Antonia Angress’s debut novel SIRENS & MUSES published to warm reception this week. The Minneapolis Star Tribune published a wonderful review of the novel, in which Ellen Akins praises: “Angress is very good at getting what people think about and what they want when they make art, whether from political conviction, a performative impulse or a deep need to convey what they see…The moments of recognition and frustration, revelation and betrayal, desire and revulsion are convincing and moving, and Angress' portrayal of the intersection — or disconnect — of art, politics, idealism and practicality within the web of familial, romantic,and professional relationships is painterly, in the best sense of the word.” Angress was interviewed by Eva Dunsky for the Chicago Review of Books, where she shared her writing process for SIRENS & MUSES: “I worked on including either imagistic or thematic echoes so that the different storylines were speaking to each other even if they weren’t intersecting…There’s sort of a meta aspect to this book—a lot of the ideas and anxieties it explores were ideas and anxieties I had as I was writing it. I picture the book as a problem I kept creating as I was trying to solve it, almost like an Escher drawing: a problem that falls into itself again and again and which you can’t climb out of because you’re creating it as you go.” The book was featured on must-read lists from The Millions, Reads Rainbow, and Lambda Literary, and Lit Hub featured a personal essay by Angress titled “Fantasy vs. Reality: When the Muse Finally Speaks.” Ballantine Books published SIRENS & MUSES on July 12, 2022.

Nada Alic’s highly anticipated BAD THOUGHTS enjoyed a celebratory launch this week. The New York Times published a fantastic review from A. Cerisse Cohen: “Nada Alic’s debut story collection pierces superficial appearances to access deeper human connection…[E]ach story pushes into weirder, more vulnerable territory as it captures the (usually female) narrator’s borderline perverse thoughts. Alic depicts contemporary womanhood with a wry, uncensored voice reminiscent of those in Miranda July’s off-kilter SoCal tales.” The Cut published an interview between Alic and Katja Vujić, in which Alic discussed her influences and inspirations: “I see my characters going through a misguided hero’s journey. They’re all seeking freedom or power or love, and going about it in all the wrong ways. One of the main things that I find a lot of humor in is how we perform self. The journey from my thoughts to my mouth feels like a game of telephone sometimes; there’s so much going on internally, and I don’t know if I always communicate it well. I often betray myself, and I think a lot of people do. A lot of it comes from trying to dismantle a lot of the shame that I feel and using humor to normalize the fact that we all have good and bad thoughts swirling inside of us — we have the full spectrum of a human experience.” BAD THOUGHTS was also featured on must-read lists from Lit Hub and The London Times, and Electric Lit featured a listicle from Alic titled “9 Books About Women Who Can’t Get Out of Their Heads” in honor of her book’s publication. Vintage published BAD THOUGHTS on July 12, 2022.

On the week of its highly anticipated release, AN IMMENSE WORLD by Ed Yong earned two rave reviews. Jennifer Szalai for The New York Times Book Review writes: “That I found myself surprised at so many moments while reading AN IMMENSE WORLD, Ed Yong’s new book about animal senses, speaks to his exceptional gifts as a storyteller... Yong offers these facts in a generous spirit, clearly aware that part of what will enthrall readers is discovering just how few of these facts many of us have known…Yong’s book is funny and elegantly written.” Meanwhile, for NPR’s Book Review, Barbara J. King writes: “Yong writes in a perfect balance of scientific rigor and personal awe as he invites readers to grasp something of how other animals experience the world…[W]ith AN IMMENSE WORLD, Yong brings into beautiful focus a host of other animal sensory worlds that co-exist with ours, and how we may protect them. He has synthesized and compellingly presented a spectacular amount of scientific information to do this, making it look easy along the way. But isn't easy at all. It's a magnificent achievement.” Random House published the book on June 21, 2022.

Peter C. Baker’s debut novel PLANES published amidst a flurry of positive press from both national and local media, including a review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (“[Baker’s] prose is an apt delivery system for a subtle portrait of two women who've been robbed of things they might never recover”), Harper’s (“Baker’s prose is clean and vivid, his characters movingly and effectively evoked…[PLANES] illuminates urgent questions in unexpected ways”), and The New York Times Book Review (“In his debut novel, PLANES, Peter C. Baker delicately crafts the internal lives of these very different people…captur[ing] our shared human ache with stunning accuracy.” PLANES has also made an appearance on a number of most-anticipated and summer reading roundups, including lists by Publishers Weekly, Debutiful, Vulture, and the Chicago Tribune, and Baker has been interviewed by INDY Week, the Our Struggle podcast, and the Burned by Books podcast. Knopf published planes on May 31, 2022.

Nicole Pasulka’s HOW YOU GET FAMOUS published this week to further critical acclaim. Esquire featured the book on its list of must-reads for this summer, alongside glowing praise: “Pasulka takes us tumbling down a glittery rabbit hole in this engrossing look at the last decade of Brooklyn ballroom culture…Through this electric constellation of performers, Pasulka paints a vivid portrait of a singular subculture: joyful and scrappy, it’s gone on to galvanize a community and inspire a wider cultural movement.” Meanwhile, Ms. Magazine featured the book on its June roundup, praising it as an “incisive and important debut.” Simon & Schuster published the book on June 7, 2022.

