The Coonabarabran Times is facing an uncertain future as the paper issues a "last call" for a new owner to step forward.

An editorial published in the Times'  27 November edition said the paper will go on "extended leave" after this year's final run on Thursday, 18 December.

"But whether the Coonabarabran Times returns depends entirely on whether someone steps forward," manager Lynne Estens said.

"Our hope - our plea - is that someone with energy, curiosity and a commitment to telling the stories of this district will recognise the value of what has been built and ensure it continues."

"If the Times falls silent, a whole community loses its voice. If you - or someone you know - feels called to this work, please reach out. The future of the Coonabarabran Times depends on it."

The paper was founded in 1927 as a merger of The Bligh Watchman (1877-1927) and The Clarion (1910-1927).

Late owner Max Estens joined the Times in 1978 as an 18-year-old apprentice compositor, responsible for arranging text and images for print.

The Coonabarabran Times has been reporting on fires, droughts floods and milestones in the Warrumbungle area for decades. [IMAGE: River McCrossen]

His wife, Lynne joined him two decades later, and together they ran the paper from 2010.

Their daughter Kait Britton took the reins as editor in 2020.

In October this year, the team took the most wins at the NSW Country Press Awards, a few months after Max passed.

One of the awards was for an article penned by Kait following the alleged murder of two Coonabarabran boys at the hands of their grandmother in May.

While the paper has regular contract advertisers, part-time and full-time contributors and publishes the magazine Wattle, Lynne said the loss of Max had taken the wind out of them.

"For Max, and for all of us, this paper was never just a business - it was a commitment to this district," Lynne wrote in her editorial.

"Max's recent passing has left us shell-shocked, feeling flat and struggling to find the motivation that once came so easily. Making decisions about the future of the paper without him has been incredibly difficult.

"But even in this grief, we know how much the Times means to the people it serves - and that belief has strengthened our resolve to try to see it continue - because its story is bigger than ours."

The Coonabarabran Times publishes 1100 copies each Thursday, which are distributed across the whole of the Warrumbungle Shire, including the towns of Coonabarabran, Binnaway, Baradine, Coolah, Dunedoo and Mendooran.