Book: Zapata Is Here!
Author: Meridel LeSueur
Publisher: Midwest Villages & Voices (2025)
My Role: Publisher, Designer

Zapata Is Here! is a newly published novel by legendary writer and activist Meridel LeSueur, written in the 1950s and brought to light for the first time more than sixty years later. Set in a small village in revolutionary-era Mexico, the story follows Timoteo, a humble farmer whose life is upended by land theft, the imprisonment of his beloved animals, and the arrival of state forces. As despair threatens to consume his world, hope rides in with the figure of Emiliano Zapata—a symbol of collective memory, resistance, and the dream of liberation.

LeSueur researched and drafted this novel after traveling through Mexico with her family, gathering oral histories and listening deeply to the stories of rural people whose lives were touched by the land reform movement and revolutionary struggle. Her writing, as always, centers the working poor, the dispossessed, and those who find strength in community.

Suppressed during the McCarthy era and left unpublished during her lifetime, Zapata Is Here! speaks to Meridel’s lifelong commitment to telling the people’s stories. It is a novel of resistance, dignity, and imagination that is rooted in history but maintains relevance for today’s movements for land, justice, and freedom.

This first edition includes a foreword by Meridel’s grandson, David Tilsen, who traveled with her during the novel’s research phase. His reflections offer insight into the origins of the manuscript and the political climate in which it was written.

The publication of Zapata Is Here! is the result of a multigenerational effort by the Meridel LeSueur Family Circle in collaboration with Midwest Villages & Voices, the small press Meridel co-founded in the mid 1970s.

As a member of Midwest Villages & Voices, I designed the cover and interior of the book, managed the publication process, and helped bring this long-awaited work to life.