James Welch's first book was the 1971 collection of poetry Riding the Earthboy 40, and he has since written five novels: Winter in the Blood (1974), The Death of Jim Loney (1979), Fools Crow (1986) The Indian Lawyer (1990), The Heartsong of Charging Elk (2000); as well as the nonfiction book Killing Custer (1994). Welch taught at the University of Washington and Cornell University. His awards include the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction and the American Book Award.