Dee Yates

Dee Yates is a native California cowgirl, photographer, publisher, speaker, and author who writes the American West the way she has lived it.

She is publisher and editor-in-chief of Ropers Sports News, the longtime bible of team roping, and formerly of HERLIFE Magazine. She has published more than a million magazines and written and photographed the stories inside them all. She speaks to audiences about courage, reinvention, and the grit it takes to build something of your own.

A longtime rodeo mom with years on the road, she is the creator and author of Crows Nest Cowgirls, written for the young cowgirls she has watched grow up in the alleyway — to tell them they are enough, exactly as they are.

Her books include the Cowgirl Culture series, Write Your Own Damn Story, and the Wiley Joy trilogy. She lives in the California foothills, where the horses are legged up, the bird dogs are underfoot, and the next story is already in the works.