
Bianco's approach is, in each crisply told story, to focus first on incidents rather than the protagonist experiencing them, and then building up to an affecting climatic summation. From “Dot,” a sweeping examination of an Ohio woman’s life from 4H to computer programming to divorce from a man who wanted a less ambitious wife: "She somehow survived without anger or regret, and without once considering herself remarkable or entitled to more than the cards of life dealt her." Often, in stories like “That Hoffman Girl,” Bianco guides the reader to inferring the characters’ feelings, a part of solving the riddle of emotions and memory. Since the people and situations feel so real, and since the storytelling is so skillful, this is a pleasure.
Throughout, Bianco’s people seem to be presenting themselves without qualms, asking us to take them as they are. Yet each story also offers reason to doubt this, to pick at the questions that the narrators seem to prefer to leave un-asked. Bianco writes invitingly of experience, survival, and what we tell ourselves about ourselves.
Takeaway: Resonant stories of life as it’s lived, told with welcome empathy.
Comparable Titles: Ann Beattie, Raymond Carver.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
While the poems are galactic in scope, they aren’t out of reach, nor do they lack playfulness. Most are lyrical and abound with wordplay, as in “Dream Data”: “Light is the measure of all matter / and it’s all just a matter of Time.” Bigelow also plays with form and structure, publishing distinct yet aligned collections of poetry that focus so acutely on polarities. Science & Mysticism is, in general, concerned with the melding of just what its title promises, while The Veil’s Cipher focuses on the enigma of time and the struggle of humanity to cope with its own temporality (“I don’t see / a start / or end / to time”).
Still, Bigelow’s heady ideas flow freely across the physical divide between the volumes, the verses within penned in clear, engaging, surprising language. The collections create a oneness that reflects Bigelow’s ideas about the oneness of the universe (“All inhabits / every moment”) that has split itself into varied, seemingly self-contained forms. According to the speaker in “Heirlooms,” as the “rare metals” of existence collide and connect in “intense chaotic energetic refinement,” “we are making jewelry.” Readers searching for a home in the intersection of poetry, science, and spirituality will find one in Bigelow’s debut.
Takeaway: Electric poetry concerning spirituality, quantum physics, and other mysteries.
Comparable Titles: Pattiann Rogers’s Holy Heathen Rhapsody, Sarah Howe’s Relativity.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
Zapped is a fast paced and highly imaginative story shining a spotlight on the secret life of pets. From hostile rodent takeovers to the gerbil’s fascinating hierarchy—“We have a sort of rule that says no gerbil is more important than any other gerbil”—Breitrose creates a surprising, funny world, while touching on classic middle grade themes about being accepted for who you are and finding your place in the world.
For all the hilarity, including a wind-up mouse and a gerbil named Einstein, passages from the perspective of Joe, a human boy who thinks of himself not as an “alpha dog” but a “kappa,” are touching. He faces relatable real-world concerns like his lack of confidence at Little League, even as he conceives of surprising plans for the Nanozap, a device whose use comes with clever onomatopoeia. This blend of adventure, science-fiction, and talking-animal comedy (gerbils love polkas!) that will appeal to young readers.
Takeaway: The funny, inventive story of gerbil society’s big plans for a shrinking machine.
Comparable Titles: Meghan Marentette’s The Stowaways, Ross Welford’s Time Traveling with a Hamster.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
It's no spoiler to say that Ireland is so wracked with explosive violence or that Frank will be a guiding, paternal figure in Michael’s life—in fact, as McCann makes clear, it will be Frank who eventually impresses Michael into undertaking the 2016 attack. Young Michael faces horrors and loss that will rattle readers, but the tension threading through the collection concerns why his 41-year-old self will eventually attempt a bombing, especially when, early on, an attack tears his family apart.
That story illuminates Michael’s mother’s own secrets and hardiness, her drive to do what needs to be done, no matter how distasteful. Much of McCann unfolds from Michael’s perspective, as he comes of age, grows strong under Frank’s eye, and fights the Russians in Afghanistan with the Mujahadeen. But Benacre’s keenly interested in the context of that life, offering a clutch of stories that read as sharp colloquies between characters facing the news of a changing world—and how they must change with it. Readers see Frank’s response to many epochal events, with the most harrowing on September 11, 2001: “these are the lengths we’re going to have to go to. You get it?”
Takeaway: A novel in stories tracing the life of a “cleanskin” IRA bomber and a half century of fractious history.
