Johnny D. Boggs is a highly acclaimed author in the Western genre, recognized by Booklist as one of the best in the field. He has won the Spur Award from Western Writers of America a record nine times for his novels and short stories, including Camp Ford, Return to Red River, and "A Piano at Dead Man's Crossing". Numerous other works, such as Northfield, Killstraight, and "The Cobbler at Spanish Fort", have been Spur finalists. His novel Spark on the Prairie received the Western Heritage Wrangler Award. In 2020, Boggs was honored with the Owen Wister Award for lifetime contributions and inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame.