Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 25

Margaret Killjoy's debut novel, THE SAPLING CAGE, has been shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction! 🤩

www.ursulakleguin.com/prize25

Order your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... @feministpress.bsky.social

Ursula K. Le Guin — 2025 Prize for Fiction

www.ursulakleguin.com

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 25

Thrilled to see Maria Zoccola's HELEN OF TROY, 1993 on Debutiful's list of the best debuts of 2025 so far! 🤩

debutiful.net/2025/06/16/t... @mariazoccola.bsky.social @debutiful.bsky.social

Order your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/hele... @scribnerbooks.bsky.social

The Best Debut Books of 2025 (So Far)

We’re halfway through the year, and it’s time to check in on the books that left the most significant impact on me. Every year, I keep a running list that leads to the Best Of lists. Some are title…

debutiful.net

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 25

"These poems expand, complicate and enrich. . . . threading the Iliad into something wholly new."

Maria Zoccola's HELEN OF TROY, 1993 is one of NPR's favorite reads of 2025 so far!

@scribnerbooks.bsky.social @mariazoccola.bsky.social @npr.org

www.npr.org/2025/06/25/n...

Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems

Poems

bookshop.org

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 25

The film adaptation of Denis Johnson's novella TRAIN DREAMS will debut on Netflix on November 21st, following a run in select theaters!

@netflix.com @fsgbooks.bsky.social

deadline.com/2025/06/netf...

Netflix Sets Prime Oscar Season Release Date For Sundance Acquisition ‘Train Dreams’ With Joel Edgerton And Felicity Jones

Netflix announces key Oscar Season release date in theatres and streaming in November for Sundance Acquisition 'Train Dreams' with Joel Edgerton

deadline.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 25

Omar El Akkad's ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS has been longlisted for the 2025 Palestine Book Awards! 📕

www.palestinebookawards.com/news/item/pb...

Get your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/one-... @aaknopf.bsky.social

PBA 2025: Longlist announced in a landmark year for Palestinian voices - Palestine Book Awards

Middle East Monitor is proud to host the annual award ceremony to celebrate the best books written in English on the subject of Palestine.

www.palestinebookawards.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 16

Out in 15 days! 🦎 Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/watc...

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 21

"A delightful reminder of the deep bonds between grandparents and grandchildren."

ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...

Edwidge Danticat's children's book WATCH OUT FOR FALLING IGUANAS, illustrated by Rachel Moss, is out on July 1st! 🦎🦎

Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/watc...

Watch Out For Falling Iguanas by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Rachel Moss

Watch Out For Falling Iguanas by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Rachel Moss. Akashic Books, 2025. 9781636142326 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3.5 Format: Hardcover picture b…

ysbookreviews.wordpress.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 16

"I was swept up within the first few pages of this tender and richly told novel of marriage and family, connection and community. . . . A monumental achievement." —Lauren Brown, @thebookseller.com

Patrick Ryan's BUCKEYE is out 9/2!📘

Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/buck...

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 16

"Sayaka Murata is an all-time undefeated champ at exploring taboo, and her latest novel does not disappoint." —Alexis Ong, Reactor Magazine

reactormag.com/book-review-...

Order your copy of VANISHING WORLD here: bookshop.org/p/books/vani... @groveatlantic.bsky.social

Sayaka Murata's Vanishing World Might Give You Nightmares - Reactor

Vanishing world is set in a version of Japan where sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination.

reactormag.com

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 13

Thrilled to see Tommy Orange and Danzy Senna on the longlist for the 2025 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award! 🤩🤩

@aaknopf.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social

marktwainhouse.org/2025/05/30/t...

\xa0

marktwainhouse.org

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 11

Ocean Vuong's THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS and Omar El Akkad's ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS are on TIME Magazine's list of the 14 best books of 2025 so far! 📙📕

@penguinpress.bsky.social @aaknopf.bsky.social

time.com/7291593/best...

The 14 Best Books of 2025 So Far

From Amy Griffin's The Tell to Katie Kitamura's Audition, these are the best books of the year so far

time.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · Jun 4

The novel everyone will be talking about this fall! 🤩 We're so excited for Patrick Ryan's BUCKEYE, available September 2nd. Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/buck...

