Mark Arax

A Fresno native has officially become a California bestselling author.

The writer, Mark Arax, has achieved bestseller status from both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times for his new book, “The Dreamt Land,” which was released last month.

In it, Arax uses family memoir, history and extensive reportage on the land to tell the story of California’s invention and reinventions through the bending of water. Arax also won a 2019 James Beard Media Award for his California Sunday Magazine story, “A Kingdom from Dust,” about the agricultural empire of Stewart Resnick. The story is one of the present-day chapters in his new book.

“It’s nice to see a big, bold book about California find readers,” Arax said. “It shows that not everything has gone the way of social media, twitter and short attention spans. People are still willing to invest their time if you tell them a compelling story about their place.”

Arax is currently presenting the book in radio interviews and at bookstores and other events throughout California, Portland and Washington.