RULES FOR VISITING by Jessica Francis Kane was longlisted for the New Literary Project’s 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. The New Literary Project Chair Joseph Di Prisco says that the titles chosen for the longlist “embody the inspiring richness and vitality of storytelling in our country.” The prize will be awarded to “an author of fiction in the middle of a burgeoning career.” Finalists are expected to be announced in early March 2022, and the winner will be announced in April 2022. Penguin Press published the novel on May 14, 2019.

AND NOW I SPILL THE FAMILY SECRETS by Margaret Kimball was nominated for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Graphic Novels & Comics. The opening round of voting will conclude on November 28, and winners will be announced on December 9. HarperOne published the book on April 20, 2021.

THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV is one of Amazon’s top 100 books of the year. The book was also nominated for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Debut Novel and Best Historical Fiction. The opening round of voting will conclude on November 28, and winners will be announced on December 9. 37 Ink published the novel on March 30, 2021.

THE LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner is one of Amazon’s top 100 books of the year. The book was also nominated for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Debut Novel and Best Historical Novel. The opening round of voting will conclude on November 28, and winners will be announced on December 9. Park Row published the book on March 2, 2021.

APPLESEED by Matt Bell is one of Amazon’s twenty Best Science Fiction & Fantasy titles of the year. The book was also nominated for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction. The opening round of voting will conclude on November 28, and winners will be announced on December 9. Custom House published the novel on July 13, 2021.

THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr. is one of Amazon’s twenty Best Literature & Fiction titles of the year, as well as one of the top 100 overall books of the year. The book was also nominated for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Historical Fiction and Best Debut Novel. The opening round of voting will conclude on November 28, and winners will be announced on December 9. G.P. Putnam’s Sons published the book on January 5, 2021.

SCIENTIST: E.O. WILSON: A LIFE IN NATURE by Richard Rhodes is one of Amazon’s twenty Best Science books of the year. Doubleday published the book on November 9, 2021.

Alan Cumming will appear at the 38th annual Miami Book Fair on November 20 to discuss his memoir, BAGGAGE. The event will be moderated by author Julio Capó Jr., associate professor of history at Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, and will be accessible both in person and via livestream. Dey Street Books published BAGGAGE on October 26, 2021.

Padma Lakshmi, whose TASTE THE NATION just launched its second season, discussed her inspirations and Thanksgiving cooking techniques with Genevieve Ko, a senior editor for The New York Times Food section and NYT Cooking. Ko writes: “Ms. Lakshmi, 51, was born in India, and returned regularly after moving to the United States as a toddler. There, she ground spices and simmered dal with her grandmother and aunts, an experience that inspired her children’s book, TOMATOES FOR NEELA.” Viking Books for Young Readers published TOMATOES FOR NEELA on August 31, 2021.

Adam Soto’s debut novel THIS WEIGHTLESS WORLD published this week to positive acclaim. Kirkus praises Soto’s “finely drawn” characters and “philosophically thorny conflicts,” adding: “Amid the discovery of alien life, [THIS WEIGHTLESS WORLD is] a touching meditation on humanity.” The book also received a glowing blurb from Locus’ Ian Monde: "Soto brilliantly inverts the inherently outward aspect of the first-contact trope—the idea of seeking salvation in the stars—by forcing his characters to look inward, to question their acquiescence on issues like climate change, police brutality, and the smothering influence of Big-Tech...It's precisely Soto's refusal to be 'weighted' down by decades of genre tradition, to instead turn the trope on its head and in doing so remind us that no-one but ourselves is coming to save us, that makes THIS WEIGHTLESS WORLD such an exciting and radical novel." Astra House published the book on November 9, 2021.