NM Book Awards
Congratulations to the 2026 Winners and Finalists!
Scroll to view the 2026 NM Book Awards WINNERS and FINALISTS in each category.
Paul Rhetts Award
The winner of the Paul Rhetts Award for the most highly rated book in the 2026 New Mexico Book Awards is
Death is a Hungry Angel by Leah Holbrook Sackett
Published by Shadow Dragon Press (Artemesia Publishing of Tijeras, NM)
Anthology
WINNER ~ Take Me There
Edited by Winston Malone
Storyletter XPress Publishing
FINALISTS:
Beyond Boundaries
Edited by Kimberly Rose
SouthWest Writers
Four Corners Voices, Volume 2
Edited by Gail Binkly, Sarah Carr, & Chuck Greaves
Four Corners Writers
Santa Fe Trail: Chasing the Big West
Karla K. Morton, Alan Birkelbach, Michael Martin Murphey, & Bob Boze Bell
Madville Publishing
Anthropology / Archaeology
WINNER ~ Millions of Gifts for the Gods: The Feather Distribution Project
Jonathan E. Reyman
University Press of Colorado
FINALISTS:
Ancient Women Gardeners: Prelude to the Chacoan World
David E. Stuart
University of New Mexico Press
Uncovering America’s First War: Contact, Conflict, and Coronado’s Expedition to the Rio Grande
Matthew F. Schmader
University of New Mexico Press
Arts (fine art, music, or photography)
WINNER ~ Voces del Pueblo: Artists of the Levantamiento Chicano in New Mexico
Ray Hernández-Durán & Irene Vásquez
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick and Her Art
Ann Lane Hedlund
University of Arizona Press
Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
Santa Fe Trail: Chasing the Big West
Karla K. Morton, Alan Birkelbach, Michael Martin Murphey, & Bob Boze Bell
Madville Publishing
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Chris Yogerst
University of New Mexico Press
Autobiography & Memoir
WINNER ~ The Magician’s Daughter: A Memoir
Katy Grabel
Wild Rising Press
FINALISTS:
Around the World in 80 Years
Jasmine Tritten & Jim Tritten
Jasmine Tritten LLC
From Camden to Kathmandu
Bruce Berlin
Our Time Books
In the Time of Heartbreak: A COVID Chronicle-2020
Maggie Mae Beyeler
Pica Pica Publishing
Promise Me, Daughter
Kathleen A. Hessler
RMK Publications
Thank You, John
Michelle Gurule
Unnamed Press
Biography
WINNER ~ Almost Nothing: Reclaiming Edith Farnsworth
Nora Wendl
University of Illinois Press
FINALISTS:
Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
BIPOC Author or Subject
WINNER ~ My Perfect Family
Khadijah VanBrakle
Holiday House
FINALISTS:
Halchita Red
Paige Buffington
Middle Creek Publishing
Land Shadows
R.J. Striegel
Open Instructional Narratives Publishing
Small Lives: Poems
Gary Jackson
University of New Mexico Press
Business & Career
WINNER ~ Entertainment Law in a Nutshell (6th Edition)
Sherri L. Burr
LEG dba West Academic
FINALISTS:
None
Coffee Table Book
WINNER ~ Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick and Her Art
Ann Lane Hedlund
University of Arizona Press
FINALISTS:
Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
Cookbook / Gardening / Crafts / Hobby / Home
WINNER ~ Mythic Plants: Potions & Poisons from the Garden of the Gods
Ellen Zachos
Workman Publishing
FINALISTS:
Growing a Sensational Garden in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Nan Fischer
University of New Mexico Press
Debut Book by Author or Publisher
WINNER ~ Land Shadows
R.J. Striegel
Open Instructional Narratives Publishing
FINALISTS:
Brothers in the Cross
Greg Johnson MD
Self-Published
Halchita Red
Paige Buffington
Middle Creek Publishing
Kinship Medicine
Wendy Johnson, MD, MPH
North Atlantic Books
Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
Promise Me, Daughter
Kathleen A. Hessler
RMK Publications
Take Me There
Edited by Winston Malone
Storyletter XPress Publishing
Thank You, John
Michelle Gurule
Unnamed Press
White Dan for 200
Angela L. Wilson
Mercury HeartLink
Health (mind/body/spirit)
WINNER ~ It’s Your Body
Dena Moes, RN, CNM
Countryman Press
FINALISTS:
Kinship Medicine
Wendy Johnson, MD, MPH
North Atlantic Books
Promise Me, Daughter
Kathleen A. Hessler
RMK Publications
Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain
Claire Wilcox, MD
New Harbinger Publications
History
WINNER ~ Lieutenants and Light
Robert E. C. Davis
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
Almost Nothing: Reclaiming Edith Farnsworth
Nora Wendl
University of Illinois Press
Armed Frontier
Luis Alberto Garcia-Garcia
University of New Mexico Press
Candelaria Brothers in World War I
Andrés Armijo
Florecimiento Cultural
The Jemez Mountains
Thomas W. Swetnam
University of New Mexico Press
