- Won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel "Lonesome Dove".
- Owns an antiquarian bookstore called Booked Up in his hometown of Archer City, Texas, consisting of four buildings full of books (upwards of 300,000 volumes of used and rare books in the four buildings combined).
- Several McMurtry imposters surfaced after the success of Lonesome Dove (1989), due to the fact that McMurtry is rather reclusive and likes to remain unknown.
- Owned a Washington, DC bookstore for 25 years.
- Lived for much of his life in his hometown, Archer City, Texas, two hours northwest of Dallas. He had the same postal box for nearly 70 years.
- Father of actor and singer/songwriter James McMurtry, also a singer/songwriter, with six CDs.
- Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Volume 170, pages 237-252. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008.
- He graduated from what is now the University of North Texas and received a master's degree in English from Rice University. He taught English at RIce and George Mason University.
- Worked as a lecturer in English at Rice University from 1963 to 1969.
- He was the son of Hazel Ruth (McIver) and William Jefferson McMurtry, and was raised on his parents' ranch.
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