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Southwest Word Fiesta™ 2023

List of authors

Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of San Antonio. Vocab’s the author of, She Tastes Like Music, published on Flower Song Press, and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Vocab is also the recipient of a NPN grant for her upcoming production, The Seasoned Woman. Vocab was voted Best Local Poet 2021 & 2023 by the SA Current.

Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson

Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of San Antonio. Vocab’s the author of, She Tastes Like Music, published on Flower Song Press, and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Vocab is also the recipient of a NPN grant for her upcoming production, The Seasoned Woman. Vocab was voted Best Local Poet 2021 & 2023 by the SA Current.
Catalina Claussen is an award-winning young adult novelist, poet, and short story author from southwest New Mexico. She delights in exploring the deep connection between place and character. Her works include young adult novel Diamonds at Dusk, the sequel Diamonds at Dawn and standalone novel Holding on to Hope.

Catalina Claussen

Catalina Claussen is an award-winning young adult novelist, poet, and short story author from southwest New Mexico. She delights in exploring the deep connection between place and character. Her works include young adult novel Diamonds at Dusk, the sequel Diamonds at Dawn and standalone novel Holding on to Hope.
Elise Stuart, Poet Laureate of Grant County from 2014-2017, is the author of a collection of poems, Another Door Calls, and a memoir, My Mother and I, We Talk Cat. She facilitates an open poetry group, River Poets, that is still alive and growing, and hosts the monthly poetry event at Tranquil Buzz Coffeehouse in Silver City. She has led numerous poetry workshops with youth and supports their voices being heard. She is at work on a new book of poetry!

Elise Stuart

Elise Stuart, Poet Laureate of Grant County from 2014-2017, is the author of a collection of poems, Another Door Calls, and a memoir, My Mother and I, We Talk Cat. She facilitates an open poetry group, River Poets, that is still alive and growing, and hosts the monthly poetry event at Tranquil Buzz Coffeehouse in Silver City. She has led numerous poetry workshops with youth and supports their voices being heard. She is at work on a new book of poetry!
JJ Amaworo Wilson is writer-in-residence at Western New Mexico University and teaches on Stonecoast’s MFA in Creative Writing. He has written 20 books including the multi-award-winning novels Damnificados and Nazaré. Two of his non-fiction books won awards that saw him honored at Buckingham Palace in 2008 and 2011.

JJ Amaworo Wilson

JJ Amaworo Wilson is writer-in-residence at Western New Mexico University and teaches on Stonecoast’s MFA in Creative Writing. He has written 20 books including the multi-award-winning novels Damnificados and Nazaré. Two of his non-fiction books won awards that saw him honored at Buckingham Palace in 2008 and 2011.
Julia Smith is a visiting assistant professor in the department of English at New Mexico State University. She received her Ph.D. in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies in 2018 from Purdue University with a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her research and teaching are centered in 20th and 21st century film and literature, with a special focus on theories of gender, violence, and transgressive art and artists. She is currently working on a documentary film about the iconoclastic Southern New Mexico filmmaker Orville Wanzer, whose 1965 film "The Devil's Mistress" was the first feature film made in the Las Cruces area.

Julia Smith

Julia Smith is a visiting assistant professor in the department of English at New Mexico State University. She received her Ph.D. in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies in 2018 from Purdue University with a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her research and teaching are centered in 20th and 21st century film and literature, with a special focus on theories of gender, violence, and transgressive art and artists. She is currently working on a documentary film about the iconoclastic Southern New Mexico filmmaker Orville Wanzer, whose 1965 film “The Devil’s Mistress” was the first feature film made in the Las Cruces area.
Laurie Bower's talent and passion for all things voice-related comes from years working as a professional voiceover specialist, narrator, actress, singer, radio ad and musical image producer and DJ. Her numerous character voices and vocal styles come from a lifetime of observing and listening to the many characters she has seen and met, along with training and performance in theatre and film. She has performed professionally as an actress, storyteller, singer, musician and poet. Laurie was born in Atlanta, but moved up to Connecticut at age two, "before I learned how to talk right!". Eventually, she moved to the mountains of Colorado, then later down to the "Land of Enchantment", where she currently resides in her "tiny" homestead.

Laurie Bower

Laurie Bower’s talent and passion for all things voice-related comes from years working as a professional voiceover specialist, narrator, actress, singer, radio ad and musical image producer and DJ. Her numerous character voices and vocal styles come from a lifetime of observing and listening to the many characters she has seen and met, along with training and performance in theatre and film. She has performed professionally as an actress, storyteller, singer, musician and poet. Laurie was born in Atlanta, but moved up to Connecticut at age two, “before I learned how to talk right!”. Eventually, she moved to the mountains of Colorado, then later down to the “Land of Enchantment”, where she currently resides in her “tiny” homestead.
Lynne Zotalis is an award-winning author and poet with publication in the R.H. Cunningham Short Story Contest, poetry in Tuck Magazine, writinginawoman’svoice, The Poetic Bond VII, VIII and IX. Mysterious Existence, her poetry collection and Hippie at Heart (What I Used to Be, I Still Am) was a finalist in the Best Book Awards.

