I’m delighted to announce that West Went the Word: Women Evangelists on the Frontier will be published by TCU Press.
Early women evangelists served an essential and often overlooked role in America’s history. In a nation where business, politics, social reform, and religion were deeply intertwined, these women found their work expanding far beyond the pulpit. They furthered westward exploration and settlement through relentless soul-seeking efforts, while influencing politics, social legislation, Indian policy, and social welfare. They founded colleges and universities, established Indian missions and schools, and built orphanages—shaping communities in lasting ways.
West Went the Word tells the story of a dozen courageous women who braved the frontier to carry their message to the farthest reaches of the American West. Their lives reveal a powerful intersection of faith, reform, resilience, and nation-building at a time when women’s public roles were sharply constrained—yet boldly expanded by necessity.
Although West Went the Word is a work of nonfiction, it is especially meaningful to partner with TCU Press, recently named one of the Best Western Fiction Presses by True West Magazine, a leading voice in Western history and storytelling. For nearly eight decades, TCU Press has published books exploring the complexity, character, and cultural history of Texas and the American West. With a catalog of more than 750 titles—from literary Western fiction to deeply researched histories and narrative nonfiction—the press has long documented the people, landscapes, and defining moments of this region.
As Fort Worth stands at the center of renewed national interest in Western culture, TCU Press continues its commitment to publishing work that honors the depth, diversity, and evolving story of the West. I’m honored to partner with them on West Went the Word.
Scheduled for release in 2028, West Went the Word brings these remarkable frontier evangelists back into the historical conversation, restoring their voices to the story of how the American West was shaped.
