Jay W. Sharp holds a BA degree from University of Texas at Austin. He has published many articles in regional and national popular magazines as well as in scholarly journals. He has written some 250 documentary motion pictures, including a nationally released documentary television series which ran for three years. He has also published many photographs in a diverse array of publications, from newspapers to encyclopedias.

Recently, he has published a book called Texas Unexplained for Texas Parks & Wildlife Press (printed by University of Texas Press). He has written another book, Historic Trails of Texas, which is scheduled for publication by Texas Parks & Wildlife Press in 2001. He is currently writing a new book, Dohasan: Warrior, Statesman, Indian Chief (about a 19th century Kiowa chief), under contract with Texas Tech University Press. He has published articles in WildWest Magazine, Gateway Magazine, New Mexico Magazine and Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine. He won the International Regional Magazine Assocition award for Historic Feature for 1998. He also served as editor for a scholarly magazine and, more recently, for a regional popular magazine. He left the last position to concentrate on books and other projects.

He also edits all new articles for DesertUSA.com.