Lynne Zotalis

Lynne Zotalis is an award-winning author and poet with publication in the R.H. Cunningham Short Story Contest, poetry in Tuck Magazine, writinginawoman’svoice, The Poetic Bond VII, VIII and IX. Mysterious Existence, her poetry collection and Hippie at Heart (What I Used to Be, I Still Am) was a finalist in the Best Book Awards.
Michelle Otero is the author of Vessels: A Memoir of Borders, Bosque: Poems, and the essay collection Malinche's Daughter. She served as Albuquerque Poet Laureate from 2018-2020 and co-edited the New Mexico Poetry Anthology 2023 and 22 Poems & a Prayer for El Paso, a tribute to victims of the 2019 El Paso shooting and winner of a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. A coach, community-based artist, and racial healing practitioner, she is the founder of ArteSana Creative Consulting, dedicated to creative expression and storytelling as the basis for organizational development and positive social change. Originally from Deming, New Mexico, Otero holds a BA in History from Harvard College and an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College. She is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop. michelle-otero.com

Michelle Otero

Michelle Otero is the author of Vessels: A Memoir of Borders, Bosque: Poems, and the essay collection Malinche’s Daughter. She served as Albuquerque Poet Laureate from 2018-2020 and co-edited the New Mexico Poetry Anthology 2023 and 22 Poems & a Prayer for El Paso, a tribute to victims of the 2019 El Paso shooting and winner of a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. A coach, community-based artist, and racial healing practitioner, she is the founder of ArteSana Creative Consulting, dedicated to creative expression and storytelling as the basis for organizational development and positive social change. Originally from Deming, New Mexico, Otero holds a BA in History from Harvard College and an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College. She is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop. michelle-otero.com
Ness Brown is an author by day and astrophysicist by night. A proud New Mexican living in New York City (and missing green chile) with their husband and two cats, they currently study graduate astrophysics after years of teaching astronomy and encouraging students to wonder about worlds beyond our own.

Ness Brown

Ness Brown is an author by day and astrophysicist by night. A proud New Mexican living in New York City (and missing green chile) with their husband and two cats, they currently study graduate astrophysics after years of teaching astronomy and encouraging students to wonder about worlds beyond our own.
Ramona Reeves won the 2022 Drue Heinz Literature Prize for her story collection, It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories (University of Pittsburgh Press), and the 2022 award for Best First Book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters. She earned her MFA from New Mexico State University.

Ramona Reeves

Ramona Reeves won the 2022 Drue Heinz Literature Prize for her story collection, It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories (University of Pittsburgh Press), and the 2022 award for Best First Book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters. She earned her MFA from New Mexico State University.
Sheila Black is the author of House of Bone, Love/Iraq, Wen Kroy, winner of the Orphic Prize in Poetry, Iron, Ardent, and Radium Dream. She is also the author of three chapbooks, most recently, All the Sleep in the World (Alabrava Press, 2021). Poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Kenyon Review Online, Academy of American Poets Poem a Day. The New York Times, and elsewhere. She is a co-editor of Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability. She is a 2012 Witter Bynner Fellow and a co-founder of Zoeglossia, a non-profit to build community for poets with disabilities. She is the assistant director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU.

Sheila Black

Sheila Black is the author of House of Bone, Love/Iraq, Wen Kroy, winner of the Orphic Prize in Poetry, Iron, Ardent, and Radium Dream. She is also the author of three chapbooks, most recently, All the Sleep in the World (Alabrava Press, 2021). Poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Kenyon Review Online, Academy of American Poets Poem a Day. The New York Times, and elsewhere. She is a co-editor of Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability. She is a 2012 Witter Bynner Fellow and a co-founder of Zoeglossia, a non-profit to build community for poets with disabilities. She is the assistant director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU.
Telma G. Laurentino, PhD is a Portuguese scientist, educator, and writer. Her scientific research in evolutionary biology took her to 5 continents to learn from different biomes. In 2019, she founded an education project to make biodiversity knowledge accessible for people with blindness. Currently, she is focused on creating multidisciplinary work that contributes to healing the artificial divide between human and nature.

Telma G. Laurentino

Telma G. Laurentino, PhD is a Portuguese scientist, educator, and writer. Her scientific research in evolutionary biology took her to 5 continents to learn from different biomes. In 2019, she founded an education project to make biodiversity knowledge accessible for people with blindness. Currently, she is focused on creating multidisciplinary work that contributes to healing the artificial divide between human and nature.
Lizzy McDonald is a senior at Silver High School. She lives on her family cattle ranch in White Signal, New Mexico and shows lambs at various livestock fairs each year. She is a member of National Honor Society and competes in FFA, 4-H, National History Day, Track and Field. After graduating high school she plans to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah to study film. She has qualified for the national competition with NHD in the documentary category three consecutive years and placed 5th in the country last year with a group documentary.

Lizzy McDonald

Lizzy McDonald is a senior at Silver High School. She lives on her family cattle ranch in White Signal, New Mexico and shows lambs at various livestock fairs each year. She is a member of National Honor Society and competes in FFA, 4-H, National History Day, Track and Field. After graduating high school she plans to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah to study film. She has qualified for the national competition with NHD in the documentary category three consecutive years and placed 5th in the country last year with a group documentary.
Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz is a curandera, a traditional healer. As a teenager she collected wild plants with her great-grandmother Delfinia, a noted curandera in Old Town Albuquerque. Felicia’s book, Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, was published by Roost Books in 2021. feliciacocotzin@gmail.com

Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz

Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz is a curandera, a traditional healer. As a teenager she collected wild plants with her great-grandmother Delfinia, a noted curandera in Old Town Albuquerque. Felicia’s book, Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, was published by Roost Books in 2021. [email protected]
WNMU students from Professor Frankland’s Introduction to College English and Rhetoric and Composition Workshop classes will do presentations about their banned book selections and perform an original melodrama about an attempted book ban at a fictional high school.

WNMU students

WNMU students from Professor Frankland’s Introduction to College English and Rhetoric and Composition Workshop classes will do presentations about their banned book selections and perform an original melodrama about an attempted book ban at a fictional high school.
Daniel Chacón is professor at the Bilingual Department of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso. He’s author of six books of fiction, including Hotel Juárez, Stories, Rooms and Loops; and the shadows took him; and Kafka in a Skirt: Stories From The Wall. His story collection called The Last Philosopher in Texas is forthcoming in 2024 as well as a Children’s book called Gecko Girl. He is currently doing research on a nonfiction book about death and creativity. He has won the Southwest Book Award, the American Book Award, the Pen-Oakland Prize for Fiction, and the Hudson Prize. He hosts Words on a Wire, a radio show and podcast about books and writers.