Humor
WINNER ~ Thank You, John
Michelle Gurule
Unnamed Press
FINALISTS:
None
LGBTQIA+ Author or Subject
WINNER ~ A Chronology of Blood: Poems
Teo Shannon
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
A Real Man Would Have a Gun
Stacey Waite
University of New Mexico Press
All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey
Kit Rosewater
Penguin Random House
Sweet Talk
Rena Sapon-White & Ella Schaefer
Smokeshow Press
Undeniable
Jes Honard & Marie Parks
Not a Pipe Publishing
Multicultural
WINNER ~ Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
FINALISTS:
Between Two Freedoms
Elaine Koyama
Kubo Press Works
Martíneztown, 1945: Tales of Life and Loss in an Albuquerque Barrio
Nasario García
University of New Mexico Press
Nature / Environment / Animals / Pets
WINNER ~ Hearts in Motion, Hearts in Place
Enrique R. Lamadrid
Casa Urraca Press
FINALISTS:
Botas Altas
Linda Wilson
Self-Published
Catch a Twinkle: A Foreverness of Life in Verse
Linda Bairstow
Sunstone Press
Golden Aspens Silver Wings: Our Shared Fragile Earth
Sandra Seth
Linebreak Works
Kinship Medicine
Wendy Johnson, MD, MPH
North Atlantic Books
Mythic Plants: Potions & Poisons from the Garden of the Gods
Ellen Zachos
Workman Publishing
The Mountain Knows the Mountain
Philip Connors
University of New Mexico Press
Nonfiction – general
WINNER ~ Kinship Medicine
Wendy Johnson, MD, MPH
North Atlantic Books
FINALISTS:
Against the American Grain
Gary Paul Nabhan
University of New Mexico Press
Mohan’s Song: A Visionary Life of Divine Creativity
Sydney Scherr
Scherr Gratitude Press
Promise Me, Daughter
Kathleen A. Hessler
RMK Publications
Philosophy / Religion / New Age
WINNER ~ Catch a Twinkle: A Foreverness of Life in Verse
Linda Bairstow
Sunstone Press
FINALISTS:
None
Poetry
WINNER ~ Small Lives
Gary Jackson
University of New Mexico Press
WINNER ~ The Cruelty Virtues
Seth Brady Tucker
Lesley Cox (designer)
3: A Taos Press
FINALISTS:
Alchemy of Headwinds
John Macker
Auxarczen Press
Catch a Twinkle: A Foreverness of Life in Verse
Linda Bairstow
Sunstone Press
Dream of the Bird Tattoo
Juan J. Morales
University of New Mexico Press
Far Country
Kyce Bello
University of Nevada Press
Golden Aspens Silver Wings: Our Shared Fragile Earth
Sandra Seth
Linebreak Works
His Only Merit
Benjamin Green
Finishing Line Press
Mermaids of Albuquerque
Elizabeth Cohen
Saint Julian Press
Poetry in Dangerous Times: Two Women, Two Worlds
Demetria Martínez & Susan Sherman
Casa Urraca Press
We All Live Here
Barbara Jacksha
Cooper Brandberg Publishing
Poetry – anthology
WINNER ~ Santa Fe Trail: Chasing the Big West
Karla K. Morton, Alan Birkelbach, Michael Martin Murphey, & Bob Boze Bell
Madville Publishing
FINALISTS:
None
Self-Help & Guides
WINNER ~ Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain
Claire Wilcox, MD
New Harbinger Publications
FINALISTS:
It’s Your Body: The Young Woman’s Guide to Empowered Sexual Health
Dena Moes, RN, CNM
Countryman Press
Sports / Recreation
WINNER ~ Wrecking Ball: Race, Friendship, God, and Football
Rick Bass
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey
Kit Rosewater
Penguin Random House
Travel
WINNER:
None
FINALISTS:
None
True Crime
WINNER:
None
FINALISTS:
None
Fiction – action and adventure
WINNER ~ The Music of Creation
Paul J. Knight & Chris Allen
Shadow Dragon Press
FINALISTS:
Soulless: Curtis Chronicles #4
Joseph Badal
Black Range Media
The Apache Kid: Army Apache Scout
W. Michael Farmer
Roan & Weatherford/Hat Creek
Fiction – cozy mystery
WINNER ~ Mai Tai Malice
Tanya Westlake
Impractical Press
FINALISTS:
None
Fiction – crime
WINNER ~ Into Wrong Doing
Dennis Jung
Self-Published
FINALISTS:
Sins in Black
Dita Dow
Raven Pen Press
Rattlesnake Lawyer: The Breakdown Docket
Jonathan Miller
Cool Titles
Fiction – fantasy
WINNER ~ A Hunger with No Name
Lauren C. Teffeau
University of Tampa Press
WINNER ~ Nick and Clancy: A Tale of Nine Lives
C.C. Jirón
Self-Published
FINALISTS:
Never the Roses
Jennifer K. Lambert
Tor Publishing Group
The Sirens of Sayhurn
Keith Pyeatt
Self-Published
Undeniable
Jes Honard & Marie Parks
Not a Pipe Publishing
Fiction – historical
WINNER ~ Between Two Freedoms
Elaine Koyama
Kubo Press Works
FINALISTS:
Brothers in the Cross
Greg Johnson MD
Self-Published
Land Shadows
R.J. Striegel
Open Instructional Narratives Publishing
Secretary to the Socialite
Amanda McCabe
Oliver Heber Books
The Apache Kid: Army Apache Scout
W. Michael Farmer
Roan & Weatherford/Hat Creek
The Coming of Centori and The Circle C Riders
Daniel R. Cillis, Ph.D.
