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

Santa Fe International Book Festival, May 15 - 17, 2026

Mountain Words Festival, Crested Butte, May 21 - 24, 2026

Willa Cather Spring Conference, Red Cloud, Nebraska, June 4 - 6, 2026

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.