News - Literary News

News - Literary News

Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former Georgia state representative, chose THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV by Dawnie Walton as her summer reading “bookshelf” pick for Politico. She writes: "The fictionalized 'true story' of a defunct rock band as told to a rising reporter sounds riveting. Walton’s story tackles complicated issues of race and success using music as its crucible—and the fractious 1970s as a galvanizing point." 37 Ink published the novel on March 30, 2021.

THE ONES WHO DON'T SAY THEY LOVE YOU by Maurice Carlos Ruffin was featured on Lit Hub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2021, Part Two.” They write: “Maurice Carlos Ruffin follows up on his darkly provocative, critically acclaimed debut novel, WE CAST A SHADOW, with this collection of stories set in and around his native New Orleans. The characters in Ruffin’s stories struggle, in their various ways, to navigate the depths of a great American city too often mythologized for its flamboyant surfaces.” One World will publish the book on August 17, 2021.

Variety reported that MGM’s Orion Television has acquired the rights to Max Barry’s new novel, THE 22 MURDERS OF MADISON MAY. The book will be adapted by THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT showrunners and executive producers Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin. The book was also featured on the Chicago Tribune’s list of “The Biblioracle’s Best Books of 2021 So Far,” where John Warner praises: “A page-turner that also holds up in terms of its metaphysical conceit…[and] kept me up well past my bedtime.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons will publish the book on July 6, 2021.

YES, DADDY author Jonathan Parks-Ramage and his boyfriend Ryan O'Connell, creator of the Netflix show SPECIAL, sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss their biggest fears and sources of anxiety. Parks-Ramage also spoke about his excitement for YES, DADDY’s upcoming adaptation by Amazon Studios: “I feel very lucky to have people who really understand the vision.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published the novel on May 18, 2021.

Lynn Berger’s SECOND THOUGHTS was excerpted in Motherwell Mag: “How we measure our children against each other (and why we shouldn’t)” and in Romper: “How Much Time Would Another Baby Cost?” Henry Holt and Co. published the book on April 20, 2021.

Dawnie Walton's electrifying debut THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV has been named as a best-of book of 2021 by Entertainment Weekly. They hail the novel as a "kaleidoscopic tale,” adding that the book “bursts with fourth-wall breaks and clear-eyed takes on race, sex, and creativity that Walton unfurls in urgent, endlessly readable style." The novel was also featured on WBUR's summer reading recommendations. 37 Ink published the novel on March 30, 2021.

BROTHER, SISTER, MOTHER, EXPLORER by Jamie Figueroa was featured on Goodreads’ list of “24 New Family Dramas to Keep You Turning the Pages.” Catapult published the novel on March 2, 2021.

The revised edition of LONG DIVISION by Kiese Laymon was named a best-of book for summer 2021 by Elle Magazine. They praise: “HEAVY memoirist Kiese Laymon returns, this time with a fiercely creative novel combining time travel with institutionalized racism. The resulting saga winds from the 1980s to the 1960s and beyond, weaving a fractured but fascinating path through Black America.” Scribner published the novel on June 1, 2021.

Elle Magazine featured THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones Jr. on its “Essential Pride Reading List.” They write: “Just based on the modern media and publishing, one might think that queerness didn’t exist before the late 20th century, and certainly not for Black people. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. In THE PROPHETS, Jones takes readers back to a time in history when being Black and queer was unspeakable, and those who dared to love and be loved were true activists.” Amazon Book Review also featured THE PROPHETS as one of its Editors’ Picks for Pride month. Senior editor Erin Kodicek praises: “[A] lyrical but devastating debut novel that shines a harsher light on a shameful legacy that is still deeply felt today. It’s also a profound reminder of love’s power to repudiate it.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons published the novel on January 5, 2021.

CHINA ROOM by Sunjeev Sahota received glowing praise from Claire Messud in Harper’s Magazine. She writes: “Sahota creates an all but unbearable tension...[She] is a restrained stylist whose details bloom in the imagination.” Viking will publish the book on July 13, 2021.