New Mexico Authors

Pen name of Las Cruces author Robert Boswell. Under this name, author of the cyberpunk novel Virtual Death.

Edward Paul Abbey, AKA: Ed Abbey, Cactus Ed. (1927-1989) Earned Masters and Ph. D. in Philosophy at UNM. Worked as a forest ranger and fire lookout, resulting in his popular book Desert Solitaire which eulogized the Southwest. His book The Monkey Wrench Gang was adopted as a manifesto by some wilderness protection activists. Wrote 2 books set in New Mexico: The Brave Cowboy, made into the 1956 movie Lonely Are The Brave shot around Albuquerque, and Fire on the Mountain, inspired by rancher John Prather's resistance to having his land become part of the White Sands Missile Range.

UNM-educated sculptor, painter & poet; all of which are included in her Rio Grande Series.

Lifelong resident of Albuquerque. Degrees from UNM; longterm employee with Sandia National Laboratories. Owner of Roadrunner Engineering. Longtime Reserve Officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. Author of several books on automobile mechanics and the book ABQ Blues: Crime and Policing in Albuquerque, NM.

Formerly of New Mexico, then California; lecturer in American Studies. Historical archaeologist who has excavated Spanish Colonial sites in California and New Mexico. Author of New Mexico's Palace of the Governors : history of an American treasure and Colors of the Navajo.

NM poet who has been published in the Bloomsbury Review and In Company: an Anthology of New Mexico Poets After 1960.

Santa Fe author of the children's book Mystery at Echo Cliffs about two young Navajos investigating pot hunting at burial sites.

Former Deming professor & winner of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), O. Henry & Pushcart Prizes for his short stories set in Deming, Strangers In Paradise and Dreams of Distant Lives. Author of All Things, All at Once: New and Selected Stories.

Albuquerque native, poet, reviewer for ArtSpace & Back Door magazines; publisher, former editor of The Desert Review; bookseller. Author of "A Little Green Would Do Us All Good" & "North"; included in In Company: an Anthology of New Mexico Poets After 1960.

Laguna Pueblo-born, teacher at Acomita, then Isleta Pueblo author of "I am a Pueblo Indian Girl" & poem included in Signature of the Sun; Southwest Verse, 1900-1950.

AKA: Sophie D. Aberle. 1899-1996. Albuquerque. Anthropologist, physician, psychologist. Degrees from Stanford and Yale. Worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; several organizations involving Indian health, rights, and education; and with the New Mexico Nutrition Committee. Served with the National Research Council; one of the first women appointed to the National Science Board. Taught for many years at UNM, including as a professor of psychiatry. Strong proponent of nutrition and Indian rights. Author of several works including The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico: Their Land, Economy and Civil Organization.

(1820-1897) Explorer, ornithologist and artist who accompanied Gen. Kearny to NM, served in the Union Army, later taught at West Point. Author of Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, In Answer to a Resolution of the Senate, a Report and Map of the Examination of New Mexico. During his exploration identified a bird, now named Abert's Towhee in his honor.

Santa Fe, Berkeley. Mixed-media artist of Navajo heritage. Graduate of New York University, honorary doctorate from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Recipient of the 2012 New Mexico Governor's Excellence in the Arts Award. Works featured in numerous institutions including the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and the New Mexico Fine Arts Museum. Author of several retrospectives on his work, contributor to La Fonda Then & Now.

Author / illustrator of Stand Against the Wind: a Biographical Sketchbook of New Mexico Women.

Fishing guide along the San Juan and Pecos rivers. Contributor to Fly Fishing in Northern New Mexico.

Science fiction and fantasy. Writer in the Wild Cards universe. Known for the Long Price Quartet and the Dagger and the Coin series. Also writes as M.L.N. Hanover and (with Ty Franck) as James S.A. Corey.
Author's website

Former NYC vice president & editor in chief at Prentice-Hall and Simon & Schuster, who moved to Santa Fe. Author of First We Quit Our Jobs: How One Work Driven Couple Got on the Road to a New Life.

