Named in honor of the first editor of Western American Literature, and also one of the Western Literature Association’s founders and presidents, the Taylor Award is a prestigious award juried by a team of experts in the field and given annually to a work of scholarship submitted by a graduate student for the annual conference. Creative work is not considered for the Taylor; however, creative work may be submitted to the association’s Creative Writing Award, and graduate student participants have been successful in winning that in the past (see Creative Writing Award).
To be considered for the Taylor Award, submit a complete, conference-length paper (not exceeding 15 pages) that you will be presenting at the conference with a cover letter indicating that you wish to be considered for the Taylor Award.
Email your submission to Bill Handley, chair of the Taylor Judging Committee with the subject line “TAYLOR AWARD SUBMISSION.”
Deadline for submission: August 1, 2024.
The award consists of a $200 cash prize plus a banquet ticket.
The award will be given during the conference banquet.
Note: To be eligible for this award, you must be registered as a graduate student at the time of the awards ceremony.
The award can only be received once.
The J. Golden Taylor Award Recipients
- 2023 Patrick Vincent, University of California, Riverside
- 2022 Bowen Du, UC Davis
- 2021 Meagan Meylor, University of Southern California
- 2020 Surabhi Balachander, University of Michigan
- 2019 Amanda Monteleone, University of Texas at Arlington
- 2018 Travis Franks, Arizona State University
- 2017 Elena Valdez, Rice University
- 2016 Jada Ach, University of South Carolina
- 2015 Jenna Hunnef, University of Toronto
- 2014 Aubrey Streit Krug, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- 2013 Heather Dundas, University of Southern California
- 2012 Sylvan Goldberg, Stanford University
- 2011 Christopher Muniz, University of Southern California
- 2010 Alex Young, University of Southern California
- 2009 Joshuah O’Brien, West Texas A&M
- 2008 Matthew J. Lavin, University of Iowa
- 2007 Patrick Gleason, University of California, San Diego
- 2006 Angela Waldie, University of Calgary
- 2005 John Gamber, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
- 2004 Ianina Arnold, University of Idaho
- 2003 Matt Burkhart, University of Arizona
- 2002 Laurie Clements Lambeth, University of Houston
- 2001 Virginia Kennedy, Montclair State University
- 2000 Jenny Emery Davidson, University of Utah
- 1999 Jenny Emery Davidson, University of Utah
- 1998 Anne L. Kaufman
- 1997 Jonathan Pitts, SUNY-Buffalo
- 1996 Wes Mantooth
- 1995 Phil Coleman-Hull
- 1994 David Mazel
- 1993 Evelyn I. Funda, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 1989 Nat Lewis
- 1988 Nancy Cook, SUNY-Buffalo
- 1987 Cheryll Burgess Glotfelty, Cornell University
- 1986 Linda A. Hughson-Ross
- 1984 Anne K. Phillips