Daniel Chacón

Daniel Chacón is professor at the Bilingual Department of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso. He’s author of six books of fiction, including Hotel Juárez, Stories, Rooms and Loops; and the shadows took him; and Kafka in a Skirt: Stories From The Wall. His story collection called The Last Philosopher in Texas is forthcoming in 2024 as well as a Children’s book called Gecko Girl. He is currently doing research on a nonfiction book about death and creativity. He has won the Southwest Book Award, the American Book Award, the Pen-Oakland Prize for Fiction, and the Hudson Prize. He hosts Words on a Wire, a radio show and podcast about books and writers.
Heather D. Frankland holds an MFA and a MPH from New Mexico State University. She has been published in Sweet Lit, ROAR, Sin Fronteras Press, and others. Her poetry chapbook, “Midwest Musings,” will be published Fall 2023 by Finishing Line Press. She lives in Silver City and teaches at WNMU.

Heather D. Frankland

Heather D. Frankland holds an MFA and a MPH from New Mexico State University. She has been published in Sweet Lit, ROAR, Sin Fronteras Press, and others. Her poetry chapbook, “Midwest Musings,” will be published Fall 2023 by Finishing Line Press. She lives in Silver City and teaches at WNMU.
John Enright writes about places. There are people in those places and things happen there, but they are only aspects of the place. In his acclaimed Samoan detective series Jungle Beat Mysteries and his award-winning poetry collection 14 Degrees South he writes about the South Seas, where he spent a quarter century.

John Enright

John Enright writes about places. There are people in those places and things happen there, but they are only aspects of the place. In his acclaimed Samoan detective series Jungle Beat Mysteries and his award-winning poetry collection 14 Degrees South he writes about the South Seas, where he spent a quarter century.
Kait is in her 2nd year of studies at WNMU seeking her BA in Graphic Design. She is currently the Chief Editor for the Maverick Undergraduate Journal and the President of the WNMU Art Club. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, and lived in Oakland, California before moving to New Mexico. kphistry@wnmu.edu. (720)345-4306

Kait Phistry

Kait is in her 2nd year of studies at WNMU seeking her BA in Graphic Design. She is currently the Chief Editor for the Maverick Undergraduate Journal and the President of the WNMU Art Club. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, and lived in Oakland, California before moving to New Mexico. [email protected]. (720)345-4306
Leonore Hildebrandt is the author of the poetry collections The Work at Hand, The Next Unknown, and Where You Happen to Be. Her poems and translations have appeared in the Cafe Review, Cerise Press, the Cimarron Review, Denver Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Harpur Palate, Poetry Daily, Rhino, and the Sugar House Review, among other journals. She was nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. Originally from Germany, Leonore divides her time between Harrington, Maine, and Silver City, New Mexico.

Leonore Hildebrandt

Leonore Hildebrandt is the author of the poetry collections The Work at Hand, The Next Unknown, and Where You Happen to Be. Her poems and translations have appeared in the Cafe Review, Cerise Press, the Cimarron Review, Denver Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Harpur Palate, Poetry Daily, Rhino, and the Sugar House Review, among other journals. She was nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. Originally from Germany, Leonore divides her time between Harrington, Maine, and Silver City, New Mexico.
Mark Coggins--a New Mexico native--is the Choctaw and American author of the August Riordan series. His work has been nominated for the Shamus and Barry crime fiction awards and selected for best-of-the-year lists compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Detroit Free Press, and Amazon.com, among others.

Mark Coggins

Mark Coggins–a New Mexico native–is the Choctaw and American author of the August Riordan series. His work has been nominated for the Shamus and Barry crime fiction awards and selected for best-of-the-year lists compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Detroit Free Press, and Amazon.com, among others.
He is a son of the borderland, grew up in Ciudad Juárez, El Paso TX, and currently resides in Las Cruces New Mexico. In 2020 his poetry appeared in the anthology (Bitácoras de vuelos ediciones). In 2019, he published a flash-fiction book (Santa Fe New Mexico: Brown Buffalo Press). In 2013, he published his first flash-fiction book (Las Cruces New Mexico: Arenas Blancas). His work appears in different literary magazines such as Arenas Blancas New Mexico State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison Loading Zone, and in anthologies such as (New Jersey, 2011). He is co-president of the New Mexico Book Association (NMBA). He has attended literary workshops with renowned authors such as Lemon Andersen, Denise Chávez, Alberto Chimal, and Martin Solares among others. He obtained a Master's Degree in Hispano-American Literature from New Mexico State University 2013. He is a Computer Scientist, with a BA in Chicano Studies and a BA in Spanish, NMSU (2007).

Miguel De La Cruz

He is a son of the borderland, grew up in Ciudad Juárez, El Paso TX, and currently resides in Las Cruces New Mexico. In 2020 his poetry appeared in the anthology <> (Bitácoras de vuelos ediciones). In 2019, he published a flash-fiction book <> (Santa Fe New Mexico: Brown Buffalo Press). In 2013, he published his first flash-fiction book <> (Las Cruces New Mexico: Arenas Blancas). His work appears in different literary magazines such as Arenas Blancas New Mexico State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison Loading Zone, and in anthologies such as <> (New Jersey, 2011). He is co-president of the New Mexico Book Association (NMBA). He has attended literary workshops with renowned authors such as Lemon Andersen, Denise Chávez, Alberto Chimal, and Martin Solares among others. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Hispano-American Literature from New Mexico State University 2013. He is a Computer Scientist, with a BA in Chicano Studies and a BA in Spanish, NMSU (2007).
UCLA Film School, BBC Apprentice, creator and producer 78+ hours of primetime wildlife TV, produced 24+ international museum exhibits, 35+ years work/w leaders in space exploration and environmental movement. 45+ years in international publishing, writes Sci-Fi and Thrillers. Raised New York City, London, and Switzerland, lives in New Mexico.

