Namwali Serpell's collection of speculative essays, STRANGER FACES, is a 2021 CLMP Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature finalist in the Creative Nonfiction category. The Firecracker Awards are given annually “to celebrate books and magazines that make a significant contribution to our literary culture and the publishers that strive to introduce important voices to readers far and wide.” The winners of the award will be announced on June 23rd at 7pm ET via a virtual awards ceremony hosted by The Center for Fiction. Transit Books published STRANGER FACES on October 20, 2020.

Cathy Park Hong’s award-winning essay collection MINOR FEELINGS has spent 6 weeks on the Top 10 of The New York Times bestsellers list for paperback nonfiction, and landed the #1 spot on The Los Angeles bestsellers list in the same category. Hong also appeared on The New York Times podcast Still Processing to discuss MINOR FEELINGS, as well as “the usefulness of rage, and her experience of speaking for — and listening to — the Asian-American community.” One World published the hardcover edition on February 25, 2020, and the paperback edition on March 2, 2021.

EVERYBODY by Olivia Laing published this week, accompanied by generous critical praise. The Financial Times writes: "Laing’s gift for weaving big ideas together with lyrical prose sets her alongside the likes of Arundhati Roy, John Berger and James Baldwin. In other words, she is among the most significant voices of our time.” Meanwhile, Dazed praises the collection for “[tackling] the vast complexity and precarity of inhabiting a body in a culture where certain bodies are deemed more valuable than others,” while The Boston Globe raves: “Dreaming beyond conventional wisdom and restrictive visions, Laing emboldens us to seek liberation across difference in the face of turmoil. EVERYBODY is a galvanizing book during a time of incredible hesitation.” Laing also sat down with The New York Times’ Book Review to discuss her book collection and reading habits for their By the Book column. W.W. Norton & Company published the book on May 4, 2021.

Margaret Kimball's AND NOW I SPILL THE FAMILY SECRETS is Belletrist's book club pick for May 2021, praised as “funny, poignant, and deeply inspiring in its portrayal of what drives a family apart and what keeps them together.” This is the first time Belletrist, founded by actress Emma Roberts and her best friend Kara Preiss, has selected a graphic memoir. The book will be promoted through their weekly e-newsletter and various social media platforms. HarperOne published the book on April 20, 2021.

An excerpt from Vince Granata's memoir EVERYTHING IS FINE was featured in Rolling Stone, recounting the author's first visit to his brother after their mother's death. Atria Books published the memoir on April 27, 2021.

Joss Lake's FUTURE FEELING has been named an Indie Next pick for June 2021. Bookseller Nikki Siclare of Newtonville Books in Newton Centre, MA says: "I loved this novel about trans queer belonging, found families, and our need to be connected and understood no matter how advanced we become. Also — succulents and witchcraft!” The book was also named one of Bustle's "Best Debut Books of Spring & Summer 2021," and both BuzzFeed and LGBTQ Reads highlighted it as a title to celebrate on the Trans Day of Visibility. Soft Skull will publish the book on June 1, 2021.

THE BUCKET LIST author Georgia Clark’s next rom-com, IT HAD TO BE YOU, published this week to a flurry of wonderful press. Clark published original pieces in Frolic and Brides in the lead-up to publication, and sat down for Q&As with Australian Women in New York and Jean Book Nerd, who also featured a giveaway of the novel. Brooklyn Magazine published an excerpt of the NYC-set rom-com, and the novel was named a best book by Overdrive, NewNowNext, LiveSavvy, and PopSugar. Emily Bestler Books published IT HAD TO BE YOU on May 4, 2021.

Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s YES, DADDY was featured on Bustle’s “51 Debut Books To Look Forward To This Spring & Summer.” They rave that "Parks-Ramage’s debut novel is a queer gothic thriller you can’t afford to miss." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will publish the novel on May 18, 2021.

RED DRESS IN BLACK AND WHITE by Elliot Ackerman was featured in The New York Times' Paperback Row. They write: "In this 'superbly written,' 'entirely absorbing' novel set amid the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, the unstable marriage of a debt-ridden Turkish real estate developer and an American art patron mirrors 'a whole country’s instability,' our reviewer, Joan Silber, observed, as well as the 'web of interests and counterinterests' in which the country is embroiled." Knopf published the hardcover edition on May 26, 2020, and the paperback edition on April 27, 2021.

Sharon Stone appeared on The View to discuss her remarkable memoir, THE BEAUTY OF LIVING TWICE. Stone said: “I think once you have a giant trauma in your life – in my case, it was a brain hemorrhage and a stroke, but I think it’s the same for anyone, if it’s cancer, if it’s a heart attack, if it’s even losing your job or going through a big divorce, or just any kind of big crisis – I think when your life changes so dramatically, you have to reassess everything, and that don’t sweat the small stuff is very, very true, and I think you really learn to prioritize your life.” Knopf published the book on March 30, 2021.