The Chanteuse from the East

J.R. Roberts (Robert J. Randisi) is an American author who writes in the Detective and Western genres. He has authored more than 500 published books and has edited more than 30 anthologies of short stories. Booklist magazine said he "may be the last of the pulp writers."

He co-founded and edited Mystery Scene magazine and co-founded the American Crime Writers League. He founded The Private Eye Writers of America in 1981, where he created the Shamus Award.

2013: Mr. Randisi received the President's Award (which recognizes a major career contribution to excellence in Western literature) from the ReadWest Foundation. Watch a video interview with Mr. Randisi where he talks about The Gunsmith among other interesting topics.