FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2023
Santa Fe, NM – New Mexico will be well represented at this year’s National Book Festival! Tumble by Celia C. Pérez, a youth book, and Shutter by Ramona Emerson, an adult book, have been selected by New Mexico Center for the Book as the state’s representatives for the Great Reads from Great Places (GRGP) program. GRGP features books and authors representing the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas.
“We are pleased to showcase these books about New Mexico and share them with this year’s National Book Festival participants,” said New Mexico State Librarian Eli Guinnee. “The National Book Festival brings booklovers together from across the country and beyond to celebrate reading, literacy, authors, and community.”
This year’s National Book Festival on August 12 will be held in Washington, D.C., but will include many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs celebrating books and authors. Pérez and Emerson will take part in online panel conversations with other chosen authors from state Centers for the Book in the Western Region to talk about their book and what inspired them. This and other panel discussions will be posted on the National Book Festival website and the Library of Congress’ YouTube channel. You can also find out more about the New Mexico titles, find activities for children, and view the videos by the authors on the New Mexico State Library National Book Festival site.
About the Books
Tumble, a dazzling novel about a young girl who collects the missing pieces of her origin story from the family of legendary luchadores she’s never met.
2023 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
“A plucky, heartwarming tale that celebrates the complexity of family relationships.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Shutter is a blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation.
Finalist for the 2023 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
Finalist for the 2023 PEN Open Book Award
“Haunting.”
—The New York Times Book Review
About the Authors Celia C. Pérez is the daughter of a Mexican mother and a Cuban father. She is originally from Miami and is a graduate of the University of Florida and the University of South Florida. She lives with her family in Chicago where, in addition to writing books about lovable weirdos and outsiders, she works as a community college librarian.
Before she became a novelist, Ramona Emerson spent 16 years documenting crime scenes. As a police department photographer in Albuquerque, N.M., she covered everything from car accidents to refinery explosions. Once she had to ride a mule up a mountain for two hours with all her gear just to document a scene where someone got hurt.
About New Mexico Center for the Book New Mexico Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The New Mexico center promotes literacy and a love of books, reading, and libraries throughout the state, celebrating New Mexico’s literary heritage. The New Mexico Center for the Book is administered by New Mexico State Library, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.
About the New Mexico State Library Established in 1929, the New Mexico State Library is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the guidance of the New Mexico Library Commission. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the New Mexico State Library Foundation through the generous support of donors. The New Mexico State Library provides services that support public and tribal libraries, delivers direct library services to rural populations, state agencies, the visually impaired and physically disabled, and students and citizens conducting research. The library supports public libraries by providing consulting services, offering training and continuing education opportunities, administering the librarian certification program, coordinating a statewide summer reading program and tribal library program, and administering state and federal grants to public libraries.
