New Mexican literature includes the modernAmerican literature of the U.S state ofNew Mexico, along with its formerSanta Fe de Nuevo México andNew Mexico territories. It is influential inEnglish language andSpanish language literatures, and most of its history has been influenced byNative American literature,Spanish literature,Mexican literature, andEnglish literature.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Histories in the region date back to theHispanos of New Mexico chronicling the oral traditions of thePueblo,Navajo,Apache, andComanche peoples. One of the earliest mentions of New Mexico was inNahuatl as "Yancuic Mexico" in theCrónica Mexicayotl. Among the earliest works of New Mexican literature wasGaspar Pérez de Villagrá's 1610Historia de la Nueva México.

In the 19th century,Western fiction became popular globally, with tales ofGeronimo,Pat Garrett,Billy the Kid, andElfego Baca becoming folklore icons. Other novels written in New Mexico at this time includeBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

During the 20th century, the 1927 novelDeath Comes for the Archbishop set in New Mexico was published, andFabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert produced the first English language cookbook to mentionNew Mexican cuisine. Scholarly works of the 20th century also remain relevant, especially ones related to the works ofAngelico Chavez,James Fulton Zimmerman,Evelina Zuni Lucero, and those ofProject Y. Authors and writers of the later 20th and early 21st centuries includeRudolfo Anaya,^[6]George RR Martin,^[7] andSimon Romero.^[8]

New Mexican literature as a genre often expresses four themes; tourist, priest, dramatist, and local.^[9] With a distinctivelyHispano,Puebloan,Apache,Navajo,American frontier,Mexican-American, andChicano expressed worldview.^[10][5]

New Mexican authors of fiction and non-fiction alike make use of these aforementioned themes, and its fiction is categorized as a distinctive genre by theLibrary of Congress.^[11] Screenplays set in the region often to make use of the New Mexican literary motifs,^[12] even if they were changed from a prior setting elsewhere.^[13]

Books that are considered to be recommended reading for this genre areBless Me, Ultima byRudolfo Anaya,Eyes Bottle Dark With a Mouthful of Flowers by Jake Skeets,Night at the Fiestas byKirstin Valdez Quade,Peel My Love Like an Onion byAna Castillo,Face of an Angel byDenise Chávez, andPasó Por Aquí by Gene Rhodes.^[14][15]

Thenewspapers of record for New Mexico are theAlbuquerque Journal,The Santa Fe New Mexican, andLas Cruces Sun-News.^[16]

• Culture of New Mexico
• Mass media in New Mexico
• Writers from New Mexico

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• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata