Xiaolu Guo’s A LOVER’S DISCOURSE is one of Lit Hub’s most anticipated books for the second half of 2020. They write: “[Guo] gives her careful eye and her wonderful ear for dialogue to this love story, this exploration of what it looks, sounds, and feels like to merge two cultures and two lives together.” Grove Atlantic will publish the book on October 13, 2020.

Lit Hub interviewed David Goodwillie about his latest book, KINGS COUNTY. Goodwillie says: “I’ve always been fascinated by the people who move to a place like New York City — be it from a distant town or nearby suburb — when so many of their friends and classmates stay behind. That inner drive, that restlessness, that decrescent idea of betterment . . . that’s what I set out to write about in KINGS COUNTY.” Avid Reader Press will publish the book on July 28, 2020.

Alina Adams’s sweeping historical debut, THE NESTING DOLLS, published last week. Adams held a virtual launch on Zoom via Shakespeare & Company to welcome her novel, a multi-generational saga chronicling the lives of three Russian-Jewish women from Odessa to Bright Beach, into the world. Harper published the book on July 14, 2020.

Daniel Hornsby’s debut novel was featured in The Millions’ Great Second Half 2020 Book Preview. The site calls VIA NEGATIVE a “truly transcendent road novel.” Knopf will publish the book on August 11, 2020.

Larry Watson’s latest novel was featured in The Millions’ Great Second Half 2020 Book Preview. The site describes the book as being “[evocative of] Annie Proulx,” and praises it as a “testament by one of our greatest ‘regional’ novelists to the power of stories.” Algonquin Books will publish the book on July 21, 2020.

Ted Chiang has received his fifth and sixth Locus Awards. His short story collection EXHALATION won best collection, and his story “Omphalos” won best novella. Given out every year, the Locus Awards recognize the best writing in science fiction. Chiang was also inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame at the Museum of Popular Culture in Seattle. Ted joins the ranks of other writers who have been recognized with the honor, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and more. Knopf published EXHALATION on May 7, 2019.

The Mass Market edition of THE DARK SIDE debuted at #1 on the New York Times Mass Market bestseller list for July 2020. Dell released the Mass Market edition of the book on May 26, 2020.

Amazon picked MINOR FEELINGS by Cathy Park Hong as one of its best books of the year so far (Biographies and Memoirs category), as did BBC. One World published the book on February 25, 2020.

Larry Watson’s THE LIVES OF EDIE PRITCHARD is an Amazon best book of the month for literature and fiction. Booklist also gave the novel a starred review, enthusing that: “Watson remains incapable of creating characters who aren’t fully formed individuals, as courageous as they are vulnerable, and here he again displays his rare ability to craft strong women and to describe their everyday lives with rare power.” Algonquin Books will publish the book on July 21 2020.

Jason Diamond’s essay collection THE SPRAWL is one of Esquire’s “20 Must-Read Books for Summer 2020.” The magazine praises the way that Diamond “blends cultural criticism, reportage, and memoir to destigmatize America’s oft-derided suburbs,” and call the book a “warm, engaging reminder that places quickly written off can be the birthplace of the next big thing.” Coffee House Press will publish the book on August 25, 2020.