Max Allan McCoy (born October 30, 1958) is an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He is the author of ten westerns, two thrillers, four original

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

adventures, the novelization of the mini-series '' Into the West'' and the first three volumes in ''Wylde’s West'', a paranormal mystery series.

Biography

Born in Baxter Springs,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, McCoy is the son of Carl McCoy (1924–1997) and Mary Carter (1927–1986). He attended Baxter Springs High School, has a B.A. from Pittsburg State University and an M.A. from

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

Journalism

McCoy began his career in journalism in 1980 as a police reporter for ''The Pittsburg (Kansas) Morning Sun''. In 1986, he traveled to Japan on a grant to report, in words and photos, the story of the aging survivors of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. McCoy was the investigative reporter for ''The Joplin Globe'' in southwest

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and won first-place awards from the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Missouri Press Association for his reporting on unsolved murders, serial killers, and hate groups in the Ozarks.

Works

Novels

Most of McCoy’s novels are set in Missouri or Kansas, and major themes include alienation, redemption, complicated family and personal relationships, and the legacy of violence in American culture. *''The Sixth Rider'' (1991) *''Sons of Fire'' (1993) *''Home to Texas'' (1995) *''The Wild Rider'' (1995) *''Indiana Jones and the Philosopher’s Stone'' (1995) *''Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs'' (1996) *''Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth'' (1997) *''Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx'' (1999) *''Jesse: A Novel of the Outlaw Jesse James'' (1999) *''The Moon Pool'' (2004) *''Hinterland'' (2005) *''Into the West'' (2005) *''A Breed Apart: A Novel of Wild Bill Hickok'' (2006) *''Hellfire Canyon'' (2007) *''I, Quantrill'' (2008) *''Canyon Diablo'' (2010) *''Damnation Road'' (2010) *''The Sixth Rider 20th Anniversary Edition.'' (2011) Kindle e-book. *''Of Grave Concern: An Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery '' (2013) *''The Spirit Is Willing: An Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery'' (2014) *
Giving Up the Ghost: An Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery
' (2015)

Short stories

* "Spoils of War", ''Louis L’Amour Western Magazine''. May 1994: 7-20. Winner of the Oxbow Award for Short Fiction. * "The Devil and Bill Doolin", ''Cactus Country''. Lou Turner, ed. Memphis: High Hill press, 2011: 20-35.

Non-fiction

*''Zero Minutes to Midnight.'' (2011) *''Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River'' (2018)

Awards

Literary Awards

*1991 – Spur The Sixth Rider *2005 – ESU Outstanding Master Alumnus *2008 – Spur Hellfire Canyon *2008 – Kansas Notable Book: ''Hellfire Canyon'' *2011 – Spur Damnation Road *2014 – Kansas Notable Book: ''Of Grave Concern'' *2019 – Kansas Notable Book: ''Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River''

Journalism Awards

* 2001 – Investigative Reporting, Associated Press, 2001 (“Ordained by Hate”). * 2002 – Investigative Reporting, Associated Press, 2002 (“The Killing Season”). * 2013 – Distinguished Newspaper Advisor – College Media Association

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Max 1958 births Journalists from Kansas American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists People from Baxter Springs, Kansas Pittsburg State University alumni Emporia State University alumni Living people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Novelists from Kansas