Hot News This Week
January 27, 2026
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| “It’s a knockout. Buy it wherever books are sold.” On Instagram, comedian John Mulaney raved about Anjet Daanje’s The Remembered Soldier, translated by David McKay (New Vessel Press): “I have been really into novels and poems about the First World War (and its aftermath) since I first read Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon in high school. . . . The Remembered Soldier is a brilliant addition to that group.”
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| Four National Book Critics Circle Award Finalists
We’re thrilled to celebrate four finalists for the 2025 NBCC Awards from Consortium publishers:
Biography
Poetry
Gregg Barrios Book in Translation
- Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi (And Other Stories)
- Near Distance by Hanna Stoltenberg, translated by Wendy H. Gabrielsen (Biblioasis)
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| Five Outstanding International Children’s Books
Grades Pre-K–2
Grades 3–5
- Giant by Judith McQuoid (Little Island Books)
Grades 6–8
- Astro by Manuel Marsol, trans. Lizzie Davis (Transit Children’s Editions)
Grades 9–12
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| Five Titles Longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize
The prize celebrates the commitment of small presses to exceptional literary merit, and the longlist is selected by a jury of independent booksellers and small press enthusiasts.
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| Disability Rights, Joan Silber, and More Indie News
Hagfish co-publishers Naomi Huffman and Julia Ringo were interviewed for a CULTURED Magazine piece about publishers reissuing overlooked and out-of-print books. In May, the press will reissue Joan Silber’s second novel, In the City, a story of self-invention in 1920s New York.
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“Vattu is a fantasy graphic novel which tells the story of an alien Nomad tribe, their struggles for survival as they learn their land is part of an empire they knew nothing about. I loved this book, great and truly original world building and a cast of interesting characters.” — John S., Chicago Public Library
“Superb. I loved the setting, world building, art, and the representation of colonialism and what is lost and how cultures adapt under conquerors.” — John G., Bettendorf Public Library
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“I liked the art style and easy to read text. Right amount of text and graphics per page. Good memoir of one person’s experience being asexual.” — Diana F., Scottsdale Public Library
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| | Mule Boy
by Andrew Krivak
Bellevue Literary Press • February 2026 • 9781954276468
“Krivak presents a dramatic tale in an entirely unconventional manner, making this novel stand out in a spectacular way. . . . Like [Cormac] McCarthy, Krivak breaks complex actions, narrated in strings of independent clauses, into their elemental parts.” — PopMatters
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“Drawing on spiritual research to cast a sharp glance at the present world, The Gallery of Upside Down Women shows throughout a masterful comfort in the use of poetic language and technique, which in turn allows Subramaniam to handle her subjects with critical elegance and style.” — World Literature Today
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| | As If by Magic
by Edgard Telles Ribeiro, trans. Kim M. Hastings and Margaret A. Neves
Bellevue Literary Press • January 2026 • 9781954276505
“The writing is tight and clear, like Hemingway’s. . . . This collection will be paradise for short story fans.” — Library Journal
“Delivers surprises and pathos in equal measure. . . . Ribeiro’s mysterious narratives sneak up on the reader with profound revelations.” — Publishers Weekly
“A love of wordplay and the process of storytelling illuminates these pieces.” — Kirkus Reviews
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| | Eminence Front
by Rebecca Rowland
CLASH Books • January 2026 • 9781960988850
“An intense storm brings something more than snow to an unassuming neighborhood in this bone-chilling winter horror. . . . Sinister and chilling, this brisk shocker from Rowland is great for fans of Jennifer McMahon and Ronald Malfi.” — Library Journal
“The turns are shocking and well-crafted, and the imagery is graphic and striking. Horror fans will find plenty to haunt them.” — Publishers Weekly
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“[This] ravishing biographical novel, set within the larger story of the fight for women’s rights and capturing the demands and thrills of science, glows with evocative psychological and societal insights.” — Booklist
“In this vivid work of historical fiction, Jersild, a writer and psychologist, imagines what [Curie’s] inner thoughts and desires might have been. She does this so well that Curie feels alive.” — Kirkus Reviews
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Eugene Lim, author of Search History and Fog & Car (both Coffee House Press), is this year’s winner of the Dos Passos Prize for Literature, a lifetime achievement award given by Longwood University to an author whose work offers incisive and original insights into American themes while encompassing a wide range of human experience.
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ABA, MPIBA, SCIBA, PNBA, SIBA, and NEIBA Bestseller
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz
Transit Books • May 2022 • 9781945492600
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| ABA's January Indie Next Pick
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This funny, interactive story takes kids on a hide-and-go-seek hunt for Grandma (and her pet chameleons) through her amazing home, with each room offering intriguing clues about Grandma’s exciting life as a scientist, explorer, and groovy grandparent.
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SuperFreddy
by Luis Amavisca, illus. Gusti
NubeOcho • April 2026 • 9791387834401
Even heroes need time for rest and personal joy, and this light-hearted story reminds us of the importance of balance and self-care. A Spanish-language edition, Superfede, will be published simultaneously.
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The Fountain
by Lisa Loffredo
Transit Children's Editions • April 2026 • 9798893380897
In this delightful picture book from a winner of the 2025 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, a fountain begins to offer up unexplained gifts to a town’s residents—a garden gnome, roller skates, a mountain of bananas—until they find the gift of each other’s company.
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