Poet Souvankham Thammavongsa turns her eye to a debut story collection

Poet Souvankham Thammavongsa turns her eye to a debut story collection

Souvankham Thammavongsa has released four poetry collections to high acclaim, including 2019’s Cluster. The same year, she also won an O. Henry Award for her short story “Slingshot.” The author, who was born in Thailand and rasied in Canada, has turned her eye away from poetry long enough to put together an emotional and personal story collection that features that award-winning story.

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Digital Book Tour – Hadley Moore, Not Dead Yet

Digital Book Tour – Hadley Moore, Not Dead Yet

With so many author tours being canceled, Debutiful has invited any author who had events canceled or postponed due to coronavirus to do a reading and a brief interview as part of the Digital Book Tour podcast series.

Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher

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Mary South recommends her favorite stories, collections, and journals

Mary South recommends her favorite stories, collections, and journals

Mary South’s debut story collection, You Will Never Be Forgotten, explores what she calls “late-capitalism dystopias.” The collection is filled with memorable stories from a FAQs section gone wrong (““Frequently Asked Questions About Your Craniotomy”) to a woman who stalks her rapist online and then in real life (the title story “You Will Never Be Forgotten”).

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Debutiful’s favorite debut books of 2019

Debutiful’s favorite debut books of 2019

For many, 2019 was just another year. It came and went as resolutions made in late 2018 fell by the wayside. Our president continued to attack anyone who stood up to him. For Debutiful, it was my debut year celebrating debut authors. The site featured over 40 interviews in the first year and recommended over 70 books.

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Meet five writers collected in the ‘PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2019’ anthology

Meet five writers collected in the ‘PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2019’ anthology

Every year, PEN America releases an anthology of the best short stories written by first time published writers. This year, a dozen writers were selected from a wide-ranging array of literary journals – both in print and online. They were judged and selected by Danielle Evans, Alice Sola Kim, and Carmen Maria Machado.

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A Life of Books with R.L. Maizes, author of ‘We Love Anderson Cooper’

A Life of Books with R.L. Maizes, author of ‘We Love Anderson Cooper’

In her debut story collection, R.L. Maizes offers stories filled with quirky wit that explore the small tender moments of our lives. We Love Anderson Cooper brings outsiders into a warm embrace.

The stories have the same heart, but range in a deliciously diverse cast of characters. From a therapist’s couch to a boys Bar Mitzvah, we are welcomed in to relatable scenarios that will make readers feel connected.

Below, R.L. Maizes answered Debutiful‘s “A Life of Books” questionnaire.

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6 more debut books from the first half of 2019 to read

6 more debut books from the first half of 2019 to read

There have been a lot of debuts that have been published this year. I curated a list of the best debuts for Electric Literature and left off a lot of books I have featured here on Debutiful. Still, there are more debuts that somehow missed my radar.

The following six books are debuts that I have recently read or discovered through booksellers, fellow writers, and librarians.

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Bryan Washington’s guide to food in Houston

Bryan Washington’s guide to food in Houston

Bryan Washington’s debut short story collection Lot is a portrait of his native Houston that reveals the nuances of modern-day struggles in race, socioeconomic status, and sexuality.

I spoke with his at length about the collection for an interview that was published over atThe Millions. However, for this site, I wanted to talk to him about his other big passion: food. We chatted about food in Houston and what everyone should learn how to cook.

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