News in November 2020

News in November 2020

20th November, 2020

The Southern Review of Books praises the revised edition of Kiese Laymon’s HOW TO SLOWLY KILL YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN AMERICA. They write: “Laymon approaches issues of race with a wide lens, encompassing both personal and social aspects, revealing that they are irreversibly intertwined — what happens socially shapes our personal lives, and vice versa. His narrative is unapologetic and fierce but never without a distinct lyricism and intentionality, even tenderness.” Additionally, NPR 1A and Shondaland both interviewed Kiese in podcast discussions about the essay collection. Scribner published the book on November 10, 2020.

20th November, 2020

Ted Chiang was bestowed the Imagination in Service to Society Award by the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation during their 2020 Unleash Imagination online event. The award was given “for his thoughtful and thought-provoking science fiction, leading us to examine in fresh ways our own beliefs.”
Knopf published the book on May 7, 2019.

20th November, 2020

Poets & Writers named A.H. Kim, author of A GOOD FAMILY, one of their “5 Over 50.” The annual list honors authors who published their debut book after turning 50. Graydon House published the book on July 14, 2020.

20th November, 2020

Gina Apostol’s novel THE REVOLUTION ACCORDING TO RAYMUNDO MATA has earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly. They write: “The narrative is studded with hilarious argumentative footnotes between an editor, a translator, and a scholar of Mata’s work, producing dueling Nabokovian narratives: Mata’s diaries and the conflicting commentaries, all suffused perfectly with Apostol’s dense, demanding style. As the story of the revolution faces off with literary histrionics, all is resolved with a gut-punch conclusion. Apostol’s unique perspective on facts versus fiction would make for a perfect Charlie Kaufman movie.” Soho Press will publish the book on January 12, 2021.

20th November, 2020

PHALLACY by Emily Willingham was featured in Smithsonian Magazine. Corryn Wetzel writes: “PHALLACY plunges readers into the wild and wacky world of animal genitalia while exploring the social and cultural significance of penises as symbols of power and identity.” Avery published the book on September 22, 2020.

20th November, 2020

THE MUTANT PROJECT by Eben Kirskey was featured in The Wall Street Journal. Amy Dockser Marcus writes: “Kirksey’s exploration of the debates over genetic modification eventually takes him around the world....[He] paints a detailed and nuanced portrait of Dr. He without condoning his actions...In examining Crispr, it becomes clear, we are called upon to examine ourselves too. By the end of THE MUTANT PROJECT, Dr. Kirksey has returned to where he began, trying to assess what Dr. He’s experiment has unleashed. The central question is not so much Crispr’s safety or efficacy as what kind of world it will help create." St. Martin’s Press published THE MUTANT PROJECT on November 10, 2020.

20th November, 2020

Wayne Koestenbaum’s essay collection FIGURE IT OUT has made the LA Times’ Best Books of the Year list. Soft Skull Press published the book on May 5, 2020.

20th November, 2020

THE OLD DRIFT by Namwali Serpell has made the LA Times’ Best Books of the Year list. The list of 20 fiction and nonfiction titles feature “the most engaging, funny, and urgent works.” Hogarth published the book on March 26, 2019.

20th November, 2020

The film adaption of LET HIM GO by Larry Watson came in at #1 in the U.S Box Office for its opening weekend. The Guardian gave the film five stars, and The Wrap and New York Times called it “breathlessly intense” and a “searing thriller” respectively. Milkweed Editions published the book September 3, 2013.

20th November, 2020

Robert Jones Jr.’s highly anticipated debut THE PROPHETS has earned a starred review from Booklist. They write that the book is “[e]xquisite…Jones conveys powerful truths with well-chosen words in spare prose.” The novel also appeared on Northern Virginia Magazine’s list of the most anticipated books of the winter, praised as “[k]aleidoscopic…Anchored by the love story of two young men.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons will publish the book on January 5, 2021.

20th November, 2020

Deadline announced that Amazon is set to adapt YES, DADDY by Jonathan Parks-Ramage. Stephen Dunn is set to write and direct, and Patrick Moran is set to produce. The novel has already garnered glowing praise well ahead of its release: THE DARK DARK author Samantha Hunt calls the novel “a dark and aching account, where the treachery of powerful men preys on the bodies and minds of the young," while BROKEN PEOPLE author Sam Lanksy endorses the book as a “dazzling novel [that] deftly uses desire and violence to explode the allure of New York power gays.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will publish the book on June 22, 2021.

20th November, 2020

THE PRETTIEST STAR by Carter Sickels is a finalist for the 2021 Southern Book Prize. The shortlist features bookseller favorites from 2020 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer. Additionally, O Magazine has named the book as one of their 2020 Best LGBTQ Books of the Year, after featuring it earlier this year on a list of LGBTQ Books That Will Change the Literary Landscape in 2020. Hub City Press published the book May 19, 2020.