | American Heritage | |
| 1967 | Jack Guinn | "The Red Man's Last Struggle" | Empire Magazine/Denver Post | |
| 1968 | Carolyn Woirhaye | "The Snows of Rimrock Ridge" | The Farm Quarterly | |
| 1969 | Donnie D. Good | "W. R. Leigh: The Artist's Studio Collection" | The American Scene | |
| 1970 | May Howell Dobson | "Bennett Howell's Cow Country" | Frontier Times | |
| 1971 | James Edsall Serven | "Cattle, Guns and Cowboys" | Arizona Highways | |
| 1972 | David Humphreys Miller | "Echoes of the Little Big Horn" | American Heritage | |
| 1973 | James Edsall Serven "Horses of the West" | Arizona Highways | |
| 1974 | Spike Van Cleve | "40 Years Gatherins" | The Dude Rancher | |
| 1975 | James R. Jennings | "George Humphreys, Half Century with 6666" | Quarter Horse Journal | |
| 1976 | Patricia Janis Broder | "The Pioneer Woman: Image in Bronze" | American Art Review | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | John L. Sinclair | "Where the Cowboys Hunkered Down" | New Mexico Magazine | |
| 1979 | Richard Rhodes | "The Farther Continent of James Clyman" | American Heritage | |
| 1980 | David McCullough and Tomas Sennett | "Glory Days in Medora" | GEO Magazine | |
| 1981 | William Broyles Jr. | "The King Ranch, The Last Empire" | Texas Monthly | |
| 1982 | Alice J. Hall | "Buffalo Bill and the Enduring West" | National Geographic | |
| 1983 | Patricia Nell Warren | "Saga of an American Ranch" | Reader's Digest | |
| 1984 | Tom Blasingame | "Eight Decades a Cowboy" | The Quarter Horse Journal | |
| 1985 | Max Evans "Showdown at Hollywood Park" | Southern Horseman Magazine | |
| 1986 | John L. Sinclair | "Santa Rita del Cobre" | New Mexico Magazine | |
| 1987 | C. L. Sonnichsen | "The Remodeling of Geronimo" | Arizona Highways | |
| 1988 | Robert A. Trennart | "Fairs, Expositions and the Changing Image of Southwestern Indians, 1976-1904" | New Mexico Historical Review | |
| 1989 | E. N. Coons | "Blizzard" | American Heritage | |
| 1990 | Oakley Hall | "Powder River Country" | American Heritage | |
| 1991 | Jerry Keenan | "Yellowstone Kelly" | Montana The Magazine of Western History | |
| 1992 | Kathryn Marshall | "Strange and Benevolent Monsters" | American Way Magazine | |
| 1993 | Peter H. Hassrick | "Western Art Museums: A Question of Style or Content" | Montana The Magazine of Western History | |
| 1994 | Raphael Cristy | "Charlie's Hidden Agenda," | Montana The Magazine of Western History |
| 1995 | Robert Draper | "The Twilight of the Texas Rangers" | Texas Monthly | |
| 1996 | Paul Andrew Hutton | "Showdown At the Hollywood Corral" | Montana The Magazine of Western History | |
| 1997 | Greg Michno | "Lakota Noon At The Greasy Grass" | Wild West Magazine/Cowles History Group | |
| 1998 | Dan L. Flores | "When The Buffalo Roamed" | Wild West Magazine/Cowles History Group | |
| 1999 | Paul Andrew Hutton | "T. R. Takes Charge" | American History | |
| 2000 | Lou Dean | "Halloween Hermit" | Guideposts | |
| 2001 | Renee Kientz | "The Gillette Brothers" | Houston Chronicle | |
| 2002 | Sally Denton | "What Happened at Mountain Meadows?" | American Heritage | |
| 2003 | Robert Utley | "Tales of the Texas Rangers" | American Heritage Magazine | |
| 2004 | Paul A. Canada | "The Water Crisis Continues" | The Paint Horse Journal/American Paint Horse Association | |
| 2005 | Paul Andrew Hutton | "‘It was but a Small Affair': The Battle of the Alamo" | Wild West | |
| 2006 | Jeffrey V. Pearson | "Tragedy at Red Cloud Agency: The Surrender, Confinement, and Death of Crazy Horse" | Montana – The Magazine of Western History | |
| 2007 | John R. Erickson | "Six Days Ablaze" | American Cowboy Magazine | |
| 2008 | Paul Hutton | "Silver Screen Desperado: Billy the Kid in the Movies" | New Mexico Historical Review | |
| 2009 | Dan Flores | "Bringing Home All the Pretty Horses" | Montana, The Magazine of Western History | |
| 2010 | John H. Monnett | "My Heart Now Has Become Changed to Softer Feelings" | Montana, The Magazine of Western History | |
| 2011 | Frederick J. Chiaventone | "Taking Stock of the Pony Express" | Wild West Magazine/Weider History Group | |
| 2012 | Louis Kraft | "When Wynkoop Was Sheriff" | Wild West Magazine/Weider History Group | |
| 2013 | Jim Logan | "The Other Trail" | Oklahoma Today | |
| 2014 | Dan Flores | "Coyote: An American Original" | Wild West Magazine/Weider History Group | |
| 2015 | Bob Welch | "Not For Sale" | American Cowboy Magazine | |
| 2016 | Renee M. Laegreid | "Finding the American West in Twenty-First Century Italy" | |
| 2017 | Gabriella Schiavino | "Warriors to Ride the River With" | American Cowboy Magazine | |
| 2018 | Gregory Nickerson | "All American Indian Days and the Miss Indian America Pageant" | Montana The Magazine of Western History | |
| 2019 | Christine Hamilton, Ross Hecox and Susan Morrison | "Long Live the King" | | |
| 2020 | David Beyreis | ""If You had Fought Bravely I would have Sung for You” The Changing Roles of Cheyenne Women During Nineteenth-Century Plains Warfare" | | |
| 2021 | Tempe J. Javitz | "Transitions in the Changing West: The Photographic Legacy of Jessamine Spear Johnson" | | |
| 2022 | Tracey Hanshew | "Here She Comes, Wearin’ Them Britches!" | Montana The Magazine of Western History | |
| 2023 | Matthew Kerns | "Texas Jack Takes an Encore" | Wild West Magazine/HistoryNet | |
News Featurette
