A deeply researched book, The House Is on Fire is Richmond-based author Rachel Beanland’s gorgeous new historical novel, constructed out of the archives and her own narrative license. Set in Richmond, Virginia, in 1811, the book traces four characters and their communities as they struggle in the aftermath of the historic fire that destroyed the […]
A deeply researched book, The House Is on Fire is Richmond-based author Rachel Beanland’s gorgeous new historical novel, constructed out of the archives and her own narrative license. Set in Richmond, Virginia, in 1811, the book traces four characters and their communities as they struggle in the aftermath of the historic fire that destroyed the […]
The latest book by novelist TJ Klune features a cast of robots who love to garden, make sex jokes, listen to Miles Davis, and watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. From more familiar robots, like a loyal vacuum cleaner named Rambo and a sadistic robot health professional named Nurse Ratched, to extremely futuristic robotic killing […]
A crackling cat-and-mouse thriller set against the verdant backdrop of small-town Virginia, Meagan Jennett’s You Know Her is a savage Southern Gothic about a fledgling murderer and the cop hell-bent on catching her. Jennett drew upon her bartending experiences at Crozet Pizza and The Rooftop when writing her debut novel, which probes the boundaries of […]
Inspired by her own experiences with clinical depression and childhood grief, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride published We Are All So Good at Smiling, her second young adult novel in verse, earlier this year. Though heavy at times in its examination of the lasting impacts of trauma—and complete with content warnings for readers who […]
A Romance Salon: American Royalty Tracey Livesay’s steamy rom-com American Royalty is the first in a new series inspired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s real-life love story. Rapper Danielle “Duchess” Nelson turns the palace upside down when she falls for reclusive Prince Jameson. Livesay will discuss her work, answer questions, and sign copies at […]
As a youth, George Floyd dreamed of being a Supreme Court justice, a professional athlete, a rap star. Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa document those dreams and the impact of systemic racism on Floyd’s life in their book, His Name is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice. […]
Writing a book is an admirably impressive feat in its own right, but adapting an Old English epic—that happens to be quite violent—into a tale palatable for children? Yeah, Zach Weinersmith did that. Bea Wolf (pronounced Bee-wolf) is Weinersmith’s illustrated, comedic retelling of Beowulf that follows a gang of troublemaking kids as they defend their […]
The poems in John Keene’s latest collection, Punks: New & Selected Poems, span three decades, saturated with the desire, loss, and reflections of a Black gay man who lived through the early days of the AIDS epidemic and continues to navigate our contemporary traumas and tragedies. Keene received the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry […]
One day, Psyche Williams-Forson’s daughter stopped letting her father pack Ghanaian food for her lunch. Her lunchbox smelled different than others, and she didn’t want to be made fun of. This is still a familiar scene for some American students coming from migrant families, and unless people rethink their understanding of food culture, it will […]
Known best for her short stories and novels, author Ann Beattie recently published More to Say: Essays & Appreciations, a collection of short nonfiction. The winner of numerous awards, Beattie brings her keen insight and sense of language to these curated pieces, all of which were originally published between 1982 and 2022 in a variety […]