Ali Solomon is a cartoonist and writer from Queens, NY, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and an insane amount of comic books.  

Ali got her start drawing a daily comic strip for The Cornell Daily Sun as an undergrad. She has regularly contributed to the New Yorker since 2018, and her work has also appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the Washington Post, The Believer,and WIRED, among other places. When not drawing, Ali teaches art at a middle school in NYC.

I LOVE(ISH) NYC

Ali Solomon

Rose Bousamra is a comic creator and illustrator exploring themes of identity and queerness in fantasy and fiction. They have two graphic novels with First Second Books, including Frizzy (2022) with author Claribel Ortega, and solo debut graphic novel Gutless (2025). Their work has also been featured in Power & Magic: A Queer Witch Anthology Volume II and DROPOUT.tv's Ladies Book Club (Issue #5). When not reading or creating comics, they can be found playing fantasy video games, wrangling their tiny dog and two cats, or wandering the woods around Detroit, Michigan.

FRIZZY

ROSE BOUSAMRA

Brittany Geragotelis, a former Olympic-bound gymnast and magazine editor, is a self-professed pop culture junkie turned author. Her paranormal action book Life's a Witch received 18 million reads on the writing site Wattpad.com. What the Spell is the first published book in the series, followed by Life's a Witch and The Witch Is Back. Brittany lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Matt, and two cats.

"Fast and cinematic."—School Library Journal

"A thriller for fans of plot-driven stories."—Kirkus Reviews

Brittany Geragotelis

Like so many other writers, I grew up with my nose in a book. My mother believed children should be seen reading and not heard whining about boredom, and regularly took us to the Rockville Public Library with grocery bags to fill with books. Along with grabbing new titles each visit, I often chose the same ones over and over again. And I reread treasured personal copies of my favorites until they fell apart.

The books I connected with as a child left a bigger impression on me than almost anything I come across today. I still think of the characters, stories, random facts and tidbits that I absorbed years ago. That’s why I love writing for kids—in the hopes that they'll pick up something I write more than once, and let it become part of who they are.

Here are a few facts about me: I’m a Pakistani-American Muslim who was born and raised in Maryland, and enjoy sharing and writing about my culture and religion. I've also written about a bunch of other topics, from spies to space travel, that take me out of my reality and on adventures. While not quite as thrilling, I’ve had a few adventures of my own, managed to get to some pretty fantastic places on our planet, and met incredible people. I'm slightly obsessed with Spain, ceramic tiles and pottery, food, flamenco, and good coffee. When I’m not cooking up a story, I’m often actually cooking food or baking treats. I also spend time writing and editing for international organizations that work to improve the health and lives of people around the world.

I’ve been extremely lucky to have a talented editor who encouraged me to write for kids after my elder son was born, as well as lifelong friends who’ve helped shape me into the person I am. Most important, I have two young readers at home who I’m excited to see relish a book, and when impressed, start it over again.

ZARA'S RULES FOR RECORD-BREAKING FUN

Hena Khan

Raised in Michigan, Luke Dani Blue (they/them) has lived in cities in the U.S., Mexico, and Western Canada, where they now reside. Luke is a 2021 Tin House Scholar, with other awards and honors from Colorado Review, Fourteen Hills, Crab Orchard Review and Best American Short Stories. They earned their BA at The Evergreen State College and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University (Distinguished Achievement Award). Luke’s debut short story collection, PRETEND IT’S MY BODY, is coming soon from Feminist Press.

PRETEND IT’S MY BODY

Luke Dani Blue

An actor, producer, director with an extensive list of credits, Ralph Macchio is best known for his celebrated performance as Johnny in Frances Ford Coppola’sThe Outsiders; the hit filmMy Cousin Vinny; and most notably for the title role in the popular classicThe Karate Kid and its successors. Expanding further on the Karate Kid Universe, Ralph continues to reprise his iconic role of Daniel LaRusso in the hit Netflix seriesCobra Kai. He lives on Long Island with his family.

WAXING ON: The Karate Kid and Me

Ralph Macchio

Beaverland receives a Publishers Weekly starred review. "A triumph of popular nature writing" - PW, starred review

BEAVERLAND Receives a PW Starred Review!

Amazon featured West Side Love Story on a six-story Amazon Books billboard on 7th Ave and 33rd St, outside of Penn Station. These billboard features are a part of their efforts to honor Hispanic and Latinx storytellers and stories during Hispanic heritage month.

