SBS Faculty to Join Lineup as Panelists and Moderators at Tucson Festival of Books 2026

The Tucson Festival of Books, founded in 2009, returns to the University of Arizona Mall on Mar. 14-15, continuing a campus tradition that draws readers and writers each year. Known for its wide range of author panels, conversations and book signings, the festival celebrates books and literacy across all ages. The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is excited to feature several faculty authors who will speak as panelists, moderators and participate at press booths to sign their books. 

SBS Faculty Panelists

Mimi Nichter, professor emerita in the School of Anthropology is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and has spent her career studying health, culture, and human resilience. Her forthcoming memoir, Hostage: A Memoir of Terrorism, Trauma, and Resilience, will be published March 1, 2026, by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press.

Saturday 
Lessons from the Middle East, 11:30 a.m.–12:25 p.m. | Student Union Gallagher Theater

Sunday 
I Will Survive! 4 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. | Student Union Tucson Room

Book signings will follow each session at the UA Campus Store book sales area on the Mall.

Melani Martinez, senior lecturer in the Department of English, writes about family, food, and the Tucson community. Her memoir, The Molino, shares the story of her family’s downtown tamale and tortilla factory and explores heritage, community, and resilience.

Saturday
Workshop: Family and Food, 2:30 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. | Integrated Learning Center, Room 125AB

Sunday 
Viva Tucson: Tucsonense History in Focus, 4:00 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. | Nuestras Raíces Stage (with Lydia Otero)

Book signings after each session at Nuestras Raíces/Craft Tent & Signing Area

Lydia Otero is an associate professor emeritus in the Mexican American Studies/School of Global Studies, and historian and memoirist whose work highlights Chicanx history, urban life, and queer experiences in the Southwest. They released In the Shadows of the Freeway: Growing Up & Queer in 2019, and L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Archival Memoir in 2023.

Sunday 
Viva Tucson: Tucsonense History in Focus, 4:00 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. | Nuestras Raíces Stage (with Melani Martinez)

Book signings after each session at Nuestras Raíces/Craft Tent & Signing Area

Susan Briante, professor of creative writing in the Department of English, is the author of Defacing the Monument and three poetry collections: Pioneers in the Study of Motion, Utopia Minus and The Market Wonders. She received the Poetry Foundation Pegasus Award for Literary Criticism in 2021.

Saturday 
The Poem Is Political, 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m. Student Union Kiva Room

Sunday 
Imagined Borders, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | Student Union Kiva Room

Book signings will follow each session at the UA Campus Store main floor signing area.

Alan Weisman, laureate professor emeritus of journalism in the School of Journalism, is the author of The World Without Us and Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World Fighting to Find Us a Future. He has reported from more than 60 countries and received numerous national and international awards for his work.

Saturday 
Covering a World on the Brink, 10 a.m.-10:55 a.m. | Student Union Sabino Room
Activism in Action, 2:30 p.m.-3:25 p.m. | Student Union Santa Rita Room

Sunday 
Our Planet Is in Peril, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | Student Union Gallagher Theater
Climate, Hope and Resilience, 4 p.m.-4:55 p.m. | National Park Experience Stage

Book signings will follow each session at designated festival signing areas.

Abby Limmer directs outreach at the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies and serves on the Middle East Outreach Council board.

Sunday
Outstanding Books About the Middle East, 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m., Sunday, March 15 | Education Room 333

SBS Faculty Moderators

Jessica Braithwaite, School of Government and Public Policy

Saturday
The Weight of Truth, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | The Commons, Room 105
Sunday  
Trauma, Memory and Truth, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | The Commons, Room 105
 

Carlos Parra, Department of History

Saturday
Carrying Home: Migration Memories, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | Nuestras Raíces Stage
 

Jennifer Jenkins, Southwest Center/Department of English

Saturday 
Untold Stories, 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | UA Library Special Collections
 

Tom Volgy, School of Government and Public Policy

Sunday 
Poking the Russian Bear, 10 a.m.-10:55 a.m. | Student Union Gallagher Theater
 

Farid Matuk, Department of English

Sunday 
Memory and Intimacy, 10 a.m.-10:55 a.m. | Student Union Kiva Room
 

Anne Boustead, School of Government and Public Policy

Sunday 
Barely Surviving (and Loving It), 1 p.m.-1:55 p.m. | UA Campus Store Stage
 

Carol Schwalbe, Professor Emerita, School of Journalism

Sunday 
Climate, Hope and Resilience, 4 p.m.-4:55 p.m. | National Park Experience Stage

For a complete schedule of festival events and signing information, visit the Tucson Festival of Books website.