Category: Author Video

“Sons of Gunshooter” Authors Speak at New Mexico History Museum

Posted on September 4, 2026September 2, 2026 by maryreynolds

September 4, 2026

Dorothy Denetclaw and Matt Fitzsimons, authors of The Sons of Gunshooter: A Navajo Resistance Story, spoke at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe on August 15, 2026, as part of Indian Market Week. Dorothy Denetclaw is Tótsohnii born for Tł’ááschí’í. She has lived in Indian Wells, Arizona her whole life. Matt Fitzsimons is a former newspaper reporter and the author of The Counterfeiters of Bosque Redondo: Slavery, Silver, and the U.S. War Against the Navajo Nation. He lives in San Diego, California, and is a member of the Diné Studies Conference, based in Window Rock, Arizona.

Fitzsimons began the presentation by talking about The Hubbell Trading Post, a major setting in The Sons of Gunshooter, describing Hubbell’s exploitation of Navajo artists, as well as what happened to Denetclaw’s family: “A fuller history besides showing wrongdoing allows us to recognize resistance, survival, and better ways of doing things in the future…I mean, there’s all this terrible stuff that happened to Dorothy’s family, but they got through it time and time again. You know, the Hubbells went bankrupt and Dorothy’s family is out there today selling art on the plaza. You know, it’s a good story. It’s a happy story. I don’t know why we’re afraid to be honest with tourists about it.”

Watch the fascinating presentation in the video here.

About the book:

In 1919, the brother of one of the West’s most famous Indian traders was shot to death in a remote corner of the Navajo Nation.

Part history, part true crime, The Sons of Gunshooter reexamines the killing and subsequent murder trial, while simultaneously embedding the story in a much larger saga of colonization and resistance. The result is a book that’s sweeping in its scope and surgical in its approach. Rewinding the clock to 1868, the authors follow the intertwining paths of two families to offer a riveting, deeply personal account that has been hailed as “a new way of doing historiography.”

One of the authors is a descendant of participants in the case; the other is an investigative journalist. By merging Diné oral traditions with archival evidence, they succeed in upending one false narrative after another.

“Sons of Gunshooter” Authors on C-SPAN American History TV

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by maryreynolds

August 20, 2026

C-SPAN’s Amercan History TV features a book talk with Dorothy Denetclaw and Matt Fitzsimons authors of The Sons of Gunshooter: A Navajo Resistance Story. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, co-editor of The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature, moderated the wide-ranging discussion that was filmed at Collected Works Bookstore in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in March 2026. Dorothy Denetclaw is Tótsohnii born for Tł’ááschí’í. She has lived in Indian Wells, Arizona, her whole life. Matt Fitzsimons is a former newspaper reporter and the author of The Counterfeiters of Bosque Redondo: Slavery, Silver, and the U.S. War Against the Navajo Nation. He lives in San Diego, California, and is a member of the Diné Studies Conference, based in Window Rock, Arizona.

Denetclaw talked about how she came to write this book with Fitzsimons, starting with stories from her childhood: “I didn’t see a white person or hear a word of English until I was nine years old. But during that time, my father talked to us and told us ‘this what happened.’ And he told me all these stories. . . . . Later on, I remembered my daddy’s stories and I started writing. Then Navajo Times newspaper reporter Cindy Yurth wrote the stories with me, and put it in the paper. . . . Matt read the stories in the newspaper and asked Cindy Yurth for my number.”

Watch the fascinating conversation in the video here.

About the book:

“Science Friday” Interviews Brian May and Derek Ward-Thompson

Posted on March 6, 2026March 5, 2026 by maryreynolds

March 6, 2024

Brian May and Derek Ward-Thompson, authors of Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, were interviewed by host Flora Lichtman for Science Friday. She talked with them about the enchanting nature of space and the collision of art and astronomy. And yes, they get into the music of Queen, because May is guitarist for the band.

When Lichtman explained that she’d seen many pictures of galaxies, but was surprised to see so many different galaxies shapes in this book, May replied, “Until you actually see it in 3-D, you don’t have the right image in your head, something that ticks.” Ward-Thompson said, “We talk about the true shapes of galaxies and in one chapter in the book, we talk about so-called ‘interacting galaxies.’ These are galaxies in the process of colliding with each other.”

Listen to Science Friday on your favorite public radio station on Friday, March 5, for the interview; or listen to the the extended podcast interview.

About the book:

This groundbreaking book brings the cosmos to life like never before. Featuring more than two hundred stunning color photographs from the world’s leading observatories and eighty detailed diagrams, this large-format book offers a mesmerizing journey through the formation, nature, evolution, and classification of galaxies.

Highlights include:

A look at the universe in three dimensions with Brian May’s patented 3-D viewer,
Accessible science, offering a non-mathematical review of modern cosmology and astronomy
An exploration of the chaotic beauty of colliding and merging galaxies,
A reference section on historical galaxy catalogues, plus a comprehensive index.

Authored by renowned astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and the world’s most famous astronomer Brian May, with ground-breaking stereos by J-P Metsävainio, Islands of Infinity is a must-have for anyone fascinated by the night sky.