Amazon Features WEST SIDE LOVE STORY on a NYC Billboard!

Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore's LITURGIES FOR HOPE: SIXTY PRAYERS FOR THE HIGHS, LOWS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN is set to appear on Good Morning America's Faith Friday in November.

Good Morning America to feature LITURGIES FOR HOPE on Faith Friday!

Nathalia Holt’s WISE GALS is a Town & Country magazine “must-read” for fall 2022. “[Holt] paints a portrait of what it meant to be a woman working in intelligence in the early days of the CIA, and the Cold War.”

WISE GALS is a Town & Country Must-Read

I'M NOT BROKEN, a memoir by Jesse Leon, was recently published by Vintage. The book launch event was held at the prestigious Ford Foundation. 

Jesse Leon's Book Launch Event at the Ford Foundation Is A Success!

The Los Angeles Times selected Nathalia Holt’s WISE GALS as one of “10 Books to Add to Your Reading List in September.”

LA Times Recommends WISE GALS

Selena Gomez reveals she's reading MONARCA by Leopoldo Gout in a 'What's In My Bag' Video. She said it's "beautiful."

Selena Gomez Reads MONARCA by Leopoldo Gout!

Kathryn Judge’s DIRECT is one of 15 titles to be selected for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award for 2022. The longlist books were selected from nearly 600 entries and are all focused on “the challenges facing the global economy.” Read more about the award and the longlist here.

DIRECT Makes the Longlist for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year

TANQUERAY by Stephanie Johnson is a #1 New York Times bestseller. 

TANQUERAY is a #1 New York Times bestseller!

Behavioral Scientist has published its list of “the most compelling behavioral science books” published so far in 2022, and Mary-Frances O’Connor’s THE GRIEVING BRAIN is among the notables.

THE GRIEVING BRAIN is a Behavioral Scientist Summer Read

Read The New York Times feature on Stephanie Johnson and her new memoir Tanqueray.

The New York Times features Stephanie Johnson/Tanqueray

Read The Washington Post's article on Stephanie Johnson's life and her new memoir Tanqueray. 

The Washington Post loves Tanqueray!

Devi S. Laskar’s novel Circa is the Goop Book Club pick for June 2022.

CIRCA is the Goop Book Club Pick for June 2022!

RAZZMATAZZ reaches #14 on the New York Times best seller list!

RAZZMATAZZ is on the New York Times Best Seller List!

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS is #3 on the New York Times Best Seller List!

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS Hits #3 on the New York Times Best Seller List!

New York Times recommends THE LAST RESORT as a summer read!

THE LAST RESORT is Suggested By the New York Times as a Summer Read!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR MAY ’22! • “Delightful . . . [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded.”—The New York Times Book Review

Reese Witherspoon Book Club ​Pick for May 2022

TANQUERY Hits #1  on the Amazon Bestseller List two months before publication!

TANQUERY Hits #1  on the Amazon Bestseller List!

BookRiot has named Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing and Jessica Lahey and KJ Dell’Antonia’s #AmWriting to its 10 Best Writing Podcasts for Storytellers and Aspiring Writers. Read more about the podcasts here.

BookRiot Selects 10 Best Writing Podcasts

A Fatal Lie

MONARCA

DEEP WORK: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

This Washington Post "Best Book of the Year" grapples with the complexities of the second-generation American experience, what it means to be a woman of color in the workplace, and a sister, a wife, and a mother to daughters in today's America.

When a woman—known only as Mother—moves her family from Atlanta to its wealthy suburbs, she discovers that neither the times nor the people have changed since her childhood in a small Southern town. Despite the intervening decades, Mother is met with the same questions: Where are you from? No, where are you really from? The American-born daughter of Bengali immigrants, she finds that her answer―Here―is never enough.

Mother's simmering anger breaks through one morning, when, during a violent and unfounded police raid on her home, she finally refuses to be complacent. As she lies bleeding from a gunshot wound, her thoughts race from childhood games with her sister and visits to cousins in India, to her time in the newsroom before having her three daughters, to the early days of her relationship with a husband who now spends more time flying business class than at home.

Drawing inspiration from the author's own terrifying experience of a raid on her home, Devi S. Laskar's debut novel explores, in exquisite, lyrical prose, an alternate reality that might have been.

THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES

YOUR BODY IN BALANCE: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health

RAZZMATAZZ

ULTRALEARNING: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career

SEINFELDIA: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything

WEST SIDE LOVE STORY

HUMANS OF NEW YORK

THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE

MOLLY'S GAME: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker

RISE OF THE ROCKET GIRLS: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars

THE HISTORY OF LIVING FOREVER

MOMMY'S HOMETOWN, illustrated by Jaime Kim

Monster is now a major motion picture starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky.

Named one of The 100 Best YA Books of All Time by TIME Magazine

New York Times bestseller, 2000 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2000 Michael L. Printz Award, 1999 National Book Award Finalist, 2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), Hornbook Fanfare 2000, 2000 Quick Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers)

This bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial.

Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives.

Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story that was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist.

MONSTER

Tanqueray

HOLD ME TIGHT: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love

A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload

“It’s the epic love story of 2017 and the ending is one you’ll be feeling for months to come.”—Redbook

"An irresistible tale of love and second chances."—People 

“This moving story is a perfect understanding of the sacrifices we make for love and for our dreams.”—Real Simple

“Your new tearjerker has arrived: Fans of Me Before You and One Day will love/weep over this elegant novel.”—New York Post

“This read is One Day meets Me Before You meets your weekender bag.”—The Skimm 

“Have your tissues ready...This book will sink its hooks into your heart on page one, and leave you scarred long after you're done.”—Bustle

“Enchanted and compelled me.”—Delia Ephron, author of Siracusa

“A wonderful and heartbreaking book....The kind of heartbreak that’s in The Way We Were, that you really love to cry over.”—NBC New York's Weekend Today


“Heart-wrenching yet beautiful.”—US Weekly


“A beautiful and devastating story that will captivate readers.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Comparisons will be made to David Nicholls’ One Day, but there is something more romantic here—yet also more grounded—that will draw readers in.”—Booklist

THE LIGHT WE LOST

SOPPY

MOTHER MAY I

THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS: A Transformative Path to Success that Feeds—Not Crushes—Your Soul

GIFT OF FAILURE: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, THE

START WHERE YOU ARE: A Journal for Self-Exploration

THE REDEMPTION OF BOBBY LOVE

TRUTH’S TABLE: Black Women’s Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation

AMINA'S VOICE

If our family stories shape us, what happens when we learn those stories were never true?
Who do we become when we shed our illusions about the past?

Maya Shanbhag Lang grew up idolizing her brilliant mother, an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from India and completed her residency all while raising her children and keeping a traditional Indian home. Maya’s mother had al­ways been a source of support—until Maya became a mother herself. Then the parent who had once been so capable and attentive became suddenly and inexplicably unavailable. Struggling to understand this abrupt change while raising her own young child, Maya searches for answers and soon learns that her mother is living with Alzheimer’s.

Unable to remember or keep track of the stories she once told her daughter—stories about her life in India, why she immigrated, and her experience of motherhood—Maya’s mother divulges secrets about her past that force Maya to reexamine their relationship. It becomes clear that Maya never really knew her mother, despite their close bond. Absorb­ing, moving, and raw, What We Carry is a mem­oir about mothers and daughters, lies and truths, receiving and giving care, and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us. It is a beautiful examination of the weight we shoulder as women and an exploration of how to finally set our burdens down.

"A larger mediation on motherhood, daughterhood and feminism [...]. In exquisitely precise prose, Lang makes an argument that honesty is what’s truly empowering…we see a relationship between mother and daughter that feels new and tentative—because life changes so much every few years, bringing out unseen sides to each of them.”—New York Times Book Review

"Maya learns her brilliant physician mom has Alzheimer’s soon after she has a daughter herself. Caught between caring for her mother—consequently uncovering some family secrets—and her child, Maya writes in absolutely beautiful compelling prose about what it means to be a daughter—and a mother—today."—Zibby Owens, GoodMorningAmerica.com

"Part self-discovery, part family history...[Lang's] analysis of the shifting roles of mothers and daughters, particularly through the lens of immigration, help to challenge her family’s mythology...Readers interested in examining their own family stories...will connect deeply with Lang’s beautiful memoir."—Library Journal (Starred Review)

“A stirring memoir exploring the fraught relationships between mothers and daughters…astutely written and intense…will strike a chord with readers.”—Publishers Weekly

"An exquisite exploration of love--its boundlessness and its limitations--between a mother and daughter that makes us examine the unknowability of who we are and the strength of our bonds with those who shape us. This story is so elegantly told, and with such rawness and compassion. I fell madly in love with Maya and her complicated, indelible mother and could not put this book down."—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

