Stegner Award | Center of the American West

Stegner Award

“Angry as one may be at what careless people have done and still do to a noble habitat, it is hard to be pessimistic about the West. This is the native home of hope. When it finally learns that cooperation, not rugged individualism, is the pattern that most characterizes and preserves it, then it will have achieved itself and outlived its origins. Then it has a chance to create a society to match the scenery.”
Wallace Stegner

Special thanks go to Alan and Carol Ann Olson for their generous gift, ensuring that the Stegner Awards will continue to honor those who have the greatest influence on the West, for many years to come!

Each year, the Center of the American West presents the Wallace Stegner Award to an individual who has made a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West through literature, art, history, lore, or an understanding of the West. In the spirit of Wallace Stegner, the recipients have demonstrated singular achievement, creativity, and dedication to the perception of the West and Western issues, and have communicated to others the importance and uniqueness of the West as a distinct region. In short, the award is presented to those who have faithfully and evocatively depicted the spirit of the American West.

A public event is held in Boulder, Colorado, to honor the recipient and present the award. The recipient is interviewed about her/his life achievements, particular interests in the West, accomplishments in bringing recognition to the West and Western issues, and their views about the West in general.

The Wallace Stegner Award is a beautifully framed, hand-made certificate. The award’s inscription is personalized to reflect the recipient’s distinguished accomplishments on behalf of the American West. The Wallace Stegner Award also comes with a cash award.

Past Recipients of the Wallace Stegner Award:

Dave Ward
Sheriff
October 3, 2019
Ken Burns
Documentary Maker
October 2, 2018
Alan and Ann Simpson
December 7, 2017
Pete and Lynne Simpson
December 7, 2017
Timothy Egan
Op-ed Columnist for the New York Times
Award-winning Author
April 13, 2016
Rocky Mountain Rescue
Serving Boulder County and beyond since 1947
April 20, 2015
Elliot West
Award-winning Author
Historian
April 25, 2013
Kent Haruf
Bestselling Author
April 25, 2012
John McPhee
Frequent Contributer to The New Yorker
Pulitzer Prize Winner
October 27, 2011
Ted Turner
Entrepreneur
Philanthropist
September 28, 2010
Tom McGuane
Award-winning
Western Author
February 26, 2009
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
First Female Supreme Court Justice
April 17, 2008
Ivan Doig
Award-winning Author
September 27, 2007
John E. Echohawk
Native American
Rights Activist
November 2, 2006
Billy Frank, Jr.
Native American
Rights Activist
November 2, 2006
Terry Tempest Williams
Award-winning Author
November 2, 2005
John Nichols
Author
October 28, 2003
Vine Deloria, Jr.
Author
Professor Emeritus
of History
Former Executive
Director of the NCAI
October 23, 2002
Rudolfo Anaya
Award-winning Author
January 1, 2001
Paul Schullery
Author
Naturalist at Yellowstone National Park
February 17, 1999
T.H. Watkins
Environmental Author
Former Editor of Wilderness Magazine
January 1, 1998
Daniel Kemmis
Former Montana Statesman
Former Mayor of Missoula
June 1, 1997
Reginald Saner
Award-winning Author
and Poet
Professor Emeritus of English at CU
January 1, 1997
Eleanor M. Gehres
Manager of the Western History/Genealogy
Department of the Denver Public Library
June 1, 1996
David Lavender
Award-winning Author
Western Historian
January 1, 1996
Alvin Josephy
Western Author
Historian
June 1, 1995
Juane Quick-To-See Smith
Artist
Activist for Native
American Issues
January 1, 1995
N. Scott Momaday
Pulitzer Prize-winning Author
January 1, 1991
Bill Hornby
Former Editor of
The Denver Post
June 1, 1990
Ed Marston
Publisher of
High Country News
January 1, 1990

Special Thanks!