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Texas Highways

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Texas Highways
EditorEmily Stone
Former editorsFrank Lively (1974-1990)
Tommie Pinkard (1990-1992)
Jack Lowry (1992-2006)
Jill Lawless (2012-2016)
CategoriesTravel, Leisure
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherAndrea Lin
Total circulation300,000 (2022)
Founded1974 (1974)
CompanyTexas Department of Transportation
CountryUnited States
Based inAustin, Texas
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.texashighways.com
ISSN0040-4349
OCLC999544444

Texas Highways is a monthly American travel magazine published by the Texas Department of Transportation and based in Austin, Texas.[1] Founded in 1953 as an internal employee newsletter, it was converted into a public travel publication in 1974 and designated the official travel magazine of Texas by the state legislature the following year.[2]

The magazine covers travel destinations, history, food and drink, nature, and cultural life across the state, and is known for its landscape photography.[3] It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) and the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA).[4][5]

History

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Texas Highways began in 1953 when the Texas Highway Department renamed its employee newsletter, the Maintenance and Construction Bulletin, as a publication covering highway design, construction, and maintenance.[6] Following the passage of a 1959 state law authorizing Texas to promote tourism, the agency reorganized its Travel and Information Division.[2] Division director Tom Taylor appointed Frank Lively as editor of Texas Highways in 1962, and Lively began adding features on history, scenery, and travel.[2]

In 1970, Lively proposed converting the magazine into a public travel publication. Texas Highways began accepting public subscriptions in May 1974, with its first issue dedicated to Native Americans in Texas[7] despite the opposition from the director of the Travel and Information Division at the time, who claimed "...never to devote an entire issue to one subject."[8] In 1975, Governor Dolph Briscoe signed a concurrent resolution of the state legislature designating Texas Highways the official travel magazine of Texas.[9]

Lively retired in 1990 and retained an active relationship with the publication.[8] Tommie Pinkard succeeded him as editor, followed by Jack Lowry in 1992.[2] Jill Lawless, a 27-year employee, served as editor until her retirement in 2016.[10] Emily Roberts Stone became editor-in-chief in 2016.[11]

Circulation reached 400,000 by 1987 and peaked at 439,836 in 1993.[12] By 1995, subscribers lived in every U.S. state and more than 100 countries.[2] Circulation was approximately 223,000 in 2006 and 300,000 in 2022.[2]

In July 2024, Texas Highways debuted its first redesign in nearly a decade in a 50th anniversary issue titled "Small Town Summer."[13] The redesign won the City and Regional Magazine Association's Excellence in Design award in 2025.[14]

Contents

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Texas Highways publishes articles on travel, history, food and drink, nature, and arts and culture in Texas, emphasizing photography and coverage of small towns and lesser-known destinations. The magazine has described its mission as "to encourage travel to and within Texas."[3]

Print departments include front-of-book travel service sections; a Postcards section of personal essays and columns, including the Open Road personal essay, Dispatch, Speaking of Texas, Texana, and Like a Local;[15] long-form reported features; a food and drink section called Fuel; and Vintage, which pairs archival photography with historical context.[16] Online, the magazine publishes Roadside Oddities, a series on unusual Texas landmarks.[17]

The Open Road section, launched in 2018 under deputy editor Michael Hoinski, publishes a monthly personal essay by a Texas writer about a specific place in the state.[18] Recent contributors include Lacy M. Johnson, Jenny Tinghui Zhang, Luis Jaramillo, Lauren Hough, and Emily Gogolak. In 2021, an Open Road submission earned the magazine its first National Magazine Award nomination.[19] Work from the section has received notable mention in The Best American Essays.[20]

Awards

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In 2021, Texas Highways received its first National Magazine Award nomination, in the Columns and Commentary category, for three Open Road personal essays from 2020 by Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, ire'ne lara silva, and Roberto José Andrade Franco. Competing publications included The Atlantic, The Economist, The New Yorker, and The Paris Review.[21] In 2022, the magazine received a second consecutive National Magazine Award nomination, in the Lifestyle Journalism category, for stories from its September 2021 "Cowboy Issue."[22]

ire'ne lara silva's Open Road essay "A Place Before Words" won the 2021 Edwin "Bud" Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction from the Texas Institute of Letters.[23]

