Arizona Daily Star lines up top authors for the Tucson Festival of Books

The list of authors includes:

Jonathan Eig. Eig, who is one of the country’s foremost biographers, is the author of “King: A Life,” a biography of Martin Luther King Jr. that has received universal acclaim. Called the “definitive” King biography by the New York Times, “King” was longlisted for the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2023.

Eig’s previous book, “Ali: A Life,” won a 2018 PEN America Literary Award, and Esquire called it one of the 25 greatest biographies of all time.

He served as consulting producer for the PBS series “Muhammad Ali,” which was directed by Ken Burns.

Eig’s first book, “Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig,” reached No. 10 on the New York Times bestseller list. His previous books include “The Birth of the Pill” and “Get Capone.”

His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have been listed among the best of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Eig began his writing career at age 16, working for his hometown newspaper, The Rockland County (N.Y.) Journal News, studied journalism at Northwestern University, and went on to work as a reporter for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.

David Quammen. Quammen is a renowned science and nature writer whose most recent books are “The Heartbeat of the Wild,” an updated and annotated compilation of some of his most memorable work in National Geographic; and “Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus,” which was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award.

The author of 18 books, he has focused in recent years on science, the history of science, and the relationships of humans to landscape and biological diversity. His 2012 book “Spillover” correctly predicted — in detail — a pandemic arising from a deadly virus transferring to humans from wild animals. Then, a decade later with “Breathless,” he chronicled the scientific race to battle COVID-19.

Martin Baron. Baron is former editor of the Boston Globe and The Washington Post. His book “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post” was written from the fascinating and usually unattainable viewpoint of a key player who was literally in the room and making the news decisions as that drama unfolded.

Baron is admired within the world of journalism for his groundbreaking work in Boston, where the Globe’s courageous, Pulitzer-winning unmasking of the sexual-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church under his direction set the standard for such investigations and was retold to the world in the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight.”

“Collision of Power” is literally the story behind the headlines as one of the world’s richest men, Jeff Bezos, bought the Washington Post shortly after Baron took over as editor. Bezos invested heavily in the Post and strongly supported Baron’s editorship, and together they remade the long-diminished Post into the journalistic dreadnought it once had been.

This inevitably put the newspaper on a collision course with President Donald Trump, and the book recounts that confrontation in gripping, detailed prose.

Baron retired from the Post in 2021, and while his tenure was full of accomplishment, it was not without internal conflicts.

His philosophy of journalism occasionally crashed into the next-generation, social-media-fueled version, and Baron was unapologetic and firm.

Asked about that this week, he replied, “Our job in the news department is to report honestly, honorably, fairly, thoroughly, independently and with an open mind. Fairness to the public is important here, too. That means telling the public what we discover to be the facts and then putting them in context.

“We should let our work do the talking, refraining from impulsive and often ill-informed commentary on social media or elsewhere. There’s no place for hubris or a rush to judgment on our part.

“When we have done our work properly, however, there is also no cause for timidity. Let’s focus on asking the right questions rather than presupposing we have the answers before we’ve done a lick of hard reporting.”

Betsy Gaines Quammen. Gaines Quammen is a historian and writer who has authored “American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West,” and most recently “True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America,” both of which have achieved both commercial and critical success.

Her fascination with how religious views shape relationships to landscape led her to write “American Zion,” which explored the Bundy saga through the lens of the history of the Mormon church and the forging of its homeland in the Great Basin. The book is suffused with authenticity gained in interviews with stakeholders across the vast, dusty landscape of the inland West, and raises important issues about the future of America’s public lands.

“True West” is an unflinching look at the romanticized mythology of the West, and how it has been both deceptive and destructive, often carelessly, sometimes maliciously, erasing indigenous cultures and glorifying a flawed concept of rugged individualism. Again, the journalism is the book’s great strength. Gaines Quammen respects and reflects on the many different values and beliefs she found in the coffee shops, casinos, campgrounds and boom-and-bust cities of the region, and what emerges is solid and memorable.

Julia Keller. Keller is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing during her tenure at the Chicago Tribune. She is perhaps best known for an acclaimed series of a dozen mystery novels set in Appalachia, but she has defied categorization, publishing both fiction and nonfiction books, ranging from mysteries to science fiction to stories for young adults. In 2023 Keller’s powerful, thought-provoking self-help title, “Quitting: A Life Strategy” was published.