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication |
| 1991 | Rodeo Cowboys | Phil Archer (producer), Judy Overton (producer) | KPRC-TV |
| 1992 | Strangers in Their Own Land | Mary Ann Eckstein (producer), Linda Cavanaugh (producer), Randy Williams (director), Tony Stizza (photojournalist) | KFOR-TV |
| 1993 | Matagorda Cattle Drive | Phil Archer (reporter), Kevin Benz (photojournalist) | KPRC-TV |
| 1994 | Orphan Train | Linda Cavanaugh (producer), Tony Stizza (producer), Randy Williams (director), Linda Cavanaugh (reporter), Tony Stizza (photojournalist) | KFOR-TV |
| 1995 | Riders of the Osage | Randy Renner (reporter), Barry Levy (photographer), Dave Tamez (photographer) | KWTV-9 |
| 1996 | Good Morning America: Montana Cowgirls | , ABC; Jeff Jayson, producer; Amy Atkins, reporter. |
| 1997 | The Vale's Baby | Scott Thompson (reporter), Grand Gerondale (photographer) | KOTV |
| 1998 | Range Riders | John Pronk (reporter and photographer), Melissa Johnson (field producer), Mike Raye (editor) | WFAA-TV |
| 2001 | The Salt Grass Trail | Phill Archer (reporter), Mark Muller (photographer) | KRPC-TV |
| 2002 | The Real Cowboys | Michael Jenkins (reporter), Rob DuPuis (photographer) | KVUE-TV |
Nonfiction Book
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1962 | Alvin M. Josephy Jr. | The American Heritage Book of Indians | American Heritage Publishing Co. |
| 1963 | John Rolfe Burroughs | Where the Old West Stayed Young | William Morrow & Co. |
| 1964 | John Upton Terrell | Furs by Astor | William Morrow & Co. |
| 1965 | C. Gregory Crampton | Standing Up Country | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
| 1966 | Alvin M. Josephy Jr. | The American Heritage History of the Great West | American Heritage Publishing Co. |
| 1967 | George W. Groh | Gold Fever | William Morrow & Co. |
| 1968 | John Arkas Hawgood | America's Western Frontiers | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
| 1969 | Robert R. Dykstra | The Cattle Towns | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
| 1969 | Laura Gilpin | The Enduring Navaho | University of Texas Press |
| 1970 | Merrill J. Mattes | The Great Platte River Road | Nebraska State Historical Society |
| 1971 | Harry Sinclair Drago | The Great Range Wars | Dodd, Mead & Co. |
| 1972 | Odie B. Faulk and Seymour V. Connor | North America Divided: The Mexican War | Oxford University Press. |
| 1973 | S.L.A. Marshall | Crimsoned Prairie | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| 1973 | Tom McHugh | The Time of the Buffalo | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
| 1974 | George F. Ellis | Bell Ranch As I Knew It | The Lowell Press |
| 1974 | Richard M. Ketchum | Will Rogers, His Life and Times | American Heritage Publishing Co. |
| 1974 | Mike Hanley and Ellis Lucia | Owyhee Trails | Caxton Printers. |
| 1974 | David Muench and N. Scott Mornaday | Colorado Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring | Rand McNally and Co. |
| 1975 | Benjamin Capps | The Warren Wagontrain Raid | Dial Press. |
| 1975 | Robert O. Beatty | Idaho: A Pictorial Overview | Idaho First National Bank |
| 1975 | Roy P. Stewart | Born Grown | Fidelity Bank |
| 1975 | C.L. Sonnichsen | Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket | University of Arizona Press. |
| 1976 | Jeff C. Dykes | Fifty Great Western illustrators | Northland Press |
| 1976 | Turbese Lummis Fiske | Charles F. Lummis: The Man and His West | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 1976 | Don James | Keith Butte's Memory Book | Caxton Printers |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | Angie Debo | Geronimo: The Man, His Time, his Place | University of Oklahoma Press. |
| 1978 | Time McCoy and Ronald McCoy | Tim McCoy Remembers the West | Doubleday & Co., Inc. |
| 1979 | Nelle Snyder Yost | Buffalo Bill: His Family, Friends, Fame, Failures and Fortunes | Swallow Press |
| 1980 | John D. Unruh Jr. | The Plains Across | University of Illinois Press. |
| 1981 | Bartlett Richard | Bartlett Richards: Nebraska Sandhills Cattleman | |
| 1981 | Donald Jackson | Gold Dust: Saga of the Forty-Niners | Allen and Unwin Ltd. |
| 1982 | Russell H. Beatie | Saddles | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 1982 | David Dary | Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries | Alfred A. Knopf |
| 1983 | Margaret Maxwell | A Passion for Freedom: The Life of Sharlot Hall | University of Arizona Press |
| 1983 | Bryan and Frances Sterling | A Will Rogers Treasury: Reflections and Observations | Crown Publishers |
| 1984 | Gary E. Moulton | Atlas of the Lewis & Clark Expedition | University of Nebraska Press. |
| 1985 | Francis Paul Prucha | The Great Father | University of Nebraska Press. |
| 1986 | Robert L. Sharp | Bob Sharp's Cattle Country | University of Arizona. |
| 1987 | Robert G. Athearn | The Mythic West in Twentieth Century America | University Press of Kansas. |
| 1988 | Robert Marshall Utley | High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier | University of New Mexico Press. |
| 1989 | Robert Marshall Utley | Cavalier in Buckskin: Geaorge Armstrong Custer and the Western Military Frontier | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 1990 | Elliot West | Growing Up With the Country | University of New Mexico Press |
| 1991 | Richard W. Slatta | Cowboys of the Americas | Yale University Press |
