# Western Literature Association

The Western Literature Association (WLA) is a non-profit, scholarly association that promotes the study of the diverse literature and cultures of the North American West, past and present. Since its founding, the WLA has served to publish scholarship and promote work in the field; it has gathered together scholars, artists, environmentalists, and community leaders who value the West's literary and cultural contributions to American and world cultures; it has recognized those who have made a major contribution to western literature and western studies; and it has fostered student learning and career advancement in education.
The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) was founded in 1992 at a special session of the Western Literature Association conference in Reno, Nevada, for the purpose of "sharing of facts, ideas, and texts concerning the study of literature and the environment."
The Association publishes Western American Literature: A Journal of Literary, Cultural, and Place Studies (since 1965) in partnership with the University of Nebraska Press. It considers itself "the leading peer-reviewed journal in the literary and cultural study of the North American West, defined broadly to include western Canada and northern Mexico".

## List of WLA Presidents and Annual Conferences

This is a list of people who have served as presidents of the organization and have hosted the annual conference.
| # | President | Affiliation | Date | Conference Theme | Conference Venue |
| 1 | C. L. Sonnichsen | | 1966 | | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 2 | Delbert Wylder | | 1967 | | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| 3 | Jim L. Fife | | 1968 | | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| 4 | Morton L. Ross | | 1969 | | Provo, Utah |
| 5 | Don D. Walker | | 1970 | | Sun Valley, Idaho |
| 6 | John R. Milton | | 1971 | | Red Cloud, Nebraska |
| 7 | Thomas J. Lyon | | 1972 | | Jackson Hole, Wyoming |
| 8 | Max Westbrook | | 1973 | | Austin, Texas |
| 9 | John S. Bullen | | 1974 | | Sonoma, California |
| 10 | Maynard Fox | | 1975 | | Durango, Colorado |
| 11 | Lawrence L. Lee | | 1976 | | Bellingham, Washington |
| 12 | Arthur Huseboe | | 1977 | | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| 13 | Mary Washington | | 1978 | | Park City, Utah |
| 14 | Richard Etulain | | 1979 | | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| 15 | Bernice Slote | | 1980 | | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| 15 | Helen Stauffer | | 1980 | | St. Louis Missouri |
| 16 | James Maguire | | 1981 | | Boise, Idaho |
| 17 | Martin Bucco | | 1982 | | Denver Colorado |
| 18 | George Day | | 1983 | | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| 19 | Ann Ronald | | 1984 | | Reno, Nevada |
| 20 | Gerald Haslam | | 1985 | | Fort Worth, Texas |
| 21 | Tom Pilkington | | 1986 | | Durango, Colorado |
| 22 | Susan J. Rosowski | | 1987 | | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| 23 | Glen Love | | 1988 | | Eugene, Oregon |
| 24 | Barbara Meldrum | | 1989 | | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| 25 | Lawrence Clayton | | 1990 | | Denton, Texas |
| 26 | James Work | | 1991 | | Estes Park, Colorado |
| 27 | Joseph Flora | | 1992 | | Reno, Nevada |
| 28 | Diane Quantic | | 1993 | | Wichita, Kansas |
| 29 | Stephen Tatum | | 1994 | | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 30 | Laurie Ricou | | 1995 | | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| 31 | Susanne K. George Bloomfield | | 1996 | | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| 32 | Gary Scharnhorst | | 1997 | | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| 33 | Robert Thacker | St. Lawrence University, New York | 1998 | | Banff, Alberta (Canada) |
| 34 | Michael Kowalewski | Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota | 13-16 Oct 1999 | West of the West: California and the American West | Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, California |
| 35 | Robert Murray Davis | | 2000 | | Norman, Oklahoma |
| 36 | Susan Naramore Maher, | | 2001 | | Omaha, Nebraska |
| 37 | Judy Nolte Temple | | 2002 | | Tucson, Arizona |
| 38 | Krista Comer | | 2003 | | Houston, Texas |
| 39 | Susan Kollin | Montana State University | 29 Sep- 2 Oct 2004 | | Big Sky Institute, Big Sky, Montana |
| 40 | William Handley | | 19- 22 Oct 2005 | | Omni Hotel, Los Angeles, California |
| 41 | Tara Penry | Boise State University | 25-28 Oct 2006 | Feeling Western | The Grove Hotel, Boise, Idaho |
| 42 | Ann Putnam | University of Puget Sound | 17-20 Oct 2007 | | Tacoma, Washington |
| 43 | Nic Witschi | Western Michigan University | 1-4 Oct 2008 | | Boulder, Colorado |
| 43 | Karen Ramirez | University of Colorado, Boulder | 1-4 Oct 2008 | | Boulder, Colorado |
| 44 | David Cremean | Black Hills State University | 30 Sep- 3 Oct 2009 | High Plains Drifting: Which Way(s) West? | Holiday Inn, Spearfish, South Dakota |
| 45 | Gioia Woods | Northern Arizona University | 20-23 Oct 2010 | Western Performances | Gazebo, Prescott, Arizona |
| 46 | Bonney MacDonald | West Texas A&M University | 5-8 Oct 2011 | | Holiday Inn, Missoula, Montana |
| 46 | Nancy Cook | University of Montana | 5-8 Oct 2011 | | Holiday Inn, Missoula, Montana |
| 47 | Sara Spurgeon | Texas Tech University | 7-12 Nov 2012 | Western Crossroads: Literature, Social Justice, Environment | Overton Hotel & Conference Centre, Lubbock, Texas |
| 48 | Richard Hutson | University of California, Berkeley | 9-12 Oct 2013 | Califia: The West Calling the World | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Berkeley, California |
| 49 | Anne Kaufman | Milton Academy | 5-8 Nov 2014 | Bordersongs | Fairmont Empress, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| 49 | Laurie Ricou | University of British Columbia | 5-8 Nov 2014 | Bordersongs | Fairmont Empress, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| 50 | David Fenimore | University of Nevada, Reno | 14-17 Oct 2015 | Visual Culture in the Urban West | Harrah's Robert A. Ring Convention Center, Reno, Nevada |
| 50 | Susan Bernardin | SUNY Oneonta | 14-17 Oct 2015 | Visual Culture in the Urban West | Harrah's Robert A. Ring Convention Center, Reno, Nevada |
| 51 | Linda Karell | Montana State University | 21-24 Sep 2016 | The Profane West | Big Sky, Montana |
| 52 | Susan N. Maher | University of Minnesota Duluth | 25-28 Oct 2017 | Sweet Land, Mighty Waters: Myth and Storytelling West of the Mississippi | Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 52 | Florence Amamoto | Gustavus Adolphus College | 25-28 Oct 2017 | Sweet Land, Mighty Waters: Myth and Storytelling West of the Mississippi | Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 53 | Michael K. Johnson | University of Maine-Farmington | 24-27 Oct 2018 | Indigenous Hubs • Gateway Cities • Border States | Chase Park Plaza Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri |
| 53 | Emily Lutenski | St. Louis University | 24-27 Oct 2018 | Indigenous Hubs • Gateway Cities • Border States | Chase Park Plaza Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri |
| 54 | SueEllen Campbell | Colorado State University | 18-21 Sep 2019 | Not Cloudy All Day: Climates of Change in the American West | Long's Peak Lodge, Estes Park, Colorado |
| 55 | Kerry Fine | Arizona State University | 21-24 Oct 2020 | Graphic Wests | Virtual conference (due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 55 | Rebecca Lush | California State University, San Marcos | 21-24 Oct 2020 | Graphic Wests | Virtual conference (due to COVID-19 pandemic) |