The French edition of Daniel Loedel’s debut novel, HADES, ARGENTINA, has won the prestigious Prix du Premier Roman Étranger. Judged by a panel of literary critics, the award is given each year to the best first book by a foreign author. HADES, ARGENTINA was also named a finalist for two other French prizes: the Prix Femina and the FNAC First Novel Prize. La Croisée published the French edition on August 25, 2021, and Riverhead Books published the US edition on January 12, 2021.

After being named one of three finalists in the category, Brian Castleberry has won the Library of Virginia’s 2021 Award for Fiction for his debut novel NINE SHINY OBJECTS. Custom House published the book on June 30, 2020, and the paperback edition on August 17, 2021.

Joss Lake discussed his debut novel FUTURE FEELING with Ari Braverman of The Believer, who calls the book "smart and a little bit pissed off but not so cynical that it wasn’t also luminously, optimistically enthralled with the world and all the ways we might figure out how to live inside it," and a story "filled with tenderness—a reminder for its readers that these days a real appraising eye sees not only decline but connection and potential as well." Soft Skull published the book on June 1, 2021.

Daniel Barban Levin sat down for an interview with Frances Badalamenti for BOMB Magazine to discuss his memoir SLONIM WOODS 9, the meaning of the word "cult" and how easily "normal" people might fall into one, and how the process of writing allowed him to come to terms with everything he endured. He also appeared on an episode of the Ivy League Murders podcast, discussing his experiences as a second installment in their Sarah Lawrence series on Larry Ray and his influence on his daughter's group of college friends. Crown published SLONIM WOODS 9 on September 7, 2021.

Gabriela Garcia’s debut novel, OF WOMEN AND SALT, was awarded the Gold Medal for the Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Award – English at Empowering Latino Futures’ International Latino Book Awards on October 17. Flatiron Books published the novel on March 30, 2021.

Jamelle Bouie invokes Mike Konczal’s FREEDOM FROM THE MARKET in his latest Op-Ed for the New York Times, “Joe Manchin Doesn’t Like What Joe Biden is Doing.” He writes: “Animating the New Deal, Mike Konczal writes in his book, FREEDOM FROM THE MARKET...was a 'new idea of freedom that limited and constrained markets' and put limits on ‘market dependency’… Konczal quotes a Roosevelt administration official, the great labor lawyer Donald Richberg, who made this point in explicit terms when he said that when workers are ‘compelled by necessity to live in one kind of place and to work for one kind of employer, with no choice except to pay the rent demanded and to accept the wages offered — or else to starve — then the liberty of the property owner contains the power to enslave the worker. And that sort of liberty is intolerable and cannot be preserved by a democratic government.’” The New Press published the book on January 12, 2021.

BEING YOU by Anil Seth published this week to rave reviews. The Financial Times writes: “Seth covers complex topics, such as neurosurgery, mind-altering drugs, animal consciousness, and artificial intelligence, with skill and warmth…[and] fluent and accessible analysis.” Meanwhile, The New Statesman praises: “In lucid, engaging prose Seth deftly navigates long-standing philosophical debates over the nature of consciousness…[U]sing hard science to chip away at the hard problem won’t make the topic any less fascinating or awe-inspiring.” Dutton published the book on October 19, 2021.

Ask.com featured THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones Jr. on its list of “The 15 Best Books of 2021 (So Far).” They write: "In Robert Jones, Jr.’s lyrical debut novel, THE PROPHETS, Isaiah and Samuel are two enslaved young men who find refuge in each other — and their love becomes both sustaining and heroic in the face of a vicious world. Entertainment Weekly writes that 'While THE PROPHETS’ dreamy realism recalls the work of Toni Morrison…Its penetrating focus on social dynamics stands out more singularly.' Now that's a compliment." G.P. Putnam’s Sons published the novel on January 5, 2021.

Lucy Corin sat down in conversation with West Trade Review to discuss her novel, THE SWANK HOTEL. West Trade Review’s Fiction Editor D.W. White told Corin: "When I was reading THE SWANK HOTEL, I was thinking of INFINITE JEST, that type of metafictional, hysterical realism…It’s this wonderland of a world, filtered through the mind of a few characters." Graywolf Press published the novel on October 5, 2021.

Sunjeev Sahota’s CHINA ROOM has been longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. The shortlist will be announced on November 8, 2021, and the winners will be announced at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards event during ALA’s first annual LibLearnX on January 23, 2022. Viking published the novel on July 13, 2021.