The Library's Many Nations Team is excited to present a Diné Literary Debuts panel featuring Stacie Shannon Denetsosie and Brendan Shay Basham at the Tucson Festival of Books:
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Sunday, March 10 from 4 to 5 pm
Nuestras Raíces Stage
Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, a member of the Navajo Nation whose clans are Todích'íí'nii (Bittter Water), born for Naakaii Dine'é (Mexican), and Brendan Shay Basham (Diné) who is Tó Ts'ohnii (Big Water) and Bit'ahnii (Folded-Arms People), born for bilagáana (Irish, Scottish, English, German) will discuss themes of loss and hope in their respective first books.
Stacie is from Kayenta, AZ, but currently resides in Northern Utah. She is a recipient of the UCROSS Native American Fellowship and graduated with her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2021. Her work has appeared in Yellow Medicine Review, Phoebe Magazine, and CutBank Literary Magazine. Her debut book, The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories, received a Kirkus Star, which honors books of exceptional merit. In addition, she is a contributor to the Torrey House Press anthology Blossom as the Cliffrose: Mormon Legacies and the Beckoning Wild.
Brendan is a fiction writer, poet, educator, and former chef. Born in Alaska and raised in Arizona, he received his bachelor's degree from The Evergreen State College and Master of Fine Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts. His work has appeared in Puerto del Sol, Santa Fe Literary Review, Yellow Medicine Review, and Juked, among other publications. He is a recipient of Poetry Northwest's inaugural James Welch Prize for Indigenous Writers and the Ucross Foundation's first Native American Literary Award. In addition, he has received fellowships from the Truman Capote Trust and Writing By Writers. Brendan's debut novel, Swim Home to the Vanished, was released by Harper Books in August 2023.
The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories and Swim Home to the Vanished were named as Top Picks in the Library's 2024 Southwest Books of the Year.
This panel will be moderated by Lindsey Allison Curley (Diné), who is Red House Clan and born for the Hopi Salt Clan, and was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated with a BA in Creative Writing, emphasis in Poetry, and a minor in American Indian Studies and a Masters in Library & Information Science at the University of Arizona. She is currently a Tween Services Librarian with the Pima County Public Library."
