Native Texan: Deep in the Heart of the Lone Star State

Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart is a lively and personal tour of small town and big city Texas in search of what makes the state unique. Nationally acclaimed columnist Joe Holley is widely loved for his popular ＂Native Texan＂ column, which appears in the Houston Chronicle. In thirty stories curated from column archives, Holley introduces readers to his favorite people and places across the state. From interviews on the ＂weird＂ streets of Austin and his search for ghosts in Bigfoot to a decades-long love affair with everything about Marathon and hikes on the back trails of the Big Bend, Holley is a masterful storyteller. His instincts are backed by a seasoned journalist’s passion to measure legends and tall tales against investigations into what really happened. He reveals small-town Texas, and some small towns within the largest cities, with a style that has proven popular with readers and a keen eye for a unique spin on an old story. The result is an entertaining and certainly surprising view of the Lone Star state.

Joe Holley has worked for newspapers in Washington, D.C., Houston, San Antonio, and San Diego. His articles have appeared in Texas Monthly and the Columbia Journalism Review, and he is the author of Hometown Texas, Hurricane Season, My Brother’s Keeper, and Slingin’ Sam, a biography of football hero Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. His honors include the Texas Institute of Letters Carr P. Collins Award, the Headliner’s Award, the Jim Lehrer Award, the Stanley Walker Journalism Award, and the PEN West Journalism Award. He is on the staff of the Houston Chronicle, where he serves on the editorial board and writes a weekly column. He lives in Austin, Texas.