Melissa Faliveno’s acclaimed debut novel, HEMLOCK, was the Harper’s Bazaar Book Chat pick for January. Harper’s published an excerpt of the lively conversation on the magazine’s all-staff Slack channel discussing the book. Entertaining comments include: “I’m a sucker for an unreliable narrator. I like my protagonists messy” and “The doe sent me. Just chewing and judging.” Little, Brown published HEMLOCK on January 20, 2026.

Fab 5 Freddy and EVERYBODY'S FLY: A LIFE OF ART, MUSIC, AND CHANGING THE CULTURE were featured in The New Yorker. David Kamp praises the memoir as “an exuberant recounting of how a culturally omnivorous kid from Brooklyn willed himself into the wider, shinier world." Viking will publish the book on March 10, 2026.

Eugene Lim is the winner of the 2025 John Dos Passos Prize, the oldest literary award given by a Virginia college or university, which honors “a talented American writer who experiments with form, explores a range of voices and merits further recognition.” Dr. David Magill, chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages at Longwood, said: “Eugene Lim’s work is completely unique in its formal innovations and its elegant yet accessible prose…Lim manages to pack so much into every page, taking us on a wild journey of adventure with each sentence. He is breathtakingly original and a writer not to be missed.” Coffee House Press published Lim’s most recent novel, SEARCH HISTORY, on October 5, 2021. His next novel, SPACE BAR, will be published by Doubleday in 2027.

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Khong’s long-awaited short story collection, MY DEAR YOU, is already earning great press, appearing on most-anticipated lists from TIME, Lit Hub, Book Riot, TODAY.com, and more. TIME’s praise reads in part: “[Khong] confidently kneads and molds the short-story form, stretching it like taffy.” Knopf will publish MY DEAR YOU on April 7, 2026.

Emeline Atwood’s hotly anticipated debut novel, A REAL ANIMAL, is earning extraordinary press more than six months before its publication. The novel appears on coveted most-anticipated lists from TIME and Vogue to Lit Hub and Debutiful, with Hamilton Cain writing for TIME: “[A REAL ANIMAL] stirs with edgy sex, anger, and transcendence.” Writing for Debutiful, Adam Vitcavage said: “Atwood’s book is simply one of the best books I’ve read since I started covering books.” Atwood is also a Publishers Weekly Writer to Watch and recently received gorgeous blurbs from Stephanie Wambugu, Bret Anthony Johnston, Joy Williams, and more. Catapult publishes A REAL ANIMAL on July 7, 2026.

Melissa Faliveno’s debut novel HEMLOCK—billed as a butch BLACK SWAN—enjoyed a beautiful launch this month, with most-anticipated nods from Autostraddle, Debutiful, Lit Hub, the Maris Review, and others. Faliveno also gave in-depth interviews with The Rumpus, Tone Madison, Lit Hub, and more. Debutiful praised HEMLOCK as “not just a book of the year contender, but a book of the decade contender.” Faliveno is now on a cross-country book tour. Little, Brown published HEMLOCK on January 20, 2026.

AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY, the debut novel by Susanna Kwan, has won the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association’s award for Asian American Adult Fiction. Pantheon published AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY on May 13, 2025.

In a review for BookTrib, Linda Hitchcock praises JOAN CRAWFORD: A WOMAN’S FACE as “a comprehensive and engrossing biography of this enduring legend who lit up the silver screen for five decades,” adding: “Eyman has made a lifelong study of movie history and specializes in the legendary era of studio controlled and manipulated Hollywood…Written with care and respect for the woman and the artist and grounded in thorough research, Scott Eyman has restored Joan Crawford to her rightful place in the dazzling sun of Hollywood and produced a must read for any movie lover or film historian.” The book was also featured on Washington Post’s “look back at some worthy books from 2025.” Simon and Schuster published the hardcover on November 18, 2025.