• Testimonials

    WLA faculty are committed to graduate student mentorship and are eager to support student scholarship by offering valuable feedback and creating spaces for exchange and collaboration.
    Ho'esta Mo'e'hahne, 2018
    Owens Award recipient 2016

The Dorys Crow Grover Awards

In 1966, Washington State University graduate student Dorys Crow Grover joined the fledgling Western Literature Association and started attending its conferences. From her books on WLA’s first Distinguished Achievement Award recipient, Vardis Fisher, to her work on Hemingway and Graves, Professor Grover helped to develop the field of western American literary studies. After teaching for over two decades at East Texas State University, Professor Grover retired in 1993, splitting her time between Texas and Pendleton, Oregon, where she grew up.

One of her doctoral students, Joyce Kinkead, Professor of English at Utah State University, created the Dorys Crow Grover Awards in recognition of her mentor’s dedication to both western American literature and to graduate students. She funded two awards until Dr. Grover’s passing at 101 in 2023.

The WLA is happy to announce the continuation of the Dorys Crow Grover Awards, with support from the WLA and Nic Witschi.

Two graduate students whose papers given at the conference contribute to our critical understandings of region, place, and space in western American literatures will receive a $200 cash prize and a conference banquet ticket.

Creative work is not considered for the Dorys Crow Grover Awards.

Please submit an essay (not exceeding 15 pages) that you plan to deliver at the conference with a cover letter indicating that you wish to be considered for the Dorys Crow Grover Award. 

Email your submission to Bill Handley, chair of the Dorys Crow Grover Judging Committee, with the subject line “GROVER AWARD SUBMISSION.”

Deadline for submission: August 1, 2023.

The award consists of a $200 cash prize plus a banquet ticket.

You may submit the same paper for the Taylor Award, if you wish.

Note: To be eligible for this award, you must be registered as a graduate student at your institution at the time of the awards ceremony. And the award can only be received once. 

The Dorys Grover Award Recipients

YearRecipient
2022Dylan Couch, University of Idaho
2022Cara Schwartz, University of Saskatchewan
2021Sarah Jane Kerwin, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
2020Sarah Nolan, University of Southern California
2020Renee Sprinkle, West Texas A&M University
2019Maria Alberto, University of Utah
2019Travis Franks, Arizona State University
2018Meagan Meylor, University of Southern California
2018Amanda Monteleone, University of Texas at Arlington
2017April Anson
2017Lisa Fink
2016Amy Gore
2016Michael Olausen
2015William V. Lombardi
2015Michael P. Taylor
2014Brittany Henry
2014Lisa Locascio
2014Ashley Reis

 

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  • Western Literature Association (WLA)

    Founded in 1965, 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.

  • Western American Literature (WAL)

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    Published by the Western Literature Association, Western American Literature is the leading journal in western American literary studies.

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