A basic bibliography of books by ELMER KELTON (this bibliography does not include the many books Kelton wrote forewords, introductions, or made other contributions to.) Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional notes.
NOVELS:
1956 *HOT IRON
1956 *BUFFALO WAGONS [Spur Award]
1957 *BARBED WIRE
1959 *SHADOW OF A STAR
1960 *TEXAS RIFLES
1961 *DONOVAN
1962 *BITTER TRAIL
1963 *HORSEHEAD CROSSING
1965 *MASSACRE AT GOLIAD
1966 *LLANO RIVER
1967 AFTER THE BUGLES
1969 *CAPTAIN’S RANGERS
1969 *SHOTGUN SETTLEMENT (as Alex Hawk)
1969 *HANGING JUDGE
1971 *BOWIE’S MINE
1971 DAY THE COWBOYS QUIT [Spur Award ]
1972 *WAGONTONGUE
1973 TIME IT NEVER RAINED, THE [Spur Award; Western Heritage Award]
1974 *MANHUNTERS
1975 JOE PEPPER (as Lee McElroy)
1976 LONG WAY TO TEXAS (as Lee McElroy)
1978 GOOD OLD BOYS, THE [Western Heritage Award]
filmed for TNT Television
1980 WOLF AND THE BUFFALO, THE
1981 EYES OF THE HAWK (as Lee McElroy) [Spur Award]
1984 STAND PROUD
1985 DARK THICKET
1987 MAN WHO RODE MIDNIGHT, THE [Western Heritage
Award]
1989 *SONS OF TEXAS Book I (writing as Tom Early)
1989 *SONS OF TEXAS: The Raiders (as Tom Early)
1990 *SONS OF TEXAS: The Rebels (as Tom Early)
1991 HONOR AT DAYBREAK
1992 SLAUGHTER [Spur Award]
1994 FAR CANYON (sequel to SLAUGHTER) [Spur Award]
1996 PUMPKIN ROLLERS, THE
1997 CLOUDY IN THE WEST
1998 SMILING COUNTRY seq. to GOOD OLD
BOYS
1999 BUCKSKIN LINE, THE
2001 BADGER BOY
2001 WAY OF THE COYOTE [Spur Award]
2002 RANGER’S TRAIL
2004 TEXAS VENDETTA
2004 JERICHO’S ROAD
2005 SIX BITS A DAY (prequel to GOOD OLD BOYS)
2008 HARD TRAIL TO FOLLOW
2008 MANY A RIVER
2009 OTHER MEN’S HORSES
2010 TEXAS STANDOFF due October 2010
(*These first editions were paperback originals. All others were first published in hardback.)
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
1986 *BIG BRAND, THE
1986 THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER CHANCE
2017 WILD WEST
2018 HARD RIDE
2020 THE COWBOY WAY
NONFICTION TITLES:
1972 LOOKING BACK WEST
1981 FRANK C. McCARTHY: THE OLD WEST
1986 PERMIAN: A Continuing Saga
1992 ART OF FRANK C. McCARTHY
1992 ART OF HOWARD TERPNING [WHA]
1992 LIVING AND WRITING IN WEST TEXAS
1993 ART OF JAMES BAMA
1993 ELMER KELTON COUNTRY
1993 INDIAN IN FRONTIER NEWS, THE
1995 MY KIND OF HEROES
1995 TEXAS
1999 TEXAS CATTLE BARONS
2003 CHRISTMAS AT THE RANCH
2007 SANDHILLS BOY: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer
Additional notes:
Lone Star Rising, Ranger’s Law, Texas Sunrise, Texas Showdown, and Brush Country are not included in this checklist because they are omnibus reprints of Kelton’s earlier novels. Shotgun (2009) is a reprint of Shotgun Settlement(1969) originally published under the “house name” Alex Hawk. Pecos Crossing (2008) is a reprint of Horsehead Crossing (1963).
The first editions of Hot Iron and Buffalo Wagons were simultaneously published in cloth. These limited hardback bindings were primarily for distribution to libraries and are quite scarce today.
Kelton wrote only the first three in the SONS OF TEXAS series under the publisher’s “house” name of Tom Early. (Book 4 was by Frank Roderus; Book 5, Will C. Knott; Book 6, James Reasoner.)
The nine books in Kelton’s Texas Ranger Series were published in this order: Buckskin Line, Badger Boy, Way of the Coyote, Ranger’s Trail, Texas Vendetta, Jericho’s Road, Hard Trail To Follow, Other Men’s Horses, TexasStandoff.
PSEUDONYMS of Elmer Kelton:
Kelton wrote three books under the pseudonym Lee McElroy: Joe Pepper, Long Way to Texas, and Eyes of the Hawk. Kelton wrote under two publisher’s “house names”: 3 books as Tom Early (see above "Sons of Texas"); and one book as “Alex Hawk.” He also wrote one short story, “Yellow Devil,” published in Ranch Romances under the “house name” Joe Stevens.
