Sublett began writing seriously in the 1980s. As of 2024, 12 books have been published under his name. His first novel,
Rock Critic Murders, was published by Viking Penguin in 1987, followed by
Tough Baby and
Boiled in Concrete. Sublett's 2004 memoir, ''Never the Same Again: A Rock 'N' Roll Gothic
, Austin Chronicle'' critic Greg Beets described it as "a gripping memoir that never feels forced or emotionally
manipulative... Sublett's prose remains rich, fierce, and humbling." "Adaptation," Sublett's 2008 piece in
The Texas Observer, chronicles his years-long work researching and writing a book about the Austin underworld of the 1950s-1970s, centered largely upon a group known as the Overton Gang. Sublett's nonfiction book on the gang was published in 2015, titled
1960s Austin Gangsters: Organized Crime that Rocked the Capital. The
Austin Chronicle called it "a remarkable piece of scholarship" that "makes you think that Sublett should be hailed as an Ellroy-level master of modern crime writing." Sublett mined the history of Austin crime and corruption in the 1970s for another true crime chronicle in
Last Gangster in Austin: Frank Smith, Ronnie Earle, and the End of a Junkyard Mafia, published in 2022 by University of Texas Press. The book is "a rollicking narrative of a criminal underworld," wrote critic Jason Mellard, as well as "an exemplary microhistory with close attention to currents that broader accounts of modern Austin have missed, if not outright ignored." Sublett's essays and journalism pieces have appeared in the
New York Times,
Texas Monthly, and
Texas Highways. Sublett's adaptation (written with director/producer Stephen Purvis and
Tom Huckabee) of the Austin play
In the West was produced as a feature film entitled
Deep in the Heart (of Texas). Sublett has also written extensively for non-fiction television, contributing to numerous series broadcast on
History such as
The Great Ships,
Search and Rescue, and
Boneyards: The Secret Lives of Machines. A two-hour documentary,
The Killer Storm (chronicling the so-called "Perfect Storm" of 1991), which Sublett wrote, aired on the History Channel in 1999 and also premiered at the
South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. He wrote the original book for a stage play called
Marathon which debuted in 2007 with music by Austin-based singer-songwriter Darden Smith. In 2009, however, Sublett asserted his sole authorship of the play and announced that future productions would feature his own original score. ''Broke, Not Broken: Homer Maxey's Texas Bank War
, by Broadus Spivey and Jesse Sublett, published in 2014 by Texas Tech University Press, is one of several works co-authored by Sublett. Armadillo World Headquarters: A Memoir'', by
Eddie Wilson with Sublett, published in late March 2017, tells the history of the famed music hall affectionately known as "the 'Dillo" which served as an Austin music industry stage and incubator of Austin culture far beyond the decade it was in existence (1970-1980). And, in ''Esther's Follies The laughs, the gossip, and the story behind Texas' most celebrated comedy troupe,'' Sublett chronicled the colorful history of Esther's Follies, Austin's longest running comedy, magic, and political satire stage show, which debuted in 1977 on the city's infamous downtown Sixth Street. Sublett has also written a history of the
Texas Turnpike Authority. His papers are collected in the Southwestern Writers Collection of the
Wittliff Collections of
Alkek Library at
Texas State University–San Marcos. ==References==