One reviewer, Cal Newport, called the book “a compelling mix of science, social critique and pragmatism,” adding that “Quitting” “upends the dominant narratives about giving up. Sometimes stepping back is the right way to move forward in life.”

In addition to her solo turn on the Star stage, Keller will team with John Humenik, former president and publisher of the Arizona Daily Star and current Tucson Festival of Books board chair, and David McCumber, executive editor of the Star, for a panel discussion titled “Nothing Common about Commonplace Books.” They will discuss “commonplacing” — the art of seeking and keeping inspiring notes and quotes to enhance your life.

Gwen Florio. Florio’s distinguished journalistic career included many years as a reporter including several stints as a foreign correspondent in a dozen countries, as well as around the United States, and also served as the editor of The Missoulian, one of Montana’s largest and most respected dailies.

Florio has written 12 literary and mystery titles which feature strong, fascinating women, portrayed in sparkling prose. Her latest is “Best Be Prepared,” the fourth in her Nora Best series, which continues to get glowing reviews. Kirkus said of the climate-themed novel, “Florio gives a neat tutorial on how to probe a political issue from a variety of perspectives without necessarily taking sides … Florio continues to put a contemporary spin on the old-fashioned whodunit.”

“Every time a new book comes out, I pinch myself. I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to do this work. Then, after that lovely celebratory moment, I get back to work on the next one,” Florio writes.

Cameron McWhirter. McWhirter is a Wall Street Journal reporter who co-authored, with colleague Zusha Elinson, “American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15.”

The New York Times’ reviewer called the book “a magisterial work of narrative history and original reportage.”

The book tells the story of the AR-15’s invention, development and sale to the military, where as the M16 it became the standard-issue rifle in the Vietnam era. Then it chronicles its skyrocketing demand in the civilian market, fueled by placement in violent video games, and recounts as well as its role in many mass shootings.

“It’s almost like a Zelig of guns,” McWhirter told the New York Times. “It keeps popping up, from the 1950s of its invention until Jan. 6, when they’re waving flags that say, “Come and take it,” with an image of the AR-15 on them.”

“We don’t want anyone to walk away from our book saying this is pro-gun or anti-gun, or pro-AR-15 or anti-AR-15. This an amazing object that has changed our world and we need to understand it. But we’re anti-mass shooting. We want people to know this history so that all Americans think about how we solve the problem we’re facing.”

McWhirter is also the author of “Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America,” published in 2012.

Chris Eliopoulos. Eliopoulos is a cartoonist, graphic novelist and children’s book author and illustrator. He has illustrated the 29 “Ordinary People Change the World” children’s biographies written by Brad Meltzer.

The series is celebrating its 10th year.

He is also the author of two graphic novels, “Cosmic Commandos” and “Monster Mayhem.” He has authored several picturebooks, including “The Yawns are Coming!”, “The Giggles are Coming!” and most recently “A Little Emotional.”

Hard-core comics fans know Eliopoulos as a past master of the art of lettering, where he has a reputation earned as one of the best ever. But his graphic novels, picturebooks and illustrations have brought him much wider fame and acclaim, along with Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, a PBS program based on the Ordinary People series.

His festival presentations, both on the Star stage and in the children’s area, will be live drawing sessions with audience participation.

James Hansen. Hansen, Professor Emeritus of History at Auburn University, is the author of “Completely Mad: The Epic Tale of the Race to be First Across the Atlantic Solo in a Rowboat.”

An expert in the history of flight, Hansen has published 14 books. “First Man,” released in 2005, is the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong. Translations have been published in more than 20 languages, and the book was adapted into a movie starring Ryan Gosling in 2018.

Hansen has been connected to NASA for four decades, resulting in numerous NASA publications. Early in his career, Hansen served as Historian-in-Residence at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Hansen is also an internationally known expert on the history of golf course architecture. He has played on more than 500 courses around the world, and for the past 25 years he has been a golf-course rater for Golfweek magazine.

Before retiring in 2017, Hansen was chair of the Auburn history department and the director of Auburn’s Honors College.