The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (NWCA) was established on the last day of the famous five-day-long international Native Writers' festival, Returning the Gift (RTG) July 7-11, 1992, in Norman, Oklahoma by the then steering committee of RTG. Returning the Gift was, and remains, the largest gathering ever of Native writers in one place. (See "Returning the Gift: An Introduction", by Joseph Bruchac and "On a Festival Called Returning the Gift", by Geary Hobson, in Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose From the First North American Native Writers' Festival -Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1994).
The purpose of NWCA is to serve as an international Indian "pen" of sorts, to provide a database of Native American writers' addresses, a library of works by Native authors, the maintenance of three annual literature prizes- the Lifetime Achievement Award and the First Book Award.
First Book Award - Prose
First Book Award - Poetry
Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
Theresa Palmer Memorial Award Winners
