Santa Fe Reads: A Free Classic for Every High Schooler

What is “Santa Fe Reads”?

Free classic books for high school students during Banned Books Weekend!

Santa Fe Reads: St. John’s College will be giving away classic books FOR FREE to local high school students and their families who come to The BookMark, which is the St. John’s College bookstore—including 50 banned classics—as part of National Banned Book Week.

During this two-day event, we will also celebrate New Mexico's most famous banned classic book, Bless Me, Ultima, with a reception and tribute to author Rudolfo Anaya on Saturday from 4-5pm. We will have 75 copies of Bless Me, Ultima on hand for high school students to receive at no cost and for community members to purchase.

Throughout the weekend, we will consider together why humans have, for millennia, attempted to control ideas that make us uncomfortable—while also challenging ourselves to develop the intellectual courage and curiosity to consider ideas that may be antithetical to our own.

Santa Fe Reads is sponsored by the City of Santa Fe's Department of Arts and Culture.

When:

High School Students Get Free Classics:
Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, 2026 • 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Tribute to Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima:
Saturday, October 3, 2026 • 4–5 p.m.

Where:

The BookMark at St. John’s College – 1160 Camino de Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, NM 87505

How Do I Get My Free Book?

Come to The BookMark at St. John’s College, pick from our expansive selection of classics, including 50 banned classic books, and speak to one of our table staff at the back of the bookstore. If the book you’ve chosen is a classic paperback under $25, a staff member will hand you a voucher which you can redeem with the bookstore cashier to take the book home for free!

If students or families are unsure about what qualifies as a classic, or why we are giving out banned classics, St. John’s College community members will be on-hand to engage with questions and invite conversation. For students who question whether their preferred book is, or isn’t, a classic, students are invited to share their thoughts—what do they think makes a classic? While there is no single or easy answer, Santa Fe Reads is an opportunity for good conversation amongst book lovers.

Why is St. John’s College Giving Away Classic Books to High School Students?

Santa Fe Reads is organized by students and faculty from St. John's College in Santa Fe, whose curriculum is built entirely around the reading and discussion of classics, though the College calls them “great books.” At St. John’s, we believe that reading great books sets people free. One way they do this is by forming in us a habit of asking enduring questions. For example: What makes a society just? How can I be good? What is the deeper purpose of our lives? In short, the College believes that reading great books makes people’s lives richer and better—and we want Santa Fe’s young people to experience this freedom for themselves.

Why is St. John’s Providing Banned Books for Free?

A St. John's education is centered around the practice of asking questions. Throughout the weekend, and during the tribute, we will ask community members to think about why we try to avoid ideas that make us uncomfortable—whether through the banning of books, the censoring of speech, or the simple avoidance of those with whom we disagree. How do we develop curiosity and the intellectual courage to engage with ideas that bring us discomfort and people who challenge our assumptions?

What is the Tribute to Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima?

Bless Me, Ultima is perhaps New Mexico’s most famous classic—and likely the most frequently banned book written by a New Mexican author. Published in 1972 by the late Rudolfo Anaya, who is often considered the godfather of Chicano literature, this internationally renowned Chicano classic is one of the defining works of New Mexican literature: the story of a young boy growing up in rural New Mexico, caught among competing ideas about family, faith, culture, morality, and the supernatural. It has been read by generations of New Mexicans—and it has also repeatedly been challenged and banned for its supernatural themes.

On Saturday, October 3rd, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., the College will pay tribute to this important text with speeches by St. John’s College President J. Walter Sterling; author and Santa Fe International Literary Festival co-founder Carmella Padilla, who wrote the afterword for the latest edition of the book; broadcast journalist and popular content creator Jeremy Jojola, whose CuentosYCorazon accounts explore the nature of identity and culture in northern New Mexico; and local politicians and community members. At the end of the tribute, we will dedicate The BookMark fireplace as the new "Rudolfo Anaya Reading Hearth."

What About Pricing and Parking?

Santa Fe Reads is free and open to the public, as is the Bless Me, Ultima tribute to Rudolfo Anaya. Because parking is limited, we recommend arriving 15 minutes early in case you need to park in our overflow lot. When the on-campus lots are full, St. John's staff will direct you to our overflow lot and provide a shuttle to and from campus. We anticipate the tribute—which is from 4–5 p.m. on Saturday—to be the busiest so please plan appropriately.

What Else Can I Do at Santa Fe Reads?

Santa Fe Reads attendees should consider grabbing a coffee and spend the day reading in our cafe next door or in our many reading nooks, balconies, and grassy knolls and fields around campus. Attendees may also visit the Peterson Art Gallery, just upstairs from The BookMark, which will feature original artwork from St. John's students who attended the college's inaugural summer Ghost Ranch art intensive. Because the weekend coincides with St. John's Family Weekend and an overnight visit from prospective students, visitors are likely to come across activities as wide-ranging as a liquid nitrogen ice cream demonstration by the Prometheus Club, student-led guerilla seminars, yoga on the grassy knoll, and student-led hikes across our backcountry trail system.

Have You Followed Our Partner Book Influencers?

St. John’s has recently partnered with several young book influencers in a quest to get young people reading again—and learning about the remarkable reading community here at St. John's. They include Chris Fizer, Sam Wall, Ari Hosadurga, Toby Hendy, Braxton Beaty, and Rod Turner.

For Santa Fe Reads, St. John’s is also inviting a new and returning group of content creators to experience and post about the event, including Sky Fisher, Austen Beck, Leek Sizer, and Ysa Munoz Osses for their takes on classics, banned books, and some great conversations in Santa Fe. Additionally, local content creator Jeremy Jojola will be posting about the importance and power of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima to New Mexicans while also sharing his thoughts from our Saturday tribute to Anaya.

Check them out on social media and follow St. John’s College @sjcsantafe.

Can't Make it to Santa Fe Reads—but Really Want Your Own Bless Me, Ultima Copy?

On October 30, the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, in collaboration with the New Mexico Rural Libraries Initiative and Moise Memorial Library, will host a celebration of Anaya and his work in Santa Rosa, New Mexico—where Anaya was raised—in honor of the author’s birthday. More than one hundred copies of his classic books Bless Me, Ultima and Serafina’s Stories will be given away during the event.

Want to Learn More About St. John’s College?

You can schedule a visit, apply for Summer Academy—our weeklong immersion program for high schoolers—or simply talk to a counselor or current student to learn more.

Connect with us on Instagram (@sjcsantafe), by email (santafe.admissions@sjc.edu), or give us a call at 505-984-6000.