Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
Let All Our Ghosts Depart by Meghana Mysore (September 1)
From the publisher: In Meghana Mysore’s debut short story collection, present-day women and girls of the South Asian diaspora grapple with belonging and are haunted by intergenerational inheritances.
What others are saying: “Let All Our Ghosts Depart is a work of wonder. Kaleidoscopic and introspective, this book is a testament to the expansive and transformative power of storytelling. Examining grief and loss, loneliness and intimacy, the longings and desires of women, and the tarnished brightness of being alive, these stories are as multifaceted as memory itself.” –K-Ming Chang, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Bestiary, Gods of Want, and Organ Meats
Every now and then, a voice shines in a story. In Mysore’s stories are so fully realized and a joy to read. Each offers a different kaleidoscopic view of the world. I can’t wait to read more of Mysore’s work.
Bodega Stories by Amaris Castillo (September 8)
From the publisher: A window into a Dominican family’s bodega and the community at its heart
An ode to her family, her culture, and her community. This transcends being a book; it’s a love letter that packs so much emotion that I felt part of the family.
Desperate Bodies by Lydia Mathis (September 15)
From the publisher: From a ferocious new talent, a debut story collection excavating the desire, humor, and horror in the everyday lives of Black women and girls–for readers of Deesha Philyaw and Kelly Link
What others are saying: “Mathis’s stories have an easy resonance, a tangible signature one can recognize, delight in, and mourn with as they move through the body, creating a stunning gravity that lingers long after the last word.”–Dantiel W. Moniz, author of Milk Blood Heat
The stories in this collection are titilating. Exploring the desires and needs of Black women, each story provides everything from the mundane to the fantastical. Mathis writes with such vibrancy on every page.
Observer by Nicholas Russell (September 15)
From the publisher: A disquieting, atmospheric debut horror novel about a young woman investigating her mother’s disappearance at an abandoned Nevada observatory, for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and Mariana Enriquez
What others are saying: “This book is blessedly, beautifully strange; an off-kilter tale designed to evoke all the gorgeous, unearthly promise of a hot desert night. Nicholas Russell is a phenomenally gifted writer with a keen eye for conjuring everyday horrors. After all, what’s more terrifying than family? A truly dynamite debut packed with striking prose, Observer is a novel that refuses to let you look away.” – Kristen Arnett, New York Times-bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things and Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before
Russell offers up a new horror vibey book that will unsettle you to your core. The atmosphere in this is oppressive in all the right ways.
Dear Dealer by Nadia Bowers (September 15)
From the publisher: For readers of Beautiful Boy and The Night of the Gun, this gripping memoir explores addiction, grief, and family trauma as one woman goes in search of her sister’s killer.
What others are saying: “Powered by the weight of love and the rage of loss, this book is a radiant portrait of living with the complexities of grief. Intimate, honest, and gripping, Bowers has made a generous offering to everyone affected by the heartbreak of addiction.” —Ada Limón, 24th Poet Laureate of the United States
An expansion of her This American Life essay, Bowers brings readers along on her journey of her sister’s untimely death. It’s to uncover the truth, her feelings, the meaning of it, and so much more.
Fallow by Sarah Anderson (September 15)
From the publisher: Slyly funny and disarmingly tender, Fallow is the story of a young woman who signs up to be the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate, then finds herself caught up in a social experiment of another kind.
What others are saying: “Beguiling and absurdly funny, Fallow is an unputdownable exploration of what happens when one woman’s desire for financial stability and comfort meets another woman’s desire for a child. A striking look at capitalism, inequality, and the commodification of our very selves, Fallow sings in so many registers and with so much heart. Sarah Anderson is a major new talent.” —Julie Buntin, author of Marlena
The Summer of Comedy wouldn’t be complete without one of the funniest writers alive. Anderson has already made a name for herself in literary circles with her “Take Me to Kirkland.” Fallow is a tongue-in-cheek exposé on corporate culture, anyone who sat in a gray cubicle will find themselves connecting all too well with the terribly funny moments in this book.
Blow Yourself Up by Ankur Thakkar (September 15)
From the publisher: A story of first love across cities spanning the decade that transformed the internet
What others are saying: “Ankur Thakkar is remarkably attuned to the perils and seductions of today’s rapidly changing world. His propulsive, capacious debut, Blow Yourself Up, alarms and delights.” –R. O. Kwon, author of Exhibit
Growing up when the Internet grew up was a magical time. The world still felt small, and meet-cutes still felt serendipitous. Thakkar perfectly captures the magic of love (and heartbreak) during that time in Blow Yourself Up.
The Meaning of Daughter by Alexia Nader (September 15)
From the publisher: An intimate family saga, The Meaning of Daughter explores questions about maternal ambivalence, ambition, artmaking, and how desire resists gendered expectations.
What others are saying: “Alexia Nader renders each of her three protagonists in unflinching, intimate prose that asks the reader to bear witness to their humanity, their desires, and their imperfections. I couldn’t put it down.”–Naomi Krupitsky, New York Times bestselling author, The Family
Countless family sagas sweep readers off their feet. Nader’s writing is an invitation to sit down at the family dinner and become part of the drama and uncomfortable moments. What makes this shine is her character work, which can (and should) be studied by writers who want to understand how to make characters dance on the page.
Out of Body by Chris Vanjonack (September 22)
From the publisher: A wildly inventive collection of interconnected speculative stories—spanning the multiverse, demonic attachment, and life after death—from an electrifying new voice in fiction.
What others are saying: “Chris Vanjonack is a freight train of talent, and he’s at full-throttle in Out of Body. This is a mind-bending, world-splitting, wildly entertaining debut—a significant event on the landscape of contemporary fiction.” – Patrick Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Buckeye
A banger of a collection. Vanjonack expands where stories can take readers via this collection of weird, vibey stories that explore horrors both big and small. His stories will blow you away.
Mistranslation by Madeleine Moss (September 22)
From the publisher: Mistranslation is a continent-spanning chronicle of family, inheritance, and the reverberations of the choices we do–or don’t–make.
What others are saying: “Mistranslation is a complex quadrille in which characters dance imperfectly through their lives, continually thrown off step by missing partners. Two absences–a mystery father, a vanished brother–distort the lives of those left behind in this gritty coming-of-age novel with much to say about what it takes to be a parent, a sibling, a friend.”–Geraldine Brooks, author, Memorial Days
Moss explores geopolitical relations, intimate family moments, and the complexity of friendship throughout this family saga that never sags.
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw (September 29)
From the publisher: The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed “rags-to-Rolex” life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in this “funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit” (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
What others are saying: “Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era.” – Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division
Freeman proves Philyaw is one of the best living writers. Her stories already let the world know that, but I’m happy to say her novel is somehow better than her collection. She is a master of creating the most memorable characters that leap from the page.
The Floating World by Ben Eastham (September 29)
From the publisher: A cautionary tale of a young, newly widowed art critic who goes to work for a mysterious billionaire determined to build a geodesic-domed paradise to shelter the rich.
What others are saying: “The world—that is, the protagonist—floats through opaque settings of fateful money, violent strangers and ghostly love; a tender, guilty work of wish-fulfillment and the most valuable kind of first novel, documenting the author’s struggle to reconcile right action with the egomaniac work of writing books.” —Nell Zink, author of Sister Europe
At times earnest and at times satirical beyond belief. Eastham offers an engaging story filled to the brim with emotion and absurdity. There’s so much to chew in these pages and readers are going to feast.