John R. Erickson

Last updated
John Richard Erickson
John R. Erickson.jpg
Born (1943-10-20) October 20, 1943 (age 80)
EducationPerryton High School
University of Denver
University of Texas
Harvard Divinity School
Occupation Western writer: Hank the Cowdog series
SpouseKristine Dykema Erickson (married c. 1967)
Children3

John Richard Erickson (born October 20, 1943) is an American cowboy and author, best known for his Hank the Cowdog series of children's novels.

Contents

Born in Midland, Texas, he was reared in Perryton in the northern Texas Panhandle. He graduated in 1966 from the University of Texas at Austin and spent two years at Harvard Divinity School. He began publishing short stories in 1967, while still working as a cowboy and ranch manager in Texas and Oklahoma. Hank and Drover are both dogs he'd worked with at the ranch.

In 1982, after receiving numerous rejection slips from large publishers, Erickson borrowed $2,000 and began his own publishing company, Maverick Books. Hank the Cowdog debuted in The Cattleman magazine, and two related short stories appeared in the first book published by Maverick Books, The Devil in Texas. Erickson began selling books out of his pickup truck wherever cowboys gathered.

Erickson soon found himself receiving letters addressed to Hank, and so, the next year, in 1983, he published the first full-length book in the series, The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. His 2,000-book first printing ran out in six weeks. With the book's success, he shortly afterward recorded the book, word-for-word, on audio tape. Hank the Cowdog has since become the longest-running successful children's series on audio.

That book has since spawned over seventy sequels, becoming one of the most popular children's fiction series, selling more than 7.5 million books and winning several awards. The full series of books and tapes are usually available in most school libraries around the United States. His books are endorsed by the Texas Library Association and have, for two years, been serialized in The Dallas Morning News . His "Hank the Cowdog" series has been translated into Persian, Spanish, Danish, and Chinese, and have sold over 8.5 million copies. [1]

Erickson has written over seventy books, and is frequently invited to perform, reading book selections and singing songs, in classrooms and school libraries. He lives in Perryton with his wife. [2]

Life and career

He was born John Richard Erickson in Midland, Texas on October 20, 1943. His parents were Joseph W. Erickson and Anna Beth Curry Erickson. [2] In 1946 the family moved to Perryton in the Texas Panhandle. John Erickson attended school in Perryton and upon graduation studied at the University of Denver for a year. He then attended the University of Texas, where he met his future wife Kristine. They were married in 1967. Erickson later went to Harvard Divinity School but walked away a few credits short of graduating. [3]

After leaving Harvard, Erickson began working as a cowboy and ranch manager on various ranches in Texas and Oklahoma. In 1982 he set up his own publishing company, Maverick Books, and began writing the Hank the Cowdog stories. [4] On March 6, 2017, Erickson's ranch home was destroyed in the fires that swept across more than 315,000 acres of the Texas Panhandle. [5] Upon his loss from the blaze, he quoted Scripture: "Naked we came into this world and naked we will leave it," and added, "but we will sure miss that house." [6] His property is south of Perryton in Roberts County. In the books, Hank is "Head of Ranch Security" of an unnamed ranch in nearby Ochiltree County.

Bibliography

As of January 2024, there are 80 printed books in the Hank the Cowdog series, 7 audio-only titles, and 6 CDs of music from the audiobooks. Erickson has also written a number of non-Hank books.

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References

  1. Meet the Author John R. Erickson. www.hankthecowdog.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Christian Wallace. How Hank the Cowdog Made John R. Erickson the King of the Canine Canon, Texas Monthly, March 2021
  3. John R. Erickson
  4. Marvin Olasky. The cowboy in autumn: Spending a week with Hank the Cowdog creator John R. Erickson, World Magazine, 05-10-2016
  5. Cassie Stafford. A year later: John Erickson writes about the Perryton fire through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, 10KFDA, March 25, 2018
  6. Robert Stein (March 6, 2017). "Author of 'Hank the Cowdog' books loses home in Panhandle wildfires". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . Retrieved March 8, 2017.