Western 51 authors
Western fiction authors and their complete series in reading order. Cowboys, frontiers, and the Old West from the best western writers.
Western fiction has never really gone away — it just keeps reinventing itself, from classic frontier adventure to contemporary rural noir. We track 51 Western authors here, including the Johnstone family saga, classic gunfighter series, and modern writers bringing the frontier tradition into the 21st century.
Tracking 51 authors and 842 series in Western.
Popular Western Authors — Series in Reading Order
All Western Authors — Complete Series in Order
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is rural noir?
- Rural noir is a contemporary term for crime fiction set in rural or frontier environments — away from urban institutions, in communities with long memories and their own codes of justice. C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series (Wyoming game warden) and James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series (Louisiana bayou) are prominent examples.
- Where should I start with Western fiction?
- For classic frontier fiction, William W. Johnstone's The First Mountain Man begins the Preacher/Jensen universe. For contemporary Western in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy, C.J. Box's Open Season starts the Joe Pickett series. For the literary end of the tradition, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is the standard recommendation.