"A dazzling, courageous memoir about the weight we carry as women, daughters, and mothers — and what happens when we let go. Lang takes us deep into the heart of relationship with her mother, a brilliant psychiatrist and Indian immigrant with long-buried secrets. After a health crisis brings mother and daughter under the same roof for the first time since childhood, Lang grapples with new information about the parent she'd idolized, and realizes it's time to tell the story of her own life. What We Carry is a love letter to everyone who has swum through turbulent water before reaching the shores of selfhood."—Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

“What We Carry is a wise, tender, and unswervingly honest memoir that reads like a mystery. With emotional precision and detective-like clarity, Maya Shanbhag Lang investigates the many ways in which we all participate in the often-painful mythology of a family. As thrillingly, Lang’s ultimate revelation is a hopeful one, reminding us that we are stronger than we think.”—Christopher Castellani, author of the New York Times bestseller Leading Men

“Maya Shanbhag Lang thought she knew her capable physician-mother and her story. But when Alzheimer’s hit early, Lang found herself adrift in a sea of unwelcome truths and ambiguous loss. In this searingly honest, beautifully written memoir, Lang chronicles her journey as she revises her illusions of the past and becomes a larger-hearted, more accepting, and generous version of herself. Anyone who has ever struggled with a fraught mother-daughter relationship will enjoy this book. Those who face the ordeal of caregiving, with all its love, loss, and unexpected gifts, will be inspired. My heart opened reading this extraordinary memoir.”—Katy Butler, author of the New York Timesbestseller Knocking on Heaven’s Door and The Art of Dying Well

“What We Carry is a profoundly moving memoir about secrets, trauma, and what happens when, for reasons beyond anyone’s control, we can no longer get what we need from those we love, or give them the things they most want from us. In exquisite prose, Maya Shanbhag Lang writes about her extraordinary mother and the cruel circumstances that complicate their relationship. At its heart, this is a book about one of the greatest gifts any parent can give a child: the power to save yourself.”—Will Schwalbe, author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club and Books for Living

 “In What We Carry, Maya Shanbhag Lang has created a gorgeous memoir about mothers, daughters, and the tenacity of the love that grows between what is said and what is left unspoken.”—Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk

"How do we really know the ones we love? Lang thought she knew her Indian immigrant mother through her stories, but when her mother began to suffer with Alzheimer’s, profound truths and unsettling secrets began to emerge. But what is so remarkable about Lang’s book is that rather than losing her mother to a memory disease, she was given an opportunity to come to terms with the exquisite ties that bind mother and daughter together. Truly, a gorgeous memoir."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, Is This Tomorrow and Cruel Beautiful World

WHAT WE CARRY

THE 5TH WAVE

POSTSECRET: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives

A deeply moving novel about a woman who thought she never wanted to be a mother--and the many ways that life can surprise us

In every woman there are many stories . . .

Rose Napolitano is fighting with her husband, Luke, about prenatal vitamins. She promised she'd take them, but didn't. He promised before they got married that he'd never want children, but now he's changed his mind. Their marriage has come to rest on this one question: Can Rose find it in herself to become a mother? Rose is a successful professor and academic. She's never wanted to have a child. The fight ends, and with it their marriage.

But then, Rose has a fight with Luke about the vitamins--again. This time the fight goes slightly differently, and so does Rose's future as she grapples with whether she can indeed give up the one thing she thought she knew about herself. Can she reimagine her life in a completely new way? That reimagining plays out again and again in each of Rose's nine lives, just as it does for each of us as we grow into adulthood. What are the consequences of our biggest choices? How would life change if we let go of our preconceived ideas of ourselves and became someone completely new? Rose Napolitano's experience of choosing and then choosing again shows us in an utterly compelling way what it means, literally, to reinvent a life and, sometimes, become a different kind of woman than we ever imagined.

A stunning novel about love, loss, betrayal, divorce, death, a woman's career and her identity, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is about finding one's way into a future that wasn't the future one planned, and the ways that fate intercedes when we least expect it.

