Western American Literature is a leading journal in the field of Western American literature research. This journal is renowned for its pioneering research and attention to emerging writers, publishing some of the first papers by now widely acclaimed authors such as D'Arcy McNickle, Wallace Stegner, and Terry Tempest Williams, as well as N Scott Momaday and Rudolf Anaya's critical articles and early influential papers on ecocriticism.

The journal now focuses more extensively on Western culture, with each issue including replicas of Western images - paintings, photographs, film stills, plant and survey drawings, maps, murals - providing cultural background for the articles. In addition to theoretical articles based on cultural geography, New Western history, and environmental writing, recent issues have also included articles on traditional Western writers such as Edward Abbey and John Muir, New Western figures such as Cormac McCarthy, American Indian writers, African American writers and filmmakers, and Hispanic literary restoration projects. The recent special issue focuses on television westerns and the ongoing work of young scholars.