Comparable Titles: Eoin McNamee’s Resurrection Man, Wendy Erskine’s Sweet Home.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
This is upbeat, big-picture science-fiction, alert to the technical complexities of Arroyo Aerospace’s ambitions but not bogged down in them. Martin, a documentarian and author of many nonfiction books, prizes convincing scenes of decision-making and problem-solving. That’s not to say the novel lacks tension—it starts in a 2017 rocked by right-wing militias, with the intelligence agencies sniffing around the Arroyos’ progress. As they prepare the Galaxy Two for launch over the next few years, the family faces the fraught politics of the real world in that era, from the pandemic to election denialism.
Crisp dialogue carries the story, though tense shifts and an expository tone mean the storytelling’s not as polished as it could be. The blunt emphasis on contemporary politics, including a conservative Arroyo sister who initially is kept out of the loop because of her affiliations, will put some readers off, but Martin’s ultimately empathetic with her—and he’s invested in how great things might be accomplished within our current Earthly systems. As their new space age dawns, complete with a space station, the Arroyos explore PR campaigns, private-public partnerships, deals with corporations, and other practical approaches.
Takeaway: This upbeat novel imagines a family-owned aerospace company’s new space age.
Comparable Titles: Daniel Suarez’s Delta-v, Kim Stanley Robinson.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
The novel is clever and complex—another manuscript, Jillian’s Confession, figures in as well—but easy to follow. It will appeal to readers who love literary puzzles, interlocking portraits of relationships, and playful but dead-serious inquiry into the complexities of love, sex, and family. While the characters all offer their own incisive commentary about the central relationships, Linden leaves it to readers to reach their own conclusions: the William of the play seems intended as enlightened and sensitive yet comes off as controlling and manipulative—if that’s intentional, which author intends it? (Late in the book, Linden smartly upends some assumptions about authorship and perspective, casting a new light on what’s come before–and stirring more questions.)
Dr. Seiden’s lecture notes, meanwhile, gush with comic overstatement about the very works we’re reading (“the most beautiful, tender and erotic in all of literature”) yet also reveal striking insights that enrich the whole. Readers who find such play rewarding will find this novel a fest of ideas, surprises, and consistent sharp, engaging, prose.
Takeaway: A playful meta-novel whose stories within stories examine love.
Comparable Titles: Nicole Krauss, John Barth.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
Cunningham laces the novel with a multitude of biblical references, beginning with the first name of the main protagonist, Gideon, and story elements that will appeal to readers of faith, such as the subplot regarding Gideon’s friends and neighbors trying to get him back into the fold of church. The intense thematic references to religion and good versus evil work well with the plotline, and Cunningham faces the era’s true darkness: while Elvira is portrayed as being very beautiful, her beauty includes a dark side, embodied by her brutality towards the family slaves.
The heart of the storyline, though, focuses on the intense horse racing competition between the turfmen and the landed gentry’s devotion to horse racing, especially as Gideon and Sam search for the killer of the Quarles’ former champion racehorse. Alive with vivid historical detail surrounding jockey club dinners and balls during the racing season, Cunningham’s novel also highlights the dangers inherent in the Underground Railroad for both slaves and abolitionists.
Takeaway: An inspirational historical novel of faith, freedom, and horse racing in old Alabama.
Comparable Titles: Geraldine Brooks’s Horse, Katherine C. Mooney’s Race Horse Men: How Slavery and Freedom Were Made at the Racetrack.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Especially in the opening and closing chapters, Bourgault, making his debut, deftly balances the novel’s mix of coming-of-age literary fiction with its exciting supernatural and suspense elements. Scenes with Billie are both charming and unsettling, as Justin at first refuses to ask hard questions about this strange little girl who knows so much about him. The answers to just who and what she is, when they come, are inspired, not settling into any genre convention. She’s an original, like the book itself.
The novel’s middle passages can feel protracted, such as chapters covering the aftermath of a strange accident or a trip to the American Southwest. The Perpetual Now is long, and at times feels like it, though its central mystery and relationships are compelling, and the prose is touched with unfussy observational poetry. “Ferguston sometimes felt like a war-torn city where all the buildings were left standing,” Bourgault writes, capturing a rich sense of place in a line.
Takeaway: A smart, heartfelt novel blending speculative and coming-of-age fiction.
Comparable Titles: Graham Joyce’s The Tooth Fairy, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
David’s seven steps prepare the potential author for nurturing, promoting, and profiting from a book. For example, before starting a book, authors should think of a lucrative, niche topic that will cater to a specific audience—and study one-star reviews on Amazon to understand what readers want. During the writing process, keep your potential audience engaged by building followers on social media, writing a newsletter, and gathering subscribers. Then she lays out steps for exploiting social media platforms like Mastodon and BeReal, writing press releases, and securing media appearances. Finally, profit from your book, which has by now built you up as an authority, by securing paid speaker gigs, keynote speeches, and directing clients to hire your business or buy your products.