Praise for THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO 

“Freitas’s prose is engaging and precise, and her what-if format proves ideal for elegantly unpacking the tensions of the plot. She balances tightly written scenes of confrontation with Rose’s poignant reflections on how much she can compromise without losing herself completely. This isn’t one to miss."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Fans of Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life (2013), Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot (2011), and the film Sliding Doors will find themselves happily lost in this charming, heartfelt, thought-provoking novel.”—Booklist, Starred Review

“Reminiscent of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life or the movie Sliding Doors, Freitas’ novel explores nine (but certainly not all) possible outcomes when a woman who has never wanted children marries a man who gradually decides he does….Following the maze of numbered takes becomes an addictive game, highly literate escapism, like watching The Queen’s Gambit….Highly readable and provocative.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Freitas debuts an extraordinary, multi-faceted novel for adults...this is no ordinary story of a young couple moving on to the next stage of familyhood; instead we get a glimpse into all the different lives Rose could have. Nine different lives, some more fully realized than others. Starting one morning in 2006, Rose and Luke fight over the prenatal vitamins, and the outcome of that fight changes depending on the life Rose chooses, from having a baby or not, to affairs or not, to the breakup of the marriage or not, until it ends in 2025. Verdict: This is a serious yet fantastical look at relationships, family, and feminism told in a unique voice, and book groups should take note...Don’t miss it."—Library Journal, Starred Review

“In a powerful exploration of motherhood and feminism, Donna Freitas probes the ties that bind us all to one another through love, through obligation and through choice. At once thought-provoking and emotionally moving, this novel will have readers examining their own relationships and their own ‘what-ifs.’”—Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost and More Than Words

“Ambitious, compelling, and provocative, THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO delves deep into love, motherhood, and the complicated dance that is navigating the world as a woman—its intricate structure kept me turning pages and the questions posed therein kept me awake at night.”—Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

“Donna Freitas brilliantly unfurls from every angle one of the most urgent questions of a woman’s life, motherhood, creating a dazzling kaleidoscope of love, pain and possibility. The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is a page-turner, a novel that is impossible to put down.”—Martha McPhee, National Book Award finalist and author of An Elegant Woman 

"A structurally ambitious, deeply thoughtful and even-handed consideration of many of the most complex decisions women make about their families and futures—not to mention a generally wise meditation on the control we all do and don't have over our fates."—Linda Holmes, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour and New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over

“In this unflinching exploration of motherhood, Donna Freitas delivers a self-assured novel that questions if female agency is realistic in a world that expects conformity. In captivating Sliding Doors style, we’re offered an intimate glimpse into the nine different lives of one woman as she struggles to define womanhood. Riveting, astute and brazenly honest, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano has left an indelible mark–I won't soon forget it.”—Karma Brown, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

“Sometimes the right book finds you at the perfect time, and that's exactly what happened in the case of The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano. I read this novel in one greedy gulp. It brilliantly turns the prism on what it means to be a woman: More than the sum of our joys and pains, we are also etched with the roads not taken and opportunities lost. The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is a trenchant portrait of womanhood, and everything I look for in a novel: intimate, thought-provoking, and terribly moving.”—Lauren Mechling, author of How Could She

"This book is so good.  I spent a day completely ignoring my family while I finished it.  The only downside was I cried at the playground. But, really, who hasn't?"—Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author of Cribsheet 

“Donna Freitas writes about the mysteries surrounding motherhood and the choice to remain childless with disarming directness and feeling. This is a thought-provoking, absorbing book.”—Rene Steinke, author of Friendswood

“Nine choices, nine fates, one woman. Donna Freitas takes a woman’s most intimate decision and casts a refracting light on the pressures, regrets, and joys that can accompany it. With crystalline prose that crackles with wit and emotional intensity, she reveals how a woman’s effort to be true to her own choices can be a struggle that requires not only everything she has, but everything she might become. Starkly honest, absorbing, and wholly original.”—Judy Blundell, bestselling author of The High Season and What I Saw and How I Lied

THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO

MARLEY & ME: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

THE INFINITE NOISE

EAT TO LIVE: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, Revised Edition

The Paralympic gold-medalist, world champion swimmer, ESPY winner, and NBC Sports commentator uses her extraordinary story to equip others to meet whatever challenges they face in life.

On January 21, 2008, a routine medical procedure left Mallory Weggemann paralyzed from her waist down. Less than two years later, Mallory had broken eight world records, and by the 2012 Paralympic Games, she held fifteen world records and thirty-four American records. Two years later a devastating fall severely damaged her left arm, yet Mallory refused to give up. After two reconstructive surgeries and extended rehab, she won two golds and a silver at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. And perhaps most significantly, she found confidence, independence, and persevering love as she walked down the aisle on her wedding day.

