Nylon named Carlene Bauer’s new novel, GIRLS THEY WRITE SONGS ABOUT, as a must-read for June. Nylon Culture Editor Layla Halabian writes: “A tender and honest novel about the friendships―and friendship breakups―that shape people just as much as their romantic counterparts.” Farrar, Straus and Giroux published the book on June 21, 2022.

Variety announced that Anderson Cooper’s VANDERBILT is being developed into a series by UCP and Littleton Road. DR. DEATH showrunner and THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE co-creator Patrick Macmanus will write and executive produce the series. Macmanus says: “I am honored, grateful and thrilled to be teaming with Anderson on this sweeping story…His book cut to the quick of four hundred years of American history with care and honesty, shying away from the Vanderbilt family’s all-too-human faults and frailties. I am eager and just the right amount of nervous about getting this one right.” Harper published VANDERBILT on September 21, 2021.

David Dennis, Jr., author of the newly released THE MOVEMENT MADE US, published an Op-Ed in The New York Times titled “Civil Rights Activists Fought for America’s Democracy. They Should Be Honored as Veterans.” “This may sound like hyperbolic or dramatic rhetoric. It’s not. The war they fought was literal,” Dennis, Jr. writes. “My dad was in a church in Shreveport, La., when it was bombed. He went to meetings attended by spies who delivered intelligence to government agencies. He was beaten. He was imprisoned. His friends were tortured. Some of his friends — Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner among them — were assassinated…As we consider what kind of reparations and redress are necessary, granting those veterans the government benefits that other war heroes are entitled to would be one small, important step in the right direction.” Harper published THE MOVEMENT MADE US on May 10, 2022.

Leïla Slimani, winner of France’s Goncourt Prize, included THE MARGOT AFFAIR by Sanaë Lemoine in a roundup of Parisian book recommendations for The New York Times. Slimani describes THE MARGOT AFFAIR as “wonderfully Parisian without resorting to any of the usual clichés. It is a glimpse into the world of politics and journalism. The details of French food, daily routines and architecture are very well captured by the author.” Hogarth published THE MARGOT AFFAIR on June 16, 2020.

Departures sat down with Afropunk co-founder James Spooner to discuss his debut graphic memoir, THE HIGH DESERT. Shirley Ngozi Nwangwa writes: “THE HIGH DESERT is a memoir for music lovers. Spooner brings readers along on the punk journey of his younger self, blazing lyrics across the pages; the larger the writing, the louder the volume.” Harper published the memoir on May 17, 2022.

Rachel Aviv’s highly anticipated STRANGERS TO OURSELVES received its first trade starred-review from Kirkus. The reviewer raves: “A perceptive and intelligent work about mental illness…Aviv applies her signature conscientiousness and probing intellect to every section of this eye-opening book. Her profiles are memorable and empathetic…Aviv treats her subjects with both scholarly interest and genuine compassion…A moving, meticulously researched, elegantly constructed work of nonfiction.” Farrar, Straus and Giroux will publish the book on September 13, 2022.

Ed Yong joined the Armchair Expert podcast to discuss AN IMMENSE WORLD and “how he became a science writer, how his coverage of the pandemic was different than other reporting, and how biomimicry has advanced our technology.” The book was also featured on Mother Jones’ summer roundup, where Jackie Flynn Mogensen praises the book: “[AN IMMENSE WORLD] takes you into the fascinating realm of animal senses…[I]f, like Yong, your soul needs a break – and some damn joy – AN IMMENSE WORLD is a trip worth taking.” Random House publishes the book on June 21, 2022.

Thrillist named THE SEAPLANE ON FINAL APPROACH by Rebecca Rukeyser as one of the “27 Books [They] Can’t Wait to Read This Summer.” They write: “If you never quite thought of Alaska as the center of all things lust-worthy and sexy, Rebecca Rukeyser's debut will have you thinking otherwise.” Doubleday published the novel on June 7, 2022.

Cleyvis Natera’s NERUDA ON THE PARK continues to accumulate great press following its release. The New York Times featured the book on its list of “10 New Books We Recommend This Week,” praising it as an “earnest, provocative debut novel.” Best-selling author Emily Griffin endorsed NERUDA ON THE PARK in an interview with Parade magazine, noting that it will be featured on her new Instagram-based book club. Lastly, author Jasmine Guillory selected NERUDA ON THE PARK for Today’s list of must-read titles for this summer. Guillory writes: “[T]here’s a story that grabbed hold of me as soon as I started reading, and refused to let go. This book took me on a huge journey, and I can’t stop thinking about it.” Ballantine Books published the novel on May 24, 2022.

In the run-up to its much anticipated US publication, BITCH by Lucy Cooke continues to garner critical praise. Reviewer Dana Dunham for Scientific American writes: “In this effervescent exposé, British zoologist Lucy Cooke documents the ‘scientific phallocracy’ that has warped our perceptions of biological sex in the animal kingdom…Her playful, enlightening tour of the vanguard of evolutionary biology not only highlights animals that disrupt our assumptions about biological sex and its ‘natural’ behaviors…it also celebrates the underappreciated scholars whose research is shifting this reductive paradigm.” Meanwhile, the book was featured on must-read lists for June from The Los Angeles Times and AV Club, the latter of which praises it as a “delightful, revelatory survey of cross-species sexism.” Basic Books will publish the book on June 14, 2022.