About Me
Award Winning Writer and Speaker
- In 2025, Doug won the Spur Award,, highest award for a writer of Western History, for his article "The Mysterious Death of Johnny Ringo." Doug also won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America and a Co-founders Award from Westerners International for Tom Jeffords: Friend of Cochise, a biography. He has twice been awarded the Danielson Prize for best program. Black Legend: George Bascom, Cochise and the Start of the Apache Wars won the Will Rogers Medallion and New Mexico Arizona Book Award in 2019. Terror on the Santa Fe Trail: Kit Carson and the Jicarilla Apache won a Spur Award, Will Rogers Medallion and the Co-Founders Award in 2021.
Biography
- Doug hails from the Rio Arriba, New Mexico north of Santa Fe, land of Penitentes, Pueblo and Apache Indians, and Pisanos who immigrated from Spain 300 years ago and still speak a unique dialect of Spanish. It is a land of mystery, beauty, and wonder that he knows intimately.
Along the Way
- Doug served in the US Army in Military Intelligence and Armored Cavalry. He spent many years in the Far East and speaks Chinese. He holds advanced degrees in American History, Social Anthropology, and Historical Archaeology. He writes both history and historical fiction. A proud moment came in 2023 when he was able to present his history of the Jicarilla Apache in Dulce, New Mexico, on their reservation.
Short Bio
- Spur Award Winning Author, Doug Hocking, has completed advanced studies in American history, ethnology, and historical archaeology. Raised on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, Doug retired from the US Army after serving in Military Intelligence and as an officer in Armored Cavalry. He is the author of many award-winning books of Southwest History including: Southwest Train Robberies, Terror on the Santa Fe Trail, a history of the Jicarilla tribe, Tom Jeffords, Friend of Cochise and Black Legend, about an 1861 Incident at Apache Pass said to have started the Chiricahua War.He has won the Spur Award, the Will Rogers Medallion, and the Co-founders’ Award for Best History and the Danielson for best presentation.