Winter Fiesta 2019

By Sandi Wright

A great night was had by all attending the New Mexico Book Association’s Winter Festival and celebration of its 25th year.

The event room at the Bourbon Grill was decorated for the occasion, and the program included a slide presentation of the history of the NM Book Association from its roots to present day arranged by board member and program chairman, Jessie Emerson.

President Jared Gann officiated the program, and Sandi Wright, membership chairman of the board, presented the awards.

This is the time of the year that the Association honors recipients of the Harris Award and the Book-in-Hand Award, and this year a special recognition certificate was awarded to one of its members, Richard Polese, owner of Oceantree Press, who was a founding father of NMBA and is still an active member of the board.

Peggy Pond Church, a very deserving writer, poet, and journalist, was the recipient of the Harris Award for her book, The House at Otowi Bridge. Accepting the award was Sharon Snyder, Peggy’s biographer. Sharon herself is an award-winning author and editor, and voted Volunteer of the Year by the New Mexico Association of Museums.

The Book-in-Hand Award was presented to Peggy Frank, owner of Book Mountain Paperback Book Exchange. Peggy has been in business in the same location for 38 years, knows where every book on her shell is located, exchanges credits for books and CDs, and has the energy of a twenty-year-old. And her credit list, written by hand without computer aid, never expires. Her customers range in age from teens to seniors. She has the uncanny ability to size up those who walk through her doors and seems to know intuitively what book would be best for them. They may say, “I am looking for a mystery book,”  and after a few questions Peggy locates the perfect one. She is a Santa Fe treasure to the book community

Special sponsors for this event were Casa Snapdragon Press, Art Academy de los Ninos and Collected Works Bookstore. A special thank you to them!

Another special guest present was Jim Mafchir, former longtime board member, New Mexico Book Association past president, and the founder of our Southwest Book Design Award contest.

Menu fare was a Mexican buffet of cheese and chicken enchiladas, a taco bar, salad, iced tea, coffee, and a cash bar. A special cake noting the 25th anniversary was served for dessert. There were no complaints about the food or the program. A big success and great celebration was had by all.

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