News - Literary News
News - Literary News
SIRENS & MUSES, Antonia Angress’ forthcoming debut novel, received warm early praise from Electric Lit and Kirkus Reviews. Electric Lit included the novel on its listicle of “The Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books for Summer 2022” alongside a glowing review, which reads: “Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY meets Meg Wolitzer’s THE INTERESTINGS in this entrancing portrait of three young artists who meet at an elite college at the height of the Occupy movement. Angress so deftly portrays the splendor and squalor of trying to create something great in the face of rampant capitalism, of love and lust in the face of tooth-and-claw competition.” Meanwhile, Kirkus’ review praises the novel as “an intriguing exploration of art and wealth spearheaded by messy, engrossing characters,” adding: “[SIRENS & MUSES] does an admirable job of parsing such difficult issues as the role of capitalism in art, and references to events such as the Occupy movement give the novel real-world context. The main characters have believable flaws and nuances, and the narrative is adept at interrogating the power imbalances in both the characters’ personal relationships and in an art world rife with sexism and classism.” Ballantine Books will publish the novel on July 12, 2022.
VERY COLD PEOPLE by Sarah Manguso received a stunning review from The Guardian. Reviewer Johanna Thomas-Corr raves: “When I finished VERY COLD PEOPLE, I felt my whole body unclench. In the process of reading this creepy coming-of-age tale, I seemed to have trapped a nerve in my shoulder – it’s that tense...VERY COLD PEOPLE is so different from anything else I’ve read that it feels a bit fatuous to compare it to other works of fiction. We often talk about writers getting under the skin of their characters, but Manguso has a forensic interest in hair follicles, rashes, effluvia and infected cuts…It’s a masterclass in unease. I must confess that I was relieved when the novel was over but it was so skillful, so strange and so unique that I suspect it will stay with me for a very long time.” Hogarth published the novel February 8, 2022.
The Nation published the titular poem from Maggie Millner’s forthcoming debut collection COUPLETS online and in the magazine’s May issue. Farrar, Straus and Giroux will publish the collection on February 7, 2023.
Delia Ephron’s memoir LEFT ON TENTH will make its debut on The New York Times Bestseller list for the week of May 1. The book will debut at number 4 on both the Hardcover Nonfiction and the Combined Print & E-book Nonfiction lists. Little, Brown and Company published the book on April 12, 2022.
The New York Times Book Review featured Samantha Hunt’s nonfiction debut, THE UNWRITTEN BOOK, on its shortlist “Mourning Songs for Lives, and Art, That Could Have Been.” Reviewer Kat Chow writes: “Samantha Hunt’s memoir is a provocative meditation on family and haunting….The reader’s mind reels, in an experience similar to the unfurling of memory and its excavation.” The Washington Post also lauded the book, with reviewer Jake Cline praising: “THE UNWRITTEN BOOK is a memoir and essay collection that finds beauty in impermanence…Hunt gazes into [the] darkness, but she never stops looking for the cracks... It’s a measure of Hunt’s generosity — to the reader, but also to herself — that her answers to [her] questions evolve throughout the book.” Farrar, Straus and Giroux published the book on April 5, 2022.
Nada Alic’s short story “Daddy’s Girl,” from her forthcoming collection BAD THOUGHTS, was published as the cover story for This is Badland magazine’s “To Be Free” issue. The magazine praises the short story as “witty, dark, vulnerable, sharp-edged, [and] weird.” Vintage will publish BAD THOUGHTS on July 12, 2022.
Tanaïs sat down for an interview with Harper’s Bazaar about their nonfiction debut, IN SENSORIUM. Reviewer Mathangi Subramanian writes: “In times like these, writers like Tanaïs matter more. Whether it’s through authoring critically acclaimed queer fiction with their novel BRIGHT LINES, successfully navigating the overwhelmingly straight, white perfume industry, or speaking truth to power on social media, Tanaïs carves out space for the rest of us. Their latest book, IN SENSORIUM, continues in this tradition, interweaving the science of perfumery, the voices of freedom-fighting Bangladeshi femmes, and the author’s own experiences as a queer Muslim writer into a narrative that fearlessly envisions liberation. It is, in short, the balm we have always needed.” Harper published the book on February 22, 2022.
Oprah Daily featured Tomi Obaro's highly-anticipated debut novel DELE WEDS DESTINY on its list of “22 of the Best New Books to Welcome Spring,” praising the book’s “richly entertaining foundation.” Knopf will publish the book on June 28, 2022.
Ella King’s forthcoming psychological thriller BAD FRUIT is among Library Journal’s list of “Top Spring/Summer Debuts: 39 Titles to Know.” Astra House will publish the novel on August 23, 2022.
Publishers Weekly reviewed HOW YOU GET FAMOUS by Nicole Pasulka, praising: “Journalist Pasulka debuts with an entertaining deep dive into the last decade of the Brooklyn drag scene…LGBTQ history buffs and fans of [RUPAUL’S] DRAG RACE will be hard-pressed to find a more in-depth look at the drag explosion of the 2010s.” Simon & Schuster will publish the book on June 7, 2022.