Garrett’s latest book is The Bright Edges of the World: Willa Cather and Her Archbishop (University of New Mexico Press, 2026). The book explores Cather’s travels to the Southwest that inspired her to write her “best book” (her words), Death Comes for the Archbishop.

I first visited Santa Fe in 1998 with my mom, and she insisted that I read Archbishop before our trip. I fell in love with the City Different and with Cather, and worked on this history for decades. I moved to Santa Fe during the pandemic in 2021 - it’s my final destination - and lead a Willa Cather’s Santa Fe walking tour, while also wrapping up the research and writing for this book.

The book will be published on March 10, 2026.

See below for exciting book-related events around the country!

Upcoming Events

Publication Party - Bishop’s Lodge, Santa Fe, February 22, 2026, 4 - 6:30 pm MT. This is a public event, but attendees should register and pre-order books through Garcia Street Books.

Bookworks, Albuquerque, March 10 @ 6pm. Publication day talk & book signing!

Hotel Willa, Taos, March 11, 5 - 7pm

National Willa Cather Center author talk (virtual), March 19 @ 7pm CT

Smithsonian Associates virtual talk, April 7 @ 7pm ET

Interabang Books, Dallas, Texas April 17 @ 6pm CT

Politics & Prose bookstore, April 29 @ 7pm ET

Santa Fe International Book Festival. I’ll be leading the Willa Cather Walk + Talk on May 16 and May 17 at 4pm both days (registration required). For those arriving in Santa Fe early, I’ll be leading the longer Willa Cather’s Santa Fe walking tour every day that week - tickets on Airbnb, and the D. H. Lawrence day-trip to Taos on May 14.

Mountain Words Festival, Crested Butte. And I’ll be teaching stargazing! May 21 - 24

Willa Cather Spring Conference, Red Cloud, Nebraska, June 4 - 6

Francie & Finch Bookshop, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 9 @ 5:30pm CT

Dr. Arnim Rembe Lecture, Los Poblanos, Albuquerque, June 17 @ 5:30pm MT

Southwest Seminars - Hotel Santa Fe, July 27 @ 6pm MT

Garrett with Cather’s portrait by Nickolas Muray (1924). Cather directed her publisher, Alfred Knopf, to send this photo to Bishop’s Lodge in 1927 shortly after Archbishop was published.