Library Newsroom
Antonio Farias is well known on the Auraria Campus for coaxing new and historically underrepresented voices to the forefront, in his role as CU Denver vice chancellor for access and campus engagement.
Unbeknownst to most campus colleagues, Farias’ own literary voice is emerging—this month, with In the Company of Wolves, his debut novel that traces a middle school boy’s journey from New York City to New Mexico, and from childhood to manhood.
Farias is one of three Latinx authors featured at Stories With Corazón, a free Auraria Library panel discussion, noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the Auraria Library Café (corner of 10th and Lawrence streets).
Other panelists are:
- Frederick Luis Aldama, a University of Texas Austin faculty member whose “Professor Latinx” moniker is based on influential work including his founding of UT-Austin’s Latinx Pop Lab and his numerous graphic novels and other major publications. Aldama will read from The Absolutely (Almost) True Adventures of Max Rodriguez at the event.
- Mario Acevedo, a Denver-based novelist and artist known for a series of urban fantasy novels, and for his mentorship and efforts in association with the Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors (CALMA). Acevedo will read from University of Doom at the event.
The publishing industry classifies such books as part of the Young Adult genre. Farias describes In the Company of Wolves as a classic coming-of-age bildungsroman, a term that does not fit neatly onto posters or library labels, and it reflects a 1970s era and landscape Farias can relate to. Like his novel’s main character, Farias hails from New York City but now finds himself in the Mountain West (at CU Denver since 2022).
And like many novels geared toward young adult readers, the theme of identity looms large both in Farias’ literature and in his approach to access and engagement at Auraria. “Identity is core to how we move through the world, and multiple identities is what we have, he says. “How we navigate these identities is key to our ability to create cohesive, productive communities that humanize us and allow us to live with dignity and respect.”
Farias’ original CU Denver biography included the line that he is “currently failing at publishing my first novel.” (“I’ve had to revamp my bio to get rid of that,” he jokes, “because unfortunately I now have succeeded at that.” Now, he is “failing to live as a modern stoic.”)
Yet good young adult literature can show us new ways to manage failure. Farias reminds us that just as with trying to become an inclusive society, young adults have to try new things rather than doing the same thing over and over again.
“Success comes through struggle. If you can’t get through that wall, then think about moving five feet over, and you might find a weakness in the wall, or a window that’s open,” he says. “That is our mission as educators, to shepherd the next generation, to teach them to come into awareness of their innate power to change the world for the betterment of all.”
Stories With Corazón, the Auraria Library’s first 2025-26 academic year event, is free for all students, faculty, and staff on campus as well as community members. Lunch is provided through by the Office for Access and Campus Engagement, and the event is in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month.
