
The award is given to literary works that examine life on the High Plains in the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas or in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Born in Singapore to Irish and Indian parents, McConigley is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Wyoming and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Houston.



