Edan Lepucki is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her short fiction has been published in McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Narrative Magazine, Meridian, and FiveChapters, among other publications, and she is the winner of the 2009 James D. Phelan Award. She is a staff writer for The Millions and lives in Los Angeles, where she was born and raised.
The Persians (2025) Sanam Mahloudji "An irresistible novel about a singular yet wholly recognizable family. I fell in love with the women in the Valiat family: by turns feisty and foolish, wise and secretive, and full of so much love and longing it took my breath away. Sanam Mahloudji writes with such humor and zip that the heartbreak sneaks up on you. This is a remarkable debut."
Shred Sisters (2024) Betsy Lerner "Deliciously compelling, as poignant as it is funny, and sneakily profound about the myriad ways family shapes and undoes us, Shred Sisters will take over your mind and heart (and life!) until the very last page."
When the World Goes Quiet (2024) Gian Sardar "Moving, riveting, romantic, and poignant, Gian Sardar's When the World Goes Quiet swept me away. It also allowed me to reflect on how brutalizing and dehumanizing war is - and how humanity seeks connection, solace, and truth among darkness and ruin. A beautiful novel."
The Lookback Window (2023) Kyle Dillon Hertz "The Lookback Window is an unforgettable debut, as beautiful as it is brutal. Kyle Dillon Hertz's writing is immediate, unvarnished, and authentic, and his novel investigates all that is fragile and unbreakable in the human psyche. This is a powerful book that kept me up at night. It won't soon let go of me."
The Possibilities (2023) Yael Goldstein-Love "The Possibilities hooked me immediately with its ingenious premise and a story so suspenseful that I had no choice but to ignore everything else to read to its stunning conclusion. Yael Goldstein-Love is an enormous talent."
The Majority (2023) Elizabeth L Silver "With the story of one remarkable woman's life, The Majority reveals how the lives of ALL women have been altered over the course of the last eighty-some years. Exploring important questions about the sacrifices we both should and shouldn't make for those we care about, Silver has written a novel at once intimate and epic, about how we are changed by experience, and how the people we love are central to these transformations."
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm (2022) Laura Warrell "In Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, we meet trumpet player Circus Palmer, as problematic as he is enigmatic, as irresistible as your favorite song, and the women whom he seeks out, and walks away from, are just as compelling. Laura Warrell writes with such assurance and grace--her sentences sing--and she has created a world I didn't want to leave: it's sexy and profound, painful and joyful. A remarkable, unforgettable debut."
Exalted (2022) Anna Dorn "A depressed Millennial astrologist, a self-hating lesbian with a rage (and drinking) problem, and profound questions of connection and destiny make Exalted an unforgettable read. Clear your schedule and consult your horoscope because Anna Dorn's novel will make you cackle and gasp, and you won't be able to put it down."
A Tiny Upward Shove (2022) Melissa Chadburn "A beautiful and brave novel about powerlessness, longing, and that universal, unavoidable desire to be loved. Let this book happen to you."
A House Between Earth and the Moon (2022) Rebecca Scherm "A House Between Earth and the Moon is a compelling, urgent book. I couldn't put it down. Rebecca Scherm brilliantly, and with such heart and tenderness, imagines a frightening future for our planet and our flawed, complicated species, and the worlds she imagines are so vivid, and feel so real I wondered if she owns a crystal ball. I loved these characters and their struggles and desires, and I rooted for them, and worried about them, and I can't stop thinking about them. This is a remarkable novel."
Wildcat (2022) Amelia Morris "Wildcat is that rare novel I'm always in the mood to read: at once laugh-at-loud funny and deeply serious, page-turning and smart. Amelia Morris tackles contemporary motherhood-with its social media-induced peer pressure, its confusing isolation, its complicated beauty-with the sharpest wit and a tenderness that takes my breath away. I loved this book. I want to press it into the hands of...everyone."
In the Event of Contact (2021) Ethel Rohan "A remarkable collection of understated yet powerful stories about people who trespass, and are trespassed against. Rohan writes with such sensitivity and compassion, and long after I was done reading, I kept thinking about her characters and how uniquely she gave witness to their complicated lives and private pain."
U Up? (2021) Catie Disabato "What a terrific, frisky novel! U Up? . . . transcends genre, and is such fun to read. Disabato's writing is at once so smooth and sharp that you don't immediately realize it's cut you—and deeply. She is a remarkable talent."