Santa Fe ecologist, philosopher, magician. Author of The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception & Language in a More-Than-Human World and Becoming Animal: An Essay on Wonder.

Las Cruces poet, short story author & co-author of Thunder in the Drought.

Santa Fe native, balloon pilot. Active with the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. Author of Pop Flop's Great Balloon Ride.

Ranchos de Taos. Poetry with works in publications including Howl and Venus Envy.

Author, poet, naturalist. Many awards, including being a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Author of numerous works of poetry, natural history, and history including The Zookeeper's Wife. Her memoirs, Twilight of the Tenderfoot recounts her early days on Tequesquite Ranch in New Mexico. Writes nature books for children including Bats - Shadows in the Night.

(1913-1997) First doctoral candidate in Anthropology at University of New Mexico, 1948. Noted for his work in visual anthropology and applied anthropology. Lived at Zuni Pueblo for a time, viewed as a pioneer in Zuni and Navajo cultural studies. Noted works include First Look at Strangers and The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths.

Las Cruces author of his memoirs in NM & Arizona: El Rancho Kid.

(1920-2005) Clarence Siringo Adams. Roswell author of many New Mexico histories and reminiscences, often as co-author/editor with his wife Joan N. Adams. Works include The Historical Roundup: a collection of stories of old-timers of long ago in New Mexico and In the Shadow of the Malpais, and Tales and Trails Along the Rio. His middle name is due to the famous "Cowboy Detective" Charlie Siringo being present in the Adams house the night Clarence was born.

Retired UNM Research Professor-at-Large, historian of Colonial Spanish America, former editor of the New Mexico Historical Review, winner of the Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities award presented by the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities. Translator/editor/co-author of several books, including The missions of New Mexico, 1776 : a description, with other contemporary documents and Books in New Mexico, 1598-1680.

Roswell author of many New Mexico histories and reminiscences, often as co-author with husband Clarence S. Adams. Works include Riders of the Pecos and the Seven River Outlaws and In the Shadow of the Malpais and The Old timers' review : old-timers stories of long ago : a collection of stories from the past eight years of Old-Timers' Review.

(1934-2017) Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan) Pueblo. Masters in Guidance and Counseling from UNM. Served in several offices in the tribal council including Lieutenant Governor and Governor. Named a Santa Fe Living Treasure, received a lifetime achievement award from the New Mexico Community Foundation, and was named one of the 50 most influential Americans by Newsweek. Poet; author/editor of articles and works including Po'pay : leader of the first American revolution.

Albuquerque. Degree in English from UNM. Author of horror novels including The Shuddering and The Neighbors.

Archaeologist with the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico. Author / co-author of numerous works, including A Biocultural approach to human burials from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Contributor to From mountaintop to valley bottom : understanding past land use in the northern Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico.

Served as an Office of the State Historian Scholar at the New Mexico State Archives and Records. Contributor to All trails lead to Santa Fe : an anthology commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610.

AKA: Sahkomenewa. Graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Award-winning kachina carver. Illustrator of the children's book The Lost Kachina.

(1935-2010) Rio Rancho. Former professor, former Historian for Kirtland Air Force Base. Consulting historian for an archaeological dig for remains at the Glorieta battlefield. Author / editor of several works about New Mexico history, including Balloons to Bombers : aviation in Albuquerque, 1882-1945 and The Battle of Glorieta : Union victory in the West.

Long-time resident of Los Alamos; former archivist at the Los Alamos Historical Museum. Co-author (with John D. Wirth) of Los Alamos : the Ranch School years, 1917-1943.

Placitas author of Among the cottonwoods : the enduring Rio Abajo villages of Peralta & Los Pinos, New Mexico, before 1940.

Pen name of Santa Fe author Amanda McCabe who also writes as Laurel McKee and Amanda Carmack. Under this name author of the Santa Fe Revival mystery series, including Santa Fe Mourning and A Moment in Crime.
Author's website

Albuquerque. Degree in English from Eastern New Mexico University. Writer of articles for Prime Time and New Mexico Woman. Author of the historical romance Rio Grande Rhapsody which involves the history of Old Town Albuquerque.

