We’re going to go with “esoteric” as our lead description of October’s literary offerings. From transformative poetry to literary history to innovative fiction, we have a number of bases covered here. The weather might be taking a turn for the autumnal, but these ten books are worthy reading in all seasons.
Murzban F. Shroff, Waiting for Jonathan Koshy
(Oct. 2, Astrophil Press)
Set in and around Mumbai, Murzban F. Shroff’s new novel chronicles a group of friends waiting for one person to arrive. (Hint: his name is in the title.) How much can we learn about someone based on other people’s perceptions of them? Shroff’s new novel delves into this very question, among several others.
Amina Cain, A Horse at Night
(Oct. 11, dorothy, a publishing project)
We’ve long admired Amina Cain’s forays into fiction, but what happens when she turns her eye to the process of reading and writing itself? Her new book A Horse at Night features her examination of writing, focusing on the likes of Marguerite Duras and Renee Gladman. We’re looking forward to reading what she has to say.
Stephanie Feldman, Saturnalia
(Oct. 11, Unnamed Press)
Parallel cities, a near-future Philadelphia, and pagan holidays — we’re entirely on board for Stephanie Feldman’s new novel. A number of recent novels have explored how to live in — and even celebrate in — a hostile world; Saturnalia looks to be Feldman’s own foray into answering this question.
Jared Daniel Fagen, The Animal of Existence
(Oct. 15, Black Square Editions)
Publisher Black Square Editions describes this as ” a series of poetic prose texts, hybrid in their inventive logics of narrative and syntax.” We’ve published Fagen’s work here before, and are eager to see what it looks like against a book-length canvas.
Sara Lippmann, Lech
(Oct. 18, Tortoise Books)
“It’s a confrontational title for a confrontational book.” That’s what Sara Lippmann said in a recent interview about her new novel Lech. It comes on the heels of several acclaimed short story collections, and follows the lives of three people that converge over the course of a very fraught summer.
Christine Sneed, Please Be Advised
(Oct. 18, 7.13 Books)
Can you use memos to tell a compelling story? That’s what Christine Sneed set out to do with her new book Please Be Advised, which is set against the backdrop of an office machine company that has seen better days. We’re intrigued to see what Sneed does with the form.
Ronna Wineberg, Artifacts and Other Stories
(Oct. 18, Serving House Press)
We’ve enjoyed Ronna Wineberg’s fiction to date, including her novel On Bittersweet Place, and we’re pleased to hear news of a new collection from her. Artifacts and Other Stories brings together fourteen of Wineberg’s stories, focusing on relationships and their boundaries — and the tension they can create.
Robert Kloss, A Light No More
(Oct. 21, Inside the Castle)
We’re thrilled to see that two of Robert Kloss’s books — this and The Woman Who Lived Among the Cannibals — are getting new editions this month from Inside the Castle. Kloss’s work is formally inventive, bringing together unlikely imagery, historical immersion, and formal innovation to create truly singular fiction.
Darryl Pinckney, Come Back in September
(Oct. 26, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
What happens when one fantastic writer takes a trip into their own past — as well as into literary history itself? Darryl Pinckney’s new book takes him back to his days as a young writer, and of the impact that his encounters with Elizabeth Hardwick and Barbara Epstein had on his own personal evolution.
Sarah Bridgins, Death and Exes
(Oct. 26, Black Spring Press Group)
In her debut collection of poetry, Sarah Bridgins reckons with a host of grand subjects — which, as the title suggests, includes both mortality and romance. The publisher also informs us that both Hellraiser and burlesque factor into the mix here. (We’re not sure about Hellraiser-themed burlesque, however. We’ll have to pick it up to find out.)
Note: all cover art and release dates are subject to change.
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