Andy Wilkinson comes from a varied background of college and graduate school, of a dozen years as a policeman, and an equal stretch as a businessman, the sum of which has influenced his past quarter-century's work as a writer, singer, poet, playwright, and teacher. He has recorded eleven albums of music and poetry, has written seven plays, and for the past decade and a half has taught song-writing and multi-disciplinary creative seminars at Texas Tech University. His poems have been published in over a half-dozen anthologies and magazines while his essays have appeared in a an equal number of scholarly publications. His monographs include  A Family of the Land: The Texas Photography of Guy Gillette (University of Oklahoma Press, 2013) and The Pastel Range: Frank Reaugh, Range Historian (National Ranching Heritage Center, 2007), and his novel, Surprise, Texas, was published in 2017 by Zenchilada Press.  

His recognitions include five National Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in five different categories, the John Ben Shepperd Jr. Craftsmanship Award from the Texas Historical Foundation, and his induction in the West Texas Walk of Fame.