| 1992 | Richard White | It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 1993 | David J. Weber | The Spanish Frontier in North America | Yale University Press |
| 1994 | Terry G. Jordan | North American Cattle-Ranching Frontiers | University of New Mexico Press |
| 1995 | Clyde A. Milner II, Carol A. O'Connor and Martha A. Sandweiss | The Oxford History of the American West | Oxford University Press |
| 1996 | Elliott West | The Way To The West | University of New Mexico Press |
| 1997 | Richard W. Etulain | Re-Imagining The Modern American West: A Century of Fiction, History, and Art | University of Arizona Press |
| 1998 | Louis S. Warren | The Hunter's Game | Yale University Press |
| 1999 | Howard Roberts Lamar | The New Encyclopedia of the American West | Yale University Press |
| 2000 | Michael Wallis | The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West | St. Martin's Press |
| 2001 | Rovert V. Hine and John Mack Faragher | The American West: A New Interpretive History | Yale University Press |
| 2002 | Dan O'Brien | Buffalo for the Broken Heart | Random House |
| 2003 | Douglas B. Green | Singing in the Saddle | Country Music Foundation Press/Vanderbilt University Press |
| 2004 | Sally Denton | American Massacre | Alfred A. Knopf. |
| 2005 | David Dary | The Oregon Trail: An American Saga | Alfred A. Knopf |
| 2006 | Howard Lamar | Charlie Siringo's West | University of New Mexico Press |
| 2007 | Timothy Egan | The Worst hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl | Houghton Mifflin Company |
| 2008 | Max Evans | For the Love of a Horse | University of New Mexico Press |
| 2009 | Marsha V. Gallagher | The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Weid | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2010 | Elliott West | The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story | Oxford University Press |
| 2011 | Will Bagley | So Rugged and Mountainous: Blazing the Trail to Oregon and California, 1812-1848 | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2012 | Paul L. Hedren | After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2013 | Robert M. Utley | Geronimo | Yale University Press |
| 2014 | David M. Wrobel | Global West, American Frontier: Travel, Empire and Exceptionalism form Manifest Destiny to the Great Depression | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2015 | Castle McLaughlin | A Lakota War Book from the Little Bighorn: The Pictographic Autobiography of Half Moon | Peabody Museum Press |
| 2016 | Gary and Margaret Kraisinger | The Western Cattle Trail | |
| 2017 | Dan Flores | American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains | University Press of Kansas |
| 2018 | Steve Friesen | Lakota Performers in Europe: Their Culture and the Artifacts | University Press of Oklahoma Press |
Outstanding Photography Book
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 2005 | Debra Bloomfield | Four Corners | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2006 | Robb Kendrick | Revealing Character: Texas Tintypes | Bright Sky Press | |
| 2007 | Stephen Trimble | Lasting Light – 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography | Northland Publishing | |
| 2008 | Nancy Wood | Eye of the West | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2009 | Paul Mobley and Katrina Fried | American Farmer: The Heart of Our Country | Welcome Books | |
| 2010 | Craig Varjabedian | Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2011 | Krstina L. Southwell and John R. Lovett | Life at the Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita Agency | University of Oklahoma Press |
| 2012 | J. Don Cook | Shooting from the Hip: Photographs and Essays | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2013 | Rich Clarkson and James C. McNutt | National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West | National Geographic Books |
| 2014 | Andy Wilkinson | A Family of the Land: The Texas Photography of Guy Gillette | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2015 | Debra Bloomfield | Wilderness | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2016 | Lee Marmon and Tom Corbett | Laguna Pueblo | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2017 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2018 | Thomas Brent Smith and Mary-Dailey Desmarais | Once Upon a Time...The Western: A New Frontier in Art and Film | 5 Continents Editions/Denver Art Museum/Montreal Museum of Fine Arts |
Poetry Book
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1973 | George Keithley | The Donner Party | George Brazziller | |
| 1974-1985 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1986 | Hal Cannon | Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering | Gibbs M. Smith | |
| 1987 | Hal Cannon (editor) | Songs of the Sage: The Poetry of Curley Fletcher | Gibbs M. Smith | |
| 1988 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1989 | Lois Prante Stevens and Jewell Malm Newburn | Pomo, Dawn of Song | California History Center | |
| 1990 | Walter McDonal | Rafting the Brazos | University of North Texas Press | |
| 1991 | Jane Candia Coleman | No Roof But Sky | High Plains Press | |
| 1992 | Walter McDonald | The Digs in Escondido Canyon | Texas Tech University Press | |
| 1993 | Walter McDonald | All that Matters | Texas Tech University Press | |
