A West Virginia native who made Wyoming his home and setting, he created Sheriff Walt Longmire of fictional Absaroka County, whose cases became the A&E and Netflix series *Longmire*.
The twenty-second Longmire novel, published by Viking on May 26, 2026.4 After a disliked rancher is found murdered following a family meeting, Walt investigates his four sons, until a second body and a wildfire complicate the case.4
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Craig Allen Johnson grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, and attended Marshall University.1 He met his wife in the Philadelphia area while doing graduate work there.7
Johnson set his fiction in northern Wyoming, in fictional Absaroka County, with Buffalo, Wyoming, as the real-life model for its county seat.1 The first Longmire novel, The Cold Dish, was published in 2004.3 It introduced Walt Longmire, sheriff of Absaroka County for twenty-five years, his friend Henry Standing Bear and his deputy Victoria Moretti, in a case involving the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.3
Johnson told Wyoming Public Media that he writes the books in layers so that readers with different tastes can each find something in them, and that he varies the settings to keep the stories believable: the third book is set largely in Philadelphia, and the fourth, Another Man’s Moccasins, mostly in 1968 during Walt’s time as a Marine investigator in Vietnam.7 That fourth novel won the 2009 Spur Award for Best Western Short Novel from the Western Writers of America.1
A&E premiered Longmire, adapted by Warner Horizon from the books, on June 3, 2012; its premiere drew 4.1 million viewers, the most for an original series premiere in the network’s history.1 Johnson has said he first doubted that a show about a Wyoming sheriff would work.7 After A&E cancelled the series following its third season, Netflix produced seasons four through six.1
Alongside the novels Johnson has written three Longmire novellas and a collection of twelve stories, Wait for Signs.61 The novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection.2 The books have been translated into 14 languages and regularly appear on the New York Times bestseller list.16
He received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature in 2025, and his publisher lists a Bouchercon 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award among his honors.23 The twenty-second Longmire novel, The Brothers McKay, was published in May 2026.4
In order of first publication. Each series is kept together, in reading order, starting where its first book appeared. Titles and first publication years from Wikipedia's bibliography, checked against Penguin Random House's series listing for the first and newest novels.134
Bookshop.org (which supports independent bookstores) and Amazon links are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission on purchases, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. WorldCat links find the book in a library near you.
Numbered as Penguin Random House numbers the novels; the novellas and the story collection are listed separately by year.34
Won the 2009 Spur Award for Best Western Short Novel.1
A Longmire novella; the first One Book Wyoming selection.2
A drama from Warner Horizon, filmed in New Mexico, that premiered on A&E on June 3, 2012; after A&E cancelled it following its third season, Netflix made seasons four through six.1 Robert Taylor played Walt for all six seasons.6
Another Man's Moccasins wins the Spur Award for Best Western Short Novel.1
Longmire premieres on A&E, with the highest-rated premiere of an original series in the network's history.1
Publishes the novella Spirit of Steamboat, later the first One Book Wyoming selection.12
Receives the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.2
Publishes The Brothers McKay, the twenty-second Longmire novel.4
Penguin Random House lists The Brothers McKay as book 22 of 23 in the series.4 Books of Brilliance reports that the twenty-third, A Soft White Damn, is listed by Viking for May 2027; Johnson has described it as a manhunt thriller.9