James Beard award winning chef Alexander Smalls, author of Between Harlem and Heaven, will be participating in this year’s New York Times Food Festival! Chef Smalls will be hosting an event titled “Welcome: The Fine Art of Hospitality” on October 5, 2019 at 1:00pm EST. Follow the link above to purchase tickets and to view the entire schedule of the festival!
“At the beginning of Barbara Bourland’s extraordinary novel, the narrator—who remains unnamed throughout—is working on the show of paintings that could catapult her career from up-and-coming working artist to art world star. The paintings, gigantic canvases that take months each to make, are titled Prudence, Temperance, Humility, Modesty, Chastity, Obedience, and Purity, and are a commentary on the expectations laid upon young women and the urge to break free of them. Three months before the show, the narrator’s apartment/studio burns down, and now, homeless and deeply in debt, she has those three months to covertly recreate what she’d taken two years to meticulously craft.”
Medium wrote a phenomenal article about Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland. Follow the link above to read it in its entirety!
“It’s been a great year for mystery writers!”
Former President Bill Clinton tweeted out his list of the best things he’s read so far this year and included Karin Slaughter’s latest book The Last Widow! Follow the link above to view his entire list!
“Every year it seems there are more and more accessible queer themes from queer writers in mainstream books publishing, in every genre, and this fall has maybe the widest range of super exciting releases to date. Whether your thing is queer girl YA inspired by Greek mythology, groundbreaking poetry collections, challenging and mind-expanding critical nonfiction on art, power, illness or design, or weird and dynamic short fiction, this fall brings you some new titles you won’t be able to stop thinking about.”
Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis was included on Autostraddle’s list of most anticipated queer and feminist books forthcoming this fall. Follow the link above to view the entire list!
“The new novel from Karin Slaughter, The Last Widow (William Morrow, August 20), does what all great Slaughter books do: keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s a chilling whodunit for our times (extremism! terrorism!) set in Atlanta and featuring returning reader favorites: medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, and investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Here, Slaughter shares with Parade what she’s been reading.”
Karin Slaughter, author of The Last Widow, was featured in Parade! Follow the link above to read her list!
“Karin Slaughter is remarkably adept at using a single, tragic incident as a doorway to far more devilish acts. Her skill is typically masterful in The Last Widow…Nobody balances thrills and emotion, pacing and heart, better than Slaughter. In The Last Widow, she proves her success is not hype. A stunning triumph in all respects.”
The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter was named by author Jon Land as one of his Top August Thrillers in BookTrib! Follow the link above to view his entire list.
Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood was featured as one of the New York Post’s “Best Books of the Week”! Follow the link above to view the entire list.
POPSUGAR’S Book Club chose Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood as one of their favorite books for Summer 2019! Follow the link above to see the entire list.
The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter hit #1 on the Spiegel bestseller list in Germany! Follow the link above to see Karin’s team at HarperCollins Germany celebrating the novel’s success!
“Art by Hicks (Comics Will Break Your Heart) turns the sweetly witty dialogue by Rowell (Carry On) into a miniature autumn universe; precise, affectionate details (signage, costumes, endpaper maps) will coax readers to revel in the cozy atmosphere. The pacing is assured, driving along in short bursts that leave room for key scenes to stretch, but it’s the primary characters’ authentic friendship—built over several seasons working alongside one another—and the variously inclusive cast that really bring this funny last-day story home.”
Pumpkinheads illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks received a starred review in Publishers Weekly! Follow the link above to read the full review.
“Set against the backdrop of the 1970s Uruguayan dictatorship, De Robertis's fourth novel offers a sweeping portrait of love in a time of ruthless tumult, following five women over thirty-five years.”
Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of the best LGBTQ books to change the literary landscape in 2019! Follow the link above to view the entire list.
Pumpkinheads, illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks, is an Editors’ August Pick in the Young Adult category on Amazon! Follow the link above for more.
“Best-selling author Slaughter (Pieces of Her) brings us the next installment in the ‘Will Trent’ series. The action starts with the kidnapping of Michelle Spivey, an epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. One month later, there is still no sign of Michelle and out of the blue, bombs start going off at Emory University. Georgia Bureau investigator Will, and his partner, medical examiner Sara Linton, rush to the scene. On the way, they encounter what they believe is a wreck but soon turns into a kidnapping and hostage situation. Sara ends up in the hands of an antigovernment militia group, and while with them finds that Michelle is also being held captive. Will goes undercover to attempt to save Sara and stop the dangerous terrorists.”