| 1994 | Thomas West and Hal Cannon (editors) | Buckaroo: Visions and Voices of the American Cowboy | Calloway/Simon & Schuster | |
| 1995 | Jane Candia Coleman | The Red Drum | High Plains Press | |
| 1996 | Anne Heath Widmark (editor) | Between Earth And Sky: Poets Of The Cowboy West | W.W. Norton & Company |
| 1997 | Paul Zarzyski | All this Way For The Short Ride | Museum of New Mexico Press | |
| 1998 | J.B. Allen | The Medicine Keepers | Grey Horse Press | |
| 1999 | Andy Wilkinson | My Cowboy's Gift | Grey Horse Press | |
| 2000 | Walt McDonald and Janet Jeugebauer | Whatever The Wind Delivers | Texas Tech University Press | |
| 2001 | Linda Hasselstrom | Bitter Creek Junction | High Plains Press | |
| 2002 | Linda Hussa | Blood Sister, I Am To These Fields | Black Rock Press | |
| 2003 | Larry D. Thomas | Amazing Grace | Texas Review Press | |
| 2004 | Miles Wilson | Harm: Poems | University of Nevada Press | |
| 2005 | Stacy Gillett Coyle | Cloud Seeding | High Plains Press | |
| 2006 | Mary Beath | Refuge of whirling light | University of New Mexico | |
| 2007 | Bruce Roseland | The Last Buffalo | North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies. |
| 2008 | David Mason | Ludlow | Red Hen Press | |
| 2009 | John Dofflemyer | Poems from Dry Creek | Starhaven |
| 2010 | Jeanetta Calhoun Mish | Work Is Love Made Visible | West End Press | |
| 2011 | Ken Hada | Spare Parts | Mongrel Empire Press | |
| 2012 | Patricia Frolander | Married Into It | High Plains Press | |
| 2013 | John Dofflemyer | Proclaiming Space | Dry Crik Press | |
| 2014 | Caroline Joy "CJ" Hadley (editor) | Brushstroke's and Balladeers | Range Conservation Foundation & Range Magazine | |
| 2015 | Larry D. Thomas | The Goatherd | Maria Maloney/Mouthfeel Press | |
| 2016 | Red Shuttleworth | Woe to the Land Shadowing | Blue Horse Press | |
| 2017 | Tiffany Midge | The Woman Who Married a Bear: Poems | University of New Mexico Press | |
| 2018 | Karla Morton | Wooden Lions | Texas Review Press | |
Short Stories
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1961 | Steve Frazee | "All Legal and Proper" | Ellery Queen Magazine | |
| 1962 | Fred Grove | "Comanche Son" | Boy's Life | |
| 1963-1990 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1991 | Roland Sodowsky | "Interim in Desert" | Texas Christian University Press | |
| 1992 | Jane Candia Coleman | "Stories From Mesa Country" | Swallow Press/Ohio University Press | |
| 1993 | Judy Alter | "Fool Girl" | This Place of Memory (Texas Christian University) |
| 1994 | Robert R. Gass | "Three Lakota Women" | The Tampa Tribune | |
| 1995 | John Jakes | "Manitow and Ironhand" | New Trails (Doubleday) | |
| 1996 | Robert Flynn | "Living with the Hyenas" | Texas Christian University Press |
| 1997 | David Kranes | "Salvage" | Low Tide in the Desert: Nevada Stories (University of Nevada Press) |
| 1998 | Judy Alter | "Sue Ellen Learns To Dance" | Texas Short Stories (Browder Springs Press) | |
| 1999-2000 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 2001 | Loren D. Estleman | "Iron Dollar" | Berkley Books | |
| 2002 | Ray Gonzalez | "The Ghost of John Wayne" | University of Arizona Press | |
Western Novel
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1962 | James David Horan | The Shadow Catcher | Crown Publishers | |
| 1963 | Edward Abbey | Fire on the Mountain | Dial Press | |
| 1964 | Robert A. Roripaugh | Honor Thy Father | William Morrow and Co. | |
| 1965 | Thomas Berger | Little Big Man | Dial Press | |
| 1966 | Vardis Fisher | Mountain Man | William Morrow & Co. | |
| 1967 | Bill Gulick | They Came to a Valley | Doubleday & Co., Inc. | |
| 1968 | Robert Flynn | North to Yesterday | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. | |
| 1969 | The Buffalo Runners | Fred Grove | Doubleday & Co., Inc. | |
| 1970 | Benjamin Capps | The White Man's Road | Harper & Row | |
| 1971 | A.B. Guthrie | Arfive | Dodd, Mead and Co. | |
| 1972 | Frank Waters | Pike's Peak: A Family Saga | The Swallow Press | |
| 1973 | Will Henry | Chiricahua | J.B. Lippincott Co. | |
| 1974 | Elmer Kelton | The Time It Never Rained | Doubleday & Co. | |
| 1975 | James A. Michener | Centennial | Random House Publishers | |
| 1976-1977 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1978 | Dorothy M. Johnson | Buffalo Woman | Dodd, Mead and Co. | |
| 1979 | Elmer Kelton | The Good Old Boys | Doubleday & Co. Inc. | |
| 1980 | Ruth Beebe Hill | Hanta Yo | Doubleday & Co. Inc. | |
| 1981-1983 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1984 | Frank Calkins | The Long Riders' Winter | Doubleday & Co. Inc. | |
| 1985 | Ivan Doig | English Creek | Atheneum Publishers | |
| 1986 | A.B. Guthrie, Jr. | Playing Catch-Up | Houghton Mifflin Co. | |
| 1987 | Greg Matthews | Heart of the Country | W. W. Norton and Co. | |
| 1988 | Elmer Kelton | The Man Who Rode Midnight | Doubleday & Co. Inc. | |
| 1989 | Glendon Swarthout | The Homesman | Weidenfeld & Nicolson | |
| 1990 | Chad Oliver | Broken Eagle | Bantam Books | |
| 1991 | Larry McMurtry | Buffalo Girls | Simon & Schuster | |
| 1992 | Judith Freeman | Set for Life | W. W. Norton and Co. | |
| 1993 | Cormac McCarthy | All the Pretty Horses | Alfred A. Knopf Inc. | |
| 1994 | Barbara Kingsolver | Pigs in Heaven | HarperCollins Publishers | |