Zero Zone (2020) Scott O'Connor "Zero Zone held me from the first page with its precise prose and willingness to interrogate deeply what art can and cannot do for us - and to us. Scott O'Connor has written a profound novel about the human search for transcendence and meaning in our often alienated and confusing lives - and it's full of suspense and mystery, with a gaze that's wonderfully cinematic. I can't stop thinking about it!"
Santa Monica (2020) Cassidy Lucas "Santa Monica is one juicy read! Cassidy Lucas brings a rarified beach town to life with such verve and tenderness, and she isn't afraid to show its dark side, either. Compelling, sassy, and warmhearted, this book is a thrill."
Everything Here Is Under Control (2020) Emily Adrian "I tore through Everything Here Is under Control in just a couple of days, compelled by its refreshingly honest portrayals of not only early motherhood but the kind of childhood friendship that shapes the rest of your life. Emily Adrian writes with such a keen and sensitive eye, and she's funny, and she is an astute observer of human behavior. I cheered when I got to the plot twist midway through, and, even now, I can't get this novel's characters out of my mind."
The Brightest Place in the World (2020) David Philip Mullins "The Brightest Place in the World portrays how tragedy and grief upend us and turn us reckless. Mullins writes with grace, and with tenderness for his characters. Through his storytelling, a nuanced and intimate Las Vegas—a town full of both heartache and love—comes alive."
The Knockout Queen (2020) Rufi Thorpe "The Knockout Queen is the best book I've read in months! Its one-of-a-kind narrator is funny, vulnerable, brilliant, and brimming with longing, and the story he tells distills the pain and beauty of a life-changing friendship like nothing else I've read before. This book's got guts and heart, and wisdom for days, and I could not put it down. Rufi Thorpe is one of the most exciting novelists working today. This novel is truly exceptional. I loved it."
Kept Animals (2020) Kate Milliken "With precise and sensuous prose, so gorgeous it's gasp-inducing, Kept Animals tells an epic story of loss, identity, and that which binds—and unravels—a community. Milliken's unforgettable characters face dangers of all kinds, be it familial, romantic, or of the natural world. To experience, as a reader, this mysterious, mesmerizing, and menacing pocket of Southern California is a true pleasure and thrill. Kate Milliken has talent to burn. I love this novel."
Rust & Stardust (2018) Tammy Greenwood "A riveting and thoughtful exploration of how the dark secrets of a terrible crime affect and hurt so many?and how light and hope persist in the face of such horrors. Greenwood writes with such compassion and feeling, and she is such a confident, skillful storyteller, that you'll stay up late to find out the fates of her memorable, beautiful characters."
Still Lives (2018) (Still Lives, book 1) Maria Hummel "Still Lives offers its readers that delicious combination of entertainment and brilliance. It's at once profound and suspenseful, and while the plot kept me up nights (the ending had me gasping in surprise!), the book as a whole asks important questions about art and representation and how we, as a culture, objectify and endanger and victimize women. Maria Hummel has written a remarkable, relevant, and necessary novel."
Blown (2018) Mark Haskell Smith "I'm a big fan of Mark Haskell Smith's novels and Blown is his best yet: funny and frisky, with unforgettable characters and a surprising, twisty plot that willkeep you up way past your bedtime. Beyond all the fun and the ribald jokes is a wise portrayal of capitalism's dehumanizing effects. A terrific novel."
Wonderblood (2018) Julia Whicker "Wonderblood is a richly imagined, otherworldly tale about the power--and danger--of faith and belief. I loved this book's beautiful prose and its startling, brutal, and poetic images; I loved its unique premise and masterful worldbuilding; I loved its complicated, passionate, and mesmerizing characters. Julia Whicker is a genius. This is a strange, daring, and masterful first novel."
The Infinite Future (2018) Tim Wirkus "Brilliant, playful, and profound, The Infinite Future offers its readers stories within stories within stories, all of them thrilling and wise. Tim Wirkus has written a strange and beautiful magic trick of a book, and I was enthralled. I loved it."
Wonder Valley (2017) Ivy Pochoda "A vision of Southern California that is at once panoramic and intimate. . . . This novel paints an unforgettable portrait of people who long, above all else, for community and connection."
Gather the Daughters (2017) Jennie Melamed "In Gather the Daughters, girls and women face a world that is brutal, insidious, and unjust--and yet, hope and resilience persist. This is a lush, vivid and chilling novel. A remarkable debut."
Touch (2017) Courtney Maum "Touch is at once wry and sincere, funny and serious, and you won't be able to put it down."
