Jason De León to give Author Talk

Published on July 06, 2026

The Los Alamos Public Library will host an in‑person author talk with Jason De León, the 2024 National Book Award winner and bestselling author, on July 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Historic Fuller Lodge. The event follows his well‑received appearance at this year’s Santa Fe International Literary Festival.

De León will deliver a keynote presentation on his award‑winning nonfiction book Soldiers and Kings and discuss his research as an anthropologist examining clandestine migration between Latin America and the United States. A question‑and‑answer session and book signing will follow.

Samizdat Bookstore and Teahouse will sell copies of Soldiers and Kings and De León’s earlier book The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Weather permitting, the library will host light refreshments on the patio after the program.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our community,” said Senior Librarian Eva Jacobson. “We have worked hard to bring some bigger‑name authors to town. We hope that audiences will respond with enthusiasm so we can continue building momentum and offer even more events like this.”

The event is free, but registration is recommended to secure one of 100 seats.

About Jason De León
Jason De León is the director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and the Loyd E. Cotsen Endowed Chair of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also a professor of anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American studies. He is the executive director of the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP) Inc., a 501(c)(3) research, arts and education collective focused on raising awareness of global migration issues and assisting families of missing migrants.

Since 2009, the UMP has studied clandestine migration between Latin America and the United States through ethnographic, visual, archaeological and forensic methods. De León’s work has been widely published and featured in numerous media outlets. He is the author of two award‑winning books: The Land of Open Graves and Soldiers and Kings, the latter of which received the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction. He is also a 2017 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

For more information about the event, visit the library’s event calendar at LosAlamosLibrary.org or call (505) 662-8250. The library offers multiple copies of Soldiers and Kings in several formats for those who wish to read the book in advance. Place a hold on a copy in the library catalog.