Judy Alter was born in 1938. She earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago, followed by a Ph.D. in English with special interest in the literature of the American West from Texas Christian University, and an M.Ed. in English from Truman State University. Alter is an author of books for adults and young readers. Her novel Mattie won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America as the best western novel of 1987; Luke and the Van Zandt County War was named the best juvenile of 1984 by the Texas Institute of Letters. Fool Girl and Sue Ellen Learns to Dance, won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, with Sue Ellen also winning a Spur from WWA. Alter has been… director of TCU Press Texas, since 1987. She is a past president of Western Writers of America and served several years as secretary-treasurer of the Texas Institute of Letters. In 1989 the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women named her one of the Outstanding Women of Fort Worth.