Dear Festival Friends,

The best time to read is all of the time, but there’s something extra magical about doing it over the holidays, when we achieve peak hygge and indulge our need to pour a hot drink, invite the dog onto the couch, and dig into a new book. Whether you’re looking for books to give or books to ask for, our Festival team has thoughts! Here are some of our favorite titles by authors who will be joining us in Santa Fe in May. And if it’s a TV night, we have a few recommendations for that, too.

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, by Mira Jacob

“Is it bad to be brown?” asks Mira Jacob’s curious six-year-old son in one of their ongoing conversations throughout this graphic memoir about a bicultural family. Her son’s honest questions lead the author and readers to ponder multiple perceptions about skin color, race, love, and cultural identity. This book shed light on my own experience—my family history of immigration, my choice to raise two children in an interracial home, and the ongoing predicament of diversity in America. An insightful and fun read.

—Asya Ghafarshad Beardsley, Chief Administrative Officer

Florida and Matrix, by Lauren Groff

Lauren Groff’s range and originality are extraordinary. Give friends the experience of her skill by gifting them Florida, short stories about that mysterious state, and Matrix, a novel about a nunnery. Two stunning experiences that cover time and place in a new way.

—Susan Bergholz, Founding Advisor

The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong

Both tender and devastating. Vuong makes the tiny, eccentric details of many distinct personalities resonate with, and beautifully illustrate, our shared need for connection.

—Susan Burks, Executive Producer

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume

As the parent of a fourth grader, I can’t think of a better Christmas gift. I loved this book (and all of Judy Blume’s novels!) when I was a kid, and I can’t wait to experience this evergreen classic anew with my son.

—Catherine Casalino, Creative Director

Tenth of December, by George Saunders

This collection of short stories is peppered with unexpected, brilliant turns and narrative surprises. I was so delighted by its quirk and deep sense of humanity. It elicited unexpected smiles while treading the deep waters of shared human experience. I felt so refreshed by it. George Saunders seems to have picked up where Vonnegut left off, yet with his own distinctive voice. This book took me on a ride filled with big, important questions.

—Tom Corwin, Technical Director

Groundhog Day, screenplay by Danny Rubin

A film that, if I run across it while channel surfing, I will always leave on. Come for Bill Murray as a cynical, deadpan-as-a-desert TV reporter trapped in a podunk town, stay for the supernatural redemption story (well earned!) and bonus opposites-attract romance with the lovely Andie MacDowell. It’s basically a perfect movie.

—Noah Hilsenrad, Creative Support

The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore

A girl goes missing from a summer camp in the Adirondacks, and it all unravels from there. The deeply dysfunctional family at the heart of this page-turner make the book so much richer than your typical whodunit. Plop Tolstoy in the woods to write a thriller and he’d come up with something like this.

—Laura Hohnhold, Author Curator

John Adams and Franklin, screenplays by Kirk Ellis

Watching a Kirk Ellis production is akin to reading the original books. They’re elevated, serious, well-crafted—in other words, literary. He has a special, reflexive ability to adapt a book into something visual, and his films propel forward with verbal economy that showcase his phenomenal grasp of storytelling. 

—Ryan Rose, Community Engagement

Anything by James McBride

You can’t go wrong with any book by James McBride. I recommend these three in particular: The Good Lord Bird (winner of the National Book Award), his memoir The Color of Water, and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.

—Bert Snyder, Founding Advisor

Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson

Narrative nonfiction at its best: part memoir, part clarion call, part historical treatise to help each one of us face, diagnose, and (hopefully) treat the corrosive sickness at the heart of the American experiment.

—Megan Mulry, Executive Director

Long Island, by Colm Tóibín

A book about returning—the pitfalls, the joy, the dangers, the comfort, and the pain. It’s all there in Long Island, which is part portrait of a small town, part what happens when we revisit the past for either good or bad reasons, and, of course, a story about love. It’s a perfect book for the winter, when it gets dark early and sitting in a comfortable chair to spend an evening reading is the perfect antidote to a cold night outside.

—Marlene Saritzky, Author Liaison

Soldiers and Kings, by Jason De León

This book is, foremost, a fresh and necessary record of the lives of migrants traveling through Mexico and Central America. But as I read, I was struck by something much deeper: a compassion and humility that De León brings to his subject and the intimacy he creates on the page.

—Susanna Space, Director of Publicity

Heavy, by Kiese Laymon

An absorbing memoir about a man overcoming family violence, racism, and a toxic food culture, by a wonderfully gifted and insightful writer.

 —Will Palmer, Copy Editor

COMMUNITY NEWS

We are delighted to partner with Bookworks and the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation to present “A Word with Writers,” featuring Erik Larson in conversation with Santa Fe’s own Hampton Sides, on Friday, March 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the historic KiMo Theatre at 423 Central Ave. NW in Albuquerque. This event celebrates the paperback release of Larson’s book The Demon of Unrest and is presented in collaboration with AMP Concerts. Admission includes a paperback copy of The Demon of Unrest and a donation to the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation. We expect this event to sell out quickly, so please click here for tickets.

Swan Quill West is a Santa Fe–based nonprofit that facilitates accessible, no-cost creative writing workshops. Founded on the belief that writing is for everyone, the organization’s workshops foster self-expression, healing, and community and serve writers of all ages, from teens to military veterans. Swan Quill West is now collaborating with Santa Fe Poet Laureate and Festival author Tommy Archuleta on The Voice Project, which develops programs for the local unhoused community in order to build a more inclusive New Mexico arts culture.

SAVE THE DATES

Friday, January 9, 6:00 p.m.: We are thrilled to present Julian Brave NoiseCat, author of the debut bestseller We Survived the Night, in conversation with Deborah Jackson Taffa, in partnership with Hotel Santa Fe, IAIA, and Collected Works Bookstore at 202 Galisteo Street, Santa Fe.

Thursday, January 15, 4:30 p.m.: Join us for a Pre-Sale Celebration to learn more about the upcoming ticketing process and to raise a glass to the full lineup of authors, at TOKo, 101 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe. 

FESTIVAL TICKETS

Our free ticket request form is now available!
New Mexico librarians, teachers, students, and state residents in need of financial assistance are encouraged to submit a free ticket request. In 2026, we aim to provide 2,000 free tickets to ensure all community members have the opportunity to attend.

Tuesday, January 20, 7:00 a.m.
EARLY BIRD TICKETS GO ON SALE

Monday, January 26, 7:00 a.m.
PUBLIC TICKETS GO ON SALE

Type A readers can now print out the complete schedule
to start planning now!

Board of Directors
Edward Gale, Chair

Janet Bailey | Jenny Kimball

James McGrath Morris | Carmella Padilla

Jenna Scanlan | Mary Sloane

Maria Gale, Ex Officio

Founders
Clare Hertel | Carmella Padilla | Mark Bryant