Peter Riva

UCLA Film School, BBC Apprentice, creator and producer 78+ hours of primetime wildlife TV, produced 24+ international museum exhibits, 35+ years work/w leaders in space exploration and environmental movement. 45+ years in international publishing, writes Sci-Fi and Thrillers. Raised New York City, London, and Switzerland, lives in New Mexico.
Ray Ring is a novelist and journalist rooted in the American West. His interests include underdogs and bad actors, inequality, environmental science and our drift toward dystopia. He tries to deal with everything with a sense of humor.

Ray Ring

Ray Ring is a novelist and journalist rooted in the American West. His interests include underdogs and bad actors, inequality, environmental science and our drift toward dystopia. He tries to deal with everything with a sense of humor.
Doug Dinwiddie grew up in Grant County and got two degrees in history from WNMU. He was the curator and director of the WNMU Museum from 1974 to 1987. He wrote his PhD dissertation at Northern Arizona University on Louis Blachly and his oral history project of the 1940s and 1950s. historyguy51b@gmail.com. 970 222 2433

Doug Dinwiddie

Doug Dinwiddie grew up in Grant County and got two degrees in history from WNMU. He was the curator and director of the WNMU Museum from 1974 to 1987. He wrote his PhD dissertation at Northern Arizona University on Louis Blachly and his oral history project of the 1940s and 1950s. [email protected]. 970 222 2433
Wally Lawder is an award winning songwriter with six albums of original music to his credit. He was born in Kansas and grew up in Connecticut; he left the east coast for Silver City in 2003 and recently returned after 12 years in Tucson. An active performer on guitar, ukulele and vocals, he showcases his music in southern New Mexico and Arizona. His style of writing and performing is eclectic and his genre could be described as “new folk” or “post modern folk” infusing into his folk roots elements of jazz, country, and soft-rock. The late Pulitzer Prize winning poet Stephen Dunn wrote: “Wally Lawder is both a romantic and a social critic, and his quiet lyricism heightened by his gifts as a guitarist gives me great pleasure.”

Wally Lawder

Wally Lawder is an award winning songwriter with six albums of original music to his credit. He was born in Kansas and grew up in Connecticut; he left the east coast for Silver City in 2003 and recently returned after 12 years in Tucson. An active performer on guitar, ukulele and vocals, he showcases his music in southern New Mexico and Arizona. His style of writing and performing is eclectic and his genre could be described as “new folk” or “post modern folk” infusing into his folk roots elements of jazz, country, and soft-rock. The late Pulitzer Prize winning poet Stephen Dunn wrote: “Wally Lawder is both a romantic and a social critic, and his quiet lyricism heightened by his gifts as a guitarist gives me great pleasure.”
Joe Saenz grew up in the Isleta section of El Paso. He is Warm Springs Apache on his father’s side and Huichol on his mother’s. He grew up hearing stories from his uncles and grandparents about the old Apache ways. Joe takes small groups on horseback tours of the Apache summer homeland. apache@wolfhorseoutfitters.com. 575 534 1379

Joe Saenz

Joe Saenz grew up in the Isleta section of El Paso. He is Warm Springs Apache on his father’s side and Huichol on his mother’s. He grew up hearing stories from his uncles and grandparents about the old Apache ways. Joe takes small groups on horseback tours of the Apache summer homeland. [email protected]. 575 534 1379
Claudie Thompson graduated from WNMU with a B.S. Degree in Special Education w/certification in Physical Education, and History. For the last 33 years, he has been teaching such courses as Honors NM, World History, and Honors World History. He has also won several awards for his teaching, including LULAC Educator of the Year (2016), New Mexico School Boards Association Excellence in Student Achievement Award (2020), and NM NHD Teacher of the Year 2008- 2009/2022-2023. Thompson has also been an award-winning head coach in baseball for the past 20 years. He was born and born and raised in Silver City, and has three children.

Claudie Thompson

Claudie Thompson graduated from WNMU with a B.S. Degree in Special Education w/certification in Physical Education, and History. For the last 33 years, he has been teaching such courses as Honors NM, World History, and Honors World History. He has also won several awards for his teaching, including LULAC Educator of the Year (2016), New Mexico School Boards Association Excellence in Student Achievement Award (2020), and NM NHD Teacher of the Year 2008- 2009/2022-2023. Thompson has also been an award-winning head coach in baseball for the past 20 years. He was born and born and raised in Silver City, and has three children.
Baron R Birtcher is the LA TIMES BESTSELLING author of the hardboiled Mike Travis series, the award-winning Ty Dawson series. Baron is a winner of the SILVER FALCHION AWARD, the WINNER of the 2019 BEST BOOK OF YEAR for FISTFUL OF RAIN as well as 2018's READERS CHOICE AWARD for SOUTH CALIFORNIA PURPLES. He has also been named a finalist for the NERO AWARD, the LEFTY AWARD, the FOREWORD INDIE AWARD, the 2016 BEST BOOK AWARD, the Pacific Northwest's SPOTTED OWL AWARD and the CLAYMORE AWARD. Baron's writing has been hailed as "The real deal" by Publishers Weekly; "Solid, Fluent and Thrilling" by Kirkus, and best-selling author Don Winslow says, “You want to read Baron’s books, and then you want to live in them.”

Baron R Birtcher

Baron R Birtcher is the LA TIMES BESTSELLING author of the hardboiled Mike Travis series, the award-winning Ty Dawson series. Baron is a winner of the SILVER FALCHION AWARD, the WINNER of the 2019 BEST BOOK OF YEAR for FISTFUL OF RAIN as well as 2018’s READERS CHOICE AWARD for SOUTH CALIFORNIA PURPLES. He has also been named a finalist for the NERO AWARD, the LEFTY AWARD, the FOREWORD INDIE AWARD, the 2016 BEST BOOK AWARD, the Pacific Northwest’s SPOTTED OWL AWARD and the CLAYMORE AWARD. Baron’s writing has been hailed as “The real deal” by Publishers Weekly; “Solid, Fluent and Thrilling” by Kirkus, and best-selling author Don Winslow says, “You want to read Baron’s books, and then you want to live in them.”
David Ariosto is a journalist, podcast host, and author. Following a two-year stint in Havana, he wrote “This Is Cuba: An American Journalist Under Castro’s Shadow." He is currently writing his second book, which explores the science, technology, and key players behind the second great space race.