In an age when traditional book publishing with agents and editors are increasingly passe, self-publishing and promotion are more accessible than ever, yet it’s ever more incumbent upon authors to put in the work beyond just writing. David’s how-to is frank—even unromantic—in its breakdown of what it takes to sell your own how-to. Despite some repetition of basic ideas, David delivers practical advice on navigating modern methods of self-promotion that can enhance your publicity and profits.
Takeaway: This hands-on guide urges authors to promote, profit, and become authorities.
Comparable Titles: Brooke Warner’s Green-Light Your Book, Barb Drozdowich’s The Author's Guide to Book Promotions.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
But neither Breen nor Bradford can let an injustice lie, as Breen concocts another story of clever suspense and high-stakes corporate malfeasance that displays a persuasive understanding of law, health industry scams, and a lawyer’s drift of mind. Four years later, in 2016, an unexpected person from Bradford’s past offers a tip that might bring ZeiiMed down—and save lives. ZeiiMed is possibly importing poppies from Afghanistan to peddle illegally in the states as opiates. Soon, Bradford’s back in the game, as a ZeiiMed assassin, in dark and tense scenes, again targets him for death with no regard for civilian casualties.
New readers should understand that this is very much a concluding chapter, one whose first third is dedicated to the aftermath of the previous book, though the new case, once it starts, proves exciting. Bradford’s heroic but also proudly his own man, joking about sexual harassment and pausing the setup chapters to endorse the candidacy of Donald Trump. That’s interesting; less so is the 8 pages in which Bradford’s colleague airs theories about the intelligence community targeting Trump, a passage even MAGA diehards might skim. That action, fortunately, is satisfying, unpredictable, and in the end explosive, as Breen blends high-level legal maneuvering with terror in the streets and waterways of New York.
Takeaway: An attorney’s fight against a diabolical insurance company builds to an explosive climax.
Comparable Titles: Brad Meltzer, David Baldacci.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Writing teenagers who sound like teenagers is hard, but Laxton, drawing on her teaching experience, achieves this with aplomb. It’s easy to cringe along with Emma when she gets tongue-tied in front of her crush, worries if she’s a good enough friend, or faces her nerves over public speaking. She’s alive on the page, as is Black Mountain itself, painted in vivid detail like local soda names and a raucous town hall meeting. Less compelling is the local werewolf, who, despite some moments of convincing suspense, never proves as engaging as the depiction of a battle involving zoning laws, bite-sized celebrity environmentalism, and the real plight facing those butterflies.
As the title suggests, themes of change form the heart of the book, and any metamorphosis is going to be a bit messy. But the supernatural mystery, which involves elements of Aztec culture, and the vibrant coming-of-age drama seem at odds, with everyday passages about friendships, skateboarding, and Emma’s art journal proving the novel’s most urgent. While the narrative may at times be muddied, the richness of Black Mountain is more than worth stopping and taking a closer look.
Takeaway: An engaging novel of youthful activism, friendship, and a small town’s werewolf.
Comparable Titles: Celia C. Perez’s Strange Birds, David A. Adler’s Cam Jansen mysteries.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-

The bulk of the guide walks readers through Collaborative Confidence and its main foundational pillars—Activate, Amplify, and Accelerate, which correspond to the guide’s three main sections. The “Activate” pages provide strategies and exercises for women leaders to increase self-awareness, uncover and leverage strengths, establish core values, and awaken their inner champions. Using lessons from the Obama administration and the concept of Shine Theory, the second section presents the strategy of amplification and encourages readers to build strong connections with other professional women, while developing an “abundance mindset.” The “Accelerate” section, meanwhile, addresses how women leaders can speed up the pace of change within the workplace through sponsorship, inclusivity, and creating more flexible work environments.
Backstrom’s purpose is clear: to inspire women to “weave together a happy and fulfilling life and career.” Backstrom writes with persuasive power, an inviting tone, and clear depth of experience, so that declarations like this ring out: “When women discover and tap into their own unique talents and powers as well as those of other women, it awakens an unstoppable transformational force,” Sharing compelling examples and inspirational stories from Malala Yousafzai, Girl Scouts of America, and the Obama administration, Backstrom showcases the importance of women’s leadership and how it works to drive significant change in both the workplace and society as a whole.
Takeaway: An impassioned guide challenging women leaders to build confidence and unite.
