January 2026 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction

Author of WAKE UP, NAT & DARCY and YOURS FOR THE SEASON Kate Cochrane‘s PULLING THE GOALIE, book three in the Puck Struck series, a sapphic hockey romance in which a championship-winning goalie agrees to train a Hollywood actress for her breakout role in a sports biopic, hoping it will help her overcome a fear of returning to the ice after a nasty injury—until sparks start flying, complicating things even further, to Leyla Erkan at Harlequin, for publication in winter 2027, by Paige Terlip at Starling Literary + Media (world English).

Continue reading January 2026 Deal Announcements

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Spells to Mend Broken Hearts by Marissa Macy

Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Spells to Mend Broken Hearts by Marissa Macy, a contemporary MG (slash YA crossover) releasing from Scholastic on September 15, 2026! Here’s the story:

Alex is pretty sure the universe is conspiring against her. Friendless in a new town, with her parents constantly fighting, Alex spends her birthday unpacking alone when she comes across her grandmother’s book of small magic. Alex doesn’t believe in that stuff, but she has nothing to lose. So, she does the ritual from On Small Magics titled To Attract A Friend.

It’s just a coincidence that Tess happens to crash into her life the very next day…right? Their friendship forms fast and strong and the way Tess makes Alex’s heart flutter definitely feels like some kind of magic. Together, they make their way through the spell book healing Tess’s recently broken heart, trying to mend Alex’s broken family.
But soon the book starts to turn on Alex when her parents file for divorce. Then Tess decides to use On Small Magics try to win back her ex-boyfriend, and Alex is forced to face a truth she had not considered. Maybe the magic she felt with Tess was more than friendship . . .

And here’s the adorable cover, designed by Maeve Norton!

Cover for Spells to Mend Broken Hearts. The title is in large white letters against a pink/orange. It is surrounded by tarot cards, crystals, and star confetti. A denim tote bag at the bottom holds a rose, charms, and a black cat plush. The author's name -- Marissa Macy -- is written on the bag.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | BookPeople

(c) Amy Wolf

Marissa Macy is an author, filmmaker, and improviser based in Austin, TX. SPELLS TO MEND BROKEN HEARTS is her debut novel. In addition to her fiction, Marissa has been making DIY films since 2011, including the award-winning film BED EATER: THE MOVIE and the forthcoming feature EASY DIGGING. If she’s not lost in a story, Marissa can be found recommending movies to people at We Luv Video, a non-profit video rental store that she helps manage.

Authors in Conversation: Victoria Koops and Cale Plett

Today on the site, I’m delighted to welcome Victoria Koops and Cale Plett, authors of YA Romances Who We Are in Real Life and Wavelength, respectively, both with Groundwood Books/House of Anansi. Please welcome Victoria and Cale!

Cale: I think it’s important that people know that our original transcript was 12,000 words long, and that we cut it down by 80 percent. We really said “let’s fix it in post.”

Victoria: We were meant to have a podcast instead. So everyone can be subjected to our tangents.

Cale: But here, with only some tangents, is our conversation. Starting right in with our actual questions.

Continue reading Authors in Conversation: Victoria Koops and Cale Plett

Fave Five: Sports Nonfiction

This post is sponsored in honor of the paperback and audiobook releases of Our of Our League, available now wherever those formats are sold!

Bookshop | Libro.fm | Amazon

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Athlete is Agender ed. by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby (MG)

Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes by Harrison Browne and Rachel Browne

The Yards Between Us by R.K. Russell

The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports by Michael Waters

Coming Up for Air by Tom Daley

Fave Five: Novels with Korean American Protags, Part II

For Part II, click here.

Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland (MG)

The Cuffing Game (YA) and Love in Focus (F/F Romance) by Lyla Lee

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min (YA)

I Leave it Up To You by Jinwoo Chong (Litfic)

Something Close to Nothing by Tom Pyun (Litfic)

Fave Five: M/M Second Chance Romance

Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters

I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

Ancient History by A.J. Truman

Bonus: Coming up in June, Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Hollow Magic by Mars Lauderbaugh

Today on the site, I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Mars Lauderbaugh’s Hollow Magic, a queer YA Fantasy releasing August 11, 2026 from Feiwel & Friends! Here’s the story:

Seventeen-year-old Rosefinch has been traveling along the weather-beaten coast for two years on a quest to find a witch strong enough to help her control her magic. Her magic is volatile, hard to wield, and Rosefinch is tired of the pain of magical backlash. When she’s directed to the sea-side village of Harp, she discovers the ancient castle of a long-lost Witch Queen with the inhabitants long gone; the only remaining soul is a knight encased in solid ice guarding the door.

When she attempts to lift the curse, she frees Thierry, a human with no memory of who they are, wrapped in cursed magic so strong that they cannot leave the castle. Thierry is soft spoken, strong, and in possession of a fey sword that should be impossible for them to have. But they have secrets of their own, as do other members of the Harp family still hidden within the walls.

Harp castle was left in ruins for a reason, and Rosefinch must find a way to cure the curse or lose Thierry—and the chance to learn the truth about the Witch Queen—forever.

And here’s the stunning cover, done by the incredibly talented author/artist themself!

Buy it: Bookshop | Charlie’s Queer Books | Always Here Books | Third Place Books

 

Exclusive Cover Reveal: A Different Kind of Enemy by Lee Wind

Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome back queer YA icon Lee Wind to reveal the cover of his upcoming YA, A Different Kind of Enemy, which releases May 19th from Interlude Press/Duet Books! Here’s the story:

Perfect for YA fans of Heartstopper and Red, White & Royal BlueA Different Kind of Enemy is the sequel to the Gay teen globe-trotting adventure Kirkus Reviews called “Thrilling. Positively thrilling.”

An anomaly in space has stopped in Earth’s path in a way not accounted for by astronomical physics. Is it aliens? With only six days before inevitable contact, newly married teen spies Nicolas “Nico” Hall and Samuel “Sam” Solomon are enlisted to investigate—each young man sworn to secrecy even from the other.

Nico is in the field looking for answers and tracking a mysterious Person of Interest. Sam is working first contact scenarios on the thirteenth floor of a Manhattan building that doesn’t officially have a thirteenth floor. And they’re both wondering if the rules of love change if it’s the end of the world.

As humanity slips into the grip of alien invasion panic, Nico and Sam realize they’re going to have to work together to save the world—and their marriage.

And here’s the gorgeously bold cover by CB Messer!

Buy it: Amazon

LEE WIND is not currently a spy. Mind you, he never was a spy. But he did spend fourteen years undercover (what most people call “in the closet”). So now he writes the books that would have changed his life as a Gay Jewish kid and teen. Lee is the award-winning author of nonfiction for ages eleven and up (No Way, They Were Gay? and The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie ), picture books (including Like That Eleanor and Love of the Half-Eaten Peach ), and YA novels (Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill and A Different Kind of Brave ). To help go on the offense against book banning, Lee cocreated the national campaign We Are Stronger than Censorship, which buys and donates two books to offset every one book challenge. He also runs the popular blog I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? —words his teenage self only dreamed of saying. Visit Lee online at leewind.org.

Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!