Writing the West is a podcast for readers who love the West. From CJ Box to Anne Hillerman, we host some of today's top authors of the West. From the stories behind the stories to translating the West into written words, to their favorite characters, TV shows, and beyond, Writing the West gives you the access to the authors and books you love. Writing the West is a publication of Cowboys & Indians Magazine.
Tyler Auffhammer is an Assistant Editor at Cowboys & Indians Magazine, where he contributes to digital engagement efforts and launched the Writing the West podcast, featuring top Western authors. A lifelong reader and lover of westerns, he can be found re-reading tattered Louis L'Amour novels.
Author of the Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito series of Native American crime fiction novels, Anne Hillerman inherited both her passion for writing, and her series' characters, from her late father, legendary writer Tony Hillerman.
C. J. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, two Barry Awards, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction. He was recently awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum as well as the Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel by the Western Writers of America in 2017. Over twenty million copies of his books have been sold in the U.S. and abroad and they’ve been translated into 27 languages. Two television series have been based on his novels, including BIG SKY on ABC and JOE PICKETT on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime. He was an Executive Producer for both series.
Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the
Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series
Longmire. He is a two time recipient of the Western Writers of
America Spur Award for fiction, multiple Will Rogers Medallion
Awards, and his novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One
Book Wyoming selection. Craig is the 2025 recipient of the Owen
Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature. He
lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26.
George R. Matthews has written on the Olympics, baseball and Zebulon Pike, and is a member of Biographers International Organization and the National Coalition of Independent Scholars. He lives in New Mexico.
Laurie L. Dove is a reporter and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications and garnered several honors for outstanding journalism. She graduated with a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University. She is an adjunct professor who currently lives and writes in Kansas. Her debut novel, Mask of the Deer Woman, was published in 2025.