AKA: Christina G. Allen. Corrales; involved in village politics. Masters Degree in Archaeology from UNM. Member of the Corrales Writing Group. Writes articles, essays, and short stories; featured in Corrales Writing Group 2014 Anthology.
Author's webpage

Research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and leader of the Jemez Mountains Field Station at Bandelier National Monument. Contributor to The Peopling of Bandelier: new insights from the archaeology of the Pajarito Plateau.

Las Cruces. Writer of short stories for national periodicals, non-fiction books, and books for children. Author of The Forbidden Man about an African American teacher fighting bigotry in a tri-racial New Mexico town.

(1950-2014) Jemez Springs. Creative artist, author and editor. Masters degree in Theater from UNM. Poetry, short fiction and articles in various literary and arts magazines in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Playwright with works produced at venues throughout New Mexico. Author of several novels including Journey from the Keep of Bones.

(1939-2008) Laguna Pueblo. Ph.D. in American Studies at UNM. Taught at many institutions including UNM. Her book Pocahontas : medicine woman, spy, entrepreneur, diplomat was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Many awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writer's Circle of the Americas.

Author / co-author of several works including Navahos Have Five Fingers and Miracle Hill: the story of a Navaho boy and Not Ordered by Men about the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe.

(1924-2007) Born in Las Vegas New Mexico. Author of Through the Years about the Penitente Brotherhood.

Native New Mexican; longtime teacher in Roswell. Degrees from Eastern New Mexico University. Author of several books about the Southwest, including T is for Tortilla : a Southwestern Alphabet Book.

(?-2010) Award-winning author with short stories in several anthologies. Stage director and teacher of theater. Author of the novel Rocket City set in New Mexico.

Albuquerque. Retired from the US Forest Service after serving for over 40 years. Author / photographer of the Rose series of children's books, following the path of a balloon floating over Albuquerque.

Santa Fe. Co-author, with Maxine E. McBrinn, of Turquoise, Water, Sky : Meaning and Beauty in Southwest Native Art.

First Navajo woman to be board certified in surgery. Co-author, with Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, of The Scalpel and the Silver Bear about her experiences combining Western medicine with traditional Navajo healing.

(1922-2012) Grew up in Placitas, then moved to Albuquerque. Degrees from UNM. Food columnist for New Mexico magazine. Co-founder (with husband Harry O. Willson) of Amador Press. Author of several books on New Mexico cooking and folklore, including Southwest flavor : Adela Amador's tales from the kitchen and Undercurrents : New Mexico stories then and now.

With the Game Management Division of the NM Dept. of Game and Fish. Author / editor of several works including Wildlife and People in New Mexico and Outdoors in New Mexico : a series of wildlife booklets.

Manager of the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Co-author with School founder Susan D. Curtis of Santa Fe School of Cooking: Southwest Flavors and Santa Fe School of Cooking: Celebrating the Foods of New Mexico.

(1899-1941) Author of numerous works on Southwestern history and arts & crafts including Navajo Weaving : Its Technic and History and Prehistoric Southwesterners from Basketmaker to Pueblo.

Mennonite Minister in Albuquerque. Author of Soul Tending : a journey into the heart of Sabbath .

(1937-2020) Raised in Santa Rosa, then of Albuquerque where he graduated from Albuquerque High School. Master's Degrees in English and Guidance & Counseling from UNM; on the faculty there 1970s-1990s. Taught high school English in the 1960s. Noted advocate and supporter of Chicano / Latinx literacy. Recipient of numerous awards including a 1980 American Book Award, a 1980 NM Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, a 2001 National Medal of Arts, and a 2015 National Humanities Medal. Known nationwide for Bless Me, Ultima (1972), a novel set in New Mexico in the 1940s; the book, selected for The Big Read, is the first of a trilogy that includes Heart of Aztlan and Tortuga and has been the basis for a play, a film, and an opera. Other works include Alburquerque and the Sonny Baca mystery series and the children's book The Farolitos of Christmas. The Rudolfo Anaya North Valley Library is named in his honor.

