Colorado Mountain College’s 2023 Common Reader book selection is the bestselling novel, “Woman of Light,” by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, a Colorado native and National Book Award finalist.

The book celebrates CMC’s recent designation as an Hispanic Serving Institution and is being offered to the public in both English and Spanish versions.

Now in its 16^th year, the college’s Common Reader program brings the college and community members together to read the selected book and participate in talks with the author. This year, Fajardo-Anstine will appear at four CMC campuses:

• CMC Breckenridge on March 27
• CMC Leadville on March 28
• Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs on March 29
• CMC Vail Valley at Wedwards on March 30

All four talks will begin at 7 p.m. The talks on March 27 and March 29 will be livestreamed on the college’s Common Reader website.

“Woman in Light” is a work of fiction set in the 1930s in Denver and southern Colorado, tracing five generations of a Chicano and Chicana family. The story follows heroine Luz Lopez as she traces her family’s history, meeting fantastical and memorable characters while Lopez’s Indigenous ancestors emerge.

Fajardo-Anstine has received multiple awards for her work and is the endowed chair in creative writing at Texas State University.

For more, ColoradoMtn.edu/community-partnerships/common-reader.