(TUCSON, Ariz.) – With every new year comes the Library's perennially-popular Southwest Books of the Year. The 2024 edition marks the 47th year of publication. It is now available online, and at libraries and local bookstores.
Of the books, panelist praise included such remarks as, "conveys the essential human dignity of each character," beguiling, with quiet humor that pierces through even the darkest moments," and "skillful storytelling that is at once vivid and lyrical."
Here are the Top Picks selected by the panelists, all voracious consumers of Southwest literature:
Fiction
- The Consequencesby Manuel Muñoz
- The Missing Morningstar by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie
- Blackouts by Justin Torres
- Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
- Gangsters Don't Die by Tod Goldberg
Biography
- Larry McMurtry: A Life by Tracy Daugherty
Memoir
- Rim to River: Looking Into the Heart of Arizona by Tom Zoellner
Poetry
- Light As Light by Simon J. Ortiz
History
- Bisbee: The Alchemical City of the Borderlands by Virgil Hancock III
- Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism by Tom Holm
Nature & Science
- Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Sevigny
- Desert Jewels: Cactus Flowers of the Southwest and Mexico by John P. Schaefer
Beyond the Top Picks, the publication includes many more titles in these categories and others, including cooking and food, art and photography, and children's and young adults.
About Southwest Books of the Year
Southwest Books of the Year considers titles published during the calendar year that are about Southwest subjects, or are set in the Southwest.
The Southwest Books of the Year panel of reviewers—subject specialists and voracious consumers of Southwest literature—are pleased to offer up their personal favorite titles of the year, complete with brief reviews to entice readers.
It is published in partnership and with financial support from the Friends of the Pima County Public Library and by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For more information, email the library at literaryarts@pima.gov.
