Stephen Harrigan is a novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He was born in Oklahoma City in 1948, and grew up in Abilene and Corpus Christi.
A former staff writer and senior editor at Texas Monthly, he still contributes frequently to the magazine, and his articles and essays have appeared in many other publications as well, including
The Atlantic,
Outside,
The New York Times Magazine,
Conde Nast Traveler,
Audubon,
Travel Holiday,
Life, and
Slate.
Harrigan is the author of six books. His first novel,
Aransas, published by Alfred A. Knopf, was listed by The New York Times as a notable book of 1980.
Jacob's Well was published by Simon and Schuster in 1984 and cited as one of the year's best books by both The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News. His other books include the essay collections
A Natural State and Comanche Midnight, and
Water and Light: A Diver's Journey to a Coral Reef, all of which are published in paperback by the University of Texas Press. In 2000, Knopf published his novel
The Gates of the Alamo, which became a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book.
The Gates of the Alamo also received a number of awards, including the TCU Texas Book Award, the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Spur Award for the best Novel of the West.
In January of 2001, Harrigan was one of five writers from around the nation chosen by Laura Bush to read at a “Salute to America’s Authors” in Washington D.C. as part of the inaugural ceremonies for President George W. Bush. He was also invited to appear at the first National Book Festival later that year, an event modeled on the highly successful Texas Book Festival, for which Harrigan has served as a committee member since its inception. He is also a former president of the Texas Institute of Letters and a founding member of Capital Area Statues, Inc., the group that commissioned and raised money for the beloved “Philosophers’ Rock” statue at Austin’s Barton Springs.
A 1971 graduate of the University of Texas, Harrigan lives in Austin, where he teaches part-time at UT’s prestigious Michener Center for Writers.
