Sedona AZ (April 6 2011) – The Western Writers of America have announced that “Arizona’s Little Hollywood: Sedona and Northern Arizona’s Forgotten Film History 1923-1973” is a finalist in the Contemporary Nonfiction category for its 2011 Spur Award. “Arizona’s Little Hollywood” was written by Joe McNeill, creative director and co-owner of Sedona Monthly, and published by Northedge & Sons, Sedona Monthly’s book division.

Presented annually for distinguished writing about the American West, the Spur Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. Past winners include Larry McMurtry for “Lonesome Dove,” Michael Blake for “Dances With Wolves,” Glendon Swarthout for “The Shootist” and Tony Hillerman for “Skinwalker.” “To have my name mentioned along with such illustrious company is one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive,” McNeill said when told of the accolade. “But this is really Sedona’s honor. The town made the history – I was just the messenger who delivered the news.”

Among the revelations presented for the first time in “Arizona’s Little Hollywood” is the story behind “Der Kaiser von Kalifornien,” an anti-American Nazi propaganda western filmed in Sedona in 1935; the true history of filmmaking in Monument Valley, including the most detailed account of location filming for John Ford’s “Stagecoach” ever published; a long forgotten, never-finished movie that was to co-star John Wayne with Rex the Wonder Horse; the behind the scenes turmoil during the making of Library of Congress National Film Registry honoree “Johnny Guitar;” and the historical importance of 1950’s “Broken Arrow” for its role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist.

“Arizona’s Little Hollywood: Sedona and Northern Arizona’s Forgotten Film History 1923-1973″ is a lavishly illustrated book that, once and for all, gives Sedona, Arizona, its due as a key location in movie history. The hardcover, 692-page book includes 175 photographs. “Arizona’s Little Hollywood: Sedona and Northern Arizona’s Forgotten Film History 1923-1973” is available from online booksellers, in bookstores, and directly from Northedge & Sons.