FIVE STAR WESTERN NEWS:

NO PLACE FOR A LADY: Western Stories by Women
Edited by Vicki Piekarski
0-7862-2736-2, Hardcover, $22.95, 243 pgs.

Coming in November

"Western American fiction in its traditional form - the heroic adventure story - is generally perceived to be a genre written by men, for men, about men," writes Vicki Piekarski in her Foreword to this volume. The twelve stories Vicki Piekarski has chosen for this volume represent ninety-one years of women writing about the West. Their settings stretch from the Kentucky frontier to Oregon and the Southwest, from the 1770s to contemporary times. These are stories of men and women - seekers and finders - who survived in the West. Each story displays a unique artistry that stems from the heart of these writers in their abiding connection to the landscape, the people, and the history of the American West.

Included in this unique anthology is "The Woman at Eighteen-Mile" by Mary Austin, first published in 1909 and as vital and stirring today as when it first appeared and "Thursdays at Snuff's" by Gretel Ehrlich, published in 1991. Also included are new Western stories especially written for inclusion in this collection from many of the foremost women writing today of the American West. Among them are "For Two Dollars" by Jane Candia Coleman (winner of two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America and three Western Heritage Awards for her contributions to Western fiction), "The Indian Witch" by Marcia Muller (an author noted for her mystery fiction but also a winner of the Spur Award), and "Callie" by Cynthia Haseloff, another Spur Award winner.

These twelve gripping tales portray the experience of the West from distinctive and refreshing viewpoints: as colorful and exciting as the finest traditional Western fiction, but with an unusual depth and appreciation for character and the landscape. Enriched by Vicki Piekarski's overview of more than a century of women writing about the American West, this volume is persuasive evidence of the strength of a literature that has not always been recognized, embodying new perspectives on both the Old West and the West as it is today.