Patrick Dearen
AUTHOR

Patrick Dearen

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A 2022 inductee in the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, Patrick Dearen wears two hats. As a historian and folklorist, he digs deeply into the lore and legend of the West and produces books that appeal to both scholars and general readers. As a novelist, he draws on this reservoir of knowledge and crafts stories of people interacting with a harsh and yet beautiful environment. The author of 29 books, Dearen was born in 1951 and grew up in the small West Texas town of Sterling City. He earned a bachelor of journalism from The University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and received nine national and state awards as a reporter for two West Texas daily newspapers. An authority on the Pecos and Devils rivers of Texas, Dearen also has gained recognition for his knowledge of old-time cowboy life. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he preserved the firsthand accounts of 76 men who cowboyed before 1932. These interviews, along with decades of archival study, have enriched Dearen's 19 novels and led to 10 nonfiction books. His newest novel is "Halloween on the Butterfield Trail," tailored for middle-grade readers. His latest adult-level novel is "The Big Dry." This 2025 Spur Award finalist is a sequel to his Spur Award-winning "The Big Drift," which is set during the historic cattle migration in the winter of 1884-85. His other recent novels are "Grizzly Moon" (a Spur Award finalist), "The End of Nowhere," "Haunted Border," "Apache Lament," and "Dead Man's Boot." His other novels include "When Cowboys Die" (a Spur Award finalist) and "Perseverance," set along the rails in Depression-era Texas. Dearen has also been honored by the Academy of Western Artists, West Texas Historical Association, Western Fictioneers, San Antonio Conservation Society, New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, and Will Rogers Medallion Award. A backpacking enthusiast and ragtime pianist, he lives in Texas with his wife Mary.
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