Author Rudy Ruiz Wins Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction for Novel Valley of Shadows

The Ceremony for the Literary Awards Will be Held on April 29th, 2023

SAN ANTONIO, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Rudy Ruiz is the 2023 winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters for his novel, Valley of Shadows.

Valley of Shadows is Ruiz's second novel and was published in September 2022 by Blackstone Publishing. The novel is set on the US-Mexico border in the late 1800s and follows Solitario Cisneros, a Mexican sheriff of the town Olvido. When a shift in the course of the Rio Grande River places the town on the US side of the border, Solitario is ousted as sheriff. What ensues is a neo-Western tale that explores isolation, injustice, and redemption.

Ruiz said about the award, "It is an honor to be recognized by the Texas Institute of Letters, whose membership consists of some of the state's most respected writers. Texas is a place with a past whose complexity is only rivaled by that of its present. Valley of Shadows explores the dark corners of that history, aiming to reclaim the narrative of Mexican-Americans and Indigenous people while also imagining the good that can come from greater cross-cultural empathy and collaboration. My hope is that this award helps introduce the novel to more readers, so they too can envision how the tragic truths of our past can illuminate our path to a better future."

In addition to this recognition from the Texas Institute of Letters, Valley of Shadows was longlisted for the Reading the West Book Award and was placed on the following reading lists:

• CrimeReads Pick of Best Horror Fiction Books of 2022
• A Publishers Weekly Pick of SF, Fantasy & Horror Fiction for Fall
• A BuzzFeed Books Pick of Best Fall Books

Furthermore, the novel has received critical acclaim. Publishers Weekly said, "Ruiz offers an engrossing blend of historical fiction, ghost story, and mystery…He employs elements of magic realism to haunting effect, and the depictions of human cruelty and injustice are unflinching." CrimeReads said, "Ruiz's latest is a chilling meditation on life and death in the 1870s borderlands between the US and Mexico, a neo-Western that brings a fatalistic noir sensibility to a story with deep spiritual and literary roots."

Valley of Shadows has also received recognition for the relevance of the story to current social injustice issues, including racially motivated police brutality, immigration and border policy, and climate refugees, with the Southern Review of Books saying the novel "is a supernatural genre fusion that sheds light on real issues."

Ruiz will receive the award on April 29th, 2023 at the Texas Institute of Letters' annual banquet. Valley of Shadows is available for order on Amazon and at bookstores nationwide.

About Rudy Ruiz

Rudy Ruiz grew up in Brownsville, Texas. He attended Harvard University, where he received a Bachelor's in Government and a Master's in Public Policy. While there, he also studied literature and creative writing and he received a Ford Foundation grant to support his writing. His first fiction book was a collection of short stories titled Seven for the Revolution. His second fiction book, a novel titled The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez, was published in 2020. His first novel won two Gold Medals at the 2021 International Latino Book Awards and was named in the Top 10 Best First Novels of 2020 by the American Library Association's Booklist. In addition to being an author, Ruiz is a contributor to CNN and other major media outlets, and is the CEO and co-founder of Interlex, an advocacy marketing agency that focuses on social issues.

SOURCE Rudy Ruiz