Blackburn’s prose is simply exquisite—every word weighty, every sentence stripped of excess, with all remaining wonderfully descriptive. Venita Blackburn makes an indelible impression with her first collection of short stories,... Read More

A sophisticated and complex work, this debut reconsiders the coming-of-age story for the twenty-first century. In his debut novel, Simeon Marsalis uses a complex structure to tell the story of David, an aspiring writer and a freshman at... Read More

This valuable contribution to geopolitical discourse draws important lessons from history. Alfred W. McCoy is perhaps best known for his valuable books on the CIA’s role in the Southeast Asian opium trade and on Cold War-era torture.... Read More

Hood finds human-shaped hope even in the desperate landscape of a death-penalty-obsessed culture. Jeff Hood’s The Execution of God: Encountering the Death Penalty doesn’t just make the case that God is dead, but that each of us... Read More

Settings are technicolor in this brilliant and engaging historical novel. Lucy Treloar’s "Salt Creek" is a mesmerizing novel in which an English woman reminisces about her Australian youth and the tragedies that befell her family. In... Read More

Sharma’s spiritual search is intimate and careful, and ultimately one of understanding. Given the perception that the Middle East is largely hostile to the LGBTQ community, Parvez Sharma’s spiritual memoir "A Sinner in Mecca" is... Read More

Quiet, magical spaces and kingdoms in turmoil intersect, making for a wondrous reading experience. "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is a lyrically written, intricate fantasy focused on one woman’s life and loves. Sybel is a wizard, secure... Read More

Longing permeates Donaldson’s lines, transferring to his readership. Jesse Donaldson’s "On Homesickness" is a lovely, nostalgic tribute to the author’s boyhood home, delivered in a series of brief and poetic vignettes. Donaldson... Read More