Brian May Video on His New Book “Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D”

Posted on December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 by maryreynolds

December 17, 2024

Brian May, editor with Derek Ward-Thompson (Author) and J-P Metsävainio (Illustrator) of Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, sent us this video about why they created this book.

Readers in North America can pre-order this amazing book through our website now, with delivery scheduled for early February.

About the book:

Highlights include:

A look at the universe in three dimensions with Brian May’s patented 3-D viewer,
Accessible science, offering a non-mathematical review of modern cosmology and astronomy
An exploration of the chaotic beauty of colliding and merging galaxies,
A reference section on historical galaxy catalogues, plus a comprehensive index.

Video: Linda Gregonis and Victoria Evans on The Hohokam and Their World

Posted on July 31, 2025July 2, 2025 by maryreynolds

July 31, 2025

Linda Gregonis and Victoria Evans, authors of The Hohokam and Their World: An Exploration of Art and Iconography, spoke with archaeologist Gayle Hartmann in the spring as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. In this Southwest Center video of the event, the conversation followed the traces of what the Hohokam left behind: pottery, carved stone, shell ornaments, and stunning rock imagery. These materials offer a glimpse into how the Hohokam viewed and navigated their world: how they understood water, the desert, the ocean, travel, their ancestors, and the cosmos. The talk reflected the powerful backdrop of Tumamoc Hill, itself a significant Hohokam archaeological site.

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

Linda M. Gregonis is an independent researcher who has spent more than forty years researching various aspects of Hohokam culture, including iconography, while working primarily as a ceramics analyst. Victoria R. Evans is an archaeologist who has conducted research in the Sonoran Desert for more than twenty years. The Hohokam and Their World offers readers the opportunity to explore how these various images and objects may have been used by the Hohokam. The authors discuss how artists drew inspiration from their Sonoran Desert homeland and were also influenced by the cultures of western Mexico, the hunter-gatherers of the western desert, the Mogollon to the east, and the Pueblo cultures of the northern Southwest.

Stephen J. Pyne Gives Keynote Address on Fire to Geological Society of American Meeting

Posted on September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 by Anissa Suazo

September 30, 2024

Stephen J. Pyne, author of Five Suns: A Fire History of Mexico and more than 40 other books about fire, gave the keynote address at a fire-themed session at the Geological Society of America (GSA) annual meeting on September 23, 2024. GSA previewed his address in this Youtube interview with him, “How Our Relationship with Fire Has Changed Through Time with Dr. Stephen Pyne.”

Pyne is a fire historian, urban farmer, and emeritus professor at Arizona State University. He spent 15 seasons with the North Rim Longshots, a fire crew at Grand Canyon National Park.

During the interview, Dr. Rachel Phillips, a GSA Science Communication Fellow, asked Pyne to explain more about the evolution of fire. He replied: “Fire is a shape shifter, I mean, fire is a reaction. It’s not a substance like earth, air, or water. It can assume many forms but it’s fundamentally a substance. Fire takes its character from its context so it synthesizes, it integrates its surroundings and as those surroundings change, fire changes. So, as oxygen levels on Earth change, fire changes. As plants and animals evolve and rearrange and organize terrestrial landscapes, fire assumes forms appropriate to those landscapes and those conditions.”

About Five Suns:

Narrating Mexico’s evolution of fire through five eras, historian Stephen J. Pyne describes the pre-human, pre-Hispanic, colonial, industrializing (1880–1980), and contemporary (1980–2015) fire biography of this diverse and dynamic country. Creatively deploying the Aztec New Fire Ceremony and the “five suns” that it birthed, Pyne addresses the question, “Why does fire appear in Mexico the way it does?” Five Suns tells the saga through a pyric prism.

Mexico has become one of the top ten “firepowers” in the world today through its fire suppression capabilities, fire research, and industrial combustion, but also by those continuing customary practices that have become increasingly significant to a world that suffers too much combustion and too little fire.

June 24, 2024

Diné geographer Andrew Curley, author of Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation, discusses “The Colorado River and the Colonial Blindspot” as part of the “Natural History for a World in Crisis” series. This panel discussion, moderated by Beka Economopoulos, is the first in the year-long series produced by the The Natural History Museum. Curley is joined by Teresa Montoya (Diné), Traci Brynne Voyles, and Erika M. Bsumek, to explore the impact of colonial intrusions and challenge the audience into seeing “colonial blindspots” in the water crisis.

“We tend to focus on this issue of climate change, when really there’s never been enough water for settler designs. And each time there’s a new infrastructure built onto the river’s tributaries, it’s satisfying a temporary problem that is quickly overwhelmed by more and more settlers. It’s the nature of settler colonialism in the region.”

Andrew Curley, in The Colorado River and the Colonial Blindspot

Watch or read the transcript of the full video here. This link also includes an additional video: “Rethinking the Water Paradigm with Andrew Curley.”

Curley is a member of the Navajo Nation and an assistant professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona. He has studied the social, cultural, and political implications of coal mining in the Navajo Nation, and his latest research is on the environmental history of water diversions on the Colorado River and the impact of colonial infrastructures on tribal nations.

