Taylor Sheridan Archive Coming To The Wittliff

Initial Archival Collection Opens Later This Year, Showcasing Wittliff’s Mission to
Collect, Preserve, and Present The Cultural Heritage Of Texas, The Southwest, and
Mexico Through The Region’s Great Storytellers

SAN MARCOS, Texas (October 2, 2025) – Taylor Sheridan, the Academy
Award-nominated screenwriter and creator, writer, director and executive producer of
multiple record-breaking Paramount Network series, including “Yellowstone,” “Mayor of
Kingstown,” “Tulsa King,” “1883,” “Lioness” and “Landman,” will make Texas State
University’s Wittliff Collections the home of his creative archive.
    

“There’s hardly another American writer whose work would be more at home
here,” said Carrie Fountain, Wittliff Collections Literary Curator. “Within these walls
echo the voices of Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry and Charles Portis. To acquire the
papers of such a preeminent writer making work at the very top of his game will provide
endless inspiration and insight to generations of creatives and researchers. We’re honored
to welcome Taylor Sheridan home.”
    

Sheridan’s archive will grow in stages, beginning with drafts of his early scripts
and the drafts and papers surrounding his films “Sicario,” “Hell or High Water” and
“Wind River,” along with his pilot episodes for his series “Yellowstone,” “1883” and
“1923.”

A native of Texas, Sheridan attended TXST as a theater major in the 1990s. He
was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university this spring.
 

“Many of Taylor Sheridan’s stories embody the spirit of Texas. I loved showing
him around the Wittliff Collection this spring, and I was truly honored when he discussed
the possibility of entrusting his own archive to The Wittliff Collections,” said TXST
President Kelly Damphousse. “As someone who has admired his storytelling since
Sicario, I know how meaningful it will be for our students and scholars to learn from his
journey. I appreciate that Taylor is allowing his alma mater to preserve his legacy on our
campus for future generations.”
    

David Coleman, Director of the Wittliff Collections, added: “Taylor Sheridan’s
storytelling has transformed not only television and film but also the cultural imagination
of Texas and the American West. His archive will be an essential resource for
understanding how contemporary stories are crafted, and we are immensely proud that he
has entrusted The Wittliff to preserve and share his legacy.”
    

After a successful acting career, Sheridan began writing in his forties, garnering
acclaim almost immediately, including an Oscar nomination for his 2016 screenplay
“Hell or High Water.” He co-created the hit television series “Yellowstone,” as well as its
wildly successful prequels “1883” and “1923.” Along with being a celebrated writer,
Sheridan is also a distinguished horseman and inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The Wittliff Collections at TXST was founded by Bill and Sally Wittliff in 1986.
    

Bill Wittliff was an Emmy-nominated writer and producer, best known for adapting the
screenplay and producing “Lonesome Dove,” starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee
Jones. The Wittliff Collections mission is to celebrate the “spirit of place” of the Southwest and to ignite the spark of creativity in all of us by collecting, preserving and
presenting the cultural heritage of Texas, the Southwest and Mexico. The Wittliff holds
more than 500 collections used by researchers all over the world and presents major
exhibitions year-round in its ten galleries.

About Texas State University
 

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with
an enrollment of more than 40,000 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round
Rock. Texas State’s 244,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic
workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world.