Kali Fajardo-Anstine is from Denver, Colorado. Her fiction has appeared in The American Scholar, Boston Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Idaho Review, Southwestern American Literature, and elsewhere. Fajardo-Anstine has received fellowships from MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and Hedgebrook. She received her MFA from the University of Wyoming and has lived across the country from Durango, Colorado, to Key West, Florida.
Shut Up, This Is Serious (2024) Carolina Ixta "The warmth and realness of Carolina Ixta's heartfelt debut Shut Up, This Is Serious is palatable. With each passing page, I drifted away into these visceral descriptions of Oakland girlhood. I love these complicated, smart, and funny characters. I feel like I need a bumper sticker: Belen and Leti are my homegirls! That way, I can sing this book's praises wherever I roam."
Where There Was Fire (2023) John Manuel Arias "Where There Was Fire reads as if enchanted by the spirit of an ancient and generous storyteller. How privileged we are to read of this memorable family! It is an astonishing debut novel, written in prose so atmospheric and poetic that I gasped too many times to count. Where There Was Fire quite literally took my breath away."
Silver Nitrate (2023) Silvia Moreno-Garcia "Hip as hell, Silver Nitrate delivers a cinematic and exhilarating punch. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does it again with this creepy and unforgettable occult thriller, teeming with the decadence of old horror movies. It's Mexico City in the 1990s, where beepers, cigarettes, and the ghost of an ex-girlfriend come alive as if leaping from the page. I felt cooler just reading it."
Do Tell (2023) Lindsay Lynch "Do Tell is a glittering, riot of a debut filled with tantalizing gossip, lavish parties and an insider's glimpse into a bygone era of Hollywood glamour. Lindsay Lynch brings the studio system to life with these unforgettable yet deeply complicated characters whose lives are caught at the crossroads of power and truth telling. This is a novel you won't want to miss."
The Family Izquierdo (2022) Rubén Degollado "With a delicate and perceptive understanding of humanity and the ties which bind community to history, Ruben Degollado has painted a portrait of sincere love in The Family Izquierdo. This book feels like coming home to a warm embrace, where the characters and land leap off the page and into our hearts."
Meet Us by the Roaring Sea (2022) Akil Kumarasamy "Meet Us by the Roaring Sea is a rare gift from one of our most brilliant writers. Akil Kumarasamy's prose is an explosive mix of ancient wisdom laced with foreboding futurism. This deeply intelligent novel will expand your perception of history, gender, the atrocities of war and the interconnectedness of our human story."
The Last Karankawas (2022) Kimberly Garza "The Last Karankawas is exactly the kind of book I've spent my life searching for as a Chicana of mixed and Filipino heritage. Kimberly Garza's eloquent and deeply observant debut expands our understanding of South Texas and vibrantly honors the remarkable people who live there. This is a writer to watch."
Gods of Want (2022) K-Ming Chang "No one writes like K-Ming Chang. Wise, energetic, funny, and wild, Gods of Want displays a boundless imagination anchored by the weight of ancestors and history. These stories sing, a true force to behold."
Valleyesque (2022) Fernando A Flores "Reading Valleyesque feels like entering a new dimension, a southwestern twilight zone where slacker outcasts and political gangsters rub elbows with hallucinatory muralists. But the genius of Flores' work is precisely that this is our world- a reality seeped in humor and chaos with an undercurrent of divine order. We are lucky to have a writer so deeply unique, so ecstatically original as Fernando A. Flores."
The Bitter Orange Tree (2022) Jokha Alharthi "Bitter Orange Tree blazes with the strength of generations of Omani women--from the charcoal makers of the Arab gulf to the international students of a British residence hall. This mesmerizing novel is an illuminating, important work and Jokha Alharthi points her pen at some of the most harrowing circumstances facing women and girls across the world. I am grateful to Marilyn Booth for her translation of this exquisite book."
Don't Say We Didn't Warn You (2022) Ariel Delgado Dixon "What a striking literary arrival! Ariel Delgado Dixon is a prose stylist with a rare talent marked by atmospheric rhythm. This distinct tale of two sisters, crawling with tension, will carve its way into your dreams."
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina (2021) Zoraida Córdova "Spellbinding! What a pleasure getting to know the Montoyas over generations and landscapes—from Ecuador to New York City to the mythical small town of Four Rivers. Zoraida Córdova’s undeniable storytelling gift feels propelled by the power of ancestors. These larger-than-life characters embrace like family. An immersive and enchanting treat."
