Murray Headshot

Murray Richter grew up in Alice, Texas and Whitney, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Journalism.  He once heard a really smart person say, “Readers are leaders,” and this has encouraged him to pursue writing as a profession.  As a long-time member of the Society Of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Murray has found great pleasure in creating critique groups throughout Texas for writers to help other writers achieve their goals. He has also mediated the Explore Horizons annual writing competition for young writers and made a guest appearance on iHeart Radio With Anna De Haro.

His own middle-grade novel, Lucky Rocks, prevailed after nine closely-contested rounds of judging to emerge the winner of the 2017 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category and has also been awarded the Silver Award in the 2019 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program for the Backlist – Children’s YA category.  His second novel, Fishing For Luck, has recently been published in 2021 and is currently a Long List finalist for both the 2022 Gertrude Warner and Mark Twain Book Awards from the Chanticleer International Book Awards, a Silver Award winner from the 2022 Reader’s Choice Book Award for children ages 7-10 years old, a 2021 BookLife Prize Quarter Finalist, and a 2022 Feathered Quill Bronze Award winner for both the Young Readers and Book Cover Design categories.  

According to Richter, “Inspiration for the books stem from the desire to pass on all the ‘smart things’ I’ve learned over the years to my kids and all the children across the nation.  As the story grew, I realized it also inspires children to enjoy the great outdoors and provides them with a reason to laugh.  I believe children’s laughter is the coolest music in the world.”  

When he’s not working on his next novel, Richter can be found reading a book by another author, playing a good joke on a friend, or fishing and hunting with friends and family, and teaching anyone who wants to learn how to throw a cast net and tie a good fishing knot.  Keep a hook in the water!