Allison Waterman is a celebrated poet, short story author, and columnist with publications appearing locally and nationwide. She was a member of Silver City Slam and currently participates in Poetry Bread events. She cherishes her three sons and two brothers and finds joy in the everyday happenings of life, particularly in the mountains and hot springs of Southern New Mexico. 

Catalina Claussen’s works include YA novels, Diamonds at Dusk(2016), Diamonds at Dawn(2018), and Holding on to Hope(2020). Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and now a longtime resident of the Mimbres Valley, Claussen has gained an appreciation for the slow pace of small town living. Her work has been recognized by the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, Wishing Shelf Awards (in the UK), and the New Apple Book Awards for Independent Publishing. Visit her on the web at www.catalinaclaussenbooks.wordpress.com.

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Jack Crocker’s poems have appeared in many magazines and journals and in anthologies of Texas Writers and Mississippi Writers. The Texas Review Press published a collection of his poems in 2009 entitled The Last Resort. He has published fiction in the Cimarron Review. His “introduction to Folksongs,” scripted and performed, was aired nationally on PBS. A songwriter, he also was a recording artist with Fretone Records in Memphis. A Poet Laureate Emeritus of Silver City and Grant County, Jack released his most recent collection The Algorithm of I (Mimbres Press) in 2021. 

Jack Crocker featured on the Mississippi Writers and Musicians website: https://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/mississippi-writers/jack-crocker

Watch Poetry and Song with the Provost broadcast by WNMU on Facebook during the height of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns: https://www.facebook.com/watch/43972088990/547948099493993/

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The Southwest Word Fiesta, a biennial literary festival based in Silver City, NM will host “Hillerman Day” on October 20, 2021, 4:00-6:30 p.m., celebrating novelists Tony Hillerman and his daughter Anne Hillerman, as well as his brother the photographer Barney Hillerman.

This virtual event will kick off with Anne Hillerman reading from and discussing her novel Stargazer (HarperCollins, 2021). After her session, James McGrath Morris will present his biography Tony Hillerman: A Life (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021). To close the program, there will be a guided tour of Barney Hillerman’s photos taken for the book Hillerman Country: A Journey through the Southwest with Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins, 1991). This was a project the novelist, Tony, and his brother, Barney, worked on extensively together.

In the weeks leading up to Hillerman Day, there will be community events in Silver City including readings, lectures and book displays pertaining to the Hillermans’ work.

Tony Hillerman was the author of eighteen spellbinding detective novels set on the Navajo Nation. He simultaneously transformed a traditional genre and unlocked the mysteries of the Navajo culture to an audience of millions. His best-selling novels added Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee to the pantheon of American fictional detectives.

 Anne Hillerman also became a New York Times bestselling novelist when she carried on her father’s Navajo novels.

James McGrath Morris is a multi-award-winning biographer who has published groundbreaking works on Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Ethel Payne, and Joseph Pulitzer, among others.

This special event will be a “Prologue” to the Southwest Word Fiesta, which takes place on October 22-24, 2021 via Zoom. All events are free and open to the public. The schedule can be found here.

For information on James McGrath Morris consult http://jamesmcgrathmorris.com/

For information on Anne Hillerman consult https://www.annehillerman.com/

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Kaleidoscope is a procession of shifting visions, sometimes dazzling, oftentimes moody, and always unpredictable. The poems, written in third person, are reflections of an unnamed woman on abstract themes that quickly get anchored in tangible reality and just as quickly revert back to enigmatic impressions. Toggling between anguish and delight, insecurity and confidence, these poems speak to much of the current human condition as experienced on the defenseless personal level. 

Sigriddaughter will read from Kaleidoscope on July 17, 2021, 2:00-3:30 at the Tranquilbuzz Coffee House, 300 N. Arizona Street, Silver City. Her reading will be followed by open mic. The July 17 reading is the first of a monthly Saturday afternoon poetry program, “Open Circle–Poetry at the Buzz,” orchestrated by former Silver City and Grant County poet laureate Elise Stuart. 