Mallory's extraordinary resilience and uncompromising commitment to excellence are rooted in her resolve, perseverance, and sheer grit. In this remarkable new book, Mallory shares the lessons she learned by pushing past every obstacle, expectation, and limitation that stood in her way, including the need to:

remember that healing is not chronological;

Mallory's story reminds us that whatever circumstances we face, we have the capacity to face down whatever challenges, labels, or difficulties confront us--and to do so on our own terms.

LIMITLESS

ROCK CRITIC LAW

GREENLIGHTS

THE CHICKEN SISTERS

HUMANS

DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS, THE

Brilliant, biting stories set in not-so bucolic Vermont, land of antique stores, small towns, fading farms, and young women trying to figure out marriage, motherhood, sex and their own power.

Prepare Her tells the stories of young women at the brink of discovering their own power. The crossroads in their lives are not always the obvious kind--divorce, motherhood, coming of age--but sometimes much more private and dramatic. Kitty discovers that her ex-boyfriend has committed a murder; Renee navigates a friendship with Arla, a Jehovah's Witness; Emi realizes that her boyfriend is fetishizing her mental illness; Petra acts recklessly when faced with a client with a gun; and Rachel must grapple with the reality of raising a daughter in a world that she, herself, is still terrified of.

Tempered by its rural and often haunting Vermont setting, this book explores the complexities of gender and power imbalances in a way that transforms normal life into something mysterious, uncharted, and sometimes bewildering. Through this lens, we can see the many subtle, yet staggering injustices endured by the women at the center of these stories, as well as identify what, or who might be responsible.

"Each of these haunting, piercing short stories shares a common language of desire: the desire to feel seen, the desire to have more than what's being offered, the desire to break free from the bonds of conventional society. In her debut collection, Genevieve Plunkett depicts the lives of women as they are really lived—with conflict and chaos, love and tenderness, and no small amount of confusion about what is supposed to come next. Each story reflects a different facet of the human condition, some glittering, some blinding, all shining a light on how impossible it can seem to figure out what it means to be alive, but also how worthwhile a pursuit it really is."—Kristin Iversen, Refinery29

"[A] nuanced debut story collection . . . With bracing honesty, Plunkett’s richly drawn narratives bring emotional depth to the characters’ struggles and internal conflicts." —Booklist

"Plunkett’s striking debut puts a series of women’s interior lives in stark relief...Plunkett’s keen observations will pique readers, and the stories pay off with dividends."—Publishers Weekly

"Plunkett’s strength is in the patience and precision of her interior and exterior landscapes. Like horses, too, these stories are full of beauty and elegance but also inscrutability, with Plunkett content to braid scenes and images together and let the mystery of their relationships abide. Wistful tales rendered with delicate writing and powerful perception."—Kirkus Reviews

"Prepare Her is haunting, lush, unsettling—a brazen examination of shame, wild beauty, and the small and not-so-small cruelties we inflict upon ourselves and each other. Perfectly calibrated and teeming with style, these dark little masterpieces are full of grim brilliance. Plunkett is a rare and ferocious talent, and this is a stunning debut."—Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light

"Genevieve Plunkett's stories are elegant, original, and moving, with the lyrical brilliance and bite of Sylvia Plath. Her characters are painfully, magnetically human, and her prose is imaginative—an impressive tangle with the ideas of domesticity and womanhood, and a thrilling debut."—Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Almost Famous Women and Birds of a Lesser Paradise

"The young women and girls in Prepare Her, Genevieve Plunkett's story collection, seem often to be peering at their lives as if through the wrong end of a telescope, deeply focused yet oddly distant from it. These are stories about intimacy and loneliness, and about desire, the desire these young women have to inhabit their bodies fully as sexual beings, to be seen one moment and not seen the next. Few writers capture sex as beautifully and self-consciously, as strangely and humorously, as Plunkett. Simply put, I loved these stories."—Lori Ostlund, author of After The Parade and The Bigness of the World

"Prepare Her, Genevieve Plunkett's debut story collection, is a book about finding the strength to embrace loneliness in order to search for one's squelched and buried self. Plunkett's characters do not always find the answers, but she portrays their struggle to break free from the oppressiveness of marriage and family and grief with such humor and tenderness, with such poetry, that we can believe again in the possibility of triumph over despair, of life over emptiness. This book beats with the heart of our times."—Anne Raeff, author of Winter Kept Us Warm, The Jungle Around Us, and Only the River