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John R. Erickson

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5 out of 5
1 review

Cowboy and Author; Best Known for his Classic Children’s Series, "Hank the Cowdog"

John R. Erickson

John R. Erickson

Speaker RatingSpeaker RatingSpeaker RatingSpeaker RatingSpeaker Rating
5 out of 5
1 review

Cowboy and Author; Best Known for his Classic Children’s Series, "Hank the Cowdog"

Travels From Travels From:
Perryton, TX, USA
Speaking Fee Speaking Fee:
Live Event: $5,000 - $10,000
Virtual Event: $5,000 - $10,000
More Fee Info
Categories Categories:
Categories Categories:
Authors, Virtual Speakers
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John R. Erickson Biography

John R. Erickson has written and published 75 books and more than 600 articles, and is best known as the author of the "Hank the Cowdog" series of books, audio-books, and stage plays.

His stories have won a number of awards, including the Audie, Oppenheimer, Wrangler, and Lamplighter Awards, and have been translated into Spanish, Danish, Farsi, and Chinese.

The "Hank the Cowdog" series began as a self-publishing venture in his garage in 1982 and has endured to become one of the nation’s most popular series for children and families. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart-aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. USA Today calls the series "the best family entertainment in years.”

John Richard Erickson was born in Midland, TX, on October 20, 1943, to Joseph W. Erickson and Anna Beth Curry Erickson, the youngest of three children. In 1946, the family moved to Perryton, Texas, in the northeastern Texas Panhandle.

John started first grade in the Perryton school system and graduated from high school in the class of 1962. He has described himself as a lazy student and a reluctant reader. He ran track (high hurdles) and played varsity football, sang in the choir, played bassoon in the band and drums in the stage band, and taught himself how to play the five-string banjo. He participated in speech events (debate and extemporaneous speaking), and played lead roles in several school plays.

His talent for writing went unnoticed until his senior year in high school, when his English teacher, Annie Love, made the class write an original poem. Erickson found that it was easy for him. For the rest of the year, he stayed up late at night, writing poems for Mrs. Love.

Erickson attended the University of Denver for a year, then finished his B.A. degree at the University of Texas in Austin. For two years, he studied theology at Harvard Divinity School and left three hours short of a master’s degree. At UT, he met his future wife, Kristine Dykema, and they were married in Dallas in 1967.

During the years 1974-1981, John worked as a ranch cowboy in Oklahoma and Texas. There, he found a balance between hard physical work and the intense, concentrated effort of writing four hours every day. He wrote novels, short stories, articles, plays, essays, and book reviews. When he sent them off to publishers, most came back with rejection slips.

In 1982, after 15 years of failure and frustration, he and Kris started their own publishing company, Maverick Books, in their garage in Perryton, and brought out the first "Hank the Cowdog" book in 1983.

Today, almost 30 years after its modest beginnings, Maverick Books is once again Hank’s official publisher, and is still located in Erickson’s hometown of Perryton. Publishers Weekly calls the "Hank the Cowdog" series a "grassroots publishing phenomena,” and, to date, the series has sold over 8 million copies.

From the start, John intended for the "Hank" stories to be read aloud, and one of the unique features of the series is that he has recorded all stories in the audio-book format, performing all the character voices himself and composing two original songs for each episode.

For more than 30 years, Erickson has worked hard to maintain the highest standards of good, wholesome family entertainment. In doing that, he has built a bond of trust with parents, librarians, and teachers, and all his stories have been approved for the Accelerated Reader Program. He has appeared in thousands of schools, from Fairbanks, AK, to Key West, FL, and has been a popular speaker at conventions of teachers, librarians, and homeschoolers.

Erickson is currently working with a film group to produce a "Hank the Cowdog" animated movie, with the screenplay written by John and his son Mark.

John and Kris live on their cattle ranch near Perryton, TX. They have three grown children (Scot, Ashley, and Mark) and four grandchildren.

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John R. Erickson Videos

  • Hank the Cowdog: Hank's Corner - Audiobooks - YouTube
    Hank the Cowdog: Hank's Corner - Audiobooks - YouTube
  • Hank the Cowdog author John R. Erickson (Texas Country Reporter ...
    Hank the Cowdog author John R. Erickson (Texas Country Reporter ...
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FAQs on booking John R. Erickson

  • How do I book John R. Erickson to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like John R. Erickson for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for John R. Erickson, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for John R. Erickson or any other speaker of your choice.

  • What are the speaker fees for John R. Erickson

    Speaking fees for John R. Erickson, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book John R. Erickson are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire John R. Erickson, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

  • What topics does John R. Erickson speak about?

    John R. Erickson is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Virtual Speakers.

  • Where does John R. Erickson travel from?

    John R. Erickson generally travels from Perryton, TX, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

  • Who is John R. Erickson’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like John R. Erickson for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book John R. Erickson for your next private or corporate function.

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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host John R. Erickson or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

John R. Erickson is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book John R. Erickson for your event is $5,000 - $10,000. John R. Erickson generally travels from Perryton, TX, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Laura Numeroff, Brenda Maier, Gale Galligan, Ross Burach and Eric Litwin. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling John R. Erickson for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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