David Ariosto

David Ariosto is a journalist, podcast host, and author. Following a two-year stint in Havana, he wrote “This Is Cuba: An American Journalist Under Castro’s Shadow.” He is currently writing his second book, which explores the science, technology, and key players behind the second great space race.
Javier Marrufo is a Chicano historian from Silver City New Mexico and the current curator of the Silver City Museum. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Western New Mexico University in 2016 and will receive a master's degree from the same institution in December of 2023. His work is centered around Indigenous, Mexican, and Chicano history form Southwest New Mexico. He is the heads researcher for the Chihuahua Hill History Project which has accumulated over 80 hours of audio with 75 participants to date.

Javier Marrufo

Javier Marrufo is a Chicano historian from Silver City New Mexico and the current curator of the Silver City Museum. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Western New Mexico University in 2016 and will receive a master’s degree from the same institution in December of 2023. His work is centered around Indigenous, Mexican, and Chicano history form Southwest New Mexico. He is the heads researcher for the Chihuahua Hill History Project which has accumulated over 80 hours of audio with 75 participants to date.
Award-winning poet/playwright/essayist John Macker’s publications include: Belated Mornings, Desert Threnody, Atlas of Wolves, The Blues Drink Your Dreams Away, Selected Poems 1983-2018, Chaco Sojourn (2021-22), Gorge Songs, Blood in the Mix, and others. His full-length play Black Range Trilogy was recently produced by Teatro Paraguas, and his book Desert Threnody was the 2021 winner of the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. He lives in Santa Fe with his artist wife Annie and two mutt dogs.

John Macker

Award-winning poet/playwright/essayist John Macker’s publications include: Belated Mornings, Desert Threnody, Atlas of Wolves, The Blues Drink Your Dreams Away, Selected Poems 1983-2018, Chaco Sojourn (2021-22), Gorge Songs, Blood in the Mix, and others. His full-length play Black Range Trilogy was recently produced by Teatro Paraguas, and his book Desert Threnody was the 2021 winner of the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. He lives in Santa Fe with his artist wife Annie and two mutt dogs.
Katharine Holabird is the award-winning author of Angelina Ballerina and a new children's book series about a lovable little fairy called Twinkle. Katharine grew up in a family of architects and artists in Chicago, and as a child she loved to perform and dance with her three sisters. She graduated with a BA in Literature from Bennington College, and started writing children's books in 1983. Since then, Angelina Ballerina books have sold millions of copies, been translated into 20+ languages, and Angelina has become a children's classic.

Katharine Holabird

Katharine Holabird is the award-winning author of Angelina Ballerina and a new children’s book series about a lovable little fairy called Twinkle. Katharine grew up in a family of architects and artists in Chicago, and as a child she loved to perform and dance with her three sisters. She graduated with a BA in Literature from Bennington College, and started writing children’s books in 1983. Since then, Angelina Ballerina books have sold millions of copies, been translated into 20+ languages, and Angelina has become a children’s classic.
Linda Anderson has exhibited in Utah and Texas, taught art, and labored as a book conservator in those states. In 2015, after retiring from 20 years of teaching art in Texas public schools, she helped found the Austin Book Arts Center, which holds exhibits, classes, and events. Her art is fully engrossed in all things BOOK: visual storytelling, creating and exhibiting book art, teaching bookbinding, assisting students and acquiring new aptitudes like letterpress and novel binding structures.

Linda Anderson

Linda Anderson has exhibited in Utah and Texas, taught art, and labored as a book conservator in those states. In 2015, after retiring from 20 years of teaching art in Texas public schools, she helped found the Austin Book Arts Center, which holds exhibits, classes, and events. Her art is fully engrossed in all things BOOK: visual storytelling, creating and exhibiting book art, teaching bookbinding, assisting students and acquiring new aptitudes like letterpress and novel binding structures.
Mark Greenberg has been a working photojournalist since 1975 and has been published in the world’s leading magazines and newspapers. The arc of Mark’s work spans high profile aviation and space endeavors to living among and documenting indigenous people deep in the Amazon rainforest. He has more recently created two best-selling books about the Obama presidency.

Mark Greenberg

Mark Greenberg has been a working photojournalist since 1975 and has been published in the world’s leading magazines and newspapers. The arc of Mark’s work spans high profile aviation and space endeavors to living among and documenting indigenous people deep in the Amazon rainforest. He has more recently created two best-selling books about the Obama presidency.
Moonshine is two songstresses living in Silver City who invoke inspired lyrics and musical compositions, layered with luminous harmonies. Come, taste the elixir!

Moonshine

Moonshine is two songstresses living in Silver City who invoke inspired lyrics and musical compositions, layered with luminous harmonies. Come, taste the elixir!
Philip Connors is an American essayist and author. He was born in Iowa and raised in Minnesota. He studied journalism at the University of Montana. He interned at the Nation and subsequently worked at the Wall Street Journal for several years. He left New York City in 2002 and moved to New Mexico. He lived in Silver City, NM for several years before moving to El Paso, Texas. Every year since 2002, Connors has worked for several months in the summer at the Gila National Forest as a US Forest Service fire lookout. His book based on these experiences Fire Season: Field Notes From a Wilderness Lookout was published in 2011 to widespread critical acclaim.[1] It won the 2011 National Outdoor Book Award (Outdoor Literature) and the 2012 Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize.[2] It also won the 2012 Reading the West Book Award for best adult non-fiction, given by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Connors' work has been published in The Guardian, Harper's Magazine, Paris Review, n+1,Salon, and the London Review of Books.