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 30

"The collection is, ultimately, a story familiar to nearly everyone: an unhappy woman, a marriage in trouble, an affair, a community full of gossip. Pantheon of gods not included" — @mariazoccola.bsky.social on HELEN OF TROY, 1993

southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/05/29/h... @scribnerbooks.bsky.social

Ancient Myth Meets Modern Poetry in “Helen of Troy, 1993”

An interview with poet Maria Zoccola about her debut collection.

southernreviewofbooks.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 30

Listen to Maria Zoccola on the Sewanee Review podcast talking about her debut poetry collection HELEN OF TROY, 1993 and more: thesewaneereview.com/media/podcas... @mariazoccola.bsky.social

Order HELEN here: bookshop.org/p/books/hele... @scribnerbooks.bsky.social

Maria Zoccola

In which Maria Zoccola sweetens the pill.

thesewaneereview.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 30

Read Margaret Killjoy's short story in this anthology edited by Lee Mandelo, out this week with Erewhon Books!

bookshop.org/p/books/ampl... @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @leemandelo.bsky.social

Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity

Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity

bookshop.org

3 4

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 30

Congrats to our beloved client Francesca Marciano on her 2025 David di Donatello award for Best Adapted Screenplay for THE ART OF JOY 🤩

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 30

"As Murata writes, 'Normality is the creepiest madness there is.' What feels at first like a fascinating thought experiment — a sexless world — slowly seeps into your skin, itchy and confounding." — @washingtonpost.com

www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...

@groveatlantic.bsky.social

These books prove worldbuilding is vital to sci-fi and fantasy

New books by Nova Ren Suma, Neon Yang, Emily Tesh and Sayaka Murata revel in the ways that speculative fiction rewrites reality.

www.washingtonpost.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 23

Congrats to our beloved author Danzy Senna, winner of the 90th Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction! 🤩📺

www.anisfield-wolf.org/2025/04/2025...

Order COLORED TELEVISION here: bookshop.org/p/books/colo... @riverheadbooks.bsky.social

2025 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Winners Announced, Celebrating 90 Years of Literary Excellence

CLEVELAND — Four groundbreaking works have been named winners of the 2025 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the nation’s only endowed juried prize dedicated to literature that deepens our understanding of r...

www.anisfield-wolf.org

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 23

"Cruelty and indifference packaged in the language of care are what he cannot stand."

A review of Omar El Akkad's ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS in @dissentmag.bsky.social

www.dissentmagazine.org/article/mora...

Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/one-... @aaknopf.bsky.social

Moral Limits - Dissent Magazine

Our empathy seems to make us righteous—even as we benefit from an unequal world.

www.dissentmagazine.org

3 4

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 23

The @nytimes.com calls Elizabeth Kaufman's thriller RUTH RUN "funny and suspenseful"!

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/b...

You can buy the book here:
bookshop.org/p/books/ruth... @penguinpress.bsky.social

3 Nerve-Shredding New Thrillers

www.nytimes.com

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 21

"A delightful reminder of the deep bonds between grandparents and grandchildren."

ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...

Edwidge Danticat's children's book WATCH OUT FOR FALLING IGUANAS, illustrated by Rachel Moss, is out on July 1st! 🦎🦎

Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/watc...

Watch Out For Falling Iguanas by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Rachel Moss

Watch Out For Falling Iguanas by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Rachel Moss. Akashic Books, 2025. 9781636142326 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3.5 Format: Hardcover picture b…

ysbookreviews.wordpress.com

1 2

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 21

Edwidge Danticat's WE'RE ALONE is a finalist for the 2025 Firecracker Awards!

www.clmp.org/programs-opp... @clmporg.bsky.social

Get your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/we-r... @graywolfpress.bsky.social

Firecracker Awards - Community of Literary Magazines and Presses

Celebrating the Best of Independently Published Literature The CLMP Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature are given annually to celebrate the books and magazines that make a signif...

www.clmp.org

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 21

Claire Vaye Watkins speaking with Karen Russell about her novel GOLD FAME CITRUS for Alta Journal's California Book Club 📙

@riverheadbooks.bsky.social @altajournal.bsky.social

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 21

Min Jin Lee giving her speech as the 2025 distinguished alumn at the One Story Mag literary debutante ball! 💫

@minjinlee.bsky.social @hannahtinti.bsky.social @onestorymag.bsky.social

3 8

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 12

Margaret Killjoy's novel THE SAPLING CAGE was longlisted for the 2024 Otherwise Award!

Get your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

otherwiseaward.org/2025/05/anno... @otherwiseaward.org @feministpress.bsky.social

The Sapling Cage

Check out The Sapling Cage - <p><strong>In the gripping first novel in the Daughters of the Empty Throne trilogy, author Margaret Killjoy spins a tale of earth magic, power struggle, and self-inventio...

bookshop.org

1

Aragi @aragiauthors.bsky.social · May 9

"The book that I recommend over and over again..."

Rebecca Makkai's THE GREAT BELIEVERS recommended by Glennon Doyle in ELLE Magazine: www.elle.com/culture/book...

Get your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social

Glennon Doyle on the Book That Made Her ‘a Better Writer’

The We Can Do Hard Things author and podcaster takes ELLE’s literary survey.

www.elle.com