C. J. Box

C. J. Box is the award-winning creator of the Joe Pickett series. Born in Wyoming, he worked as a reporter, surveyor, ranch hand, and fishing guide before he began writing fiction. In Open Season (2001), Box introduced Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden and expert outdoorsman who fights corruption on the plains. The novel was a success, winning the Gumshoe Award and spawning an ongoing series that has now stretched to twelve novels, including Force of Nature (2012) and the Edgar Award–winning Blue Heaven (2009).

Box co-owns a tourism marketing firm with his wife, Laurie, and in 2008 won the BIG WYO award for his efforts to bring visitors to his home state. Box is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. A lover of the outdoors, he has traveled across the American West on foot, horse, and skis. He lives in Wyoming with his family.