Donate Rudolfo Anaya Books — Free Albuquerque Pickup

I accept Rudolfo Anaya donations anywhere in the Albuquerque metro with free pickup — the whole collection: Bless Me, Ultima and the rest of the Antonio trilogy (Heart of Aztlán, Tortuga), Alburquerque, the Sonny Baca mysteries, the children's books, and the plays and essays. You don't sort or price anything. Bring it all, including the old paperbacks you might not recognize; the 1972 Quinto Sol first edition of Bless Me, Ultima is collectible, so I check the publisher and issue points on everything and the rest funds New Mexico literacy.

Published June 2026 · By Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project

Rudolfo Anaya is as central to New Mexico letters as anyone — the "dean of Chicano literature," a longtime Albuquerque resident and University of New Mexico professor whose Bless Me, Ultima is read in classrooms across the state and the country. His books turn up in homes all over the metro, and when a collection gets cleared, most people just want it to go somewhere that honors it. That's exactly what I'm for: I take the whole thing, free, and I check every book.

What I take: all of it

You don't have to know what's valuable

Here's the reason to call rather than dump: the 1972 first edition of Bless Me, Ultima, published by Quinto Sol Publications of Berkeley, is genuinely collectible. It was issued simultaneously in cloth and in wraps, and — a detail collectors love — the earliest dust jackets carried the $3.75 paperback price by mistake, so a true first-issue copy is a real find. The novel went on to win the Premio Quinto Sol and to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, but those are later school and mass-market printings, which are common. A non-collector can't easily tell the 1972 Quinto Sol issue from a later paperback, and that's exactly the distinction I check. Bring the whole shelf and I'll examine the publisher and issue points on each one, protect any true first, and keep the reading copies in circulation, with any value put to good use in the city he made his home.

Why donate instead of selling it yourself

For a confirmed 1972 Quinto Sol first, selling on your own can pay. But telling it apart from the common school paperbacks is the tedious part — which is why these collections sit until they're dumped. Donating settles it in one call: no research, no pricing, no listings, no shipping, free pickup at your door, the reading copies straight to classrooms and new readers, and a true first recognized and supporting New Mexico literacy. Here's where donated books go.

How free pickup works

Call or text 702-496-4214 (or schedule online), tell me roughly how much there is and where you are, and we set a time. I come to you and load it all. I cover Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, the East Mountains, and the surrounding metro, and I handle whole-house and estate cleanouts regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I donate Rudolfo Anaya books in Albuquerque?

Right here — free pickup anywhere in the metro for the whole collection: Bless Me, Ultima, the Antonio trilogy, the Sonny Baca mysteries, the children's books. Call or text 702-496-4214.

Is an old Bless Me, Ultima worth anything?

The 1972 Quinto Sol first (cloth or wraps; first-issue jackets show the $3.75 price error) is collectible; later school/mass-market printings are common. They look similar — bring it all and let me check.

School paperbacks and children's books too?

Yes — the common paperbacks go right back into classrooms and the picture books are treasured. Just don't throw any of it out first.