Tag Archives: QTBIPoC

New Release Spotlight

New Release Spotlight: Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia

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Kanakia is the queen of blunt, honest writing, and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in her first novel starring a trans girl, Just Happy to Be Here, which released on January 2nd from HarperTeen and stars Tara, who grapples with all sorts of issues at her fancy school. (Spoiler: one is a crush, and it is adorable.) I happen to have blurbed this one officially, so I’ll just share that here: “Kanakia’s razor-sharp candor, insight, and nuance make her one of YA’s most fascinating and relevant authors. Just Happy to Be Here is an absolute and necessary game-changer.”

Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy.

That is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all.

Being the figurehead of a movement isn’t something Tara’s interested in. She’d rather read old speeches and hang out with the Sibyls who are on her side—especially Felicity, a new friend she thinks could turn into something more. Then the club’s sponsor, a famous alumna, attacks her in the media and turns the selection process into a spectacle.

Tara’s always found comfort in the power of other peoples’ words. But when it comes time to fight for herself, will she be able to find her own voice?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Cover Reveal

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The Forest Demands its Due by Kosoko Jackson

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Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Kosoko Jackson’s The Forest Demands its Due, a paranormal thriller releasing October 3rd from Quill Tree, an imprint of The Publisher That Needs To Come to the Table and Talk to Its Union Already. For more on the HCP Union and how you can help support its efforts, click here. I also encourage you to use the Bookshop preorder link below, which directly supports the Strike fund. And now, the story:

Regent Academy has a long and storied history in the small, sleepy town of Winslow, Vermont. But so does the vast, dense forest that surrounds its campus. While the prestigious school is known for molding teens into world leaders, its history is far more nefarious—and far more entangled with the forest—than anyone could begin to suspect.

Seventeen-year-old Douglas Jones wants nothing to do with Regent’s king-making; he’s just trying to forget his past and survive his present. But then a student is killed and, by the next day, no one remembers him ever exiting, except for Douglas and the groundskeeper’s son, Everett Everley. As Douglas begins to research what he finds to be a centuries-long curse in the town, he and Everett awaken a horror hidden within the forest. And to save the town, and the school, the forest wants more blood as payment. The question is, will Douglas and Everett be able to pay the debt?

Critically acclaimed author Kosoko Jackson explores how power can—and will—corrupt absolutely and how cycles of violence are perpetuated throughout history in this high-octane, page-turning dark academia mystery of murder and magic.

And here’s the chilling cover, illustrated by Joel Tippie!

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

Kosoko Jackson is a digital marketer during the day and an author of books that champion queer Black male characters during his free time. When not writing novels that champion holistic representation of black queer men across genres, he can be found obsessing over movies, drinking his (umpteenth) London Fog, or spending far too much time on Twitter. He lives in The New York Metro area with his Golden Retriever, Artemis. YESTERDAY IS HISTORY was his debut young adult novel, published by SourcebooksFire in 2021.

Cover Reveal

Exclusive Cover Reveal: If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So

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No, the “Z” in the title isn’t a typo; Cynthia So’s 2022 bi contemp UK YA, If You Still Recognize Me, is coming stateside via HarperTeen on May 23, 2023, and we’ve got your first look at the brand-new cover! But first, here’s the story:

This summer, Elsie is finally going to confess her feelings to her longtime—and long-distance—crush. Ada’s fanfics are to die for, and she just gets Elsie like no one else. That is, until Joan, Elsie’s childhood best friend, literally walks back into her life and slots in like she had never moved away to Hong Kong and never ignored Elsie’s dozens of emails and letters.

Then Ada mentions her grandmother’s own long-lost pen pal (and maybe love?), a woman who once lived only a train ride away from Elsie’s Oxford home, and Elsie gets the idea for the perfect grand gesture. But as her plan to reunite the two older women ignites a summer of repairing broken bonds, Elsie starts to wonder if she, too, can recover the things she’s lost…

With a beautifully earnest teen voice, a light epistolary element, and a dash of fandom, this wistful and delightful debut is a love letter to queer coming-of-age, finding community, and finding yourself.

And here’s the dreamy cover, designed by Julia Tyler with art by Karyn Lee!

Alt text: Cover image for If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So. Two East Asian girls are standing against a background of the sky at sunset. The girl in the foreground, with short hair and a bomber jacket, is looking toward the viewer, while in the background a second girl with long hair and a yellow sundress is looking at her.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound

Cynthia So was born in Hong Kong and lives in London. Their work has been published in speculative fiction magazines such as Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Anathema. When they’re not writing, they can often be found at the theatre, entranced by a play or a musical. They’re also extremely enthusiastic about board games and tabletop role-playing. If You Still Recognize Me is their first novel.