James Wade is the youngest novelist to win two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, and the recipient of the MPIBA’s prestigious Reading the West Award. His debut novel, All Things Left Wild, was listed as one of the most influential westerns of the 21st century by True West Magazine and included in the Los Angeles Times's 1,001 Novels: A Library of America. His Southern Gothic mystery, Beasts of the Earth, was named a Best Book of 2022 by both Deep South Magazine and The Southern Review of Books. James is a four-time finalist for the Austin Chronicle's Best Writer in Austin award, and his work has appeared in Texas Highways, Writers’ Digest, and many additional publications. James lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and children. His most recent novel, Narrow the Road (August 2025, Blackstone Publishing) is a Southern Gothic, coming-of-age odyssey set in East Texas during the Great Depression. Ahead of its publication, the novel has received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and has been included on summer reading lists from Garden & Gun Magazine and The Library Journal.