Tag: debut

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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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News

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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Interviews, my reading life

Belgrave Road author Manish Chauhan believes every book he’s ever read shaped his debut novel

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Belgrave Road author Manish Chauhan believes every book he’s ever read shaped his debut novel

Manish Chauhan, born in Leicester, is a writer who works as a finance lawyer in East London. His short story, “Pieces,” was shortlisted for the 2024 BBC National Short Story Award, and early excerpts of his debut novel, Belgrave Road, were longlisted for the Curtis Brown First Novel Award and shortlisted for the Daniel Goldsmith First Novel Prize.

In Belgrave Road, Chauhan introduces readers to Mira, a young woman navigating life in a new country and a marriage that leaves little room for choice. When she forms a quiet bond with Tahliil, she must decide whether connection and selfhood are risks worth taking and what freedom might really mean.

We asked Chauhan to answer our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could get to know the books that shaped his life and influenced his debut novel.

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Interviews, my reading life

Murder Bimbo author Rebecca Novack is always looking for a perfect Michael Crichton smell-alike

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Murder Bimbo author Rebecca Novack is always looking for a perfect Michael Crichton smell-alike

Rebecca Novack grew up in the Rocky Mountains and received a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity school. Now, she’s releasing her debut novel, Murder Bimbo.

Murder Bimbo follows a sex worker recruited into a covert political assassination, who is left to fend for herself once the job is done. Hiding in the woods with only days to survive, she races to control her story through a feminist podcast and a series of increasingly unreliable emails, forcing readers to question truth, power, and who gets to be disposable.

We asked Novack to answer our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could learn about the books that shaped her life and influenced her debut novel.

Continue reading “Murder Bimbo author Rebecca Novack is always looking for a perfect Michael Crichton smell-alike” →
my reading life

Good Intentions author Marisa Walz loves suspense and book clubs

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Good Intentions author Marisa Walz loves suspense and book clubs

Marisa Walz is a Chicago-based Federal Reserve executive by day who writes suspenseful novels about people behaving badly by night. Her debut novel, Good Intentions, has been called “razor-sharp tension and surprising twists” by Jeneva Rose. It follows Cady, a successful event planner whose life collapses after the sudden death of her identical twin. Instead of grieving, she becomes fixated on Morgan, a grieving mother she meets at the hospital, convinced their meeting is no coincidence. As her attachment deepens, compassion gives way to obsession, pulling Cady into dangerous moral territory.

We asked Walz to answer our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could learn about the books that shaped her life and influenced her debut book.

Continue reading “Good Intentions author Marisa Walz loves suspense and book clubs” →