For Readers: Blog

Indie Press Picks

In the world of publishing, the Big Five reign supreme. Five major publishers (think Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) dominate the publishing landscape, but independent publishers are still hard at work, putting excellent books into the world. Sometimes running as a nonprofit, an indie press will often focus on one particular genre or have a mission to elevate the voices of a particular group of writers. Their catalogs are a surefire way to find new authors for your to-read list, so we’ve picked a few titles to get you started on your journey of indie press enlightenment.

Tin House Books

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty is a standout collection of linked short stories about life on a Penobscot reservation. These expressive and well-written vignettes about the contemporary Indigenous experience touch on a range of interconnected topics, including coming-of-age on the reservation, intergenerational poverty, and addiction. Centered around one flawed but compelling character, these stories are an honest if haunting depiction of surviving in the midst of hardship. Fans of literary fiction and short stories will appreciate this change of pace from the traditional coming-of-age narrative style. [e-book | print]

Melville House

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession is an understated and warm debut about the friendship between two young men at a crossroads in their lives. Leonard and Hungry Paul have a comfortable friendship, playing board games and contentedly living at home with their parents. When developments at work and at home start pushing them towards life-changing decisions, the two friends must figure out if there’s a place in this world for the kind and quiet lives they value. This is a quirky and thoughtful story for anyone ready for a lighter read. [e-book | print]

Erewhon

Noir, cyberpunk, and mystery influences come together in a near-future New York in Victor Manibo’s science fiction debut The Sleepless. When his boss is found dead at his desk, Jamie immediately suspects foul play. The only problem is Jamie was allegedly the last person to see him, and his memory is blank. Is his memory gap due to being a Sleepless, one of the millions around the world who no longer sleep, or something more nefarious? As Jamie investigates, it becomes clear that megacorporations are playing with lives. Readers across the genres will enjoy this intricate futuristic mystery. [e-book | print]

Europa Editions

Take it back a few centuries with Joseph O'Connor’s Shadowplay, a fictionalized account of Bram Stoker’s time in London in the late 1800s. With plenty of celebrity cameos, this atmospheric and well-researched historical fiction goes from the grim streets of London to the dramatic Lyceum Theatre, where Stoker is manager. Readers get a behind the scenes (or curtains) look as Stoker navigates his new marriage, builds his friendships with theater greats Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, and finds inspiration for his future masterpiece Dracula. [e-book | print] 

Counterpoint

If you can’t get enough of dysfunctional families, try Nuclear Family by Joseph Han. The Chos are determined to expand their chain of restaurants across Hawai’i while their son Jacob is in Seoul to teach English, when he makes the news for trying to run across the Korean demilitarized zone. Little does his family know, he’s been possessed by the ghost of his grandfather, desperate to return to family in the north. Complex and inventive, this tale of immigrant family dynamics uses magical realism and an undercurrent of satire to tackle topics such as identity and trauma. [e-book | print] 

Catapult

A.K. Blakemore brings a modern perspective to historical voices in The Manningtree Witches. Blakemore’s background as a poet shines through in this lyrical look at a 1600s English village in the midst of witch hunt hysteria, where young Rebecca sees her community pushed to the brink by the arrival of a pious stranger. Equally committed to historical detail and to beautiful prose, the author has created a striking character-driven story about a woman trying to save her town from the deadly consequences of male judgment and suspicion. [e-book | print]

⏤Laura