About WAL

Western American Literature (THE JOURNAL)

Jointly published by the Western Literature Association and Utah State University, Western American Literature is the leading journal in western American literary studies. Always iconoclastic, Western American Literature published some of the first essays on now celebrated writers such as D’Arcy McNickle, Wallace Stegner, and Terry Tempest Williams, critical essays by N. Scott Momaday and Rudolfo Anaya, and influential early essays on ecocriticism. The journal now focuses broadly on western culture, each issue including reproductions of western images—paintings, photography, film stills, botanical and survey drawings, maps, murals—to offer a cultural context for the essays. In addition to theoretical pieces based on cultural geography, new western history, and environmental writing, recent issues include essays on traditional western favorites such as Edward Abbey and John Muir, new western figures such as Cormac McCarthy, American Indian writers, and African American writers and filmmakers. A recent issue of WAL also focuses on the Hispanic Literary Recovery Project.

  • 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.

    Conference Proposals

  • Western American Literature

    (The Journal)

    Jointly published by the Western Literature Association and Utah State University, Western American Literature is the leading journal in western American literary studies.

    Article Submissions