Tucson Festival of Books | Brandon Hobson

Brandon Hobson

Connor Bock

Brandon Hobson's novel "Where the Dead Sit Talking" was a finalist for the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction. He has won fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the UCROSS Foundation. He teaches creative writing at New Mexico State University and at the Institute of American Indian Arts and is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation Tribe of Oklahoma. Besides writing "The Removed," his latest novel is "The Devil is a Southpaw."

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Awards: Guggenheim Fellow, Pushcart Prize, Finalist for National Book Award.

Communities: Indigenous or Native American

Scheduled events:

Indigenous Storytellers

Join us for a morning with celebrated Indigenous storytellers as they dive into their diverse bodies of work. They write for different age groups and genres, but all of their narratives explore Indigenous identity and heritage.

Nuestras Raíces Stage (Seats 150)

Sat, Mar 14, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Nuestras Raices
Signing area: Pima County Public Library/Nuestras Raíces/Craft Tent & Signing Area (following presentation)

Panelists: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Brandon Hobson, Cynthia Leitich Smith
Moderator: Jon Proudstar

Reinvention and Reality

In a world defined by uncertainty, how do we remake ourselves? What stories do we tell to make sense of chaos? This panel brings together three authors who capture the contemporary moment with humor, empathy and imagination, exploring how people adapt, resist and reinvent their lives.

Commons 105 / Chemistry (Seats 217, Wheelchair accessible)
Sat, Mar 14, 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Fiction / Literature
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Jade Chang, Nikki Erlick, Brandon Hobson
Moderator: April Ignacio

Trauma, Memory and Truth

What is the responsibility of a storyteller when recounting trauma, injustice, or loss? This panel brings together three authors who explore the fragile line between memory and reality, and how personal and collective histories shape our understanding of the world.

Commons 105 / Chemistry (Seats 217, Wheelchair accessible)
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Fiction / Literature
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Brandon Hobson, T Kira Madden, Thrity Umrigar
Moderator: Jessica Braithwaite

Books:

The Devil Is a Southpaw

A Novel
Fiction / Literature
HarperCollins Publishers
October 2025
ISBN 9780063259652
352 pages
Buy now

The Removed

A Novel
Fiction / Literature
HarperCollinsPublishers
January 2021
ISBN 9780062997548
272 pages
Buy now