Philip Connors

Philip Connors is an American essayist and author. He was born in Iowa and raised in Minnesota. He studied journalism at the University of Montana. He interned at the Nation and subsequently worked at the Wall Street Journal for several years. He left New York City in 2002 and moved to New Mexico. He lived in Silver City, NM for several years before moving to El Paso, Texas. Every year since 2002, Connors has worked for several months in the summer at the Gila National Forest as a US Forest Service fire lookout. His book based on these experiences Fire Season: Field Notes From a Wilderness Lookout was published in 2011 to widespread critical acclaim.[1] It won the 2011 National Outdoor Book Award (Outdoor Literature) and the 2012 Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize.[2] It also won the 2012 Reading the West Book Award for best adult non-fiction, given by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Connors’ work has been published in The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, Paris Review, n+1,Salon, and the London Review of Books.
Richard Greenfield is the author of Subterranean (Omnidawn), Tracer (Omnidawn), and A Carnage in the Lovetrees (University of California Press, 2003). Recent poetry has appeared in Diagram, Conjunctions, and The Minnesota Review. He teaches at New Mexico State University and is an editor and founder of a small poetry press, Apostrophe Books.

Richard Greenfield

Richard Greenfield is the author of Subterranean (Omnidawn), Tracer (Omnidawn), and A Carnage in the Lovetrees (University of California Press, 2003). Recent poetry has appeared in Diagram, Conjunctions, and The Minnesota Review. He teaches at New Mexico State University and is an editor and founder of a small poetry press, Apostrophe Books.
Ever since second grade, Stephen Fox has been intrigued by how things used to be. He majored in history at Williams College and got a PhD in US history from Brown University, expecting to become a history professor. But academic life did not suit him, so he’s been a freelance historian for the past 50 years. Steve has written seven books of US history and biography, all issued by mainstream New York trade publishers. He lived near Boston, his hometown, and exploited the wonderful local libraries for his research. He married rather late, at age 43, to Alexandra Dundas Todd, a medical sociologist and the longtime chair of her department at Suffolk University in Boston. Eventually the grim Boston winters got to them, so they moved to Silver City in 2008. (How they landed here is, as usual, a long story.) Steve has done seven local history projects, notably an article about Jaime Crow practices in Grant County that ran in the Spring 2019 issue of the New Mexico Historical Review, and an environmental history of Grant County that was part of the Silver City Museum’s “Unpacking Silver City” series in the summer of 2021.

Stephen Fox

Ever since second grade, Stephen Fox has been intrigued by how things used to be. He majored in history at Williams College and got a PhD in US history from Brown University, expecting to become a history professor. But academic life did not suit him, so he’s been a freelance historian for the past 50 years. Steve has written seven books of US history and biography, all issued by mainstream New York trade publishers. He lived near Boston, his hometown, and exploited the wonderful local libraries for his research. He married rather late, at age 43, to Alexandra Dundas Todd, a medical sociologist and the longtime chair of her department at Suffolk University in Boston. Eventually the grim Boston winters got to them, so they moved to Silver City in 2008. (How they landed here is, as usual, a long story.) Steve has done seven local history projects, notably an article about Jaime Crow practices in Grant County that ran in the Spring 2019 issue of the New Mexico Historical Review, and an environmental history of Grant County that was part of the Silver City Museum’s “Unpacking Silver City” series in the summer of 2021.
Gayla Lacy hails from Silver City, New Mexico. She is a recent graduate of NMSU with a degree in creative media which she will use to help make the world a more interesting place through visual storytelling. She is so excited and honored to be a part of the Gila Film School project. Her whole life, she has been an adamant explorer and advocate for the Gila National Forest. It brings her great joy to help bring the Gila’s beauty to light through the art of film, and to convey the importance of its conservation.

Gayla Lacy

Gayla Lacy hails from Silver City, New Mexico. She is a recent graduate of NMSU with a degree in creative media which she will use to help make the world a more interesting place through visual storytelling. She is so excited and honored to be a part of the Gila Film School project. Her whole life, she has been an adamant explorer and advocate for the Gila National Forest. It brings her great joy to help bring the Gila’s beauty to light through the art of film, and to convey the importance of its conservation.
Beate Sigriddaughter, www.sigriddaughter.net, lives in Silver City, New Mexico (Land of Enchantment), where she was poet laureate from 2017 to 2019. Her poetry and short prose are widely published in literary magazines. Recent book publications include a poetry collection, Wild Flowers, and a story collection, Dona Nobis Pacem.

Beate Sigriddaughter

Beate Sigriddaughter, www.sigriddaughter.net, lives in Silver City, New Mexico (Land of Enchantment), where she was poet laureate from 2017 to 2019. Her poetry and short prose are widely published in literary magazines. Recent book publications include a poetry collection, Wild Flowers, and a story collection, Dona Nobis Pacem.
Jennifer E. Smith is the bestselling author of nine books for young adults, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between, both of which have been adapted for film. Her other titles include The Unsinkable Greta James and the picture book The Creature of Habit. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages. She lives in Los Angeles.

Jennifer E. Smith

Jennifer E. Smith is the bestselling author of nine books for young adults, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between, both of which have been adapted for film. Her other titles include The Unsinkable Greta James and the picture book The Creature of Habit. She earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages. She lives in Los Angeles.
Joshua Wheeler is from Alamogordo, New Mexico. He's the author of ACID WEST: Essays, published in 2018 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux (FSG Originals). ACID WEST was a finalist for the Western Writers Spur Award and the New Mexico Book Award, and was included in Best Books lists by TIME, The Paris Review, Oprah’s O Magazine, and others. His essays and features have appeared in The Iowa Review, Southern Review, Gulf Coast, Harper's, BuzzFeed, NY Times and others. He teaches at Louisiana State University and lives in New Orleans.