| 1995 | Max Evans | Bluefeather Fellini in the Sacred Realm | University Press of Colorado | |
| 1996 | Jane Kirkpatrick | A Sweetness To The Soul | Questar Publishers | |
| 1997 | Kate Lehrer | Out Of Eden | Harmony Books | |
| 1998 | Rilla Askew | The Mercy Seat | Viking Books | |
| 1999 | Loren D. Estleman | Journey of the Dead | Forge Books | |
| 2000 | Dan O'Brien | The Contract Surgeon | The Lyons Press | |
| 2001 | Stephen Harrigan | Gates of the Alamo | Alfred A. Knopf Inc. |
| 2002 | Loren D. Estleman | The Master Executioner | Forge Books | |
| 2003 | Frederick J. Chiaventone | Moon of Bitter Cold | Forge Books | |
| 2004 | Johnny Boggs | Spark on the Prairie: The Trial of the Kiowa Chiefs | Signet | |
| 2005 | Randy Lee Eickhoff | And Not to Yield | Tom Doherty Associates | |
| 2006 | Rosemary Agonito and Joseph Agonito | Buffalo Calf Road Woman, The Story of a Warrior of the Little Bighorn | The Globe Pequot Press/Two Dot Books | |
| 2007 | Alan Geoffrion | Broken Trail | Fulcrum Publishing | |
| 2008 | Rilla Askew | Harpsong | University of Oklahoma Press | |
| 2009 | Mary Clearman Blew | Jackalope Dreams | University of Nebraska Press | |
| 2010 | Dusty Richards | The Sundown Chaser | Berkley Books Penguin Group | |
| 2011 | Gabrielle Burton | Impatient with Desire | Hyperion Books | |
| 2012 | Thomas Fox Averill | Rode | University of New Mexico | |
| 2013 | D.B. Jackson | Unbroke Horses | Goldminds Publishing | |
| 2014 | Philipp Meyer | The Son | Harper Collins | |
| 2015 | Michael Zimmer | The Poacher's Daughter | Five Star/Cengage Gale | |
| 2016 | C.J. Box | Endangered: A Joe Pickett Novel | | |
| 2017 | Robert Knott | Robert B. Parker's Blackjack | G. P. Putnam's Sons | |
| 2018 | Matthew P. Mayo | Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival | Five Star Publishing | |

### Music

Outstanding New Artist
| Year | Creator(s) | Work | Publisher or publication |
| 2008 | Lynn Anderson | "Cowgirl" | Showboat Records |
| 2009 | Gary S. Pratt | "The Other Side" | |
| 2010 | Steve Moulton | "Cowboys & Campfires" | |
New Horizons
| Year | Creator(s) | Work | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 2013 | Miss Devon & the Outlaw, Rich O'Brien (producer) | Where in the Dickens RU? | |
| 2014 | Mikki Daniel | Gota Be A Cowgirl |
| 2015 | Hannah Huston | |
| 2016 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2017 | Trinity Seely |
Music
| Year | Creator(s) | Work | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1961 | Dimitri Tiomkin (composer) | The Alamo | | |
| 1962 | William J. May | "Charles Russell Cantata" | Historical Society of Montana | |
| 1964 | Alfred Newman (music), Ken Darby (lyrics) | "How the West Was Won" | |
| 1965 | Rudy Schrager (composer), Herschel Burke Gilbert (composer), Bernard L. Kowalski (director), Bruce Geller (producer) | Rawhide: "Damon's Road" | |
| 1966 | Elmer Bernstein (score), Ernie Sheldon (lyrics) | "Hallelujah Trail" | |
| 1967 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1968 | Robert Russel Bennett (composer) | Project Twenty: "The End of the Trail" | | |
| 1970 | Elmer Bernstein (score), Don Black (score) | "True Grit" | | |
| 1971 | John Parker (composer) | Gunsmoke: "Snowtrain" | |
| 1972 | John Williams (score) | "The Cowboys" | |
| 1973 | Dominic Frontiere (score) | "The Train Robbers" | |
| 1974 | Elmer Bernstein (score) | "Cahill U.S. Marshall" | |
| 1975 | David Rose (composer) | "Little House on the Prairie" | |
| 1976 | Alex North (score) | "Bite the Bullet" | |
| 1977 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1978 | Jerry Fielding (score) | "The Outlaw Josie Wales" | |
| 1979 | Michael Small (score) | "Comes a Horseman" | |
| 1980 | Bob Cobert (score) | "Last Ride of the Daltons" | |
| 1981 | Charles Gross (score) | "Heartland" | |
| 1982 | Jim Bob Tinsley (author) | "He Was Singin' This Song" | |
| 1983 | No award given | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1984 | Charlie Seemann (annotator, programmer) | "Back in the Saddle Again" | |
| 1985 | Jimmy Webb (composer) | "The Cowboy Hall of Fame" | |
| 1986-1988 | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given | No awards given |
| 1989 | Kyle Evans (composer), Gene Breeden (producer) | "Celebrate the Century" | |
| 1990 | Muzzie Braun (composer, producer) | "Muzzie Braun and the Little Braun Brothers" | |
| 1991 | Riders in the Sky (lyrics, music) | "The Line Rider" | Buzz Stone/MCA Records | |
Outstanding Original Western Composition
| Year | Creator(s) | Work | Publisher or publication |
| 1992 | Michael Martin Murphey (composer, recording artist), Wendy Waldman (lyrics), Carol Elliott (lyrics) | Cowboy Christmas: "Corn, Water and Wood" | |
| 1993 | Gary McMahan (composer), Douglas B. Green (composer), Gary McMahan (producer), Chris Camp (producer) | A Cowboyin' Day: "The First Cowboy Song" | |
| 1994 | Red Steagall (composer, recording artist), Steve Gibson (producer) | Born to this Land: "Born to this Land" | Warner Western Warner Brothers Records |
| 1995 | Andy Wilkinson (composer, recording artist), Lloyd Maines (producer) | "Charlie Goodnight: His Life" | |
| 1996 | Red Steagall (composer, recording artist), Steve Gibson (producer), Mark Abbot (lyrics), Richard O'Brien (lyrics), Buck Reams (lyrics) | "Faith And Values" | |
