Tracy K. Smith has published five well-received poetry collections to date and served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017-2019. Her sophomore release, Duende, received the coveted James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Smith cemented her growing reputation with Life on Mars, which “blends pop culture, history, elegy, anecdote, and sociopolitical commentary to illustrate the weirdness of contemporary living” (Publishers Weekly). It won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Smith branched into memoir in 2015 with National Book Award finalist Ordinary Light. He ..read more

Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican-American author and spoken word artist. She is best known for her 2018 young adult novel-in-verse The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the prestigious Carnegie Medal. Acevedo’s follow-ups, With the Fire on High (2019) and Clap When You Land (2020), solidified Acevedo’s standing as one of the foremost YA writers of her generation. She also holds distinction as the Young People’s Poet Laureate for 2022-2023, a National Poetry Slam champion, and a frequent TED Talk presenter. Family Lore, the author’s first novel for adul ..read more

Fiona Davis is a historical fiction mainstay beloved by readers for her “winning formula of showcasing the stories behind New York City landmarks” (USA Today). Her seven bestselling novels to date include Good Morning America Book Club pick The Lions of Fifth Avenue, a “delightful mystery delving into the history of New York Public Library” (Publishers Weekly). The Magnolia Palace spotlights Gilded Age mansions and the secrets held within their walls. The Masterpiece breathes new life into a defunct and now all-but-forgotten art school once housed improbably within Grand Central Terminal. In h ..read more

Curtis Chin is an award-winning filmmaker and activist. He also holds distinction as the co-founder and first executive director behind New York’s prestigious Asian American Writers’ Workshop. His anticipated debut memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, hits shelves this October. Chin’s family restaurant, Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, occupied a special niche in 1980s Detroit. During this tumultuous period Chung’s clientele reflected the growing diversity of the Motor City – all seeking a safe oasis and the simple pleasure of sitting down to a home-cooked meal. Chung’s a ..read more

Nicole Chung grew up as a transracial adoptee – and one of the few people of color in her Oregon hometown. Her lifelong journey of self-discovery and poignant, candid writing on the subject have positioned Chung as a singular voice in memoir. In her 2018 debut, All You Can Ever Know, Chung shares her search for her biological family – a quest she undertook while starting a family of her own. Chung’s follow-up, A Living Remedy, focuses on the author’s relationships with her adoptive parents, her upbringing in their working-class family, and her attempts to care for her mother and father from af ..read more

Jacqueline Holland is the pen behind the chart-topping novel The God of Endings. Publications as many and varied as Book Riot, B&N Reads, LitHub, Polygon, Library Journal and E! singled out this literary debut as one of the most anticipated fiction titles of 2023. The God of Endings follows Collette LeSange, headmistress of an elite fine arts school in upstate New York. She is talented, affable and – unbeknownst to her students and colleagues – immortal. Collette has kept her nature a secret (and a growing bloodlust at bay) for 150 years, until the arrival of a gifted student from a troubl ..read more

Book club phenom Sadeqa Johnson has authored five novels to date. Her early books, including Love in a Carry-on Bag and And Then There Was Me, won the Phyllis Wheatley Award and National Book Club honors, among other distinctions. Johnson branched out from contemporary fiction and reached a still wider audience with Yellow Wife, lauded by Publishers Weekly as “a powerful, unflinching account of determination in the face of oppression.” Born into slavery, light-skinned Pheby Delores Brown is forced to bear children to and manage a slave dealer’s household. This precarious position pits Pheby’s ..read more

Joshua Bennett, PhD, is a prize-winning poet and spoken word artist. He gained critical acclaim in 2016 with The Sobbing School, winner of the National Poetry Series and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. Bennett’s follow-ups, Owed (2020) and The Study of Human Life (2022), solidified his standing as one of his generation’s most resonant and needed poetic voices. In a starred review for Owed, Publisher’s Weekly raves “these powerful, crisp poems celebrate the complexity, joy, and heartbreak of the Black experience in America.” Bennett’s newest release is Spoken Word: A Cultural History. In i ..read more

Alka Joshi moved to the United States at age nine, but the author’s native Rajasthan, India looms large in her chart-topping historical fiction. Many readers know her best for The Henna Artist (2020), the first entry in The Jaipur Trilogy. It follows dye artisan and herbal healer Lakshmi Shastri, who flees an abusive marriage and attempts to earn a livelihood in the vibrant city of Jaipur. Set in the unsettled decade after the country’s independence, “The Henna Artist is a fabulous glimpse into Indian culture of the 1950s… rich in detail and bright with tastes and textures” (Bookpage). Reese W ..read more

Ali Hazelwood holds a doctorate in neuroscience and a faculty position at a prestigious university. She also moonlights as one of the most popular romance authors writing today. Hazelwood’s distinctive brand centers on women in STEM fields and academia. She burst onto the literary scene in 2021 with The Love Hypothesis. Fellow romance writer Christina Lauren calls Hazelwood’s debut “contemporary romance’s unicorn – the elusive marriage of deeply brainy and delightfully escapist.” The Love Hypothesis has already been optioned for a screen treatment. Hazelwood’s next release, Love on the Brain ..read more