About Carbon Sovereignty:

This comprehensive new work offers a deep dive into the complex inner workings of energy shift in the Navajo Nation. Geographer Andrew Curley, a member of the Navajo Nation, examines the history of coal development within the Navajo Nation, including why some Diné supported coal and the consequences of doing so. He explains the Navajo Nation’s strategic choices to use the coal industry to support its sovereignty as a path forward in the face of ongoing colonialism. Carbon Sovereignty demonstrates the mechanism of capitalism through colonialism and the construction of resource sovereignty, in both the Navajo Nation’s embrace and its rejection of a coal economy.

Jesús Rosales featured on Arizona Public Media

Posted on February 14, 2024February 12, 2024 by maryreynolds

February 14, 2024

Jesús Rosales was interviewed on Arizona Public Media about the book he co-edited with Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez: La Plonqui: The Literary Life and Work of Margarita Cota-Cárdenas. The video also features an interview with Margarita Cota-Cárdenas at her 82nd birthday celebration. Cota-Cárdenas was a pioneer in Chicano Studies: the first courses she taught in Chicano literature were in Spanish at Arizona State University. Watch the full video here.

In the interview, Rosales said, “Margarita is part of the Chicano movement writers from the sixties and seventies. I believe she is a pioneer in the sense that she was one of the first writers who introduced courses also at the university level of Chicano writers. She wrote most of her stuff in Spanish and in Spanglish. It was a really challenging writing for her and for the readers as well.”

About the book:

Celebrating more than forty years of creative writing by Chicana author Margarita Cota-Cárdenas, this volume includes critical essays, reflections, interviews, and previously unpublished writing by the author herself to document the lifelong craft and legacy of a pioneering writer in the field.

Nicknamed “La Plonky” by her family after a made-up childhood song, Cota-Cárdenas grew up in California, taught almost exclusively in Arizona, and produced five major works (two novels and three books of poetry) that offer an expansive literary production spanning from the 1960s to today. Her perspectives on Chicana identity, the Chicanx movement, and the sociopolitical climate of Arizona and the larger U.S.-Mexico border region represent a significant contribution to the larger body of Chicanx literature. Additionally, the volume explores her perspectives on issues of gender, sexuality, and identity related to the Chicanx experience over time.

Anthony Macías on Latinopia Cinema

Posted on November 3, 2023October 31, 2023 by maryreynolds

November 3, 2023

Anthony Macías, author of Chicano-Chicana Americana: Pop Culture Pluralism Starring Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Robert Beltran, and Lupe Ontiveros, was interviewed on Latinopia.com. In the short video, he talks about how the actors subtly transformed American culture through film imagery. He explains about two actors featured in the book: “When I was telling people about the book, I was shocked that they had no idea who Anthony Quinn is. And he has been in hundreds of movies, co-starring with all these Academy Award winners. He’s a four-time Academy Award winner and people haven’t heard of him! And then Katy Jurado—I wasn’t aware of her other than her groundbreaking, legendary role in ‘High Noon.’ She was bigger in the golden age of Mexican cinema than in the classic Hollywood studio system.”

About Chicano-Chicana Americana:

Each biographical chapter analyzes an underappreciated actor, revealing their artistic contributions to U.S. common culture. Their long-shot careers tell a tale of players taking action with agency and fighting for screen time and equal opportunity despite disadvantages and differential treatment in Hollywood. These dynamic and complex individuals altered cinematic representations—and audience expectations—by surpassing stereotypes.

The book explores American national character by showing how ethnic Mexicans attained social and cultural status through fair, open competition without a radical realignment of political or economic structures. Their creative achievements demanded dignity and earned respect. Macías argues that these performances demonstrated a pop culture pluralism that subtly changed mainstream America, transforming it from the mythological past of the Wild West to the speculative future of science fiction.

Cynthia Guardado Video Interview about Cenizas

Posted on July 11, 2023May 22, 2023 by maryreynolds

July 11, 2023

The University of Arizona’s Nancy Montoya interviewed Cynthia Guardado about her poetry collection, Cenizas, during the 2023 Tucson Festival of Books. The UA’s Digital Futures Bilingual Studio hosted the interview, and the video is available here.

Guardado talks about her poetry influenced by her family, violence and civil war in El Salvador, and shared grief through migration. Asked about the home that exists in her heart, she says “Home is the cobbled stone and dirt road that arrives at my Mama Chila’s house, my grandmother’s house,” in El Salvador.

Cenizas offers an arresting portrait of a Salvadoran family whose lives have been shaped by the upheavals of global politics. The speaker of these poems—the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants—questions the meaning of homeland as she navigates life in the United States while remaining tethered to El Salvador by the long shadows cast by personal and public history. Cynthia Guardado’s poems give voice to the grief of family trauma, while capturing moments of beauty and tenderness. Maternal figures preside over the verses, guiding the speaker as she searches the ashes of history to tell her family’s story. The spare, narrative style of the poems are filled with depth as the family’s layers come to light.

The University of Arizona Press