AUGUST 2025

Don't miss these small-press titles making a big splash this month!

• Blue Exodus by Hussain Ahmed (Orison Books; 9781949039450), a poetry collection that “charts a heart's history of home, war, dispossession, and displacement, as well as the human solidarity and sacred rituals that remain despite the loss of so much else,” is a finalist for the Derek Walcott Prize. Order now.
• The Good Deed by Helen Benedict (Red Hen Press; 9781636282336), a novel “set in 2018 against the backdrop of an overcrowded, fetid refugee camp on the beautiful Greek island of Samos,” is a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Fiction. Order now.
• Optional Practical Training by Shubha Sunder (Graywolf Press; 9781644453247), a debut novel that "offers a sharp new take on the immigrant story in post-9/11 America," is longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Order now.
• North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher (Neon Hemlock; 9781952086847), a collection of interconnected stories set in a world where “artificial intelligence threatens the tightly-woven network,” is a finalist for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. Order now.
• Hothouse Bloom by Austyn Wohlers (Hub City Press; 9798885740500), a novel that “follows a young woman who renounces her painting career and all her human relationships to become one with her late grandfather’s apple orchard,” is on The Millions’ Great Summer 2025 Book Preview. Order now.

School is right around the corner! To help bookstores and libraries reach young readers, we’ve put together this roundup of 12 middle-grade novels.

September is National Translation Month! To help bookstores and libraries celebrate, we’ve put together this roundup of 12 books in translation—six poetry collections and six novels—to spotlight all month and year-round.

Learn more about the landscape of independent publishing in the Pacific Northwest, including presses and magazines based in the region, local book fairs and festivals, and regional awards, as well as books set in the area.

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 through October 15! To help bookstores and libraries celebrate, we’ve put together this roundup of 12 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to spotlight all month and year-round.

We spoke with Peter Campion, editor-in-chief of Revel, in our latest spotlight on a literary magazine. He says, "It means a lot to us that we were selected [for CLMP’s 2025 Firecracker Award in Magazines/Best Debut] by a board of judges who are themselves superlative editors. We certainly strive to be both assured and dynamic, and it’s hard but rewarding work."

Editor's Note showcases the range of perspectives and curatorial expertise represented by our literary magazine members, and this month, we're featuring the editors of The Drift on the occasion of their fifth anniversary.

"Much about the world in which we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of The Drift would have startled us when we published our first issue in the summer of 2020 — including the fact that we’ve managed to hang on for this long. At the time, it was difficult to imagine any aspect of the future with much clarity."

August is Women in Translation Month, and to celebrate, we've put together a roundup of 12 fiction, poetry, and nonfiction titles written and translated by women! We hope you'll spotlight these books—all published by indie presses—in your bookstore next month and year-round.

Discover poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published last month by independent literary publishers—including Black Ocean, Fernwood Press, Lit Fox Books, Trio House Press, Unsolicited Press, and more.

Publishers Weekly reports on the White House’s new AI strategy document and Trump’s comments on copyright. EveryLibrary has released a new report on the current legislative landscape for libraries, which includes an executive summary of eleven categories of harmful bills. Publishers Weekly reports that Rhode Island has signed into law the Freedom to Read Act, joining a growing number of states in codifying their citizens’ right to read amid nationwide book bans. Monitor on Psychology reports on how psychologists are combatting censorship to keep culturally diverse books accessible to the public.