Question: What Texas author is known for his Hank The Cowdog series of children’s novels?
Answer: John R. Erickson. Born in Midland in 1943, Erickson attended the University of Texas and Harvard Divinity School before working as a ranch hand in Texas and Oklahoma for several years. An aspiring writing, he started his own publishing company in 1982 after several rejections from established publishers. The following year, he published his first Hank The Cowdog novel. To date, he has written 81 books in the series, selling more than 9 million copies.