Even Google has trouble deciding how many genres there are in popular literature today, but we can all agree how many sub-genres there are:
Lots!
Serious writers and readers can readily name more than 50 sub-genres that further divide fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and most of them will be represented at next weekendβs Tucson Festival of Books.
Here, courtesy of the festival volunteers who recruited them, is a multi-genre sampler of the books and authors who will be part of our book festival, curated for their connections to Tucson and Arizona.
βThe Church of Baseballβ by Ron Shelton. Unless youβre a lollygagger, you wonβt want to miss University of Arizona grad Ron Shelton next week. He wrote and produced three of the most unique sports movies of all time: βBull Durham,β βTin Cup,β and βWhite Men Canβt Jump.β Several big scenes in βTin Cupβ were filmed in Tubac β Jack Siry
βSolitoβ by Tucsonβs Javier Zamora was one of 2022βs most honored books. Two weeks ago, it was longlisted for a PEN America Award as the yearβs best memoir. Zamora immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and trust us: it wasnβt easy. β Sara Hammond
βAll My Rageβ by Sabaa Tahir won the 2022 National Book Award for Childrenβs Literature. Tahirβs protagonist is a teenage girl whose experiences youβll find unforgettable. β Kathy Short
βRim to Riverβ by Canyon del Oro High School alum Tom Zoellner will be released Tuesday, Feb. 28. In it, Zoellner recounts his hike from Utah to Sonora, a journey that gave him plenty of time to reflect on all he was seeing and feeling along the way. β Bruce Dinges
βAmerican Cartelβ by Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham is a deeply-researched expose of the drug industry, and how it both created and fueled the opioid epidemic that has killed more than a million Americans. Horwitz grew up here and was the student body president at Tucson High School. β Maria Parham
βDining With the Deadβ by Mariana NuΓ±o Ruiz is a beautifully presented, beautifully illustrated cookbook published by Rio Nuevo Publishers in Tucson. NuΓ±o Ruiz is a popular chef who offers a number of dishes we might try during our annual Day of the Dead celebrations next November. β Jennifer Slothower
βThe Hawkβs Wayβ by Sy Montgomery. One of Americaβs most loved naturalists will be back in Tucson to discuss her relationship with Jazz, a Harris hawk with a 4-foot wingspan. When we say this author is for the birds, we mean it as high praise. β Abby Mogollon
βFor Twice in My Lifeβ by Phoenix author Annette Christie was released three weeks ago and exemplifies why romance fiction has become the hottest genre in American literature. Layla and Ian have broken up, but a motorcycle accident gives them both a second chance. β Jessica Pryde
βCollateral Damageβ by UA grad and former Bisbee resident J.A. Jance will feature detective Ali Reynolds and be set in Sedona. Jance has never missed a Tucson book festival. βCollateral Damageβ will be released next week. β Bill Viner
βSinking Bellβ by Tucsonβs Bojan Louis offers us a look β a collection of looks, actually β at Navajo life in contemporary Arizona. Louisβs stories are set in Flagstaff. β Margie Farmer
βA Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Womanβ by Lindy Elkins-Tanton. Elkins lives in Phoenix, works at Arizona State University, and is one of the ranking space scientists in the U.S. Her field has long been dominated by men. Her memoir reflects on her own rise through the ranks. β Jennifer Casteix
βThe House of Eveβ by Sadeqa Johnson. Released three weeks ago, βThe House of Eveβ is Reese Witherspoonβs Book Club pick for February. It introduces us to two pregnant Black women who must make impossibly difficult choices. β Anne Spieth
βPostcolonial Love Poemβ by Natalie Diaz. Diaz was raised on the Mojave Reservation in Western Arizona. Her βLove Poemβ is a remarkable collection that won her a Pulitzer Prize β¦ and is now the featured text in Big Read Tucson. β Savannah Hicks
βWhere Butterflies Fill the Skyβ by Zahra Marwan is a childrenβs picture book featuring a family that moves from the desert of Kuwait to the desert of New Mexico. β Kathy Short
βDinosaursβ by Tucsonβs Lydia Millet is a warm tale about a newly arrived resident of Phoenix who finds himself when he finds his passion for desert animals. Millet was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction in 2020.
βHidden Life of the Desertβ by Thomas Wiewandt. Will you be bringing a camera to the festival? Are you looking for tips from award-winning Southwest photographers? Wiewandt, Virgil Hancock and John Schaefer will be happy to oblige next weekend.