Judy Alter is the award-winning author of over a hundred books, fiction and nonfiction for both adults and young adults. She has won awards from Western Writers of America, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Institute of Letters and has been inducted into the Western Writers of America Hall of Fame and the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. A native of Chicago, Alter has lived in Texas for over fifty years and makes her home in Fort Worth. Mattie won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America as the Best Western Novel of 1988.