(1929-2021) Santa Fe. Photographer; author/illustrator of many children's books including Mi escuela = My school and Mi Barrio and Fiesta U.S.A.

Graduate of the FBI National Academy. Longtime law enforcement officer, retired as Sergeant with the Otero County Sheriff's Office. Author of Fifty-Seven Pieces of the Cloudcroft Puzzle : Some Secrets of the Sacramento Mountains, and other New Mexico Law Enforcement Stories.

(1895-1975) Came to New Mexico in 1917 with tuberculosis. Journalist and politician, serving variously as Congressman and Senator. Served also as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Author of his autobiography, Outsider in the Senate (1970).

Albuquerque. With husband Wendell Anderson, wrote poems and essays including Obsidian and Desert Cadenza.

(1917-2001) Born in Clayton; family later moved to Texas, Albuquerque, and Oklahoma. American Wiccan priest, founding member of the Feri Tradition modern Pagan movement. Author of several books of poetry including Thorns of the Blood Rose.

(1920-2005) Taos, Albuquerque. Teacher of creative writing, poet. With wife Emily Anderson, wrote poems and essays including Obsidian and Desert Cadenza.

Las Cruces. University Archivist and associate professor at New Mexico State University. Editor of the Southern New Mexico Historical Review. Editor of Out of the shadows : the women of southern New Mexico and The whole damned world : World War II correspondence of New Mexico Aggies Dean Daniel B. Jett which received two New Mexico Book Awards for 2009.

AKA: Myrtle Andrews Gere. (?-1970). Santa Fe. Was a student at Loretto Academy in the 1890s. With her husband ran a country store in Santa Fe. Author of Red Chili, a novel about Spanish settlers coping with the Anglo influx in the Albuquerque valley of the late 1800s.

Albuquerque. Architect and conservationist. Founder of the Leopold Writing Program, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting environmental ethics through the written word. Co-author with Mark Childs of Imagine a City that Remembers : the Albuquerque rephotography project.

Professor emeritus in computer science at the University of New Mexico. Author / co-author of numerous journal articles and several books including OpenGL: A Primer and Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach Using OpenGL.

Albuquerque, degree from UNM. Archaeologist / anthropologist. Associated with the Rio Grande Foundation for Communities and Cultural Landscapes. Co-author (with Kurt Anschuetz) of More Than a Scenic Mountain Landscape: Valles Caldera National Preserve Land Use History; contributor to several works including From mountaintop to valley bottom : understanding past land use in the northern Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico.

Lawyer and former state Court of Appeals judge. Las Cruces-born author of novels set in New Mexico, including A Rare Thing and Pursuit.
Author's website

(1881-1931) Santa Fe. Noted painter, potter and woodcarver, contemporary of Los Cinco Pintores. Exhibiting member of the New Mexico Painters Society. Author of Indian Stories from the Pueblos and Native Tales of New Mexico.

Emmy Award-winning journalist; longtime newscaster with KOB-TV. Honorary Doctorate of Letters from her alma mater, New Mexico State University. Named one of the Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. by Hispanic Business Magazine in 1990. Involved with many organizations including the New Mexico Women's Forum and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation. Freelance Producer, Writer and Talent for various television and radio projects. Author of a monthly column for the Santa Fe Hometown News. Author of the bilingual children's book Dance of the Eggshells = Baile de Cascarones.

Albuquerque native; degree from UNM. Humorist, playwright. Works include Tales of Delight and Shame, a collection of humorous short stories "with a Southwest / Hispanic edge".
Author's blog

Lives part-time in Santa Fe. Co-author of Fodor's New Mexico and Little Museums and The Reel List.
Author's website

Born in El Rito, resident of Albuquerque. Owner of a sign manufacturing business for over 30 years; involved with the manufacturing of the New Mexico Historical Markers. Co-author (with Sharyl S. Holden) of Traveling New Mexico : a guide to the historical and state park markers; co-author (with Rosanne Roberts Archuletta) of Women Marked for History : New Mexico's women leaders..

