Cover of a book by Louis L'Amour, one of Western fiction's most prolific authors.

Western fiction is a genre of literature typically set in the American Old West between the years of approximately 1860 and 1900. Image File history File links Cover of Showdown at Yellow Butte (Louis LAmour) paperback book. ... Image File history File links Cover of Showdown at Yellow Butte (Louis LAmour) paperback book. ... The cowboy, the quintessential symbol of the American Old West, circa 1887. ...

The Western got its start in the "penny dreadfuls" and later the "dime novels" that first began to be published in the mid-nineteenth century. These cheaply made books were published to capitalize on the many fanciful yet supposedly true stories that were being told about the mountain men, outlaws, settlers and lawmen who were taming the western frontier. By 1900, the new medium of pulp magazines also helped to relate these adventures to easterners. Meanwhile, non-American authors like the German Karl May picked up the genre, went to full novel length, and made it hugely popular and successful in continental Europe from about 1880 on, though they were generally dismissed as trivial by the literary critics of the day. Penny Dreadful can refer to: The 19th century British penny dreadful publications. ... In the United States is the 19th century, a dime novel was a low-priced novel that could be purchased for a dime. ... Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ... Karl May. ...

The western in American literature began to emerge with the novels of James Fenimore Cooper, particularly his Leatherstocking Tales. But The Virginian by Owen Wister, published in 1902, is considered by many to be the pioneering "literary" western novel, containing the core element of a rugged individual who stick to his guns in the face of trouble, neglecting chances to simply walk away. This seeming bundle of cliches was fresh and hugely popular in 1902, and elements of this formula appear in most Western stories ever since. American literature refers to written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. ... Cooper portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, 1822 James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. ... The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, each featuring the hero Natty Bumppo, known by European settlers as Leatherstocking, and by the Native Americans as Pathfinder, Deerslayer, or Hawkeye. Listed chronologically by story action, the books are: Note that these are the dates... The Virginian was a pioneering Wild West (see also Frontier and Western movie) novel by the American author Owen Wister, published in 1902. ... Owen Wister, author of the Western novel, The Virginian and friend of Theodore Roosevelt Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer of western novels. ...

Popularity grew with the publication of Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage in 1912. When pulp magazines exploded in popularity in the 1920s, western fiction greatly benefited (as did the author Max Brand, who excelled at the western short story). The simultaneous popularity of Western movies in the 1920s also helped the genre. Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and pulp fiction that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. ... Riders of the Purple Sage is Zane Greys best-known novel. ... Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ... Frederick Schiller Faust May 29, 1892 - May 12, 1944 was an American western fiction author. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ...

In the 1940s several seminal westerns were published including The Ox-Bow Incident (1940) by Walter van Tilburg Clark, The Big Sky (1947) and The Way West (1949) by A.B. Guthrie, Jr., and Shane (1949) by Jack Schaefer. Many other western authors gained readership in the 1950s, such as Luke Short, Ray Hogan, and Louis L'Amour. The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1940 Western novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, in which two drifters are drawn into a posse formed to find the murderer of a local man. ... Walter Van Tilburg Clark (1909—1971) was a writer of short stories, poetry and novels, best known for his first novel, The Ox-Bow Incident. ... The Big Sky is a 1952 film with Arthur Hunnicut. ... The Way West is a 1967 epic western based on the novel by A.B. Guthrie Jr. ... A. B. Guthrie, Jr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jack Schaefer was a 20th century American author, known for his Westerns. ... Luke Short (real name Frederick Dilley Glidden November 19, 1908-August 18, 1975) was a popular Western writer. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the tremendous number of westerns on television. The burnout of the American public on television westerns in the late 1960s seemed to have an affect on the literature as well, and interest in western literature began to wane. In the 1970s, the work of Louis L'Amour began to catch hold of most western readers and he has tended to dominate the western reader lists ever since. George G. Gilman also maintained a cult following for several years in the 1970s and 1980s. Cormac McCarthy's work remains notable; his 1985 Western Blood Meridian especially is recognized as a major masterpiece both within and beyond the genre. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... George G. Gilman is one pseudonym, or pen name, of Terry Harknett. ... For the musician, see Cormac McCarthy (musician). ... Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West is a novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1985. ...

Western readership as a whole began to drop off in the mid- to late '70s and has reached a new low today, and most bookstores, outside of a few western states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books. Nevertheless, several Western fiction series are published monthly, such as The Trailsman, Slocum, and Longarm. The Trailsman is a series of short Western novels published since 1980 by Signet books, a division of New American Library. ... Slocum can refer to: The town of Slocum, Pennsylvania. ... The Longarm books are a series of western novels featuring the character of Custis Long, who is nicknamed Longarm, a U.S. Deputy Marshal based in Denver in the 1880s. ...

Western authors have an organization that represents them called the Western Writers of America, who present the annual Golden Spur Awards. Western Writers of America, founded 1953, promotes literature, both fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to the American West. ... The Spur Award is an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America. ...

See also

• Deadlands
• List of Western fiction authors
• Weird West
• Western movie

Deadlands is a genre-mixing alternate history roleplaying game which combines the Western and horror genres. ... This is a list of some notable authors in the western fiction genre. ... In fiction, the term weird west is used to describe a combination of the western with another genre. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ...

External link

• The Western Writers of America website: http://www.westernwriters.org/