| 1997 | The Road Is Still The Road: "The Freedom Song" | Andy Wilkinson (composer, recording artist), Lloyd Maines (producer), Kerry Ford (producer) | Grey Horse Press |
| 1998 | Red Steagall (composer, recording artist), Steve Gibson (producer) | "Dear Mama, I'm A Cowboy" | Warner Western Production Company |
| 1999 | Michael Martin Murphey (composer, recording artist), Joey Miskulin (producer) | "Summer Ranges" | Westfest Records |
| 2000 | Sons of the San Joaquin (recording artists), Jack Hannah (composer), Baxter Black (composer), Rich O'Brien (producer) | "He Just Can't Be Seen From the Road" | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2001 | Jack Hannah, Sons of the San Joaquin (recording artists), Rich O'Brien (producer), Scott O'Malley (producer) | Sing One For The Cowboy: "Charlie and the Boys" | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2002 | Cindy Walker (composer) Rich O'Brien (recording artist) | "Old Town Taos" | |
| 2003 | Ian Tyson (composer, recording artist), Rich Fenton (producer) | Live at Longview: "Bob Fudge" | Stony Plain Recording Company |
| 2004 | Don Edwards (composer) | "Chant of the Night Songs" | |
| 2005 | Dale Burson (composer, recording artist) | Dancing With Daddy: "A Life More Than This" | |
| 2006 | Red Steagall and Rich O'Brien | The Wind, The Wire And The Rail: "How Green Was The Grazin' Back Then" | |
| 2007 | Michael Martin Murphey (composer, recording artist) | Hearland Cowboy: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5: "Long and Lonesome Ride to Dalhart" | |
| 2008 | Red Steagall (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer) | "Dawson Le Gate" | |
| 2009 | Red Steagall (recording artist), Dan Roberts (composer), Roy Robinson (composer), Bobby Wood (composer) | "A Cowboys Special Christmas" | |
| 2010 | LeRoy Jones, Dave Copenhaver (producer), Terry Scarberry (producer), LeRoy Jones (producer) | "The Great Western Trail" | |
| 2011 | R.W. Hampton (composer, recording artist), Joe DiBlasi (producer), Gary Bright (producer) | Austin To Boston: "Shortgrass" | |
| 2012 | R.J. Vandygriff (recording artist), Ronny Light (producer) | "Keep the Campfire A Burnin" | |
| 2013 | Waddie Mitchell (composer) | "Trade Off by The Gillette Brothers" | |
| 2014 | Eli Barsi | "Portrait of a Cowgirl" | |
| 2015 | Wylie & the Wild West (recording artists) | "Where Horses are Heroes" | |
| 2016 | Mary Kaye | "Ride a Wide Circle" | |
| 2017 | Ryan Fritz (recording artist), Eli Barsi (producer), John Cunningham (producer) | "Keeper of the West" | |
| 2018 | K.R. Wood (recording artist), Michael Martin Murphey (recording artist), K. R. Wood (composer) | "A Nickel A Head" | |
Outstanding Traditional Western Album
| Year | Creator(s) | Work | Publisher or publication |
| 1992 | Don Edwards (recording artist) | Chant of the Wanderer | |
| 1993 | Buck Ramsey (recording artist), Lanny Fiel, Joe Stephenson (producer), Buck Ramsey (producer) | Rolling Uphill from Texas | |
| 1994 | John McEwen (composer) | The Wild West | Mogull Entertainment |
| 1995 | Buck Ramsey (composer, recording artist), Lanny Fiel (producer), Buck Ramsey (producer) | My House It Was In Texas | |
| 1996 | Riders In The Sky (recording artists), Joey Miskulin (producer) | Always Drink Upstream From The Herd | |
| 1997 | Don Edwards (recording artist), Jim Rooney (producer) | West Of Yesterday | Warner Western Production Company |
| 1998 | Robert Wagoner (recording artist) | The Wonder Of It All | |
| 1999 | David Wilkie (composer, recording artist) | Cowboy Ceilidh | Red House Records |
| 2000 | Red Steagall (composer, recording artist), Steve Gibson (producer) | Love of the West | Warner Brothers |
| 2001 | Don Edwards (recording artist), Waddie Mitchell (recording artist), Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer), Kathleen Fox Collins (producer) | A Prairie Portrait | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2002 | Don Edwards (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer) | Kin To The Wind/Memories of Marty Robbins | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2003 | Red Steagall (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer) | Wagon Tracks | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2004 | Buck Ramsey (recording artist, posthumanous), Charlie Seemann | Buck Ramsey: Hittin' The Trail | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Western Folklife Center |
| 2005 | Les Gilliam (recording artist), Jim Farrell (producer) | It's Time To Sing A Song | Prairie Rose Records |
| 2006 | Sons of the San Joaquin (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer) | Way Out Yonder | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2007 | Don Edwards (recording artist) | Moonlight and Skies | Western Jubilee Recording Company |
| 2008 | R.W. Hampton (recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer), Edna Mae Holden (executive producer) | Oklahoma...Where the West Remains | |
| 2009 | Juni Fisher (composer, recording artist), Rich O'Brien (producer) | Gone for Colorado | |
| 2010 | Andy Wilkinson (recording artist), Andy Hedges (recording artist), Lloyd Maines (producer) | Welcome to the Tribe | |
| 2011 | Gillette Brothers (recording artist), Craig Swancey (producer) | Gillette Brothers Cowboys, Mistrels and Medicine Shows | |
| 2012 | Dan Roberts (recording artist), Roberts Allsup (producer), Tommy Allsup (producer) | 'Dan Roberts: The Best Of (Vol. 1) | |
