One Book Event Author Visit with Shelly Read, Go As A River

Announcing the 2026-27 One Book, One College!

Shelley Read’s debut novel, Go as a River, is an international bestseller that has been translated into thirty-four languages and is in development for film with the Mazur Kaplan Company. Winner of the High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the Reading the West Book Award for Debut Fiction, Go as a River is also a Sunday Times bestseller, a Goodreads Choice Award finalist, an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Debut Fiction, an Indie Next Pick, and a Colorado Public Radio Books We Love selection.
Part historical and environmental fiction, but largely coming of age, Go as a River grips readers from its first few pages and resonates long after its last. The novel is full of contrasts: beauty in the face of ugliness, gentleness juxtaposed with brutality, help and hinderance found in family, nature’s resilience in the face of peril, hearts wide open and bigoted, and hope amidst despair. Put Shelley Read’s debut novel at the top of your summer reading list. You won’t regret it!

About the Author
Shelley was an award-winning senior lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades, where she taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and honors. She is a mom, a mountaineer, a world traveler, and a fifth-generation Coloradan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of Colorado’s Western Slope.
The novel is easily relatable to the sociology, psychology, women’s studies, environmental science, history, and English classrooms. Instructors planning to incorporate the novel into their curricula should email Judy (jcirucci@rcsj.edu) to request an instructor copy (first-come, first served).

Mark Your Calendars
Shelley Read visits RCSJ-Cumberland’s Luciano Theatre on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public.