Principal of a human resources consulting firm. Co-author, with Phil T. Archuletta, of Women Marked for History : New Mexico's women leaders in community and government, education, military, business, healing arts and medicine, entertainment, cultural preservation and the arts.

Has served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at L.V.T.I. Community College in Las Vegas New Mexico. Fields of teaching and research are history, language, and the folklore of Nuevomexicanos and Chicanos in the Southwest. Author / co-author /editor on several works including Las Vegas Grandes on the Gallinas 1835-1985. Contributor to The Contested Homeland: A Chicano History of New Mexico.

(1954-2021) Embudo. Graduate of New Mexico State University. Poet, author, translator, photographer. Visiting Research Scholar at the UNM School of Architecture. Former director of the Onate Cultural Center. Advocate of traditional agriculture and the acequia system. Compiler/photographer on several works; co-author of Descansos: an interrupted journey; author of Palabras de la vista/retratos de la pluma : (memorias).
Author's webpage

Santa Fe. Noted actor, author of children's books including The Lemming Condition and Cosmo : [a cautionary tale ]; author of An Improvised Life : a memoir.

Former United States Department of Justice trial attorney, lawyer practicing for 44 years, relocated to New Mexico. Co-author of From the Depths of the Mines Came the Law; author of the novel Out of Balance.

Santa Fe. Author of the Poppy Redfern, A Woman of World War II mystery series, the Lady Monfort and Edith Jackson series, and several novels including In Royal Service to the Queen : A Novel of the Queen's Governess.

Mas­ter of Arts in South­west His­panic stud­ies from UNM; instructor at UNM. Author of Becoming a part of my history : through images and stories of my ancestors and So that it may be validated : family history in the Río Abajo.

Grew up in New Mexico, now of California. Author of several books in a series set in "Last Chance, New Mexico".

(1917-1993) Corrales. Worked with the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in the Information Office of the Convention Department, and later as Director of the Tourist Department. Travel writer / historian. Author / editor of several works about NM including Enchanted Trails and New Mexico : From Arrowhead to Atom and Fodor's New Mexico.

See Jim Belshaw

Albuquerque. MFA from University of New Mexico. Poetry in numerous publications including Colorado Review. Author of the poetry collection Escape Velocity.

Santa Fe. Contributing editor at Outside Magazine. Articles in numerous national publications including Sunset and Runner's World. Author of the memoir Running Home.

Rio Rancho. Degree from New Mexico State University. Teacher at numerous colleges and universities. Poetry editor for several publications; poetry in numerous publications. Author of the poetry collection Promiscuous Beauty.

(1813-1881) William Frederick Milton Arny. Served in various offices in New Mexico Territory including Territorial Secretary and Acting Governor. Served several times as Indian Agent, for the Utes and Jicarilla Apache. A noted promoter of northern New Mexico, associated with Thomas Catron's efforts to bring colonists to the area from the East. Author of New Mexico: Its Agricultural, Pastoral and Mineral Resources and Indian agent in New Mexico : the journal of special agent W. F. M. Arny, 1870.

Albuquerque. Poet, professor of English. Poems in numerous publications including The Rio Grande Review. Author of several books of poetry including Creature, Creature and the novel Ghost Child of the Atalanta Bloom.

(1875-1958) Longtime librarian in NM, serving with UNM and the Santa Fe Public Library. Served in many public capacities, including as chairman of the Library Committee of New Mexico, on the advisory board of the Historical Society of NM, and as associate editor of the New Mexico Journal of Education.

Santa Fe. Graduate of College of Santa Fe. Film director and screenwriter best known for the films Midsommar and Hereditary.

Grew up in Santa Fe. Faculty member in the Low-Residency MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Works in numerous publications including The New Yorker and The New York Times. Author of the story collections A Guide to Being Born and Awayland and the novel Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty and a Jewish historical fiction, No One Is Here Except All Of Us.

