(TUCSON, Ariz.) – With every new year comes the Library's perennially-popular Southwest Books of the Year. The 2026 edition marks the 49th year of publication. It is now available online (books for adults and books for children and young adults), and at libraries and local bookstores.
Of the books, panelist praise included such remarks as, "riveting," "visually brilliant," and "brimming with insights into human nature."
2026 Top Picks
Art & Photography
- Louis Carlos Bernal: Monografía by Elizabeth Ferrer
- Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick and Her Art by Ann Lane Hedlund
Fiction
- Old Soul by Susan Barker
- Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores
- Weepers by Peter Mendelsund
- Sacrament by Susan Straight
- Crown by Evanthia Bromiley
- A Desert Between Two Seas by A. Muia
- A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon by Richard Babcock
- Amity by Nathan Harris
History
- The Crossing: El Paso, the Southwest, and America's Forgotten Origin Story by Richard Parker
- Storied Property: Maria Cordova's Casa by Lydia R. Otero
Memoir
- A Chance to Make a Difference by John Paul Schaefer
- Dora: A Daughter of Unforgiving Terrain by Dora Rodriguez
Nature & Science
- The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light by Craig Childs
Poetry
- Every Sound Is Not a Wolf by Alberto Ríos
- Into the Hush by Arthur Sze
Beyond the Top Picks, the publication includes titles in other categories, including film and cooking & food, and books for children and young adults.
Southwest Books of the Year at the Tucson Festival of Books!
Get to know the authors behind this year's selections in special panels at this year's Festival (March 14 & 15). Panels will feature:
- Evanthia Bromiley, Crown
- Ann Hedlund, Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick and Her Art
- A. Muia, A Desert Between Two Seas
Visit the Festival's website to find panel information.
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.
Southwest Books of the Year: Best Reading 2026 is published by Pima County Public Library in partnership with the Arizona Center for the Book at the Arizona State Library.
Southwest Books of the Year is made possible through funding from the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For more information, email the library at literaryarts@pima.gov or visit www.library.pima.gov/southwestbooks.