NMSL News:
SANTA FE — The 2026 New Mexico Great Reads book selection honors two books rooted in fire watch life: “The Burning Season” by Caroline Starr Rose and “The Mountain Knows the Mountain: A Fire Watch Diary” by Philip Connors.
The books were selected by the New Mexico Center for the Book at the New Mexico State Library (NMSL) to represent the state’s literary landscape at the National Book Festival, an event showcasing the importance of books and reading. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Washington, D.C., as well as online.
Katherine Miles, Public Services Bureau Chief at NMSL says, “This year’s youth and adult selections for the National Book Festival illuminate a theme deeply intertwined with life in New Mexico: fire. Each title reflects, through powerful poetry, the ways in which fire stewardship shapes the delicate balance of our forests, our communities, and the places we call home.”
About the Books
The youth book selection, “The Burning Season” by Caroline Starr Rose, tells the story of Opal, a 12-year-old who is about to become a fourth-generation fire lookout on Wolf Mountain in the New Mexico wilderness. But Opal has a secret—she is afraid of fire. The book tells the story of her preparation for the job, her dreams, and how she spots smoke in the mountains and has to face her fears.
“The Mountain Knows the Mountain: A Fire Watch Diary” by Philip Connors is the adult book selection, and it shares firsthand accounts of the author’s 14 years as a fire lookout in the Gila Wilderness. Written in the centuries-old haibun form that blends prose with traditional haiku, Connors interweaves close observation, personal reflection, memory, and decades of hard-won knowledge about the forest, the mountain, and fire.
Many libraries across New Mexico and the Southwest carry copies of “The Burning Season” and “The Mountain Knows the Mountain: A Fire Watch Diary,” as well as additional titles by these authors.
About the National Book Festival
The National Book Festival will include many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs celebrating books and authors, which will be posted on the National Book Festival website. You can also find out more about the New Mexico titles on the New Mexico State Library National Book Festival site.
About New Mexico Center for the Book
New Mexico Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The New Mexico center promotes literacy and a love of books, reading and libraries throughout the state, celebrating New Mexico’s literary heritage, and is administered by New Mexico State Library, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about New Mexico State Library and Center for the Book visit nmstatelibrary.org.