Haycox, Ernest, 1899-1950

Ernest Haycox was born in a suburb of Portland, Oregon on October 1, 1899. Haycox was educated at Reed College and the University of Oregon, where he graduated in 1923 with a Journalism degree. His career began while a college student with the publication of some of his short stories. His first publication credits came from the pulp magazines and he later broke into the "slicks" such as Collier's and the Saturday evening post, at which point his popularity soared. His stories remained regular features, in serialized form, throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Haycox had a parallel career as a novelist. His first book, Free grass, was published in 1929 and was followed by another almost every year until his death in 1950. A final book, The Adventurers, was published posthumously in 1955. His name is synonymous with the Western genre.

Ernest Haycox (1899-1950) was a novelist, short story writer born in Portland, Oregon.

Oregon author of popular literature, primarily westerns.

A native Oregonian, born in a suburb of Portland on October 1, 1899, Ernest Haycox became an author with a world-wide audience. His name is synonymous with Westerns, a genre of stories set in the American West during the period of greatest expansion, 1830-1880. His career began with the publication of some of his short stories while he was still a college student, and spanned nearly three decades. Haycox attended Reed College in 1920 and transferred to the University of Oregon in 1921 to study writing. He graduated in 1923 with a degree in journalism.

His first publication credits came from the pulp magazines of the day, such as Sea Stories, Western Story, Adventure, and Short Stories . In June 1931 Haycox broke into the “slicks,” magazines like Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post, and his popularity soared. His stories remained regular features, appearing serialized form throughout the thirties and forties.

Haycox had a parallel career as a novelist. His first book, Free Grass, was published in 1929 and was followed by another novel almost every year until his death in 1950. A final book, The Adventurers, was published posthumously in 1955.