THE BOLD WORLD by Jodie Patterson

Jodie Patterson’s debut memoir has been called “marvelous” by Alice Walker, a “raw tour de force” by Publishers Weekly, and “required reading for every parent” by Janet Mock. Patterson received launch day coverage on the Today Show, EW, and USA Today. Ballantine published the book on January 29, 2019.
THE ADVENTURES OF HONEY & LEON by Alan Cumming, illustrated by Grant Shaffer

The Rainbow Booklist Committee has selected THE ADVENTURES OF HONEY & LEON for their list. The Rainbow Book List is a curated bibliography highlighting books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning content, aimed at children and youth from birth to age 18.
NECESSARY PEOPLE by Anna Pitoniak

Kirkus gave Anna Pitoniak’s NECESSARY PEOPLE a starred review, calling it “deceptively nuanced and impossible to put down.” Marie Claire featured NECESSARY PEOPLE on its The Best Women's Fiction of 2019 (So Far) list, calling the novel “delicious and thrilling.” Little, Brown will publish the book on May 21, 2019.
WE CAST A SHADOW by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

NPR Books calls WE CAST A SHADOW “stunning and audacious,” stating “there's a lot going on in WE CAST A SHADOW, but Ruffin proves to be a master at juggling the numerous characters and storylines. It's a fast-paced and intricately plotted book.”
THE BOOK OF ESSIE by Meghan Maclean Weir

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has selected Meghan Maclean Weir’s debut novel for the 2019 Alex Award. Knopf published the book on June 12, 2018.
Chad Luibl
Born and raised in Virginia, Chad received a BA in English at Lynchburg University before moving to Eastern Europe to teach English for several years. While in Krakow, Poland, he got his MA in European Studies at Jagiellonian University, with a focus in Comparative Literature. He went on to get his MFA in Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was also the coordinator of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, an intern in the Literature Department at the National Endowment for the Arts, and an editor at Blackbird and Broad Street literary journals.