WILD WEST ROUND-UP

Wild West Monday News - I have received a letter from Channel Four asking for more information on Wild West Monday. I wrote to them detailing the previous events and of how much support we have for the next Wild West Monday - I'm shamelessly looking for media coverage here and am hoping to get onto their daytime chat show. Got to be good for western fiction, folks.

This letter is very positive and the producers are saying they need more information but are interested in the initiative. Archive readers can help by signing the petition in the right hand sidebar of this blog - please scroll down and find the link (by that pic of the good looking guy pointing a gun at you) and then get you name on it. After you've signed close the page and ignore the donation request - that's nothing to do with Wild West Monday or The Tainted Archive but a nag screen from the petition host.

True West Magazine (August 2009) reveals that America is not the most prolific publishers of western fiction and in fact that honour goes to the British Black Horse Western Group who, at 72 titles per year, are the market leader. And with each title on average borrowed from libraries 5,000 - 6,000 times that's a lot of people getting their western fiction from the Brit publisher whose writers come from all four corners of the globe and before we Brits hijack the western as our own it is worth pointing out there are quite a few American writers publishing with the imprint.

As a writer with the group myself and a self proclaimed western nut I am pleased that True West, this quality American Western Magazine has finally noticed the Black Horse Books. Anyone who fancies some traditional style westerns, no nonsense adventures should give the books a chance. There's something for all tastes from a diverse group of writers. And I'm resisting the strong urge to put in a Tarnished Star plug here.


Hollywood's western fascination continues to grow - Jonah Hex is nearing completion of its shoot so expect a surge of publicity soon, lawman is being developed as a major TV series - apparently the show is completely new and nothing to do with the 1960's series of the same name, After John Travolta and Tom Cruise were linked to the main roles in the forthcoming remake of Butch and Sundance, it is now reported that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon could take the title roles - Robert Redford recently hit out at the project, fearing it will ruin the memories of a classic movie and the Coen brother's long rumoured remake of True Grit is now confirmed as their next project.

Current Western Writers of America president Johnny D. Boggs will be interviewed here on the Archive very soon - we're happier than a grizzled old prospector in a whore house at that.

David Thompson's bestselling Wilderness series hits 61 books next month when Dorchester publish The Scalp Hunters. Several books in the series have been reviewed over at Western Fiction Review.