Comparable Titles: Katty Kay and Claire Shipman’s The Confidence Code, Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Right off the bat, Allensworth grips with compelling characters that jump off the page and stir significant empathy. Readers will be invested in the trials of both protagonists, and feel what they are feeling every step of the way. It’s also clear that Allensworth has a firm grasp over the setting that she has chosen for much of the book: a ranch. Her descriptions of ranching, riding, colt-breaking—“the dun crow-hopped and then reared, pawing the air”—feel so richly authentic that readers will not be surprised to discover that Allensworth draws upon many years of personal experience in the ranching business
The alternating between timelines takes some chapters to get used to, and Allensworth risks reader impatience in the buildup to the moment when the stories at last connect. But her vivid prose and sure hand with character will hold readers’ attention from one century to another. The revelations and climax, when they come, do not disappoint. Lovers of ranching and time travel novels will enjoy this book which is as engrossing as it is heartfelt.
Takeaway: A book for lovers of ranching and time travel, distinguished by rich detail.
Comparable Titles: Amy Harmon’s What the Wind Knows, Jeannette Walls’s Half Broke Horses.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

But, set a half decade before nearby Salem’s infamous trials, Grindle’s richly told tale doesn’t hold to the familiar beats of witch-hunt panic. Even as her mother explains to the town that a mysterious death was caused by natural poison rather than witchery, Resolve herself suspects a ten-year-old girl, Abigail, of being a changeling or demon. The suspense is multi-layered and provocative as Grindle deftly details the settlers’ fraught interactions with multiple tribes, their concerns that reports of potential deviltry might draw the attention of Boston’s brimstone-preaching Mathers, the question of how to interrogate a young girl, and the thrill and terror of civilization taking root among wild woods and coast.
Adding to the pervasive uncertainty is readers’ awareness of the superstitious injustice looming in the region’s near future, and the teasing possibility that, in spite of our rational understanding of history, something beyond our mortal realm just might actually be preying on Abigail—and others, too—all as Resolve and her mother themselves face the suspicions of the settlers. Powered by telling historical detail, vivid visions, and an urgent sense of empathy for its characters, The Devil’s Glove will dazzle readers who appreciate immersive, lyric historical fiction open to possibilities.
Takeaway: Gripping historical novel in the years before Salem’s witch trials.
Comparable Titles: Stacey Halls’s The Familiars, Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
The inevitability of World War II, though, looms over the island colony, and Saltoon offers illuminating background about international politics of the era as well as eye-opening accounts of life in internment camps during the Japanese occupation. Saltoon’s story opens with the origins of her parents, with mother Girjee, renamed later as Grace, born in Baghdad, and sent to far-off Singapore to marry. Little was expected of Nassim, her father, who was afflicted with a stammer and uncontrollable trembling, as he entered adulthood in a Jewish home in Singapore. Their union, the result of a matchmaker, produced not only several healthy children but a confident couple of high standing within their community. Saltoon beautifully lays out her parents' lives, and Grace stands as an example of strength as she persists in her sewing, catering, and envisioning of a grand future despite her worsening vision.
Saltoon’s sister, the beloved Meda of the title, eventually pulls the family from conflict zones and camps with the help of her American husband. Readers follow alongside each of the adult children as they find love and purpose in their lives. Detail into the family’s transition as they fled the East and transitioned into Western life comes through insightful correspondence, revealing their feelings about these changes in real time. This memoir is an act of history and of love.
Takeaway: The fascinating history of a Jewish family’s life in Old Singapore.
Comparable Titles: Joan Bieder’s The Jews of Singapore, Marvin Tokayer and Ellen Rodman’s Pepper, Silk and Ivory.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
With Nataliia Pavliuk’s stunning black-and-white illustrations and an intricately woven plot, Gemja offers a rousing introduction to a promising new series. Centered on a relatable young hero who packs a sketchbook, fights off migraines, and finds strength in her family’s history of Wicca, Gemja explores human-alien relations, magic, and space travel, along with pressing concerns of growing up and finding one’s place. Secondary characters such as Resa's brother, Dakota; her best friend, Sarah, and the mysterious stranger she meets on the crimson dunes of Wandelsta form a well-developed group of teens, all combating and navigating the changes brought on by Earth’s entrance into the larger universe.
As Resa digs deeper and meets a mysterious stranger, the revelations both honor and upend reader expectations, as the fast-paced novel sweeps to a cliffhanger climax that, while leaving many mysteries unsolved, finds Resa deeply changed. Messina has crafted an edge-of-your-seat adventure that blends genre elements and commits to themes of family, acceptance, and friendship. This is the beginning of a series that features a protagonist that readers will root for.
Takeaway: This winning first-contact adventure follows a teen witch’s interstellar destiny.
Comparable Titles: Lauren James’s The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, Alechia Dow’s The Sound of Stars.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A