Kathleen O'Neal Gear & W Michael Gear

Welcome to the online home of best selling authors Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W Michael Gear.

W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear are best selling authors & award winning archaeologists who have published over 90 novels.

Year
For
Award
1968
Kathleen M. O’Neal
First Place, American Legion Essay Contest
Tipton Elementary School, Tipton, California.
1983
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
Special Achievement Award
from the U.S. Dept. of the Interior for
"outstanding management of America’s cultural heritage.”
1984
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
Special Achievement Award
from the U.S. Dept. of the Interior for
“outstanding management of America’s cultural heritage."
1998
Winner of BOOKLIST’S EDITOR’S CHOICE
for “Best Adult Book for Young Adults.”
2000

Selected as one the
Top Ten Southwest Books of the Year.

2001 
Selected as one of the
Top Ten Southwest Books of the Year.
2005
Golden Spur Award
Best Novel of the West
Western Writers of America
2005
Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Inductee into the
Women Who Write the West
Hall of Fame
2006
Golden Spur Award finalist
Best Novel of the West
Western Writers of America
2007
W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O’Neal Gear

“Literary Contribution Award,”
Mountain Plains Library Association.

2009
“Top Choice Award”
Flamingnet
2010
Selected by the Kansas National Education Association
for the Kansas State Reading Circle for Middle School/Junior High schools.
2011
Massachusetts Public Library’s Readers Connection
- They Came Before Us Selection.
2013
Norfolk Public Library’s
American Indian Heritage Month Booklist Selection.
2015
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
Inducted into the California State University Alumni Hall of Fame
February 28, 2015.
2015
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
"Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" to Kathleen O’Neal Gear from the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, U.S. House of Representatives, “in recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community."
2015
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
“Certificate of Recognition” from the Kern County Board of Supervisors, for “exemplary public service and civic contributions to the community of Kern County.”
2015
Kathleen O’Neal Gear
California Legislature, Joint Member Resolution No. 117, commending Kathleen O’Neal Gear “for her exemplary record of professional and civic achievements” and saying, “The contributions of Kathleen Gear to the fields of history, archaeology, and writing have been invaluable, and she has served as a worthy model for all public-spirited people of the State of California…"
2018 Moon Hunt Spur Award Finalist
Historical Fiction
Western Writers of America
2019 Maze Master "Best Science Fiction Novel"
2019 International Book Award
2019 This Scorched Earth Spur Award Finalist
Historical Fiction
Western Writers of America
2021 Lifetime Award

"Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature & Induction into the Western Writers Hall of Fame at the McCracken Library in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West "
Western Writers of America
Read Press Release

2021 Cries From The Lost Island

First Place, 2021 International Book Awards
Young Adult Category

2021 Unreconciled First Place, 2021 International Book Awards
Science Fiction Category
2021 W. Michael Gear Lifetime Achievement Award
Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame
2023 No Quarter
Rebel Hearts anthology
Spur Award Winner
Best Short Fiction
Western Writers of America
2023 The Ice Ghost Best Young Adult Novel
International Book Award
2023 Fourth Quadrant Best Mystery/Thriller
International Book Award