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See the cover for Istanbul Dreaming by Denise Derya Brandt

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See the cover for Istanbul Dreaming by Denise Derya Brandt

Istanbul Dreaming, the debut novel from Denise Derya Brandt, is a historical coming-of-age novel about a young Turkish woman who defies family, faith, and tradition to claim autonomy over her body and future in 1950s Istanbul, as the country strains between conservative values and emerging modernity. After fleeing an abusive arranged marriage, Ayten builds an independent life among working women in the city and begins a forbidden romance with an American airman, forcing her to choose between family loyalty and the freedom to define her own life.

Brandt worked in international development for more than twenty years and led women’s health projects in Afghanistan, Liberia, and Myanmar before starting to write fiction.

Istanbul Dreaming is set to be released by She Writes Press on September 29, 2026. It is available for pre-order now.

Debutiful is excited to reveal the cover, which was designed by Kathleen Lynch, along with a Q&A with Brandt about its creation.

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See the cover for Bodega Stories by Amaris Castillo

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See the cover for Bodega Stories by Amaris Castillo

Amaris Castillo was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dominican parents and credits the many tales she heard growing up to her love of storytelling. She became a journalist and created Bodega Stories, a multimedia series featuring real stories from the corner store.

She turned those stories into a non-fiction book also called Bodega Stories, which is a “window into a Dominican family’s bodega and the community at its heart.” The book, which will be published by the University of Florida Press on September 8, 2026, is now available for pre-order.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of Bodega Stories, which was designed by Mindy Hill, along with a Q&A with Castillo about its creation.

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See the cover for Appetite by P. Paramita

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See the cover for Appetite by P. Paramita

How far will you go to feed your ambitions?

That’s the central question in P. Paramita’s debut novel, Appetite. It follows Zarina, an underpaid prep cook in New Haven who dreams of opening a restaurant while finding solace in cooking Bangladeshi-inspired dishes. Zarina idolizes pro wrestler Sierra Myst, who unexpectedly befriends her. From there, her wildest dreams start to come within reach, but the relationship grows imbalanced, pulling her away from her own ambitions.

Paramita herself is a Bangladesh-born, New Haven-based writer, professor, and pop culture enthusiast. Her debut novel will be published on August 4, 2026, by The Dial Press. It is available for pre-order now.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of Appetite, which was designed by Sophia Chunn, along with a Q&A with Paramita about its creation.

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See the cover for I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side by J Brooke

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See the cover for I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side by J Brooke

J Brooke is the award-winning queer documentary Out Late. They are also Prose Reviews Editor at The Rumpus, and a previous Nonfiction Editor for Stonecoast Review. They received their MFA from the University of Southern Maine, and their work has been nominated for a 2025 Pushcart, a 2025 Best of The Net, and “HYBRID” (their autobiographical essay on gender) won Columbia Journal’s 2020 Nonfiction Award.

In their debut poetry collection, I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side, Brooke takes readers on a journey from a tightly controlled, gendered childhood in elite New York spaces to a self-defined nonbinary adulthood that resists societal expectations and erasure. While exploring amily dynamics, body dysmorphia, class performance, and queer becoming, Brooke interrogates how identity is seen, misseen, and claimed.

The collection is available for pre-order through Driftwood Press now and will be released on June 2, 2026.

Debutiful is very excited to reveal the cover for the collection, which was designed by Sally Franckowiak, along with a Q&A with Brooke about its creation.

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See the cover for The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Huneycutt

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See the cover for The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Huneycutt

Sophia Huneycutt‘s short fiction has won the Porch Prize, judged by Kevin Wilson, and appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, STORY, The Greensboro Review, and Nashville Review. Originally from Florida, she received an MFA in creative writing from the Ohio State University and has received support from the de Groot Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Ohio Arts Council, as well as attending the Tin House Writers Workshop.

In her debut novel, The House Built on Alligator Bones, she introduces readers to Dartrine Beaumont, who, after her mother’s death, travels to Amelia Island to meet the wealthy relatives she never knew she had, only to be pulled into a ruthless inheritance fight and the eerie legacy of her family’s alligator empire. As sabotage escalates and rumors of a curse deepen, Dart must decide whether the past is something to escape, expose, or confront (and what it costs to do so).

The House Built on Alligator Bones will be released by Dutton on October 6, 2026, and is available for preorder now.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of The House Built on Alligator Bones, which was designed by Andreea Dumuta, along with a Q&A with Hneycutt about its creation.

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See the cover for Hands by Pardeep Toor

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See the cover for Hands by Pardeep Toor

In Hands, Pardeep Toor takes readers through a series of stories that explore lofty ideals of assimilation in America and the brutal comedy of the journey. Maria Kuznetsova, author of Oksana, Behave! calls the collection “As devastating, hilarious, and absurd as the immigrant experience itself.”

Toor won the PEN American Dau Prize, and his writing has appeared in the Best Debut Short Stories 2021, Southern Humanities Review, Electric Literature, Midwest Review, and Longreads. His debut book is available for pre-order now and will be published by Cornerstone on April 14, 2026.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of Hands, which was designed by Hasreet Gill, along with a Q&A with Toor and Gill about its creation.

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Debutiful to host “New Arrivals” event at Denver Public Library

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Debutiful to host “New Arrivals” event at Denver Public Library

Debutiful will host a new event introducing Coloradans to three of the most exciting new voices in writing, presented by Denver Public Library, on March 13, 2026.

Debutiful’s New Arrivals will feature three recent debut authors discussing why and how they write, their path to publication, and how media influences their work.

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See the cover for Her Kind by Sophie Lefens

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See the cover for Her Kind by Sophie Lefens

Chicago-based writer Sophie Lefens has published her writing in Third Coast Magazine, Passengers Journal, The Christian Century, and Scary Sugar. A graduate of the Yale Divinity School, she is set to release her debut novel, Her Kind, on October 13, 2026, on Mariner Books. It is available for pre-order now.

Described as a novel about friendship and motherhood, it follows Ada, who is raising her son alone. When she is plagued by visions of being pulled away from Earth, Ada invites her three closest friends for a weekend to an old family cabin to see who might care for her son if she dies. What follows at the cabin is a series of events that opens deep wounds and reveals long-forgotten secrets.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of Her Kind, which was designed by Mark Robinson, along with a Q&A with Lefens about its creation.

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See the cover for False Prophet by Afsheen Farhadi

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See the cover for False Prophet by Afsheen Farhadi

In False Prophet, readers meet Jal Persad, a grieving actor-turned-memoirist, who writes a viral memoir about his mother’s time with Jim Jones. The only problem? His mother never met Jim Jones. What follows is a web of lies,that explores how much we’re willing to let go of ourselves to achieve greatness.

Afsheen Farhadi’s writing has appeared Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, Conjunctions, The Southern Review, Catapult, Bright Lights Film Journal, and elsewhere. He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno. His debut book, False Prophet,, is scheduled for publication by Melville House on July 7, 2026. It is available for pre-order now.

Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of False Prophet, which was designed by Beste Miray Doğan, along with a Q&A with Farhadi about its creation.

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