Freshen up your reading list with these debuts from some exciting new voices in fiction!
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River Sing Me Home: A Novel by Eleanor Shearer
*A Good Morning America Book Club Pick*
This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery is a “celebration of motherhood and female resilience” (The Observer).
“A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian
“An extraordinary odyssey of pain, love, and homecoming as Rachel searches not only for her children but for her own past, her own independence, and her own soul. A haunting and powerful debut.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Bandit Queens: A Novel by Parini Shroff
A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.
“Shroff captures the complexity of female friendship with acuity, wit, and a certain kind of magic irreverence . . . The Bandit Queensis tender, unpredictable, and brimming with laugh-out-loud moments.”—Téa Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife
“The Bandit Queens is an original, memorable, and endearing story. At times deeply serious, then laugh-out-loud funny, Parini Shroff has written a sobering but hopeful exploration of womanhood, social injustices, and second chances.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Brutes: A Novel by Dizz Tate
The Virgin Suicides meets The Florida Project in this wildly original debut—a coming-of-age story about the crucible of girlhood, from a writer of rare and startling talent.
“Dreamlike . . . Tate’s novel feels a bit like avant-garde fashion: surreal, impractical, but beautiful to see. A promising first book whose enigmatic nature is . . . alluring.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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What Napoleon Could Not Do: A Novel by DK Nunro
America is seen through the eyes and ambitions of three characters with ties to Africa in this gripping novel.
“Spellbinding . . . In this compelling and insightful debut, Nnuro delivers a nuanced exploration of the American Dream’s broken promises.”—Esquire
“What an intricately textured and deeply thoughtful novel this is. What Napoleon Could Not Do is a powerful debut, an exploration of family that’s at once intimate and expansive.”—Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook Editions.
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Central Places: A Novel by Delia Cai
A young woman’s past and present collide when she brings her white fiancé home to meet her Chinese immigrant parents in this vibrant debut from an exciting new voice in fiction.
“A sensitive, sharp-eyed, slyly funny novel of venturing back into the foreign country that is your past—and discovering that you can never really shake the places and people that shaped you.”—Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts
“Delia [Cai] does an incredible job of capturing the complicated feelings that returning home can evoke—especially when an old boyfriend is involved. I love this intergenerational immigrant tale and Delia’s sharp social commentary about identity, and cultural differences. Delia Cai is an exciting new voice in fiction.”—Emily Giffin
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Gone Like Yesterday: A Novel by Janelle M. Williams
A lyrical debut novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves. Janelle M. Williams’s Gone Like Yesterday employs magical realism to explore the majestic and haunting experience of being a Black woman in today’s America.
“This novel is a terrific mix of family drama, the perils of relationships, and the power of perception. I loved every word. Read this book immediately!”—Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy and the upcoming The Symphony of Secrets
“Mesmerizing . . . The magic of the novel’s moths is truly imaginative . . . [A] profoundly beautiful novel that takes legacy seriously, from a promising new writer.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available February 14th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Watch Our Debuts to Note Author Panel Featuring Janelle M. Williams
An Autobiography of Skin: A Novel by Lakeisha Carr
Heat. Fire. Rain so blue. The blackness. The color of our hue.
A magisterial, intimate look at Black womanhood: the grief that is carried within the body and the bonds of love that grant strength.
“Powerful in its love for the generations of Black women at its heart… Lakiesha Carr unspools her stories with a patient fearlessness, venturing into unexpected places and unique perspectives to fully illuminate them.” —Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
Available February 28th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Secrets of Hartwood Hall: A Novel by Katie Lumsden
A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.
Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed . . .
“The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is exactly the book you want on a cold, stormy night when the wind is sneaking in the cracks. A thoroughly impressive debut with fantastically timed surprises throughout.”—Lyndsay Faye, author of The King of Infinite Space and Jane Steele
“This book delivers HUGE Jane Eyre vibes, gothic and mysterious Victoriana. I LOVED it.”—Sophie Irwin, author of A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
Available February 28th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Your Driver is Waiting: A Novel by Priya Guns
In this electrifyingly fierce and funny social satire—inspired by the iconic 1970s film Taxi Driver—a ride share driver is barely holding it together on the hunt for love, dignity, and financial security . . . until she decides she’s done waiting.
“What you are about to read is a call to arms. Best to prepare for a confrontation.”—New York Times Book Review
“A perfect gut punch of a novel . . . Full of love and real friendship and frustrations boiled over and the urge to burn everything down . . . [The] writing is laser-focused and hilarious and full of aching need. This is a hard-hitting masterpiece.”—Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth and Mostly Dead Things
Available February 28th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Rootless: A Novel by Krystle Zara Appiah
A provocative debut novel about a marriage in crisis that asks the question: Can you ever be rooted in a home that’s on the brink of collapse?
“Beautiful, gripping, and tender . . . a powerful and unforgettable meditation on love, belonging, and motherhood.”—Emilia Hart, author of Weyward
“The unswerving exploration of marriage, parenthood, and identity in Rootless is brave, insightful, and heartbreaking . . . A moving debut novel.”—Rachel Edwards, author of Lucky
Available March 7th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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American Mermaid: A Novel by Julia Langbein
A brilliantly funny debut novel that follows a writer lured to Los Angeles to adapt her feminist mermaid novel into a big-budget action film, who believes her heroine has come to life to take revenge for Hollywood’s violations.
“Brilliantly sharp, funny, and thought-provoking, the gripping story of a woman trying to find her way in our chaotic world.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe
“A comedy of wordplay. A superhero adventure. A Hollywood takedown. A hoot and a half. American Mermaid is all of these, and more. So witty and marvelous you won’t be able to put it down. So pick it up!”—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less Is Lost
Available March 21st in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Watch Our Debuts to Note Author Panel Featuring Julia Langbein
Fire Rush: A Novel by Jacqueline Crooks
Set amid the Jamaican diaspora in London at the dawn of 1980s, a mesmerizing story of love, loss, and self-discovery that vibrates with the liberating power of music.
“An exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer.”—Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other
“This beautiful, sprawling narrative is wrought with an incredible precision and a musicality which carries every sentence. Crooks’ novel haunts but makes space for hope as well.”—Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water
Available April 18th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Check Out Our New Debut Fiction Sampler
Featuring the latest in unputdownable thrillers, romance, horror, book club picks, and more!
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