The 2009 One Book...One Community Project

A group of faculty, staff, and community liasons have worked on developing the University of Arkansas' first all-campus, all-community book read starting this academic year 2009-2010. Students, faculty, and staff at the University, Fayetteville Public Library patrons, and book lovers throughout Northwest Arkansas will read The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea.

Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Urrea has published extensively in all the major genres and is currently published by Little, Brown and Company. The critically acclaimed author of 11 books, Urrea is an award-winning poet and essayist. The Devil's Highway, his 2004 non-fiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, won the 2004 Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize. A national best-seller, The Devil's Highway was also named a best book of the year by the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the Kansas City Star and many other publications.

The book will gain a wide readership among University of Arkansas students enrolled in English, Spanish, and Latin American Studies courses. The book will be integrated into student life through University Housing, and discussion groups will be formed in many of the first-year residence halls. Faculty members and instructors will meet with groups interested in forming discussion groups, and staff members may read the book as part of their work toward earning a diversity certificate.

The author will visit Fayetteville October 14-16, 2009 for a series of events focusing on the issues raised in this award-winning book. See the schedule for a full listing of events.