Bookshelf

(Marrowstone Press, 2026).

Subtitled “Reflections at 84,” this book of poems is described by the publisher thusly: “Suppose, old, you find yourself more in love with the world than ever, even while knowing, also better than ever, how vile and violent much of history is, how cruel time and ill fortune can be. What then? That is the question which Weltner’s After Dwelling on Earth confronts not to answer it, but to pursue it further, to deepen it so that at least the question itself makes more sense in the way poetry can sometimes do, by accepting for itself the offered ways of love and language.”

(Little Cottage Press, 2024).

“Porcupines in prickles and towers of giraffes; Some group names of critters will give you belly laughs!” So writes the author in this children’s book that tells in cheerful rhyming verse and colorful, whimsical illustrations about the names by which some animal groups go.

(Scribner, 2026).

From a features editor at The New York Times comes this book that’s more than your typical music biography; it’s a front-row seat to the forces that shaped an era. From Dylan’s initial dismissal description of the Beatles as being “bubblegum” for “teenyboppers,” to his realization that they were “pointing the direction where music had to go” — and from McCartney once calling Dylan’s music “folk crap” to the Fab Fours’ impromptu renditions of 15 Dylan songs during the 1969 Get Back sessions — the book captures the moments that pushed Dylan to “go electric” and inspired the Beatles to deepen their lyrics.

(Bucknell University Press, 2026).

This book is a translation of a 1913 work by the Bolivian poet Adela Zamudio. (1854-1928). The publisher notes, "The only novel written by acclaimed feminist poet Adela Zamudio, Confidences was harshly criticized for not following the conventions of realist literature, but it has since been hailed as a lost classic of Bolivian modernism. Now available in English for the first time, this translation captures the lyrical qualities of Zamudio’s prose as it vividly depicts how sexism, religious dogma, and prejudice prevented women from shaping their own destinies."

(Little Brown and Co., 2026).

Inspired by stories of her great-great-grandmother’s experiences with Eastern European antisemitism, the author’s chilling debut novel is described this way by one reviewer: “Lyrical and haunting with a nearly palpable ache at its core, Odessa is a quiet horror, laying bare a comparison of real-life evils with supernatural ones. Its fear lingers long after the story is complete.”

(Henry Holt and Co., 2026).

The author’s hilarious first novel is the story of several women, in different timelines, trying to stay afloat. The book jacket describes it thusly:

“Claire grew up with the legend of the Unsinkable Mounsey Women. Her great-great-grandmother Fanny made headlines in 1915 for washing ashore in England nearly a year after her ship sank. Fanny’s daughter Sarah went to collect her mother on the equally ill-fated Lusitania ? whose sinking she, too, survived. Their improbable endurance led to regional stardom on the Midwestern vaudeville circuit. But Claire never knew the full story —until now.

(Armin Lear Press, 2026).

“Hope’ has become a soft word in a hard time, often treated like a sentiment, a slogan, or worse, a distraction. Hope is real, and especially now really needed — at work. Across industries, regions, and sectors (including higher education), there is a pattern: People are dispirited, cautious, and lying low. Not because they lack gumption, but because they doubt whether their efforts will lead to something better — and because the world is presenting unforeseen fractures and unknowable forecasts.”

(ELJ editions, 2026).

The author's debut short story collection features characters struggling with sex, identity, and meaning in a world collapsing around them. There’s an aging actress who falls in love with a fictional character. A melancholic sex robot that wanders the streets of New York. A man searching for his beloved inside the chaos of an anti-war protest. Indeed, everyone is longing for something — even annihilation. As the publisher notes, “Cities burn, protests rage, isolation intensifies. A motif of masks and costumes runs throughout as characters experiment with who they are and struggle for connection in an absurd world. Though bleak, many of the stories end with a moment of dark optimism.”

(Livingston Press, 2026).

Selected as the 2025 Changing Light Novel-in-Verse Prize winner, this book combines poetry and flash non-fiction to create a narrative arc. According to the publisher, “It centers on a girl whose accidental conception irrevocably alters the life trajectories of her teenaged parents and who witnesses her parents’ inevitable divorce, her family’s subsequent fall into poverty, and her mother’s struggle to find a new partner in the disco era and cope with her life trauma and mental health issues. The girl comes of age amid these challenges and ultimately makes peace with the imperfect people who loved her.”