| 2013 | Bill Barwick (recording artist), Jim Ratts (producer) | The Usual Suspects | |
| 2014 | Don Edwards (recording artist) | Just Me And My Guitar | |
| 2015 | Randy Huston (recording artist), Hannah Huston (recording artist), Randy Huston (producer) | Cowboys and Girls | |
| 2016 | Waddie Mitchell & Pipp Gillette (recording artists) | Singing Songs by Waddie & Pipp | |
| 2017 | Doug Figgs, Jim Jones and Mariam (recording artists) | The Cowboy Way | |
| 2018 | Maye Kaye | Take Me Back to Texas | Don't Fence Me In Records |

## Special categories

Hall of Great Western Performers
Trustees Award
| Year | Recipient(s) | Notes |
| 1965 | Tim Babcock | For World's Fair Display on the American West |
| 1965 | W. E. McIntosh | Principal chief of the Creek Nation |
| 1967 | University of Oklahoma Press | For publication of Western Americana |
| 1967 | Ben K. West | For service to the Western Heritage Awards Committee |
| 1970 | Arizona Highways Magazine |
| 1970 | Swiss National Television Network | For Far West: The Indians |
| 1971 | Yakima Canutt | For more than 50 years of outstanding contributions to motion pictures. |
| 1972 | John Rolfe Burroughs | For Guardian of the Grasslands |
| 1972 | John Ford | For outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry. |
| 1972 | Dorothy Harmsen | For Harmsens Western Americana |
| 1972 | Winchester-Western |
| 1972 | Wyoming Stock Growers Association |
| 1973 | Dale Robertson | For Outstanding Contribution to Western Film. |
| 1973 | William H. Clothier | For Outstanding Contribution to the Motion Picture industry through Cinema photography. |
| 1973 | Ben K. Green | For unique contribution to the pure enjoyment of our western heritage and knowledge of an heretofore unconsidered aspect of this heritage in Some More Horse Tradin. |
| 1973 | Agnes Spring | For Outstanding Contribution to Preservation of Western Heritage as historian. |
| 1974 | Dimitri Tiomkin | For Outstanding Musical Contribution to Western Motion Pictures. |
| 1974 | Alfrey Y. Allee | For Outstanding Career as a Courageous Texas Ranger. |
| 1974 | Carl G. Degen, Jr. | For Excellent Educational Western Documentary film, The Excavation of Mound Seven. |
| 1974 | Howard Hawks | For Outstanding Contribution to the West through Motion Pictures. |
| 1974 | Luke Short | For illustrious career as an author of western stories. |
| 1974 | Korczak Ziolkowski | For unique contribution to preserving Western Heritage through the Crazy Horse Memorial. |
| 1975 | James Whitmore | For Superb One-Man Show based on the Life of the illustrious Will Rogers. |
| 1975 | Robert Adams | For The Architecture and Art of Early Hispanic Colorado, which best illuminates a little known aspect of the American West. |
| 1975 | Delmer Daves | For outstanding contribution as director and producer of great Western Motion pictures. |
| 1975 | Watt Matthews | For preserving Western history. |
| 1975 | Oklahoma Today | For outstanding editorial and pictorial effort in presenting information about Oklahoma to its citizens. |
| 1975 | Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys | For "The Last Time", an outstanding contribution to historical preservation |
| 1976 | Spike Van Cleve | For Spike Van Cleve: An American Portrait, an outstanding short documentary reflecting the West of today. |
| 1976 | David Hoffman | For Spike Van Cleve: An American Portrait, an outstanding short documentary reflecting the West of today. |
| 1976 | Harry Wiland | For Spike Van Cleve: An American Portrait, an outstanding short documentary reflecting the West of today. |
| 1976 | Gordon Bowman | For Spike Van Cleve: An American Portrait, an outstanding short documentary reflecting the West of today. |
| 1976 | John Champion | For outstanding family entertainment in a Western motion picture (Mustang Country) |
| 1976 | Joel McCrea | For outstanding family entertainment in a Western motion picture (Mustang Country) |
| 1976 | Margaret Harper | For being founder and driving force of the truly Western Americana pageant, Texas. |
| 1976 | W. L. Lawrence | For being widely recognized student, collector, and historian of the American fur trade. |
| 1976 | George O'Brien | For outstanding career portraying the Western movie hero. |
| 1976 | George H. Shirk | For outstanding author, lecturer, and leader in historical preservation. |
| 1977 | Luis Ortega | For lifetime achievement |
| 1983 | Thomas Hornsby Ferril |
| 1983 | Luke Decatur Sweetman | For Gotch, the Story of a Cow Horse and Back Trailing on the Open Range |
| 1984 | Ed Quigley | |
| 1984 | Carl Sherwin | For contributions to the preservation of western heritage |
| 1984 | Harry E. Webb | |
| 1985 | Louis L'Amour | |
| 1985 | Montana Stock Growers Association | |
| 1985 | Otha Wearin | For support of the preservation of western heritage |
Other special awards
* Special Award: John B. Stetson Company for The Hat That Wore the West-Death Valley Days (1963)
* Special Award: Yakima Canutt for more than 50 years of outstanding contributions to Motion Pictures (1971)
* Special Award: Craig Fisher for the documentary film Survival on the Prairie (1971)
* Special Merit Award: Union Pacific and The Westerner in recognition of great western motion pictures made prior to 1960 (1975)
* Special Award: Seuil Audiovisual (producer) for Frontier Heritage; Claude Fleouter (writer-director); Denys Limon (writer); (1978)
