Kent F. Jacobs

While writing Zuni Stew and his forthcoming book, Hopi Tea, physician and arts advocate Kent Jacobs drew richly upon his life in New Mexico, specifically his tenure at the Zuni hospital. There he absorbed the culture, traditions of the people and the spirit of the land. He knew the medicine men; they respected the “white doc.” Jacobs’s other thrillers include Breckkan and The Turned Field. A graduate of Northwestern University Medicine, with a postgraduate from the University of Colorado College of Medical School, he lives with his wife, painter Sallie Ritter, in southern New Mexico. They received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2014. His recent novel, "Hopi Tea" won the Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction at a celebration on May 28 during the annual BookExpo in New York City. The Independent Publisher's Book Awards (known as the IPPY's) is the world's largest book competition with 4,500 entries in 2019.