John Erickson, American cowboy and author of children’s books,best known for his Hank the Cowdog Series, was born Oct. 20, 1943, in Midland, Texas. He was the youngest of three children born to Joseph and Anna, and in 1946, the family moved to Perryton, Texas.

John attended school in Perryton, saying he was a reluctant reader who ran track, played varsity football, sang in the choir, played bassoon and drums in the band and graduated high school in 1962. He attended the University of Denver for a year before going to the University of Texas, finishing his B.A. degree in Liberal Arts in 1966. While there, he met his wife Kristine Dykema and they married in 1967. He attended Harvard Divinity School for two years, where he studied theology and left three hours short of a Master’s Degree.

John worked as a cowboy and ranch manager, set up his own publishing company, Maverick Books in 1982 and began writing his Hank the Cowdog Series, with the first book published in 1983. By April 2023, there were 79 books in this beloved series, seven audio only titles and six music CDs from the audio books. USA Today said the series is “the best family entertainment in years.” John has visited schools from Alaska to Florida, spoke at teacher and library conventions and in 2019 was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. He has also written several books outside this famous series and continues to write to present day.

John and Kris live on their working cattle ranch near Perryton, Texas. They have three grown children Scot, Ashley and Mark, and four grandchildren.

On Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, John was at Hazelwood Lecture Hall for a discussion on his Porch Talk book followed by a book signing.

Our local library has 13 of his Junior Fiction books and one Oklahoma non-fiction book.