Grew up in Peñasco, resident of Chama. Storyteller and author of Cuentos from My Childhood : legends and folktales of northern New Mexico and Cuentos from Long Ago.

(1933-2014) Born in Dixon. Doctorate in sociology from UNM; longtime professor of sociology there and developed the Sociology of New Mexico course. Co-founded the La Academia de la Nueva Raza school. Author / co-author / co-editor of several works, including The Old Town liquor dispute : social change and conflict in New Mexico and Albuquerque : portrait of a Western city : many cultures & opportunities.

Santa Fe. Writer and performer. Graduate of the College of Santa Fe. Recipient of the 2014 George R.R. Martin Screenwriting Grant. Featured in Santa Fe Noir.

Diné (Navajo). Degrees from several institutions including the Institute of American Indian Arts and an MFA in creative writing from Cornell University. Recipient of numerous awards including the Truman Capote Creative Writing Fellowship. Works in many periodicals; author of poetry/verse collection Rain Scald. Contributor to Buffalo Cactus & other new stories from the Southwest.
Author's website

Laguna Pueblo, Albuquerque. Attended Albuquerque Indian Boarding School; worked as a Harvey Girl. Registered nurse in Albuquerque. Numerous articles in a variety of periodicals including the Albuquerque Tribune. Author of the autobiographical works My Life From Laguna Pueblo to Albuquerque and Tales My Grandmother Told Me and Being Laguna.

Albuquerque columnist for the Weekly Alibi; author of Typical Pigs, which won the Lumina 2002 American Writers Contest & was a finalist for the 2001 Peter Taylor Prize. The novel is set in an Albuquerque group home for adults with severe disabilities & has been compared to Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Also author of several outdoors books, including 60 hikes within 60 miles: Albuquerque.

Author of Return of the Bones: inspired by a true story, based upon return of ancestral remains to Pecos Pueblo and winner of a New Mexico Book Award, and several autobiographies including Memoirs of a Bigamist's Daughter.

Socorro senior industrial minerals geologist for the NM Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources. Several works, including Albuquerque Downtown: From a Geologic Point of View - a Walking Tour of the City Center.

(1868-1934) Mary Hunter Austin. Prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, as well as an early feminist and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights; interacted with many New Mexican artists and authors. Visited Santa Fe at the urging of Mabel Dodge Luhan in 1918; returned to settle in 1924. Founded the Santa Fe Players, which became the Santa Fe Playhouse, in 1919. Very interested in Native American cultures and Hispanic art. Wrote one novel set in New Mexico, Starry Adventure (1931). Best known for her book The Land of Little Rain, an edition of which features photographs by Ansel Adams; collaborated with Adams on Taos Pueblo (1930). Author of a book for children, Basket Woman. Autobiography: Earth Horizon.

Pen name of Albuquerque author Steve Brewer. Under this name, writes the Lawbreakers "Duke City" detective mysteries.

Author / illustrator of Jal New Mexico - tough as an old boot.

Santa Fe. Author of Petty: The Classic Pin-Up Art of George Petty.

(1944-2011) Albuquerque. Registered Nurse and and MSN in Psychiatric Nursing; curandera and spiritual counselor. Co-author of Woman Who Glows in the Dark : a curandera reveals traditional Aztec secrets of physical and spiritual health.

Judith Schiess Avila. Tijeras. Co-author "as told to" by Chester Nez of Code Talker : the first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII.
Author's website

(1952-2019) Los Ranchos de Albuquerque journalist, author of numerous books about Hispanic folk arts and artists, especially santeros, many of them co-authored with her husband Paul Rhetts. Co-owner of LPD Press/Rio Grande Books; co-founder of the New Mexico Book Co-op. Lectured widely on New Mexican devotional art; served as judge for traditional arts at the New Mexico State Fair. Works include Charlie Carrillo : tradition & soul = tradición y alma; Our saints among us = Nuestros santos entre nosotros : 400 years of New Mexican devotional art; and Contemporary Hispanic Market : 25 years.

Albuquerque teacher of creative writing. Poet, featured in Harwood Anthology.