From her home in Colorado’s Elk Mountains, author Shelley Read has watched her debut novel 'Go as a River' achieve remarkable worldwide success. The book, published in 2023, has sold more than one million copies and appeared on bestseller lists from North America to Scandinavia, with over 30 translation deals secured before its US release.
Set between the 1940s and 1970s, the 300-page novel follows a 17-year-old Colorado farm girl whose ill-fated romance with an itinerant Indigenous man reverberates through decades. Despite little major review attention and primarily regional awards, the book has broken through without high-profile endorsements, adding the 61-year-old Read to a list of older first-time authors who achieve wide acclaim.
Read, a fifth-generation Coloradan, spent nearly three decades teaching writing and literature at Western Colorado University. The character of Victoria Nash, the protagonist, had been in her thoughts for years, but she delayed writing due to career and family commitments. With her husband’s encouragement, she took early retirement in 2018 and completed the manuscript by 2019.
The manuscript faced 21 rejections before being accepted by Spiegel & Grau, an independent publisher. Co-founder Cindy Spiegel noted the unusual nature of Read’s achievement, saying that occasionally someone with a long-held vision finally writes it down. The novel draws from historical events, including a 1960s flood in Iola, Colorado, and Read’s lifelong connection to the local landscape.
A film adaptation is in development, with Eliza Hittman, director of 'Never Rarely Sometimes Only', expected to direct. Read’s agent, Sandra Bond, described the manuscript as extraordinary, though the second half required revisions. The novel’s success underscores that word-of-mouth can propel a book without major marketing backing.
