The Compton Cowboys: Young Readers' Edition
And the Fight to Save Their Horse Ranch

About Walter Thompson-Hernandez

Walter Thompson-Hernández is an acclaimed author, journalist, filmmaker, and professor whose multimedia storytelling seamlessly bridges deep cultural immersion with intimate human portraits to explore identity, subcultures, and underrepresented communities. A powerful voice across diverse media platforms, he is the author of the highly anticipated upcoming memoir Crazy Boys, as well as The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland (HarperCollins), a critically praised non-fiction book that earned him a prestigious 2020 Whiting Award and widespread recognition for its lyrical prose. He is also the creator of the Webby Award-winning radio narrative program California Love. Previously a global subculture reporter for The New York Times and a writer for The New York Times Magazine, he has traveled across six continents documenting hidden human stories at the intersection of race and geography. Today, he translates his distinct narrative vision from the page to the screen as an award-winning cinematic director recognized as one of Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2026. He wrote, directed, and edited his highly anticipated debut feature film, If I Go Will They Miss Me—an expansion of his Sundance award-winning short starring Oscar nominated actor Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson—which is slated for an exclusive Los Angeles release on September 11, 2026, followed by a nationwide theatrical release on September 18, 2026. His expansive directorial catalog also includes helming the critically acclaimed Untold: Shooting Guards documentary for Netflix. Grounding his visual and literary work, he serves as a narrative storytelling professor at the University of Portland, his alma mater, where he also earned his Bachelor’s degree and competed as a Division-I collegiate basketball player, alongside holding a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University.