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 February 17, 2026.

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

Upcoming Events

Publication Party - Bishop’s Lodge, Santa Fe, February 22, 2026, 4 - 6pm MT. This is a public event, but it will require registration.

Southwest Seminars - Hotel Santa Fe, March 9 @ 6pm MT

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 15 and May 16 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.

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

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

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.