HUMANKIND by Rutger Bregman is a finalist for the Next Big Idea Club’s groundbreaking nonfiction reads of summer 2020. Finalists were selected by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink. Bregman was also interviewed by the WBUR program On Point. Little, Brown and Company published the book on June 2, 2020.

STRANGER FACES by Namwali Serpell is part of Lit Hub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2020, Part 2” list. They write: “STRANGER FACES explores the idea of beauty, it interrogates the notion that the face is the way we understand humanity, and it forces us to confront what happens when we encounter something more unrecognizable . . . You’ll never look at a face the same way again.” The book was also included in The Millions’ Great Second Half 2020 Book Preview. Transit Books will publish the book on September 29, 2020.

Robert Jones, Jr. is one of Publishers Weekly’s "Writers to Watch" this fall. The site’s write-up provides an overview of Jones’ writing career, and includes a quote from Jones on his inspiration for writing THE PROPHETS: “I wanted to write about a black queer person during antebellum slavery . . . following Toni Morrison’s command, which was, ‘If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,’ I knew I had to write this book.” G.P. Putnam's Sons will publish the book on January 5, 2021.

Xiaolu Guo’s A LOVER’S DISCOURSE is one of Lit Hub’s most anticipated books for the second half of 2020. They write: “[Guo] gives her careful eye and her wonderful ear for dialogue to this love story, this exploration of what it looks, sounds, and feels like to merge two cultures and two lives together.” Grove Atlantic will publish the book on October 13, 2020.

Lit Hub interviewed David Goodwillie about his latest book, KINGS COUNTY. Goodwillie says: “I’ve always been fascinated by the people who move to a place like New York City — be it from a distant town or nearby suburb — when so many of their friends and classmates stay behind. That inner drive, that restlessness, that decrescent idea of betterment . . . that’s what I set out to write about in KINGS COUNTY.” Avid Reader Press will publish the book on July 28, 2020.

Alina Adams’s sweeping historical debut, THE NESTING DOLLS, published last week. Adams held a virtual launch on Zoom via Shakespeare & Company to welcome her novel, a multi-generational saga chronicling the lives of three Russian-Jewish women from Odessa to Bright Beach, into the world. Harper published the book on July 14, 2020.

Daniel Hornsby’s debut novel was featured in The Millions’ Great Second Half 2020 Book Preview. The site calls VIA NEGATIVE a “truly transcendent road novel.” Knopf will publish the book on August 11, 2020.

Larry Watson’s latest novel was featured in The Millions’ Great Second Half 2020 Book Preview. The site describes the book as being “[evocative of] Annie Proulx,” and praises it as a “testament by one of our greatest ‘regional’ novelists to the power of stories.” Algonquin Books will publish the book on July 21, 2020.

Ted Chiang has received his fifth and sixth Locus Awards. His short story collection EXHALATION won best collection, and his story “Omphalos” won best novella. Given out every year, the Locus Awards recognize the best writing in science fiction. Chiang was also inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame at the Museum of Popular Culture in Seattle. Ted joins the ranks of other writers who have been recognized with the honor, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and more. Knopf published EXHALATION on May 7, 2019.

The Mass Market edition of THE DARK SIDE debuted at #1 on the New York Times Mass Market bestseller list for July 2020. Dell released the Mass Market edition of the book on May 26, 2020.

Amazon picked MINOR FEELINGS by Cathy Park Hong as one of its best books of the year so far (Biographies and Memoirs category), as did BBC. One World published the book on February 25, 2020.

Larry Watson’s THE LIVES OF EDIE PRITCHARD is an Amazon best book of the month for literature and fiction. Booklist also gave the novel a starred review, enthusing that: “Watson remains incapable of creating characters who aren’t fully formed individuals, as courageous as they are vulnerable, and here he again displays his rare ability to craft strong women and to describe their everyday lives with rare power.” Algonquin Books will publish the book on July 21 2020.