* Special Award: Harold Warp, creator of pioneer village in Minden, Nebraska (1978)
* Special Award: Paul Aaron, host of Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch and Prairie Echoes (1978)
* Special Award: Ed Rutherford, collector of Western artifacts (1980)
* Special Award: James A. Michener (author) (1980)
* John Ford Award: Sam Peckinpah (1980)
* Special Award: Alfred A. Knopf, publisher (1981)
* Special Award: John Mantley, television producer (1981)
* Special Award: Buck Taylor, actor (1981)
* Special Award: Elsa Spear Byron, author/photographer (1982)
* Special Award: Johnny Grant, entertainer (1982)
* Entertainment Arts Gold Medal: Burl Ives (1984)
* Special Award: Bill Kelly (producer) and Allison Brown (producer) for "Joe Wietsky: Cowboy" (1987)
* Special Award: Geoffrey Bell (producer) for "The Movies Go West" (1987)
* Special Award for Outstanding Achievement in a New Format: Kieth Merrill (director, producer) for "Alamo: The Price of Freedom" (IMAX Format) (1989)
* Special Award for Significant Scholarly Research: Merrill J. Mattes (editor) and University of Illinois Press (publisher) for Platte River Road Narratives (1989)
* Special Music Award: Arlene Markinson (producer) for "Santa Fe Spirit" (1990)
* Special Television Feature Award: E.W. Swackhammer (director), Chuck Sellier (producer) Alex McArthur (actor) for "Desperado" (1990)
* Lifetime Contribution to Western Art Award: Robert Lougheed, posthumanous award accepted by his widow Cordy Lougheed (1990)
* Special Award for Historical Excellence: Richard Farnsworth (narrator), Gwendolyn Clancy (producer) and the University of Nevada, Reno (producer) for "The Man They Call Will James" (1991)
* Special Award for the Preservation of Authentic Western Music: Michael Martin Murphey (composer, producer) for "Cowboy Logic" (1991)
* Directors' Award for Excellence in a Theatrical Presentation: Tommy Tune (director, choreographer), Cy Coleman (composer), Betty Comden (lyrics), Adolph Green (lyrics), Keith Carradine (actor), Pierre Cossette (producer), Martin Richards (producer), Sam Crothers (producer), James M. Nederlander (producer), Stewart Lane (producer) and Max Weitzenhoffer (producer) for "The Will Rogers Follies" (1992)
* Directors' Award for Excellence in a Television Presentation: Marino Amoruso (director, screenplay, producer), Ben Johnson (actor) and Harry Carey Jr. (actor) for "Legends of the American West" (1992)
* Directors' Award for Outstanding Study of Western Material Culture: R.L. Wilson (author) and Random House (publisher) for "The Peacemakers: Arms and Adventures in the American West" (1993)
* Directors' Award for Outstanding Contributions to Western Music: "Sons of the Pioneers" (1995)
* Outstanding Achievement in Art: Wilson Hurley following formal dedication of his five monumental "Windows to the West" triptychs (1996)
* Special Award: TNN in recognition of their leadership for providing the Hall's first national television special "A Cowboy Jubilee: Celebrating the National Cowboy Hall of Fame" in April 1995 (1996)
* Special Award for Innovation in Western Music: Michael Martin Murphey (recording artist) and Jim Ed Norman (producer) for "Sagebrush Symphony" (1996)
* Directors' Award For Special Literary Achievement: Peter H. Hassrick (author), Melissa J. Webster (author) and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for "Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings" (1997)
* Directors' Award For Special Recognition: Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton (1997)
* Directors Award for Excellence in Original Western Television Production: TNT (1997)
* Special Directors' Award: R.L. Wilson (author), Greg Martin (author) and Random House (publisher) (1999)
* Director's Award For Outstanding News Magazine Feature: Victor Neufeld (executive director), Rob Wallace (producer) and Hugh Downs (reporter) for ABC News 20/20: "Wild Horses" (1999)
* Special Directors Award For Special Recognition: Robert L. Klemme for marking the location of the Chisholm Trail, where it was located between the years of 1871-1874, across the state of Oklahoma (1999)
* Directors' Award for Television Feature Film: Uli Edel (director), Gordon Dawson (screenplay), Sam Shepard (actor), Randy Quaid (actor), Eric Roberts (actor), Brad Rowe (actor), David Rosemont (executive producer) and Daniel Schneider (producer) for "Purgatory" (TNT)
* Directors Award for Excellence in Dramatic Presentation and Original Music Composition: R.W. Hampton (composer), Lisa Hampton (executive producer), Rich O'Brien (producer) for "The Last Cowboy – His Journey"
* Directors' Award: Bob Brown, leather maker and costume designer to the Hollywood stars of early western films (2001)
* Special Directors' Award: Arthur Allan Seidelman (director), Jacqueline Feather (screenplay), David Seidler (screenplay), Richard Crenna (actor), David Carradine (actor), Randall C. Badger (executive producer), Dan Paulson (executive producer), Robert Halmi Jr. (executive producer), Bob Chmiel (executive producer) for By Dawn's Early Light (2001)
* Board of Directors' Lifetime Achievement Award: A.C. Lyles, producer for Paramount Pictures (2006)
* Board of Directors' Lifetime Achievement Award: Dean Smith, Hollywood stuntman, actor and gold medalist in the 1952 Olympics (2007)