Zoe Bray, Author & Illustrator — Reno, NV Creator’s Fund Recipien
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Artist, author, and educator Zoe Bray completed The Finding — Aurkikuntza, a children’s story and the sequel to her acclaimed 2022 debut What Amatxi Whispered. The manuscript, accompanied by 30 original hand-drawn and watercolor-painted illustrations, is currently in editorial discussions and in talks with a potential publisher.
The story follows a child of Basque-American immigrants growing up in Nevada who discovers and reaffirms her Basque identity through her friendship with a local Native American child and an adventure sparked by a mysterious find near the Truckee River. The narrative weaves together themes of cultural and environmental stewardship, belonging, and intergenerational connection — situating Basque-American identity within the landscapes and social realities of the contemporary American West.
The Creator’s Fund award gave Bray the financial breathing room to step back from her work as a freelance teaching artist and focus exclusively on completing the project. The grant also inspired her to begin work on a third book, tentatively titled Sua — Fire, which will explore the theme of cultural burn and the role of traditional sheep-grazing in wildfire mitigation across the Sierra Nevada and Basque Pyrenees.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cultural identity takes root early — or it doesn’t take root at all. Children’s books are one of the most powerful tools a community has for passing something on, and Basque kids growing up in Nevada, California, or Idaho don’t have many that speak directly to their experience. The Finding does. It puts a Basque-American child at the center of her own story, in her own landscape, navigating questions of belonging that are real and current — not just folkloric. The cross-cultural friendship at its heart also says something important: that Basque identity in the American West didn’t develop in isolation. It developed in a relationship. That’s a lesson worth planting early.