Inspired by a true story from Chinese history, this painterly picture book serves as a reminder that queer people—and queer love—have always existed. When Yuan’s advisors tell him he must understand perfection to rule well, Yuan is... Read More

A single witch’s story serves as the entry point for a history of the practice in Lindsay Squire’s graphic novel "Witchcraft". Biddy Early, called Ireland’s most famous witch, practices her craft during the nineteenth century,... Read More

A grieving son reconstructs his dying father’s painful life story in Feurat Alani’s historical novel "I Remember Fallujah". Rami has always been a secretive father, spending long hours working and refusing to indulge the curiosity of... Read More

A mudslide sets off a string of unexplained violence in "The Orchids Lady", a sun-suffused mystery novel in Freya Smallwood’s Abelove and Bradley series. Ogy Bradley is a neuroscientist and widower who returns home to find his quiet... Read More

A Chinese photographer in colonial Singapore and a museum archivist forge a connection through their yearning, time-crossing correspondence in Elaine Chiew’s mesmerizing speculative novel "The Light Between Us". In 1920, Tian Wei runs... Read More

First a force within Eastern European oral traditions before flowing into popular culture as a frightening witch, Baba Yaga is a character whose many incarnations suggest fascinating depth. Stories about her are teased out and mined for... Read More

Forbidden love tears apart an Egyptian Levantine family in Éric Chacour’s novel "What I Know About You". Tarek always followed the path laid out by his family: he became a doctor to please his strict father, and he married the woman... Read More

Elisa Albert’s ranging essay collection "The Snarling Girl" includes sixteen pieces published over the last ten years in venues including Longreads, New York magazine’s The Cut, The Forward, and Lit Hub. Their topics include feminist... Read More