Judy Alter (July 22, 1938) is an American novelist and author of both fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Alter writes primarily about the history and literature of Texas and the American West, especially the experiences of women in the nineteenth century. She has also written sixteen cozy mysteries, primarily set in Texas. Over fifty of her young adult non-fiction books have been published for school libraries by
Franklin Watts
Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...
Alter grew up in Chicago, where she attended public schools. After two years at
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...
she earned a bachelor's degree at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. She went on to earn an M.Ed. at
Truman State University
Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs.
The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...
in Missouri and then earned her Ph.D. with a special interest in western American literature at
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...
(TCU).
TCU Press
Prior to becoming an author, Alter worked for
TCU Press
Texas Christian University Press (or TCU Press) is a university press that is part of Texas Christian University.
External linksTexas Christian University Press 16 Women Honored for Leadership, Star Telegram, March 30, 1989, p 29 She retired in 2009 and began writing.
Honors and awards
Judy Alter is a past president of
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...
and former secretary of the
Texas Institute of Letters
The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most respe ...
. She holds awards from the
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...
Hall of Fame, the
Texas Institute of Letters
The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most respe ...
, and
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...
(WWA), including the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement, and was inducted into the WWA Hall of Fame in June 2015 and the Fort Worth Public Library Hall of Fame. She was named one of the Outstanding Women of Fort Worth by the mayor in 1988 and was included by the Dallas Morning News in a list of a hundred women who have left their mark on Texas. In 2016 Judy was a finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award for her cookbook, ''Texas Is Chili Country''. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and its Guppies subgroup, the
Texas Institute of Letters
The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most respe ...
Spur Award
Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...
)
*''Libbie'' (1994)
*''Jessie'' (1995)
*''Cherokee Rose'' (1996)
*''Sundance, Butch, and Me'' (2002)
*''The Gilded Cage'' (2016)
*''So Far from Paradise'' (2019)
*''A Ballad for Sallie'' (1992)
Young-adult fiction
*''After Pa was Shot'' (1978)
*''Luke and the Van Zandt County War'' (1984)
*''Maggie and a Horse Named Devildust'' (1989)
*''Maggie and the Search for Devildust'' (1989)
*''Maggie and Devildust—Ridin’ High'' (1990)
*''Katie and the Recluse'' (1991)
*''Callie Shaw, Stableboy'' (1996)
Mysteries
Kelly O-Connell mysteries
*''Skeleton in a Dead Space '' (2011)
*''No Neighborhood for Old Women'' (2012)
*''Trouble in a Big Box'' (2012)
*''Danger Comes Home'' (2013)
*''Deception in Strange Places'' (2014)
*''Desperate for Death'' (2015)
*''Contract for Chaos'' (2018)
*''The Color of Fear'' (2017) — (Kelly O’Connell novella)
Blue Plate Cafe mysteries
*''Murder at the Blue Plate Café'' (2013)
*''Murder at Tremont House'' (2014)
*''Murder at Peacock Mansion'' (2015)
*''Murder at the Bus Depot'' (2018)
Oak Grove mysteries
*''The Perfect Coed'' (2014)
*''Pigface and the Perfect Dog'' (2017)
Other
*''Saving Irene (A Chicago mystery)'' (2019)
Cookbooks
*''Cooking My Way through Life with Kids and Books'' (2009)
*''Extraordinary Texas Chefs'' (2008)
*''Texas is Chili Country'' (2015) — (Will Rogers Medallion Award)
*''Gourmet on a Hot Plate'' (2018)
Selected publications
*''Extraordinary Women of the American West'' (1999)
*''Extraordinary Women of Texas'' (2008)
*''Sue Ellen Learns to Dance and Other Stories'' (2006)
*''The Second Battle of the Alamo'' (2020)
*''The Most Land, the Best Cattle: The Waggoners of Texas'' (coming soon, Sept 2021)