A Literary Celebration with Luis Alberto Urrea

The remarkable heroine of the beloved bestseller The Hummingbird’s Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America by storyteller and Latino Literary Hall of Fame member Luis Alberto Urrea. More than two decades in the making, QUEEN OF AMERICA is the much-anticipated sequel to The Hummingbird’s Daughter, and showcases one of our most talented writers at the top of his form.

Raise a glass of wine and celebrate author, book, and the holidays with us as we end our fall season!

Urrea’s tale is based on his real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint.  Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and “Saint of Cabora,” flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Teresita meets immigrants and tycoons, European royalty and Cuban poets, all waking to the new American century. As she decides what her own role in this modern future will be, she must ask herself, can a saint fall in love? At turns heartbreaking, uplifting, and riotously funny, QUEEN OF AMERICA reconfirms Luis Urrea’s status as one of our literary gems. 

Luis Alberto Urrea is the author of 14 books, including The Devil’s Highway: A True Story and Into the Beautiful North. Winner of a Lannan Literary Award and Christopher Award (for Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border), he is the recipient of an American Book Award (for Nobody’s Son), the Kiriyama Pize, an Edgar award (for Amapola in Phoenix Noir), and a citation of excellence from the American Library Association. He is also a member of the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. Follow him on Twitter; catch him on Facebook.