Eastern Wyoming College instructor of English and Spanish, John Nesbitt, has received notification of recognition of his writing works.

First of all, two of his works were selected as finalists in short story fiction for the Western Fictioneers Peacemakers Awards. “Return to Laurel,” the short story published by Five Star Publishing and “Leaving the Lariat Trail,” a novella published by Sundown Press, are both contenders for this award. Winners will be announced on June 15^th. Western Fictioneers is an organization of professional authors of western novels and short stories. The organization has been recognizing authors with the annual Peacemaker Awards for 10 years.

The Western Fictioneers Peacemaker will be awarded in the following categories:

Best Western Novel – Any novel published during the award year set in the appropriate time period (1830-1920), 30,000 words and higher. There are no format requirements. The novel may be a hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, or eBook, as long as it has been published by an appropriate publisher.

Best Western Short Fiction – Any short story, novelette, or novella published during the award year set in the appropriate time period (1830-1920), 500 words to 29,999 words. There are no format requirements. The short story may be published in any publication, print or electronic, and can be self-published.

Best Western First Novel – Must meet the same requirements as Bes Novel or Best Independently Published Novel, and must be the author’s first published Western novel. If the author has published novels in any other genre they will not disqualify the author from the Best Western First Novel Award competition. Submission for Best Western First Novel may also be submitted in the Best Novel category in the same year.

“I want to express my appreciation to the publishers of these two works as well as the organization and their judges,” said Nesbitt. “I also would like to express my appreciation to all the people who encourage me in my work, including Eastern Wyoming College.”

Mr. Nesbitt also shared that earlier this year he received news that his short story “Return to Laurel” earned the Western Writers of American Spur Finalist award. This story was originally published in an anthology entitled Hobnail and Other Frontier Stories by Five Star Publishing. “The Spur competition is somewhat prestigious, so I was very honored to receive this recognition,” added Nesbitt. Winners and finalists will be honored June 17-20 at Western Writers of America’s convention in Rapid City, SD.