Silver City author Beate Sigriddaughter, www.sigriddaughter.net, grew up in Nürnberg, Germany. Her playgrounds were a nearby castle and World War II bomb ruins. Sigriddaughter’s previous poetry collections include Emily by Unsolicited Press who will also publish her short story collection Dona Nobis Pacem later in 2021. In her blog Writing In A Woman’s Voice, https://writinginawomansvoice.blogspot.com/, she publishes other women’s voices. She is a former Silver City and Grant County poet laureate.

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Being Home: A Southwestern Almanac is a laugh-out-loud story collection made for radio featuring quirky characters shaped by the seasons, the desert landscape, and small-town living, making audiences feel right at home in the Mimbres Valley. From Brandon Johnson’s mystifying encounter with a coyote to Ernesto Puro Corazon’s 6^th grade drive to school with his abuela in his Chevy Impala SS, Claussen captures moments and people that are sure to surprise and entertain.

Catalina Claussen is a southwestern storyteller, young adult novelist, and poet whose works include young adult novels Diamonds at Dusk (2016), Diamonds at Dawn (2018), Holding on to Hope (2021), and many poems. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and now a long-time resident of the Mimbres Valley, Claussen has gained an appreciation for the slow pace of small-town living. Her work has been recognized by the Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards, Wishing Shelf Book Awards (in the UK), and the New Apple Book Awards for Independent Publishing.

The Being Home podcast is available at catalinaclaussenbooks.wordpress.com. Follow Catalina on Instagram @catalinaclaussen or on Facebook.

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Eason is a founding member of the Borderlands Writing Co-op. Her children’s story “Turtle Soup” was selected by SRA/McGraw Hill for their reading series Imagine It! and it won a Teachers Who Write award. She was a writer-in-residence for the Putah/Cache Creek Bioregion Project sponsored by UC Davis. Her humorous middle-grade novel Hungry was selected as a Washington Post Kid Post Book of the Week. Whispers of the Old Ones is available on April 10 in both paperback and Kindle versions. In a special launch offer, the e-book will be free April 24-26.

Eve West Bessier is the author of five poetry collections and has served as the Silver City Poet Laureate for the last two years. She is well-known for her explorations in vocal jazz and original poetry. During her tenure as poet laureate, West Bessier lifted spirits and encouraged great writing through her monthly blog titled “Write On!” published on the Southwest Word Fiesta website. For more information on her work, visit West Bessier on the web at: www.jazzpoeteve.com.

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The New Mexico Poet Laureate Program and Southwest Word Fiesta is sponsoring a reading by twenty-two poets from southern New Mexico co-hosted by Silver City Poet Laureate, Eve West Bessier and State Poet Laureate, Levi Romero. Poetas del Sur takes place on Sunday, April 11th from 3:00 until 4:15 pm. This event is free and open to the public. To pre-register click on the link below.

https://nmculture-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0tx4DLl-TWu9PpsR9OTrew

Eve West Bessier is the author of five poetry collections and has served as the Silver City Poet Laureate for the last two years. She is well-known for her explorations in vocal jazz and original poetry. During her tenure as poet laureate, West Bessier lifted spirits and encouraged great writing through her monthly blog titled “Write On!” published on the Southwest Word Fiesta website www.swwordfiesta.org. For more information on her work, visit West Bessier on the web at: www.jazzpoeteve.com. This will be her grand finale event.

Levi Romero is a poet, architect, and lecturer in Chicano Studies and Creative Writing at the University of New Mexico. He was selected as the inaugural New Mexico Poet Laureate in 2020. He is the author of several award-winning books rooted in his querencia, a love of home and place.

