MAY 2026

Every month, we spotlight five books that have received extra attention lately. Don't miss our May picks, all from independent literary publishers:

Local Woman by Jzl Jmz (Nightboat Books | 9781643622736)—“a pulpy, mytho-poetic dispatch from an 'anarchist jurisdiction' that explores the liberatory possibilities of community and womanhood”—is the winner of The Publishing Triangle’s 2026 Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature. Order now.

SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide by Cannupa Hanska Luger (Ayin Press | 9781961814264)—part graphic novel, part art book that “boldly presents an earth-based, demilitarized futuredream that foregrounds Indigenous knowledge as critical to humanity’s survival”—is the winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. Order now.

The Leucothea Dialogues by Cesare Pavese, translated from Italian by Minna Zallman Proctor (Archipelago Books | 9781962770378)—“a shifting, primordial work… plumbing the netherworlds of philosophy, myth, human feeling, and mortality”—is the winner of the 2026 PEN Translation Prize. Order now.

Beautiful Outlaw by Jennifer Perrine (Kelsey Street Press | 9780932716965)—a poetry collection that “reckons with American gun culture’s pervasive presence in our daily lives” —is the winner of the Oregon Book Awards’ 2026 Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry. Order now.

Theory of the Voice and Dream by Liliana Ponce, translated from Spanish by Michael Martin Shea (World Poetry Books | 9781954218338)—a poetry collection that “presents an unsettling meditation on body, language, and self”—is the winner of the 2026 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. Order now.

June is Pride Month, and to help you celebrate, we've put together a roundup of nineteen works of poetry, fiction, and anthologies from independent presses.

To help bookstores and libraries share books published by independent literary presses, we’ve gathered fourteen memoirs published in 2025 and 2026.

Learn about the landscape of independent publishing in the Midwest region, including local presses and magazines, regional awards and festivals, and books set in the area.

In our latest spotlight on an indie press, Dede Cummings, founder and publisher of Green Writers Press, says, "The press has grown significantly in its size and in its mission, publishing books from glaciologists and governors alike and vocally supporting human rights movements in conjunction with nature rights movements."

In our latest spotlight on a print magazine, publisher Neal Thompson and editor in chief Tajja Isen of Orion Magazine say, "We’re working at the intersection of nature and culture, climate and community; our mission is to 'invite readers into a community of caring for the planet.'"

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month! Don't miss our roundup of sixteen works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from independent presses.

Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, observed every May, with these fifteen poetry collections, novels, and short fiction collections, all from indie publishers.

Discover poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published last month by independent literary publishers—including Book*hug Press, Red Hen Press, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, Trio House Press, and more.