The much acclaimed prolific Western writer Elmer Kelton has died aged 83. He began his career as a journalist after serving in the United States Army during World War II. He was farm and ranch editor for the San Angelo Standard-Times for 15 years, then spent 22 years as editor of Livestock Weekly.  His first short story was published 1948 and his first novel Hot Iron in 1955. From then he published over 60 fiction and non-fiction titles. His novel, The good old boys was published in 1978 and was made into a television movie in 1995. He received numerous awards for his fiction, the most acclaimed being, The time it never rained, published in 1974, The man who rode Midnight published in 1988 and most recently Way of the Coyote published in 2002.

Elmer Kelton was more than a typical Western writer, with most of his novels set in recent times with characters facing the problems of modern day range life.