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Award-winning Grant County author Catalina Claussen announces the release of her third young adult novel Holding on to Hope with Progressive Rising Phoenix Press. The Southwest Word Fiesta will hold a virtual reading with Claussen on Tuesday, March 30, 6:00-7:00pm. No registration is required. The free event will be at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4092162808 . The evening will feature special guest Xochitl Hernandez Moctezuma, whose story inspired Holding on to Hope.

The church doors swing wide just as the padre is giving his blessing. Analicia Rosario Menéndez is fifteen when her brother, Junior, is arrested in the middle of her quinceañera. Soon after, her Spanish teacher Ms. García disappears, leaving behind her five-year-old son. During a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ana’s father, Dr. Menéndez, is detained. 

Paralyzed against government forces as her world falls apart, Ana is tired of feeling powerless. Living in a small town along the southern border of New Mexico, someone has to know something, don’t they? Ana, desperate to find the truth, reaches out to those around her. Will her friends, Rose and Imani, help, or will they turn their backs?

This book explores the complex realities facing families and community members living under constant deportation threats.

Catalina Claussen is a southwestern storyteller, young adult novelist, and poet whose works include young adult novels Diamonds at Dusk (2016), Diamonds at Dawn (2018), Holding on to Hope (2020), and the humorous short story collection Being Home: A Southwestern Almanac (2020). Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and now a long-time resident of the Mimbres Valley, Claussen has gained a deep appreciation of the people and the land. Her work has been recognized by the Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards, Wishing Shelf Book Awards (in the UK), and the New Apple Book Awards for Independent Publishing.

A podcast interview with Catalina with KSJE, Farmington, NM, is available at https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-dyfqp-f8ee00. Visit Catalina on the web at www.catalinaclaussenbooks.wordpress.com. Follow Catalina on Instagram @catalinaclaussen or on Facebook.

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On Thursday, February 25, 5-6 p.m., Western New Mexico University and Southwest Word Fiesta will host a Black History Month event involving virtual readings and a discussion. The topic will be the challenges and opportunities for African Americans at this time. The panelists include Dr. Isaac Brundage, Vice President for Student Affairs at WNMU; Matthew Macon, Kinesiology senior, WNMU, Victorville CA; Breya Brown, Kinesiology junior, WNMU, Avondale AZ; and JJ Amaworo Wilson, writer-in-residence, WNMU, and co-chair of Southwest Word Fiesta. The event is free and open to the public, no registration required, and can be accessed via Zoom link: https://wnmu.zoom.us/j/97409107291

Sponsored by WNMU, Southwest Word Fiesta, and the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning.

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Southwest Word Fiesta will host the launch of Senator Bill O’Neill’s latest novel, Short Session, February 16, 6-7 PM, via Zoom.

JJ Amaworo Wilson, author of Damnificados and Writer in Residence of WNMU, wrote of Short Session (Red Mountain Press): “A fast-paced, wisecracking look at life as a fundraiser and would-be senator. From his insider’s perch, O’Neill charts the highs and lows and the compromises involved on the campaign trail, from mudslinging mailshots to photo-shopped teeth. The voice is sharp and self-aware, and the dialogue crackles like kindling. A terrific read.”

Bill O’Neill grew up in rural Ohio and graduated from Cornell University. Elected to the New Mexico Legislature in 2008, he is now beginning his third term in the NM State Senate. His poems have appeared in numerous regional and national literary reviews, and his novel Short Session (Red Mountain Press) is the sequel to Panoramic Diaries, which appeared in 2020. His second poetry collection, The Definition of Empty (University Of New Mexico Press) is due out in late February. In 2019, Senator O’Neill passed legislation to establish and fund a state poet laureate program in New Mexico.

More praise: 
“Political fiction from someone who knows.” The Santa Fe New Mexican
“The novel’s numerous scenes and their dialogue seemingly fly throughout the book.” Albuquerque Journal

This Zoom event, which is free and open to the public, with no registration required, is sponsored by Southwest Word Fiesta, WILL, and WNMU.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4092162808

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