iUniverse
The Gray Mare
David Kyea
Self-Published
The Women of Bandit Bend
C.C. Harrison
Artemesia Publishing
Fiction – literary
WINNER ~ The Llano County Mermaid Club
Kathleen M. Rogers
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
Catch a Twinkle: A Foreverness of Life in Verse
Linda Bairstow
Sunstone Press
Land Shadows
R.J. Striegel
Open Instructional Narratives Publishing
The High Heaven
Joshua Wheeler
Graywolf Press
White Dan for 200
Angela L. Wilson
Mercury HeartLink
Fiction – mystery
WINNER ~ Bone Hash
Skye Griffith
Artemesia Publishing
WINNER ~ Salt Bones
Jennifer Givhan
Little, Brown
WINNER ~ The River Ghost
Thomas D. Clagett
Rio Lobo Press
FINALISTS:
Sins in Black
Dita Dow
Raven Pen Press
Fiction – romance
WINNER ~ All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey
Kit Rosewater
Penguin Random House
FINALISTS:
Never the Roses
Jennifer K. Lambert
Tor Publishing Group
Sweet Talk
Rena Sapon-White & Ella Schaefer
Smokeshow Press
Fiction – sci-fi
WINNER ~ One Night at Kedasi
Ashton Macaulay
Shadow Dragon Press
FINALISTS:
A Hunger with No Name
Lauren C. Teffeau
University of Tampa Press
The Music of Creation
Paul J. Knight & Chris Allen
Shadow Dragon Press
Fiction – short story collection
WINNER ~ The Problem You Have
Robert Garner McBrearty
University of New Mexico Press
FINALISTS:
The Lost Knight and Other Tales
Ricardo Victoria
Shadow Dragon Press
Fiction – thriller/suspense
WINNER ~ Sins in Black
Dita Dow
Raven Pen Press
FINALISTS:
Shot Clock
Andrew Bourelle
Severn House
Soulless: Curtis Chronicles #4
Joseph Badal
Black Range Media
Undeniable
Jes Honard & Marie Parks
Not a Pipe Publishing
Young Adult (high school)
WINNER ~ Death is a Hungry Angel
Leah Holbrook Sackett
Shadow Dragon Press
FINALISTS:
All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey
Kit Rosewater
Penguin Random House
Between Two Freedoms
Elaine Koyama
Kubo Press Works
Catch a Twinkle: A Foreverness of Life in Verse
Linda Bairstow
Sunstone Press
My Perfect Family
Khadijah VanBrakle
Holiday House
Middle Grade (grades 3-8)
WINNER ~ Paul Weaver and the Soul Reaver
S.C. McMurray
Kinkajou Press
FINALISTS:
Heroes of New Mexico History
Katy Hammel
Self-Published
Children’s Picture Book
WINNER ~ Chooch Helped
Andrea L. Rogers
Rebecca Lee Kunz (illustrator)
Levine Querido
FINALISTS:
Botas Altas
Linda Wilson
Self-Published
Goat for Rent
Sue Houser
Irie Books
Goodnight, Gull
Keith Windham
Self-Published
Hatch Chile Willie
Rachel Bate
Amplify Publishing/Mascot Kids
Yáadilá! Good Grief!
Laurel Goodluck
Harper Collins/Heartdrum
Cover Design (6x9 or smaller)
WINNER ~ Take Me There
Edited by Winston Malone
Storyletter XPress Publishing
FINALISTS:
The Fraternal Order
Adrian Nogales
Pima Publishing Company
Cover Design (larger than 6x9)
WINNER ~ Golden Aspens Silver Wings: Our Shared Fragile Earth
Sandra Seth
Linebreak Works
FINALISTS:
None
For edits to listed book covers, titles, authors, or publishers, please email NM Book Awards.