By guest writer/editor Rosie McKinlay

Western Fiction is a genre you don’t hear much about these days. Its popularity may have peaked in the 1960s, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead, not by a long shot.

I knew little of these Old West tales (by definition, Western Fiction covers the years between 1860 and 1900) and thought of them as nothing more than special interest collector’s books that were no longer being produced. Turns out, I was way off target.

I had the opportunity to read submissions from the Idaho Writers League Conference, which was held in Idaho Falls last month. Many of these courageous authors are ignoring the stigma attached to Historical Fiction in these oh-so-modern times and capturing the essence of a wild west that should never be forgotten.

And guess what? There are several publishing firms in the USA that are seeking this very genre. Sounds like the Old West is making a comeback!

Here’s a brief list of companies that list Western Fiction in their submission guidelines:

For Books:
Kensington Publishing Corp.? (www.kensingtonbooks.com)
Forge Books? (http://us.macmillian.com/forge)
Five Star Press ?(www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar)
Tres Picos Press ?(www.trespicospress.com)
Harcourt Trade Publishers ?(www.harcourtbooks.com)
Wheatmark Publishing? (www.wheatmark.com)
Bantam Dell Publishing Group? (www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell)
Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster? (www.simonsays.com)

Other:
Roundup Magazine, Western Writers of America ?(www.westernwriters.org/roundup.html)
Virtual Tales eBooks ?(www.virtualtales.com)

© 2008 Rosie McKinlay

In keeping with Ink & Paper Group’s deep interest in literacy and YA readers, I found today’s YPulse Daily Update enlightening. Check out “Reaching Young Adult Readers” for early feedback on a National Endowment for the Arts brainstorm session to encourage reading among our nation’s youth.

The article also references a consumer study by The Codex Group, including, among others, these two important points:

- “Younger Adult book readers live in Two Media Worlds. They share many core book reading values with older readers – but are digitally-trained to expect ‘what I want!’ now.”

- “Printed Books Rule. Both younger book shoppers aged 18-24 and older shoppers aged 55-64
purchased 93% of their books in traditional printed format.”