Spur Awards are literary prizes given annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA).
The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West.
The Spur Awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA was founded.
Among previous Spur Award winners are Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove, Michael Blake for Dances with Wolves, Glendon Swarthout for The Shootist, and Tony Hillerman for Skinwalkers.
Initially, there were five Spur Awards categories: western novel, historical novel, juvenile, short story, and reviewer.