On the day of its release, Lars Horn’s VOICE OF THE FISH was lauded by The New York Times. Reviewer Corinne Manning raves: “Lars Horn, the author of the rapturous lyric essay VOICE OF THE FISH, muses of these creatures that are older than humans, older even than some cities…Horn wants ‘language and narrative to carry more physicality.’ VOICE OF THE FISH meets this desire with a narrative that swells and recedes, with intimate depictions of the writer’s life…In VOICE OF THE FISH—this baptismal, overflowing narrative that reveals the limitlessness of being — Horn’s clear choice is life and light.” Horn also sat down with Max Ruthless of Foggy Pine Books in Boone, North Carolina for a Q&A for the American Booksellers Association’s “Indies Introduce” segment. Ruthless tells Horn: “This collection of essays is so beautifully written that it made my soul ache. The lyrical style makes every word feel individually crafted and weighted with emotion.” Graywolf Press published the book on June 7, 2022.

Rebecca Rukeyser’s debut novel THE SEAPLANE ON FINAL APPROACH published this week to great press. Apartment Therapy featured the book as a June must-read, praising it as “a bristling, lusty coming-of-age tale.” Meanwhile, Lit Hub featured the book on its summer roundup, with Lit Hub Senior Editor Jessie Gaynor raving: “I can’t deny that there’s something enormously satisfying about reading a book that evokes a place—particularly one I’ve never been—with both tenderness and specificity. Such is the great pleasure of Rebecca Rukeyser’s debut novel.” Doubleday published the novel on June 7, 2022.

Kim Kelly’s new book, FIGHT LIKE HELL, is enjoying a whirlwind of positive press following its publication. Kelly sat down with Vogue to discuss the book, which interviewer Emma Specter refers to as “a timely ode to the labor movement” that "carefully situates the current resurgence of union power within its historical context...with depth and nuance.” The book received generous praise in a review from Publishers Weekly: “Journalist and union organizer Kelly debuts with a rousing look at the contributions of marginalized groups to the U.S. labor movement…Shedding new light on key players and episodes within a diverse range of industries—from textile and trucking to sex work—this invigorating labor history is also a powerful call for today’s workers to fight for their rights.” Meanwhile, The Washington Monthly notes its success in addressing issues on the macro level (“call[ing] out the hypocrisy of advertising the availability of the American Dream as available to all then denying some people the opportunity to work”) and the micro level (“an inspired instruction manual for labor organizers”), while a starred review from Library Journal declares that “this accessible, inspiring, and instructive read belongs in school libraries, in university classrooms, and in general readers’ hands for its lessons about workers’ united power and the unfinished business of workplace justice.” The book has been featured as a must-read title by The Philadelphia Inquirer, PW Daily, CNN, The New York Times, Bustle, Thrillist, and more, and excerpts have appeared in The Washington Post, Engadget, and Teen Vogue online. One Signal Publishers published FIGHT LIKE HELL on April 26, 2022.

THE MOVEMENT MADE US by David Dennis, Jr. in collaboration with his father, David Dennis, Sr., published this week to much fanfare. Andscape published an excerpt from THE MOVEMENT MADE US titled “The night a veiled threat encouraged a white mob to leave a Black church alone.” Dennis Jr. participated in interviews with the podcasts For Colored Nerds, Reckon Mag, and Edge of Sports, as well as ESPN’s Around the Horn and The Right Time with Bomani Jones, before beginning a book tour with a string of independent booksellers across the American South. Harper published THE MOVEMENT MADE US on May 10, 2022.

Samantha Hunt’s highly-anticipated nonfiction debut THE UNWRITTEN BOOK received a flurry of outstanding press following its publication. In a rave review for the Los Angeles Times, WHAT MY MOTHER AND I DON’T TALK ABOUT author Michele Filgate writes: “To attempt to categorize THE UNWRITTEN BOOK is to diminish the effect of reading it. Hunt studied geology, and her fascination with the bedrock of the natural world overlaps with her elemental love of storytelling…THE UNWRITTEN BOOK is by turns mesmerizing, philosophical and funny.” The New York Times ran a profile on Hunt titled “A Novelist Revisits Her ‘Haunted’ Childhood Home,” in which Hunt shared: “My father liked puzzle books and tricks and games…so he would be happy to think that something strange happened with his work.” Esquire featured the book on its list of “The Best Books of Spring 2022,” praising Hunt as “[o]ne of our most gifted practitioners of the short story” and the book itself as “[e]erie, profound, and daring…a book only the inimitable Hunt could write.” Lastly, Hunt sat down for an interview with BOMB Magazine about her writing process. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux published the book on April 5, 2022.