Texas Highways has won multiple City and Regional Magazine Association awards, including for the following issues:

  • Excellence in Design, 2025, for the 50th anniversary "Small Town Summer" issue
  • Special Issue, 2025, for the September 2024 "Magic Valley" issue
  • Special Issue, 2026, for the September 2025 "BIG Issue" issue

The magazine has also received recognition from the American Society of Magazine Editors for four consecutive years beginning in 2021.[24] In 2024, the September 2023 "The Outlaw Issue" edition was a finalist for the ASME Best Cover Contest in the Best Local Magazine Cover category.[25]

Work from Texas Highways and has been selected for The Best American Magazine Writing[26] and received notable mention in The Best American Travel Writing and The Best American Essays.[27]

Notable staff and contributors

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Contributors to Texas Highways have included nationally recognized Texas writers and photographers:

Writers

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Photographers

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References

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  1. ↑ "Texas Highways". The Portal to Texas History. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Association, Texas State Historical. "The History and Impact of Texas Highways Magazine". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Texas Highways – City and Regional Magazine Association". citymag.org. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  4. ↑ Kendall, Brian (March 25, 2025). "'Fort Worth Magazine' Named Finalist for 4 National Awards". Fort Worth Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  5. ↑ Administrator (October 10, 2025). "The Bermudian Takes Home Four Awards at International Regional Magazine Association Awards". The Bermudian Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  6. ↑ Williams, Art (March 1, 2019). "Texas Highways Magazine Celebrates 45 Years of Traveling Texas". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Explore Our State's Indigenous Roots and More From Texas Highways". The Gilmer Mirror. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Williams, Art (December 18, 2018). "Remembering Texas Highways Founding Editor Frank Lively". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ Lopez, Danielle (January 19, 2024). "When Texas Highways Became the Official Travel Magazine of Texas". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ Rodriguez, Lois (June 17, 2016). "Thanks for the memories". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ Rodriguez, Lois (December 12, 2016). "Emily Roberts Stone joins TH staff as new editor". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Celebrate 50 Years on the Road With Texas Highways". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Texas Highways magazine celebrates 50 years with a new look". Texas Standard. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  14. ↑ Lopez, Danielle (June 9, 2025). "Texas Highways Brings Home Four CRMA Awards". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  15. ↑ Stone, Emily (July 2, 2024). "Texas Forever". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  16. ↑ "May 2026 Archives". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ Lopez, Danielle (September 19, 2023). "Roadside Oddities: Texas' Weird and Wild Attractions". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  18. ↑ "BEHIND THE STORY January/February 2024". Texas Highways. 71 (1): 6. 2024 – via ZINIO.
  19. ↑ Lopez, Danielle (May 10, 2021). "Texas Highways Receives Its First National Magazine Award Nomination for 'Open Road' Essays". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  20. ↑ Tolentino, Jia (October 21, 2025). The Best American Essays 2025. New York, NY: Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0063351592.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  21. ↑ "THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGAZINE EDITORS ANNOUNCE FINALISTS FOR 2021 NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS". www.asme.media. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  22. ↑ Rubin, Peter (February 25, 2022). "All the Stories Nominated for the 2022 National Magazine Awards". Longreads. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Texas Institute of Letters: Literary Awards". www.texasinstituteofletters.org. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  24. ↑ Lopez, Danielle (June 25, 2024). "'Texas Highways' Wins 2 CRMAs, 10 IRMA Gold Awards". Texas Highways. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  25. ↑ "ASME ANNOUNCES 2024 BEST COVER CONTEST WINNERS". asme.memberclicks.net. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  26. ↑ Holt, Sid, ed. (November 2022). The Best American Magazine Writing 2022. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-20891-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  27. ↑ Fuller, Alexandra; Wilson, Jason, eds. (2019). The best American travel writing 2019. Best American series. Boston ; New York: Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-358-09423-4.
  28. ↑ Bruenig, Elizabeth (December 1, 2022). "Too Wild to Love". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
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