A Book Lover's Guide to Texas | Authors, Places, and Events

Novelist and journalist Elmer Kelton was born in Andrews County, Texas in 1926. Kelton grew up in Crane, TX on the McElroy Ranch. He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a degree in Journalism and went on to become a writer and editor for the San Angelo Standard-Times, Sheep and Goat Raiser Magazine, and Livestock Weekly over the next 40 years. He is best known for his Western novels including The Time It Never Rained, The Man Who Rode at Midnight, and The Good Old Boys. He wrote over 40 novels and received several awards including eight Spur Awards and four Western Heritage Awards.

Catherine Anne Porter was an American novelist, journalist, and short story writer born in Indian Creek, Texas in 1890. Before Catherine was a writer, she worked as an actress, singer, and secretary. In need of money after falling ill, she began to write for magazines in her late 20s including the Fort Worth Critic and Century Magazine. In 1930, she published her first collection of short stories, Flowering Judas. She later went on to publish several other short story collections and her only novel Ship of Fools. Her works were often laced with dark themes and she was an active critic of politics and society of her time.

Larry McMurtry is an author and screenwriter born in Archer City, Texas in 1936. Some of his best-known novels include The Last Picture Show, Horseman, and Terms of Endearment. His novel Lonesome Dove won a Pulitzer Prize in 1985 and was adapted into an Emmy-winning television miniseries. Several other novels by McMurtry were adapted into films that earned him over 25 Academy Award nominations. In 2006, he won an Academy Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Brokeback Mountain based on the novel by Annie Proulx. McMurtry has published 29 novels, three memoirs, and several essays. He currently resides in Archer City.