Local Author’s book on Gallup Wins Prestigious Spur Award

Pulitzer Prize finalist Megan Kate Nelson, Emmy Awardwinning Walter Hill, and Gallup author Bob Rosebrough are among the 2023 Spur Award winners that the Western Writers of America announced last month.

Rosebrough was awarded best Contemporary Nonfiction Book with his work “A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, New Mexico” published by Rio Nuevo Publishers.

The Western Writers of America (westernwriters.org) annually honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West with the Spur Awards. Since 1953 the Spur Awards have been considered one of the most prestigious awards in American literature.

“A Place Of Thin Veil” unfolds and is interwoven with the story of Navajo activist, Larry Casuse, whose 1973 abduction of Gallup’s Mayor, Emmit Garcia, ended in a police shootout that is debated to this day as either Casuse’s murder or his suicide? Larry’s story has unpredictably and serendipitously intertwined with the life journey of the author, Bob Rosebrough, a Gallup lawyer and former Mayor of the city from 2003-2007.

“A Place Of Thin Veil” was also chosen as one of the 2023 Southwest Books of the Year 2023 by panelists at the Pima, Arizona county library (pima.bibliocommons.com).

Additionally Rosebrough’s work received the Historical Society of New Mexico’s (hsnm.org) Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá award which recognizes outstanding publications on New Mexico or Southwest borderlands history.

When asked about the multiple accolades Rosebrough confessed, “I was taken off guard by the awards. I didn’t see them coming, especially the Western Writers of America Spur Award. It’s super competitive and covers a large geographical area. But I’m really pleased about the Historical Society of New Mexico award because I think Gallup has the most interesting history of any place in New Mexico. I think the award gives our history some long overdue attention.”

“A Place Of Thin Veil” is available for purchase at Amazon.com, Butlers, the Gallup Coffee Company, and select bookstores.

16 April 2023

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