In 2016, J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy defined Appalachia for many, with Vance lionized as the region’s latter-day prophet. For Appalachians, the book has been much more troubling and complex. "Appalachian Reckoning", edited by... Read More

Christine Aroney-Sine’s "The Gift of Wonder" invites childlike joy back into faith through creative practices. “I grew up with a serious, workaholic type of God,” Aroney-Sine begins. Many Christians can relate. For them, the book... Read More

Jonathan Janz’s "The Dark Game" is an unsettling, fascinating horror drama about morality and fame. Legendary writer Roderick Wells hosts a retreat at his secluded estate for ten up-and-coming authors that offers huge monetary rewards... Read More

Angela Lamb is a bestselling novelist who moonlights as a Virginia Woolf scholar. She’s prepping her keynote address for a Woolf conference when the unthinkable happens, and more than papers emerge from the Berg Collection’s stacks.... Read More

Wars may begin on the battlefield, but they end on a map. "The Bird King" is an exquisite fantasy about the end of Muslim sovereignty in the West, the power of desire to disrupt and transform, and how the privilege of naming can reshape... Read More

S. Usher Evans’s tight-woven fantasy "The City of Veils" focuses on a strong young woman who is determined to take care of her home and its people. When she was young, Brynna ran away from an arranged marriage. For years she has lived... Read More

Passions flare over the founder of Islam. He is variously considered the supreme prophet, the “embodiment of Islam,” a visionary leader, a reformer come to offer an alternative to the corruption of the Christian church, and a genius... Read More

It’s impossible to see inside someone else’s mind to achieve true empathy, but Barbara Moran and Karl Williams’s "Hello, Stranger" comes close. Born in the early 1950s, Barbara Moran felt out of place and lonely for the first few... Read More