GREAT SOUTHWEST BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS REGIONAL LIT JOURNEY

An exploration of the magic of U.S. deserts is the top book of the 2025 Great Southwest Book Festival, which honors the best of the late winter/early spring.

Wandering in American Deserts by editors Linda Watanabe King, Joanna Biggar, Laurie McAndish King (Wanderland Writers) looks at the desert spaces of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. This ninth volume of the Wanderland Writers series illuminates the staggering variety of landscapes, animal life, plants and geographical and human history that leave trails for us to follow into the present.

Their observations set the stage for a deeper understanding of what the American desert, and by extension, the planet we inhabit, have to teach us about ourselves and our place in our rapidly changing, sometimes confounding world.


Other winners in the competition:


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: The Name I Choose - Holly Brough

RUNNERS-UP:

• Descending Thirds - Nicole Conn
• Spin Cycle - Alfredo Botello
• A Soldier’s Burden - Natia Khaduri
• Northfield Saga 4: Storm Break - Calvin B. Fisher

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Fool’s Gold Folly - J.D.R. Hawkins
• The Day The Birds Came Calling - Dr. Linda Roberts-Betsch
• >Sniff - G.C. Brown

HOW-TO:

WINNER: What’s Eating Our Kids? - Julie A. Wendt


YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: Vork Chronicles Welcome to Superhero School - Gracie Dix

RUNNER-UP: The Boy Who Earned His Magic - Lynn H. Elliott

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Lost Worlds Book One - Esteban Vazquez

HISTORY:

WINNER: Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads - S.R. Mallery


UNPUBLISHED:

WINNER: The Third Estate Secrets of the Manor - D.R. Berlin

RUNNER-UP: Real Life Real Laughs - Cate Burns


REGIONAL LIT:

WINNER: Wandering in American Deserts - edited by Linda Watanabe King, Joanna Biggar, Laurie McAndish King

RUNNER-UP: The Name I Choose - Holly Brough

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Desert Town Angels - R.A. Lee

MEMOIR:

WINNER: At Sea on the Range - Josephine Alexander

RUNNER-UP: Little Boy, I Know Your Name - Mitchell Raff


GENERAL NON FICTION:

WINNER: Mission Out of Control - Dr. Charles Mamarda

RUNNER-UP: Deadly Dilemma - Anthony Gurley


WILD CARD:

WINNER: When I Nurture My Creativity - Laura Linn Knight


POETRY:

WINNER: Sonnets from Suburbia - Penny Peyser

RUNNER-UP: Time Billionaire - K.G. Newman


CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: A Kindergarten Story - Tammy Donahue

RUNNER-UP: Polka Dots and Tater Tots - Melinda Chambers

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Popcorn the Squirrel - Rusty McQuade

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: Island to Icon - Dreama Denver

ROMANCE:

WINNER: A Perfect Miracle - Katrina Alexander