Poetry is a high wire act, performance art—for some writers. J. K. Kennedy finds it to be her path to clarity, a clearing of destructive thought clutter, a crystallization of love, limitlessness, and the beauty of human existence.... Read More

In Elizabeth Lowham’s enthralling fantasy novel "Casters and Crowns", a reverse Sleeping Beauty curse forces a princess to confront the truth about magic in her kingdom. Aria will inherit her father’s crown—if she can survive the... Read More

Phyllis Gobbell’s novel "Prodigal" tells a parabolic story of homecoming in a Southern small town. Connor, a preacher’s son, is cast adrift after becoming an accomplice in the Independence Day shooting of a convenience store clerk.... Read More

Megan Howell’s "Softie" is a series of thirteen short stories which plumb the harrowing struggles and dark corners of womanhood and girlhood as “all hell breaks loose” with regularity. Firm and unflinching, the stories navigate... Read More

A commonsense guide to what the United States government actually does, Jeff Fleischer’s "Civic Minded" demystifies subjects at the heart of contemporary political discourse and creates a groundwork of facts for everyday citizens.... Read More

In the bold, experimental stories of Juan Carlos Reyes’s "Three Alarm Fire", reading is a riddle that results in salvation. Shifting in register from abject horror to cool irony and featuring slippery, compelling details, this is a... Read More

In Suja Sukumar’s thriller "When Mimi Went Missing", a teenager whose cousin disappeared grieves for their seemingly lost sisterhood. When she was eight, Tanvi moved in with her aunt and cousin after her mother murdered her father.... Read More

Cats & Us is a charming collection of mini-essays highlighting human-pet interactions over time and across cultural contexts. Its several-page spreads consider how felines relate to certain subgroups of people, including children,... Read More