Q. Are we excited about new books due out in May?
A. Yes.
Q. Why are we excited about new books due out in May?
A. Because they look excellent.
Hillary Leftwich, Saint Dymphna’s Playbook
(May 1, University of Hell Press)
We’re longtime admirers of Hillary Leftwich’s writing; we’ve spoken with her about her previous two books. Her new book is a formally inventive collection of prose documenting the effects of trauma and surveillance. Leftwich’s writing thus far has found inventive ways to chronicle life, and this looks to be a welcome addition to her bibliography.
André Alexis, Other Worlds
(May 6, FSG Originals)
Over the course of his long career, André Alexis has illuminated older forms of storytelling and drawn on sources as disparate as mythology and personal histories for his fiction. (If you haven’t already read it, Fifteen Dogs is a stunning and heartbreaking book.) This new collection is a terrific introduction to Alexis’s work and a reminder of his strengths as a writer.
Ross Barkan, Glass Century
(May 6, Tough Poets Press)
When he’s not writing about politics and editing a terrific literary journal, Ross Barkan also has a foothold in the world of critically acclaimed fiction. His new novel spans decades in the history of New York; advance reviews have, thus far, been terrific. We’re always up for a resonant New York novel, and this looks to fit the bill perfectly.
Josh Denslow, Magic Can’t Save Us: Eighteen Tales of Likely Failure
(May 6, University of New Orleans Press)
Another writer we’ve been fond of for many years is Josh Denslow, whose fiction blends the indignities of everyday life with forays into the surreal, haunting, and uncanny. That tension is evident in the title of his new collection Magic Can’t Save Us, which explores the divide between the mundane and the transcendental.
Caro De Robertis, So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
(May 13, Algonquin Books)
Caro De Robertis’s new book is the result of an expansive oral history project. As the author told Datebook earlier this month, the perspectives of “[e]lder trans and gender-nonconforming folks of color” are “essential to a full picture of who we are as a society, and who we might become.” This book seeks to give those voices a place to tell their stories and recount their personal histories.
Lincoln Michel, Metallic Realms
(May 13, Atria Books)
Lincoln Michel’s last novel featured body modifications, futuristic baseball, and murder; this time out, he’s opted for a very different collision of seemingly disparate elements. Metallic Realms explores the dynamics within a collective of science fiction writers, the shared universe they create, and the unpleasant truths lurking just below the surface.
Rebecca Solnit, No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain
(May 13, Haymarket Books)
There’s never a bad time to read Rebecca Solnit’s work, and right about now seems like an especially good time to do so. This new essay collection finds Solnit reflecting on unlikely moments from the past that could hold revelatory power for the future.
Emma Smith-Stevens, The Australian
(May 20, Dzanc Books)
Technically, I believe this is the paperback release of The Australian, but given that the hardcover was published eight years ago, it seems like fair game for this column. So! This is a novel about, as you might guess, an Australian man traveling internationally and seeking his fortune, as one does. And this 2018 review said that the book “crackles with wit and wisdom,” which is always a plus.
Jorge Carlos Fonseca (translated by Shook), Pigs in Delirium
(May 27, Insert Press)
It’s not often that we include books by heads of state on here; then again, most heads of state are not also critically acclaimed poets. Jorge Carlos Fonseca spent a decade as the president of Cape Verde; in an interview with translator Shook, Fonseca declared that “my poetry breaks aesthetically—due to the material it deals with and, above all, its form and the tools it employs—with what came before it.”
Paula Bomer, The Stalker
(May 28, Soho Press)
Few writers working today can get inside the heads of desperate, frustrated, or disturbed characters the way Paula Bomer can. The title of her new novel gives a good sense of what it’s about; in telling the story of a sinister grifter failing upwards in 1990s New York City. We’re very curious about where this one will take its characters — and its readers.
Note: all cover art and release dates are subject to change.