Inside the Collection: T Clark dissects All This Want (And I Can’t Get None)

Inside the Collection: T Clark dissects All This Want (And I Can’t Get None)

What makes a great short story collection? In Debutiful’s latest Q&A series, Inside the Collection, short story writers will take readers through their writing, editing, and sequencing of their debut short story collection.

In All This Want (And I Can’t Get None), writer T Clark captures the feverish hunger and dizzying pleasures of Black girlhood and queer coming-of-age. Set largely in and around a working-class neighborhood just outside New York City, the stories follow young Black girls, women, and nonbinary characters as they navigate the uneasy space between adolescence and adulthood, desire and restraint, and the people they are and the people they might become. Prior to publishing their debut collection, Clark’s fiction appeared in Joyland, The Kenyon Review, American Short Fiction, The Offing, Fourteen Hills, and elsewhere. They also received fellowships and support from the Omi International Arts Center, the Fine Arts Work Center, the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and the Vermont Studio Center.

In our latest Inside the Collection Q&A, Clark takes readers inside their debut short story collection, All This Want (And I Can’t Get None).

Continue reading “Inside the Collection: T Clark dissects All This Want (And I Can’t Get None)”

The Best Debut Books of 2026 (So Far)

The Best Debut Books of 2026 (So Far)

When I sit down to make this list, I start with a blank Word document and start listing the books I’ve read that just pop into my head. These are the ones I can’t stop thinking about. The writers who did something special. The books that transported me, taught me, seduced me, and entertained me. Some of these titles, I read in 2025. They’ve stuck with me for one reason or another. I attempted to pick 26 titles; one book for every week of the year between January 1 and June 30. I ended up with 30 and still left off titles that could have easily made it onto a Best Of. In fact, I bet they’re on other lists and are already longlisted for some major awards. There are also some titles I haven’t gotten around to yet that I wouldn’t be surprised to see on Debutiful’s yearly Best Of list in November.

The list features some debut-ish writers. Fiction debuts from poets or nonfiction writers. Also, I should note that this list consists entirely of fiction and poetry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. There are great nonfiction debuts, but Debutiful has always favored fiction. It’s just what I cover the most. A specific list of Best Nonfiction Debut Books of 2026 (So Far) will be released soon.

In the meantime, enjoy this list of novels, story collections, and poetry. I hope you find a new favorite writer.

Continue reading “The Best Debut Books of 2026 (So Far)”