Each month, we will pick a handful of buzzworthy and under the radar debut books we feel you’ll enjoy.
Continue reading “6 debut books you should read this March”
6 debut books you should read this March
Modern queer sexuality with Amy Feltman, author of ‘Willa & Hesper’
Queer intimacy and family history are at the center of Willa & Hesper, Amy Feltman‘s non-romantic love story. In the debut, the two titular characters meet, fall for each other, and fall away from one another. The story doesn’t rest in their relationship but in the hidden parts of their lives.
Continue reading “Modern queer sexuality with Amy Feltman, author of ‘Willa & Hesper’”Mandeliene Smith, author of ‘Rutting Season,’ discusses the forces that shape our actions
Mandeliene Smith – not Madeline, more on that in a moment – has had a long career leading up to her debut collection. It was worth the wait because the stories that inhabit Rutting Season offer an honest and varied look into the everyday lives of her characters.
She twists and turns her way through the highlights and low moments with such grace and determination. It’s easy to forget you’re reading a short story as you turn from page to page due to her precise tone and mood. What makes this short story collection stand out is how she manages to keep a thematic undertone throughout each story – not one feels out of place – but also keeps every page fresh.
Continue reading “Mandeliene Smith, author of ‘Rutting Season,’ discusses the forces that shape our actions”Pitchaya Sudbanthad on the culture and history in ‘Bangkok Wakes to Rain’
In his debut novel, Bangkok Wakes to Rain, Pitchaya Sudbanthad threads together woven stories set in his birthplace to piece together a reveal a history reaching back in time to the near future.
Though the author was born in Thailand, he was raised in Saudi Arabia as well as America, all of which influenced his writing. His desire to write about Bangkok stems from his yearly visits there where he has an intimate understanding of the city but still feels like a visitor every time.
The novel’s many narratives include an American doctor nearly a century ago, a Thai photographer in the 1970s living in Los Angeles, and a Thai restauranter living working in Japan. These characters, and more, all reveal the beautifully rich interworkings of the city’s politics, neighborhoods, and relationships.
I spoke with the author about crafting his debut novel, how place influenced his work, and Thailand’s cultural exports.
Continue reading “Pitchaya Sudbanthad on the culture and history in ‘Bangkok Wakes to Rain’”Joseph Cassara reflects on his debut ‘The House of Impossible Beauties’
In addition to celebrating debut authors and their books in 2019, we will look back at some of our favorite recent debuts in a series of short interviews all about the debut experience.
A lot of people might pick up Joseph Cassara‘s The House of Impossible Beauties because they’re fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race. They might expect an insider story of backstabbing queens throwing shade and spilling the tea. Once you open to the first page, you’ll realize this is a touching portrait of the Harlem’s Latinx and black queer community in the late 1980s.
Continue reading “Joseph Cassara reflects on his debut ‘The House of Impossible Beauties’”6 debut books you should read this February
Each month, we will pick a handful of buzzworthy and under the radar debut books we feel you’ll enjoy.
Continue reading “6 debut books you should read this February”Wil Medearis discusses gentrification, art, and murder in his debut ‘Restoration Heights’
In his debut novel Restoration Heights, Wil Medearis explore gentrification through a murder noir set in the Brooklyn art world. The conglomerate of ideas came to the author over a series of events spread across years.
In the novel, a young art handler is the last to see a woman alive and becomes captivated by what happened to her. He becomes a sleuth trying to piece together her disappearance. Medearis himself has a background in art and watched his Brooklyn neighborhood change rapidly before his eyes.
Continue reading “Wil Medearis discusses gentrification, art, and murder in his debut ‘Restoration Heights’”Appalachian misunderstandings and memories with Mesha Maren, author of ‘Sugar Run’
A confluence of events led to Mesha Maren writing Sugar Run. The debut author grew up in rural West Virginia where her father volunteered working with incarcerated women. Years later, while working as a waitress in Iowa City, she drew on those scenic summer days she missed to create an atmospheric setting for her characters.
Continue reading “Appalachian misunderstandings and memories with Mesha Maren, author of ‘Sugar Run’”6 debut books you should read this January
Each month, we will pick a handful of buzzworthy and under the radar debut books we feel you’ll enjoy.
Continue reading “6 debut books you should read this January”Rachel Lyon reflects on her debut ‘Self-Portrait with Boy’
In addition to celebrating debut authors and their books in 2019, we will look back at some of our favorite recent debuts in a series of short interviews all about the debut experience.
Rachel Lyon is the cofounder of the monthly reading series Ditmas Lit, which she hosts in her native Brooklyn. She is a seasoned writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications who also teaches writing at Sackett Street Writers Workshop, Catapult, Slice, and elsewhere.
Continue reading “Rachel Lyon reflects on her debut ‘Self-Portrait with Boy’”