Baiza’s debut novel named Treasure Valley Reads featured work

Advising and Academic Support Director Tomás Baiza has been named one of the featured authors of the 2024 Treasure Valley Reads program.

Founded in 2001, Treasure Valley Reads is a community-wide reading and literary project sponsored by the Idaho Humanities Council, the Cabin, regional library agencies and local booksellers. This year's program will highlight Baiza's debut novel, "Delivery: A Pocho's Accidental Guide to College, Love, and Pizza Delivery."

"I'm honored that the TVR board selected Delivery as this year's featured novel," Baiza said. "I wrote the book as a challenge to more traditional literary depictions of Chicano characters. I wanted to present characters whose stories are not solely defined by ethnicity, but also by other identities and experiences that are constantly in the public debate, such as cultural authenticity, gender identity and norms, language, and immigration. Basically, I wanted to dramatize the tension between what society and its institutions demand that people be versus how those people see themselves. I'm hopeful that readers are able to find themes in the book that resonate with them."

Baiza will be recognized along with Lyd Havens, award-winning author of the poetry collection "Chokecherry." Previous Treasure Valley Reads featured authors include Sandra Cisneros, Colson Whitehead, Anthony Doerr and Tommy Orange.

See the Treasure Valley Reads website for more information on activities related to this year's program.

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