Hot News This Week September 15, 2026
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- Centroeuropa by Vicente Luis Mora, translated from the Spanish by Rahul Bery (Bellevue Literary Press)
- My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden (New Vessel Press)
Our fingers are crossed for Bellevue, New Vessel, and World Editions when the shortlist is announced on October 6 and the winner crowned on November 18.
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| Rachel Comey x Rosalyn Drexler
“The late painter, playwright, and professional wrestler polymath was the main character of Rachel Comey’s 25th anniversary show . . . Models toted Drexler’s books . . .” As reported in Vogue Runway and Harper’s Bazaar, Rosalyn Drexler is the inspiration for fashion designer Rachel Comey’s spring 2027 collection.
Drexler, a “Pop Art pioneer,” is also the subject of a major story in the September print issue of Vogue, in which Hagfish is highlighted for bringing her work back into the zeitgeist: “They published To Smithereens as their first title last spring, and this fall [on November 3] they’ll reissue Drexler’s 1974 madcap satire The Cosmopolitan Girl, about a woman in a relationship with her talking dog.”
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| Most Anticipated Fall Books from the NYT, PW, and Lit Hub
Several titles from Consortium publishers are cropping up on big fall preview lists . . .
- Stitched by Eli McCann (Torrey House Press)
- Hold Still by Ben Ehrenreich (City Lights Publishers)
- The Returnus by Joaquín Camp, trans. Inese Silva (Berbay Publishing)
Saul Williams was recently interviewed by NPR Music about Songs My Mother Taught Me, music as a weapon against empire, and more.
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| October Indie Next Picks from Transit and Biblioasis
Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King (Transit Books), which is a “voyeuristic mirror to reflect modern themes of loneliness, surveillance, and being misunderstood, while reminding us that history is written by those who hold the pen,” according to Logan Walley of Recluse Books (Fort Worth, TX).
Melissa Harrison’s The Given World (Biblioasis), which Ian McCord of Rec Room Books (Athens, GA) calls a ”relaxing primer of the waxing storm before the waning calm that is humankind’s brief time on this planet.”
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| Booklist’s Biography and Memoir Spotlight
Numerous titles from Consortium publishers were featured in the August issue of Booklist spotlighting biographies and memoirs.
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| More Fiction News for Indie Publishers
“Ojeda allows her subject matter to reverberate through the novel, inflecting every sentence with its shivery rhythms.” Mónica Ojeda’s Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun, translated by Sarah Booker (Coffee House Press), was reviewed in a New Yorker essay about the literary potential of underground electronic music.
“You’re in for a ride.” Dua Lipa’s Service95 recommends reading What Am I, A Deer? by Polly Barton (Fitzcarraldo Editions) when you’re having an existential crisis.
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| | Tatratea by Alex Woodroe CLASH Books • October 2026 • 9781968043360
“If The Haunting of Hill House took place in Area X of the Southern Reach, it would look something like this addictive novella. . . . Fans of Premee Mohamed’s Butcher of the Forest will be right at home in this psychedelic post-apocalyptic fantasy.”— Jeff C., Montgomery County Public Libraries
“If you like sentient plants, cosmic horror, Twin Peaks references, pandemics driving humanity to the brink of extinction, or queer ladies who get shit done, this book is a good time. ”— Joy C., librarian
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| | The Weather Shop by Thomas Lee, trans. Deborah Smith Do Re Mi Books • October 2026 • 9781917933087
“The miniature world of this story is full of cute squishy, stuffed-animal-like animals, and flowers and whimsical details that make it a dream land. . . . Youngsters who like the cozy, miniature worlds of Kaya Doi’s Chirri & Chirra series will love this one too.” — Stephanie T., retired librarian, via Youth Services Book Review
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| | Lumina Station by Malena Mörling Alice James Books • November 2026 • 9781967149063
★ “Poet and translator Mörling’s long-awaited third collection (after 2006’s Astoria) further cements her place among the finest contemporary metaphysical poets.” — Library Journal
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★ “Paced to keep pages turning. Evocative watercolor and ink illustrations, alternately cozy and dramatic, contain much eye-catching detail.” — Horn Book Magazine
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★ “An enchanting story of creativity and play ideal for daydreamy children . . . reminiscent of Raymond Briggs’s classic The Snowman.” — Booklist
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| | Snowfall by Sun-jung Park Floris Books • September 2026 • 9781835750049
★ “Younger readers will be enchanted by the vibrant illustrations and huggable snowflakes, while older readers will doubtlessly return to this visual beauty on snowy evenings. Let it snow!” — Booklist
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★ “A spare, tender case for what words can’t hold; best shared one-on-one and a natural pairing with Peter H. Reynolds’s The Dot.” — School Library Journal
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★ “This translation of the stunning Whale Song takes readers on a deep dive into the enigmatic lives of humpback whales.” — School Library Journal
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★ “Spanish-language readers will relish the catty endeavors of three feline friends to ‘jump ship.’ Anticipate a purr-fect ending that will endear young children to the magic of storytelling in this entertaining must-read.” — School Library Journal
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★ “Houston’s prose is concise and vivid, and the animals she depicts, from her dying wolfhound, Henry, to a young Icelandic horse, Óski, jump from the page. It’s a loving testament to the way animals can shape a life.” — Publishers Weekly
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Browse digital review copies (DRCs) on Covered, Ingram’s new digital discovery tool for booksellers, librarians, and publishing professionals.
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| FICTION
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz (Transit Books) ABA, SCIBA, PNBA, MPIBA, NAIBA, NEIBA, NCIBA, and Indie Press Top 40 (#3) Bestseller
Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman (Coffee House Press) Indie Press Top 40 (#16) Bestseller
Stitched by Eli McCann (Torrey House Press) Bookshop.org and Indie Press Top 40 (#32) Bestseller
We Were Forbidden by Jacqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz (Transit Books) Indie Press Top 40 (#37) Bestseller
NONFICTION
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Three titles are longlisted for the American Literary Translators Association’s 2026 National Translation Awards: Ye Hui’s The Ruins, translated by Dong Li (Deep Vellum / Phoneme Media); Anna Gual’s Unnameable, translated by AKaiser (Zephyr Press); and Leif Høghaug’s The Calf, translated by David M. Smith (Deep Vellum / Fum d’Estampa).
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| Upcoming Romance Book Buzz
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Hold Still by Ben Ehrenreich City Lights Publishers • October 2026 • 9780872869479
In the months after the passing of his mother, Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickel and Dimed), Ben Ehrenreich wrote this profound, deeply personal, genre-bending book about finding one’s way back to life after a parent dies.
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Spanning fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, comics, and multimedia work from emerging and established voices, this anthology is a love letter to video games and an exploration of what gaming culture can be.
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Based on 20 years of sales experience, Built to Grow is the go-to-market field guide for startup founders, with a structured and repeatable playbook for building a high-performing sales function from a company’s earliest days.
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While examining the history of gun culture and legislation in America, this compassionate, thoughtful work of comics journalism looks at four young people who lost their lives to gun violence.
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