Booklist calls Daniel Hornsby’s VIA NEGATIVA “a beautifully crafted story of a man reflecting on his life and his moments of inaction . . . a striking debut that forces readers to consider what holds us back from action.” Sam Sacks of the Wall Street Journal praised the novel’s “stripped-back, sturdy prose” and how “subtly and movingly, the novel teases out the relationship between loneliness and godliness.” The book was also highlighted in The New York Times’ New and Noteworthy as “a promising, energetic debut,” and in The New Yorker’s Briefly Noted, which praised it as a “novel of troubled faith and unlikely connection.” Knopf published the book on August 11, 2020.

IN WEST MILLS has won an American Book Award. The award was created to recognize extraordinary literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community. The book was also announced as a finalist for the Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing 2019 fiction shortlist. Bloomsbury Publishing published the book June 16, 2020.

Gabriella Burnham’s debut novel IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE, set in the glittering city of São Paulo, received banner treatment in the Goodreads newsletter this week for Hispanic Heritage Month. Along with fellow J&N author Michael Zapata’s THE LOST BOOK OF ADANA MOREAU, it was one of three books headlining the site’s recommendations of 52 new titles to read by Hispanic and Latinx authors. One World published the novel on July 28, 2020.

Arvin Ahmadi’s HOW IT ALL BLEW UP, a YA contemporary novel about a gay, Muslim Iranian-American teen who runs away to Rome to escape coming out to his family, has received a starred review from School Library Journal. They hails the novel as a “fast-paced coming out/coming-of-age/coming home story” and a “funny and propulsive read, nuanced and full of heart.” Viking Books for Young Readers will publish the book on September 22, 2020.

ALICE’S FARM by Maryrose Wood has charmed reviewers for Booklist, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Drawing favorable comparisons to CHARLOTTE’S WEB, SLJ warmly endorsed the novel’s “quirky characters [and] whimsical adventures.” Booklist praises its "exhibitions of uncommon courage, loyalty, humor, and tolerance―not to mention extreme cuteness,” PW calls it a “resonant cross-species saga of perseverance, loyalty, and magnanimous friendship,” and Kirkus writes: “these characters – animal and human, predator and prey – are lovingly observed . . . Stoutly non-speciesist, this is an effervescent delight.” Feiwel & Friends published the book on September 1, 2020.

Reviewers and fellow authors have continued to praise Alexis Henderson’s THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING. Most recently, author V. E. Schwab shared her excitement about this “feminist tale of the supernatural—and societal—forces that shape a puritanical world” that “swept [her] away” in Parade, and Book Riot included the novel on a list of “19 Black Feminist Books You Need In Your Library.” Ace published the book on July 21, 2020.

Maxim Loskutoff’s debut novel RUTHIE FEAR achieved a hat trick of three starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly. Kirkus praises the book for its “resonant characters” and “great sense of place,” while Publishers Weekly writes: “[w]ith its humor and heart, Loskutoff’s harrowing tale offers a heroine to root for. This one hits hard.” Additionally, The Wall Street Journal’s Sam Sacks noted that “[Losuktoff’s] characters are wholly believable, reluctantly adapting to ‘the massive forces shifting around them,’” while The National Book Review hailed the book as “a big social novel with harrowing moments, one filled with empathy, surprises, and a compelling heroine." W. W. Norton & Company published the book on September 1, 2020.

Jennifer Hofmann’s THE STANDARDIZATION OF DEMORALIZATION PROCEDURES has received a rave review the New York Times Book Review. They call it “a gripping debut novel” with “rhythmic prose [and] evocative descriptions of people and places.” Meanwhile, The Washington Post praises Hofmann’s ability “to create intricate illusions of certainty in the midst of derangement,” ultimately crafting “a rare novel that encourages you to read as though your sanity depends on it — just a little further, just a little faster." Little, Brown and Company published the book on August 11, 2020.

Michael Zapata's debut novel THE LOST BOOK OF ADANA MOREAU has been nominated for a Heartland Booksellers Award in the Adult Fiction category. The joint venture from the Great Lakes and Midwest Independent Book Sellers Associations aims to “celebrate literature in the Great Lakes and Midwest, with content either about the region, or an author from our region." Booksellers from 12 states and 300 bookstores will vote on a winner, which will be announced October 15th, 2020. Hanover Square Press published the book on February 4, 2020.

Issac Chotiner interviewed Vicky Osterweil for the New Yorker’s website about her provocative new book IN DEFENSE OF LOOTING. Osterweil takes the opportunity to elaborate on her stance, saying, “I think a lot of people think that, in order for something to be political, people have to be yelling a slogan as they do it . . . [a]nd I don’t subscribe to that belief in political action . . . we are in a moment during those riots that is a generalized moment of anti-police action.” Bold Type Books published the book on August 25, 2020.