Around The Campfire

Welcome to Saddlebag Dispatches, the Award-Winning Home of All Things Western.

If you like stories of the West, you’ve come to the right place. But we don’t just tell stories of the Old West. If a tale takes place west of the Mississippi and has the spirit of the Old West in it—even if it involves pickups and highways instead of horses and dusty trails—this is where it belongs. In addition to fiction, we publish the best nonfiction about the West as well as poetry, interviews, and…well, pretty much anything to do with the West. Are you getting the idea we like things western?

Saddle up for an unforgettable journey through the storied streets of Leadville, Colorado, in the latest issue of Saddlebag Dispatches! Prepare for tales of fortunate miners and not-so-fortunate strikebreakers, the rich and the poor, and the intricate lives of immigrants. Encounter the flamboyant Oscar Wilde, cunning lawyers, steadfast Pinkertons, honorable men, and those with dubious intentions.

Delve into the lives of Leadville’s most famous and infamous, including the legendary John “Doc” Holliday, Horace, Augusta, and Baby Doe Tabor, and formidable Marshal Mart Duggan. Experience the captivating tales of Leadville madame Laura Bell McDaniel and Chief Ouray of the Ute tribe. Plus, don’t miss our exclusive excerpt from Paul Colt’sbestselling novel, Lunger: The Doc Holliday Story, spotlighting Doc Holliday’s tumultuous time in Leadville.

Beyond Leadville, we present “Anniversary: Part I,” the exhilarating first installment in a new serial novella from New York Times bestselling author Reavis Z. Wortham. Enjoy George “Clay” Mitchell’s exclusive interviews with the creative force behind the Longmire phenomenon, Craig Johnson, and Rob Word, host of the popular web-show A Word on Westerns. Last but not least, we’re thrilled to present the winning entries from our annual Western flash fiction competition, The Mustang Award.

With all these and more, it’s time to pull up a log, grab a seat, pour yourself a cup from the camp pot, and settle in for the finest in western storytelling.

Saddlebag Dispatches: Where the spirit of the Wild West comes alive!