Raising Up Creative Voices

Join us as we celebrate this year’s University Press Week with the theme #RaiseUP. This year’s theme highlights the role that the university press community plays in elevating authors and subjects that bring new perspectives, ideas, and voices to readers around the globe.

Art Is Everything (January 2021) is a witty and unconventional new novel that explores the painful but rewarding development of a mid-career artist on the margins. It’s by Yxta Maya Murray, one of the most imaginative voices in the literary world today and an example of the creative voices Northwestern University Press is proud to celebrate.

Amanda Ruiz is a queer Chicanx performance artist who is madly in love with her muse and girlfriend, a wealthy and pragmatic actuary named Xōchitl. Both Xōchitl and Amanda’s father are her pillars of inspiration and support as she navigates her career and prepares for a residency at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. But when Amanda loses those most important to her and endures a traumatic event, she reevaluates her purpose as an artist. Written as a series of Wikipedia entries, Yelp reviews, and Instagram essays that merge revelatory confession with sharp art criticism, Art Is Everything is filled with unique prose that highlights the value of publishing out-of-the-box narratives.

“Amanda Ruiz romps through an art infused life of love, loss, and redemption, inviting the reader on a wild, exhilarating ride.” —Carla Trujillo, author of Faith and Fat Chances

Set against the backdrop of the L.A. art world, Art Is Everything delves into the work, meaning, and criticism of art and the creative process. Murray herself is an accomplished art critic, and her work can be found in Artforum, ARTnews, Artillery, and other periodicals. Readers will enjoy following Murray as she seamlessly uses her knowledge of the art world to paint a portrait of an artist on the cusp of a creative breakthrough.

Art Is Everything is a powerful new work to usher in a new decade. It is a shining example of the importance of uplifting creative voices and cultivating new stories for all audiences.