Joshua Wheeler

Joshua Wheeler is from Alamogordo, New Mexico. He’s the author of ACID WEST: Essays, published in 2018 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux (FSG Originals). ACID WEST was a finalist for the Western Writers Spur Award and the New Mexico Book Award, and was included in Best Books lists by TIME, The Paris Review, Oprah’s O Magazine, and others. His essays and features have appeared in The Iowa Review, Southern Review, Gulf Coast, Harper’s, BuzzFeed, NY Times and others. He teaches at Louisiana State University and lives in New Orleans.
A multi-award-honored author, Kris Neri writes the Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mysteries, the latest of which, Magical Mushrooms, will debut at the 2023 Southwest Word Fiesta. She also writes the humorous Tracy Eaton mysteries, women’s fiction, thrillers, and short stories. https://krisneriauthor.wordpress.com/

Kris Neri

A multi-award-honored author, Kris Neri writes the Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mysteries, the latest of which, Magical Mushrooms, will debut at the 2023 Southwest Word Fiesta. She also writes the humorous Tracy Eaton mysteries, women’s fiction, thrillers, and short stories. https://krisneriauthor.wordpress.com/
Dawn Jameson is a senior at Silver High School and will be pursuing a career in secondary education after she graduates. She is a member of FCCLA as well as NHD. She competes in the documentary category.

Dawn Jameson

Dawn Jameson is a senior at Silver High School and will be pursuing a career in secondary education after she graduates. She is a member of FCCLA as well as NHD. She competes in the documentary category.
Melanie Sweeney writes contemporary romance with humor, heart, and heat, and her debut rom-com, Take Me Home, is forthcoming from Putnam next June. She holds an MFA in fiction from New Mexico State University, and her lyrical nonfiction chapbook on motherhood, Birds as Leaves, was published by The Lettered Streets Press in 2015 as part of their Split-Volume Chapbook Series. Her work has also appeared at Babble.com, in various literary magazines, and in Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice from Parents of Twins, Triplets and More. Melanie lives in Spring, Texas, with her husband, three kids, and too many cats.

Melanie Sweeney

Melanie Sweeney writes contemporary romance with humor, heart, and heat, and her debut rom-com, Take Me Home, is forthcoming from Putnam next June. She holds an MFA in fiction from New Mexico State University, and her lyrical nonfiction chapbook on motherhood, Birds as Leaves, was published by The Lettered Streets Press in 2015 as part of their Split-Volume Chapbook Series. Her work has also appeared at Babble.com, in various literary magazines, and in Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice from Parents of Twins, Triplets and More. Melanie lives in Spring, Texas, with her husband, three kids, and too many cats.
Nina Burleigh is a a journalist, best-selling author of seven books, and documentary producer. Nina was born and educated in the Midwest, has been based in Washington, D.C., New York, and Paris and Italy, traveled and reported extensively in the Middle East and has reported from almost every state in the Continental U.S. Two of her magazine articles were in dramatic productions and she was an executive producer on a documentary series about Ghislaine Maxwell and a Peacock documentary on Prince Andrew. Her journalism has been published widely, including in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Airmail, Time, New York Magazine, Slate and Bustle, among others. Her books have been reviewed, excerpted and covered in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, New York Magazine, BBC, ABC, MSNBC, Yahoo and other media outlets. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, The Today Show, 48 Hours, MSNBC, CNN and C-Span, on NPR and is a guest on many podcasts. An adjunct professor at NYU's Arthur J. Carter Journalism Institute, Google Scholar says her work has been cited in hundreds of scholarly articles.

Nina Burleigh

Nina Burleigh is a a journalist, best-selling author of seven books, and documentary producer. Nina was born and educated in the Midwest, has been based in Washington, D.C., New York, and Paris and Italy, traveled and reported extensively in the Middle East and has reported from almost every state in the Continental U.S. Two of her magazine articles were in dramatic productions and she was an executive producer on a documentary series about Ghislaine Maxwell and a Peacock documentary on Prince Andrew. Her journalism has been published widely, including in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Airmail, Time, New York Magazine, Slate and Bustle, among others. Her books have been reviewed, excerpted and covered in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, New York Magazine, BBC, ABC, MSNBC, Yahoo and other media outlets. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, The Today Show, 48 Hours, MSNBC, CNN and C-Span, on NPR and is a guest on many podcasts. An adjunct professor at NYU’s Arthur J. Carter Journalism Institute, Google Scholar says her work has been cited in hundreds of scholarly articles.
N. C. R. Davis lives in the north Georgia mountains. Under a pseudonym, she writes about the impact of technology on culture, currency, and politics in the western world. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in English.

N. C. R. Davis

N. C. R. Davis lives in the north Georgia mountains. Under a pseudonym, she writes about the impact of technology on culture, currency, and politics in the western world. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in English.
Priyanka Kumar is the author of Conversations with Birds, which has received wide acclaim. Her essays and criticism appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Orion, and High Country News. Her work has been featured on CBS News Radio, Psychology Today, and Oprah Daily. She is a recipient of a Playa Residency, an Aldo & Estella Leopold Writing Residency, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award, a New Mexico/New Visions Governor’s Award, a Canada Council for the Arts Grant, an Ontario Arts Council Literary Award, and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Fellowship. Kumar holds an MFA from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and is an alumna of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She wrote, directed and produced the feature documentary The Song of the Little Road, starring Martin Scorsese and Ravi Shankar—which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and is in the permanent collection of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Kumar has taught at the University of California Santa Cruz and the University of Southern California, and serves on the Board of Directors at the Leopold Writing Program.

Priyanka Kumar

Priyanka Kumar is the author of Conversations with Birds, which has received wide acclaim. Her essays and criticism appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Orion, and High Country News. Her work has been featured on CBS News Radio, Psychology Today, and Oprah Daily. She is a recipient of a Playa Residency, an Aldo & Estella Leopold Writing Residency, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award, a New Mexico/New Visions Governor’s Award, a Canada Council for the Arts Grant, an Ontario Arts Council Literary Award, and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Fellowship. Kumar holds an MFA from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and is an alumna of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She wrote, directed and produced the feature documentary The Song of the Little Road, starring Martin Scorsese and Ravi Shankar—which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and is in the permanent collection of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Kumar has taught at the University of California Santa Cruz and the University of Southern California, and serves on the Board of Directors at the Leopold Writing Program.
Ríos’s most recent work is Not Go Away Is My Name, poems, and A Good Map of All Things, a novel. Recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, Western Literature Association Distinguished Achievement Award, a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, Ríos teaches at Arizona State University, is Arizona’s inaugural poet laureate, a recent chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.

