Behind the Chutes by Dennis Doty

Welcome to the Summer issue of Saddlebag Dispatches. We’re excited to announce that the Western Fictioneers’ Peacemaker Award for Best Short Fiction of 2020 was awarded to Rod Miller for his story, “Black Joe,” which appeared in our Summer, 2020 issue. Congratulations, Rod! Congratulations, too, to John T. Biggs, whose story, “The Last Photograph,” was a finalist for Best Short Fiction and appeared in the same issue. Saddlebag Dispatches is honored to have such fine writers appear in our pages.

"Black Joe" by 4-time Spur Award-winning author Rod Miller was the winner of the 2020 Western Fictioneers' Peacemaker Award for Short Fiction.

As usual, we’ve been busy putting together another great issue for our readers. This time around, we have stories by two former winners of the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award, several Peacemaker and Spur finalists, and many more great stories.

In addition, we’re announcing the winners of the Inaugural Saddlebag Dispatches Mustang Award for Western Flash Fiction. This is the only contest for western writing which uses blind judging, and we think the results speak for themselves. So without further ado, let me congratulate our winner, Andrew Salmon, for his story “High Stakes.” In addition to Andrew’s winning entry, all eight stories which were short-listed by the judges are included in this issue.

Speaking of great contests, Saddlebag Dispatches also sponsors the Dusty Richards Memorial Oxbow Award at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference which takes place in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, every October. This contest is for western short stories up to 3,000 words. The winner will receive a $200 prize. Second and third places will receive $100 and $50 respectively. Entries are open only to writers who have registered for the OCW conference. The winning story will appear in our Winter issue.

A couple more announcements are in order. First and foremost, Saddlebag Dispatches will no longer be accepting reprints from other magazines or publishers. We recognize that there are a lot of fine western stories out there which deserve to be republished and reach a wider audience, but we consistently receive enough submissions of original stories to more than fill our pages, and they too deserve to be seen.

Secondly, we’d like to see more stories by and about people of color. Native Americans, Blacks and Hispanics, even Asians and Pacific Islanders were a large part of the tapestry we know as the west, and we feel that their stories are often overlooked or not told at all. If the many talented writers who are reading this have stories along these lines, we’d love to consider them. Saddlebag Dispatches is proud to support all western writers without regard to who they are, where they’re from, or where their work appears, and we staunchly support all organizations which do the same.

Last but not least, we would like to mark the tragic passing of a treasured friend. Ms. Ramona Wade, late of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was one of Saddlebag Dispatches’ earliest and most loyal readers, to say nothing of one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She would pore through our pages with each new issue, always seeking a new Western book or author to follow or historical subject to research. Sadly, we received word that Ramona passed away recently after a short but valiant fight with brain cancer. We offer our deepest condolences to her family and friends, and dedicate this issue to her memory.

So pull up a log, pour yourself a cup of joe from the camp pot, and enjoy our new issue. Feel free to drop me a line at dennis@oghmacreative.com when you’re finished. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

This issue is dedicated to RAMONA WADE, one of our earliest and most loyal readers, Ms. wade passed away not long ago after a battle with brain cancer. she will be missed.

Photo Courtesy of Wayne E. Cowan