Awards and Publications
RECENT WRITING AWARDS--Lori Van Pelt
2008 Wyoming State Historical Society Publication Awards (First Place)
"Amelia's Autogiro Adventures," published in the March 2008 issue of Aviation History magazine.
"Estelle Reel: Early Educator and Politician"
"Wyoming's Capitol Building Expanded as the State's Population Grew"
"USS Wyoming Brine-Busters Master the World's Waves," published in the WREN (Wyoming Rural Electric News) magazine in 2007 and 2008.2008 Western Writers of America Spur Finalist in Best Western Short Fiction "The Wild-Eyed Witness," published in LOST TRAILS (Pinnacle, 2007).
2007 Wyoming State Historical Society Publication Award for two articles:
"Nellie Tayloe Ross: Nation's First Woman Governor Proves Her Mettle in Wyoming," and
"Amelia Earhart Once Winged Her Way Across Wyoming."
Both published in the WREN (Wyoming Rural Electric News) Magazine in 2006.
2006 Spur Award for Best Short Fiction by Western Writers of America: The title story in Pecker's Revenge and Other Stories from the Frontier's Edge .Amelia Earhart: The Sky's No Limit: One of three books in the nation named to the New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age 2006."
2004 Maggie Award, Best Consumer Series, Western Publications Association,“Historic Trails” series, 2003, WREN magazine. Kris Wendtland, Editor; Necel Golden, layout design.
2004 Western Writers of America Spur Finalist, short nonfiction. “Cattle Kate: Homesteader or Cattle Thief?” in the book, Wild Women of the Old West, edited by Glenda Riley and Richard Etulain, Fulcrum, 2003.
2004 and 2003: President’s Award, Western Writers of America, for service to the organization.
2003 Art Affair Short Story Competition, Third Place. “Death Track.” (Story appears in Lori’s newest book, Pecker’s Revenge and Other Stories from the Frontier’s Edge, (University of New Mexico Press, 2005).
2003 Wyoming State Historical Society Publications Award. “Discovering Her Strength: The Remarkable Transformation of Nellie Tayloe Ross,” Annals of Wyoming.
2001 APEX (Awards for Publication Excellence), Communications Concepts. “Tracking Railroad History,” first in a series of articles on U. S. railroad history, WREN magazine.
2001 Wyoming State Historical Society Publications Award. “Pardons and Petticoats.” (Article comparing/contrasting pardon records of Governors Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming and Miriam Ferguson of Texas.) WOLA Journal.
PUBLICATIONS:
"Amelia's Autogiro Adventures," Aviation History Magazine, March 2008."Wyoming's Capitol Building Expanded as the State's Population Grew," WREN Magazine, March 2008.
23 August 2005: “Splendid dreams, fond memories.” Casper Star-Tribune. (Lori Van Pelt is currently a correspondent for this newspaper, the largest circulating in Wyoming.) Article focuses on the historic mining town of Kirwin, Wyoming, near the site where Amelia Earhart and her husband, George P. Putnam, were building a vacation cabin at the time of her tragic 1937 disappearance.
10 April 2005: “Amelia in Wyoming.” Casper Star-Tribune. Article focusing on Amelia Earhart’s 1931 transcontinental tour in the experimental aircraft, the Autogiro, featuring her Wyoming experiences during that trip.
April 2005: “On the Trail of Laura Ingalls Wilder,” Renegade Roads department, True West magazine.
Lori has written regularly for the WWA Roundup magazine, the WREN magazine, Pilot Getaways, and True West. A forthcoming article is scheduled for future publication in Aviation History magazine.
Contact Lori at lpvanpelt@yahoo.com