Alberto Álvaro Ríos

Ríos’s most recent work is Not Go Away Is My Name, poems, and A Good Map of All Things, a novel. Recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, Western Literature Association Distinguished Achievement Award, a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, Ríos teaches at Arizona State University, is Arizona’s inaugural poet laureate, a recent chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.
Steve Anderson writes the Kaspar Brothers historical thrillers and other novels. His next novel is Lines of Deception, coming March 2024. Anderson was a Fulbright Fellow in Germany and has translated bestselling German fiction. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson writes the Kaspar Brothers historical thrillers and other novels. His next novel is Lines of Deception, coming March 2024. Anderson was a Fulbright Fellow in Germany and has translated bestselling German fiction. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Hank grew up in the fifties and sixties, earning his bachelor’s Degrees in English and Sociology at the University of Texas/Austin, and his master’s in Public Administration at UNM/Albuquerque. His experiences in other countries, consulting, participating in the arts, teaching and as a first responder at the local, state, and national levels have all deeply influenced his poetry and world views. The gifts of observing and being fully in nature, humanity and creativity have offered him a unique perspective as a writer. Hank’s love of poetry and the breadth of his writing have always been influenced by these varied experiences, the opportunity of his over seven decades of life, as well as the extraordinary company of his daughters and dear friends. He has been writing for almost fifty years and is the author of Halfway, a Collection of Thoughts (Tyler Press, Austin, TX 1977), Silver Chain, a Finalist in the 2021 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards (Mercury Heartlink, 2021) and was the editor of A Wind Blows Through Us, A Festival of New Mexico Men’s Poetry, a finalist in the 2021 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards (Mercury Heartlink 2021) and Closer to the Door (Mercury Heartlink 2022). He is also the editor of Man, Alive!, a quarterly men’s poetry and prose Ezine. His poetry has appeared over the years in numerous publications. Two of his poems have been set to choral music, one premiered in late 2022 and another will be premiered later this year.Hank now enjoys retirement in Northern New Mexico.The importance of Tupelo Press’ support for writers and poets cannot be understated.

Hank Blackwell

Hank grew up in the fifties and sixties, earning his bachelor’s Degrees in English and Sociology at the University of Texas/Austin, and his master’s in Public Administration at UNM/Albuquerque. His experiences in other countries, consulting, participating in the arts, teaching and as a first responder at the local, state, and national levels have all deeply influenced his poetry and world views. The gifts of observing and being fully in nature, humanity and creativity have offered him a unique perspective as a writer. Hank’s love of poetry and the breadth of his writing have always been influenced by these varied experiences, the opportunity of his over seven decades of life, as well as the extraordinary company of his daughters and dear friends. He has been writing for almost fifty years and is the author of Halfway, a Collection of Thoughts (Tyler Press, Austin, TX 1977), Silver Chain, a Finalist in the 2021 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards (Mercury Heartlink, 2021) and was the editor of A Wind Blows Through Us, A Festival of New Mexico Men’s Poetry, a finalist in the 2021 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards (Mercury Heartlink 2021) and Closer to the Door (Mercury Heartlink 2022). He is also the editor of Man, Alive!, a quarterly men’s poetry and prose Ezine. His poetry has appeared over the years in numerous publications. Two of his poems have been set to choral music, one premiered in late 2022 and another will be premiered later this year.Hank now enjoys retirement in Northern New Mexico.The importance of Tupelo Press’ support for writers and poets cannot be understated.

Southwest Word Fiesta™

List of authors ordered alphabetically

Lee Abbott, Rosa Alcala, Don Bartletti, Rick Bass, Hakim Belamy, Michael P. Berman, Sheila Black, Eve West Bessier,Rus Bradburd, Bobby and Lee Merrill Byrd, Lauren Camp, Ana Castillo, Adrienne Celt, Jennifer Cervantes, Daniel Chacon, Denise Chavez, Catalina Claussen, Phil Connors, Alfredo Corchado, Ray Cressler, Jack Crocker, Alfredo Corchado, Algernon D’Amassa, Sharleen Daugherty, Raven and Beryl Drake, Maricela Duarte, Stella Pope Duarte, Kyle Durrie, Christine Eber, M. John Fayee, Nasario Garcia,  Suzanne Gardner, Dr. Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Judith Ann Gleson, Manel Gonzales, Melody Groves, Steve Havill, Ann Lane Hedlund, Tim Z. Hernandez, Juan Felipe, Herrera, Anne Hillerman, Lily Hoang, Brandon Hobson, Betsy James, Megan Kimble, Angela Kocherga, Bill Konigberg, Jim Kristofic, Chris Lemme, Jack Loeffler, Bojan Louis, Richard Mahler, Bonnie Maldonado, Demetria Martinez, Oscar J. Martinez, Katayoun Medhat, Mark Medoff, Jonathan Miller, James McGrath Morris, Kate Nelson, Kris Neri, Naomi Shihab Nye, Patrick O’Brian, Bill O’Neill, Mary O’ Loughlin, Cynthia E. Orozco, Michelle Otero, Simon Ortiz, Phillip Parotti, Evangeline Parsons-Yazzie, Laura Paskus, Cyd Peroni, VB Price, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Barbara Rockman, Peter Riva, Levi Romero, Sharman Apt Russell, Ben Alire Saenz, Dara Saville, Melissa L. Sevigny, Beate Sigriddaughter, Mary Sojourner, Jacqueline Soule, Mya Spalter, Katherine Standefer, Elise Stuart, Carme Tafolla, Veronica E. Velarde Tiller, Amos Torres, Sergio Troncoso, Monica Ortiz Uribe, Lauren Villagran, Connie Voisine, Allison Waterman, Francesca West, Josh Wheeler, J J Wilson, Melanie Zipin.