TCU Press publishes Sue Young's Courageous Cowgirls in October 2026

Debut author is a storyteller, librarian, and 30-year Texas performing artist

Fort Worth, Texas — They ran ranches, drove cattle up the Chisholm Trail, saved orphaned buffalo calves, faced down federales and bandits, performed death-defying stunts in Wild West shows, and barrel raced their way into the record books. Now, for the first time in a children's nonfiction book dedicated to the subject, twelve real Texas cowgirls tell their own stories.

TCU Press announces the October 2026 publication of Courageous Cowgirls: Women Who Rode the Trails, Ran Ranches, and Raced in Rodeos by Sue Young — a debut collection of first-person prose poems bringing to life twelve trailblazing women who shaped the history of Texas and the American West. Illustrated by Katie Howerton, the book is written for readers ages 8-12 and is available in hardcover for $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-87565-980-0).

The book 

From Patricia de la Garza de Leon — who helped found Victoria, Texas in the early 1800s — to Verna Lee Booker Hightower, a Black barrel racer who competed in the Girls Rodeo Association in the 1950s, Courageous Cowgirls spans more than a century of Texas women who refused to stay indoors. The book's twelve portraits represent the full breadth of Texas heritage: Mexican American land grant holders, African American ranchers, Seminole scouts, Anglo homesteaders, and rodeo queens of every background.

Young writes each poem in the woman's own voice — a deliberate choice that puts young readers directly in each cowgirl's saddle. Portraits of Patricia de la Garza de Leon, Dona Estefana Cortina, Henrietta Williams Foster, Johanna July, Lizzie Johnson Williams, Mollie Dyer Goodnight, Bennie Hughes Miskimon, Viola Perry Anderson, Alice Stillwell Henderson, Tad Barnes Lucas, Hallie Crawford Stillwell, and Verna Lee Booker Hightower are accompanied by informative sidebars on the Chisholm Trail, cattle drives, American bison, rodeos, Wild West shows, cowgirl fashion, and the property laws that shaped women's lives in the West.

The book also includes a historical timeline, a map showing where the cowgirls lived and worked, and individual biographical profiles — making it equally at home on a classroom shelf and a library display. 

The author 

Sue Young is a storyteller, performing songwriter, librarian, and educator based in Austin, Texas. She has been a member of the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Artist Roster since 1994 — thirty years of bringing history and literature to life for audiences across the state. She holds a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and is a member of SCBWI and the Texas Library Association. Courageous Cowgirls is her debut book.

“These amazing women will inspire and empower youngsters to blaze their own trail.”  — Sue Young 

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Courageous Cowgirls is written for readers ages 8–12 and aligns with Texas TEKS standards for upper elementary and middle grade Texas History and Social Studies. It is suitable for Women's History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) programming, and TCU Press will be submitting the title to the Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List for 2027 consideration.

A 30-year Texas Commission on the Arts touring performer, Sue Young is available for school visits, library events, and author programs statewide. She brings the book's storytelling roots into every appearance. 

Book specifications  

Title:  Courageous Cowgirls: Women Who Rode the Trails, Ran Ranches, and Raced in Rodeos

Author:  Sue Young

Illustrator:  Katie Howerton

Publisher:  TCU Press

Publication Date:  October 2026

Format:  Hardcover

Price:  $24.95

ISBN:  978-0-87565-980-0

Age Range:  8–12 

About TCU Press

TCU Press is the publishing arm of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 1947, TCU Press has published books that illuminate the history, literature, and culture of Texas and the American West. www.tcupress.com