The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter received a starred review from Library Journal! Follow the link above to read more.
“This sensuous tale from De Robertis (The Gods of Tango) takes readers to the author’s native Uruguay during the 1970s to follow the harrowing lives of five women living under dictatorship. Bonded as cantoras, or “women who sing” (a coded term for lesbians at the time), Flaca, Romina, Anita, Malena, and Paz escape the oppression of their country’s new regime and enjoy freedom at Cabos Polonio, a little known beach. Flaca is a risk taker who bucks tradition; Paz, a 16-year-old romantic just discovering who she is; Romina, a revolutionary who continues to fight despite punishment; Malena, a mysterious one hiding a dark past; and Anita, a beautiful housewife with dreams beyond her marriage. Back home in Montevideo, people disappear and women are raped, but in Polonio, relationships and romance flourish. Over the course of 35 years, these friends and lovers form a makeshift family as they struggle to find their place and awake to their true desires. After the dissolution of the civic-military dictatorship in 1985, formerly forbidden romances are allowed to take root and the characters learn how to live under democracy. De Robertis does a fine job of probing the harsh realities of what it takes to carve out a life of freedom under an oppressive government.”
Follow the link above to read the full review!
“High school seniors Deja and Josiah (“Josie”) are working their final shift at the world’s corniest pumpkin patch. Josie already misses his days at the patch, while Deja is on a mission to experience as many things as possible on her last night, including eating plenty of Frito pie. Along the way, she wants to yank Josie out of his comfort zone and open up his world—no regrets allowed. The characters in this graphic novel are so expressive and authentic, it’s impossible not to love them. The dialogue is cute, funny, and punny, and the speech bubbles are well placed. Adorably illustrated and titled chapter headings will heighten readers’ anticipation of wacky moments. The palette is charmingly autumnal, and dynamic backgrounds, with vivid reds, oranges, yellows, and twilight purples and blues, convey the fall festival atmosphere. The panel layouts advance the action smoothly and evoke the feeling of young love and of breathlessly standing on the brink of change.
VERDICT There’s something for everyone in this joyful, tender book. Fans of Rowell and Hicks will gobble up this graphic novel like it’s Frito pie, and after just one nibble, newcomers will do the same.”
Pumpkinheads received a starred review from School Library Journal! Follow the link above to read
“Go ahead and add R.L. Maizes to any list of contemporary short story masters―We Love Anderson Cooper marks the debut of a major literary talent on a par with Lorrie Moore or George Saunders. With this heartfelt and witty collection, Maizes deserves a following equal to that of the real-life Anderson Cooper, the popular award-winning journalist and CNN news anchor.”
We Love Anderson Cooper by R.L. Maizes received a glowing review from Shelf Awareness! Follow the link above to read the entire article.
“Every summer for the last 15 years or so, local writer Tammy Greenwood (who goes by the by name T. Greenwood) has driven to a rustic cabin 20 minutes from where she grew up in Vermont. The family cabin, which overlooks a pond and has spotty telephone and internet service, is where Greenwood—along with her husband, two daughters and two dogs—attempts to reconnect with her rural roots.
One would think the author of a novel that Greenwood describes as ‘Thelma and Louise with kids’ would harbor romantic feelings about these types of cross-country treks, but that’s simply not the case.
‘We found the fastest route with the cheapest places,’ Greenwood says from the Vermont cabin. ‘We just suck it up and go.’”
Author T. Greenwood discusses her forthcoming novel, Keeping Lucy, with San Diego City Beat. Follow the link above to read the entire article.
“Debut novelist Montag manages to marry page-turning drama and emotional depth, vividly imagining a world where society rebuilds itself from scratch and history repeats, where bubonic plague flares up again and rope and sailcloth and antibiotics are all coveted goods, and where everyone is moving on in some way from insurmountable loss. ‘I keep thinking it feels like climbing a staircase while looking down,’ one woman tells Myra about losing her children. ‘You won’t forget where you’ve been, but you’ve got to keep rising. It all gets further away, but it’s all still there.’
A fortifying affirmation of human endurance in the face of our dire climate prognosis.”
After The Flood by Kassandra Montag received a wonderful review in Kirkus! Follow the link above to read the full review.