David Courtney, Contributor at Texas Monthly

A Temple native, David Courtney is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He joined Texas Monthly in October 2005 and in July 2007 debuted his wildly popular advice column, the Texanist, regularly the magazine’s most-read feature.

In 2017, the University of Texas Press published The Texanist: Fine Advice on Living in Texas, and in 2019, Fox Entertainment optioned the column with plans to develop a television show based on it. As the Texanist and as himself, Courtney has contributed his talents to such endeavors as the annual Bum Steer Awards, the quinquennial review of the fifty best barbecue joints in Texas, “The 50 Greatest Hamburgers in Texas,” “The 40 Best Small-Town Cafes,” and “Snap Judgment,” a compilation of the ten greatest plays in Texas college football, as well as “The Beachcomber,” for which he walked the entire 65-mile length of Padre Island National Seashore, and “Water, Water Everywhere,” for which he swam buck naked in Lake Travis, outside of Austin.

319 Articles

The Culture|

August 31, 2009

The Texanist: Will Hiring a Lawn Service to Do My Mowing Make Me Soft?

Will hiring a yard guy make me soft?

The Culture|

July 31, 2009

The Texanist: Does Keeping a Found Twelve-Pack of Beer Constitute Stealing?

Does keeping a found twelve-pack of beer constitute stealing?

The Culture|

June 30, 2009

The Texanist: Charcoal or Propane?

Propane or charcoal?

Feature|

May 31, 2009

Bright Skies, Big Shell

Location: Padre Island National SeashoreWhat You’ll Need: Sleeping bag, marshmallow-roasting stickSummer is not endless, and neither is the Padre Island National Seashore. But its 67.5-mile length is more than half of the whole of Padre Island, the world’s longest barrier island. And with that comes the