Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
Continue reading “12 noteworthy debut books you should read this October”12 noteworthy debut books you should read this October
Tag: debut writer
Debutiful Podcast: Melissa Pace discusses The Once and Future Me
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Continue reading “Debutiful Podcast: Melissa Pace discusses The Once and Future Me”First Taste: Antonio Michael Downing Reads From Black Cherokee
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Continue reading “First Taste: Antonio Michael Downing Reads From Black Cherokee”23 debut books to discover in August 2025
Here are the debut books that caught Debutiful’s eye this month. We think readers will find plenty to love among them.
To see our curated list of standout titles, check out our “12 Noteworthy Debut Books You Should Read This August.”
Continue reading “23 debut books to discover in August 2025”My Reading Life: Sunburn author Chloe Michelle Howarth wants everyone to read queer stories of all types
Chloe Michelle Howarth‘s debut book, Sunburn, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ Book of the Year and the Nero Book Awards when it was published in 2023. Now, the book is debuting in America. Set in early 1990s small-town Ireland, exploring the forbidden love between Lucy and Susannah as they navigate secrecy, desire, and the crushing weight of societal prejudice, this is a richly told story for fans of Sally Rooney.
We asked the writer to answer our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could get to know her and the books that shaped her life.
Continue reading “My Reading Life: Sunburn author Chloe Michelle Howarth wants everyone to read queer stories of all types”12 noteworthy debut books to read this July
Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
Continue reading “12 noteworthy debut books to read this July”My Reading Life: Sympathy for Wild Girls author Demree McGhee wants Bless Me, Ultima to be the classic high school assignment
Demree McGhee is currently pursuing her MFA at San Diego State University, and her debut story collection, Sympathy for Wild Girls, is already on bookstore shelves. The collection is a knockout selection of stories that move between reality and the surreal. McGhee takes readers to places rarely visited on the page, and the stories dance between fever dreams and stark truths.
We asked McGhee to answer our recurring My Reading Life questionnaire so readers could get to know her and the books that shaped her life.
Continue reading “My Reading Life: Sympathy for Wild Girls author Demree McGhee wants Bless Me, Ultima to be the classic high school assignment”Keeonna Harris interviews Keeonna Harris
Every now and then, I like to ask writers, “Is there a question you’d like me to ask?” I’m always surprised by the types of questions they’d want to ask themselves, so I decided to take the idea of the self-interview and give writers some restraints.
One. Use Who/What/When/Where/Why questions.
Two. Have fun.
Our latest Debuti-Self Interview features Keeonna Harris, author of the debut memoir Mainline Mama, which explores self-resilience, family, and community. Prior to her memoir, she was awarded numerous honors, including a 2018–2019 PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship, a 2021 Tin House Summer Residency, a 2023 Baldwin For The Arts Residency, and a 2023 Hedgebrook Fellowship as the 2023 Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence.
But enough from me. Let’s turn it over to Keeonna Harris.
Continue reading “Keeonna Harris interviews Keeonna Harris”My Reading Life: Fair Play author Louise Hegarty finds the idea of ‘assigned reading’ a little suspicious
Irish writer Louise Hegarty’s debut novel Fair Play follows a group of friends who gather at an Airbnb for a jazz-age themed New Year’s Eve murder mystery party, only to wake up and find the birthday boy, Benjamin, dead. As his sister Abigail reels from the loss, a detective arrives to investigate, transforming the house into a classic whodunit setting where everyone is a suspect and no one is quite who they seem. Both gripping and tender, the novel explores love, grief, and identity while cleverly subverting the conventions of the mystery genre.
The release of the debut mystery builds off of a shining career where she was the inaugural winner of the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize and her short story “Getting the Electric” has been optioned by Fíbín Media.
We asked the writer to answer our recurring My Reading Life questionnaire so readers could get to know her better and discover the books that shaped her life.
Continue reading “My Reading Life: Fair Play author Louise Hegarty finds the idea of ‘assigned reading’ a little suspicious”My Reading Life: Liquid writer Mariam Rahmani on the books that shaped her
Mariam Rahmani, the author of Liquid: A Love Story, is a writer and translator whose work has appeared in Granta, Gulf Coast, n+1, and more. Her first book-length translation was named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker. Rahmani holds a PhD from UCLA, an MFA from Columbia, and degrees from Princeton and Oxford. She currently teaches at Bennington College.
Her debut novel follows an unnamed Iranian-Indian American narrator who, after struggling to find stability post-PhD, embarks on a meticulously planned mission to “marry rich.” What begins as a whirlwind of absurd and revealing dates across Los Angeles shifts when a family tragedy forces her to confront the contradictions in her life—and question whether the person she’s searching for has been there all along.
Below, the author answered our My Reading Life questionnaire, sharing the books that shaped her, the stories that make her laugh, and what’s currently on her nightstand.
Continue reading “My Reading Life: Liquid writer Mariam Rahmani on the books that shaped her”