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As always, authors were everywhere at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, held June 22–27 in Chicago. The conference was bookended by Opening General Session speaker Judy Blume, a perennially best-selling novelist currently experiencing a new wave of interest, and the Closing Session speakers, YA best-selling poet Amanda Gorman and Caldecott and Coretta Scott King–honored illustrator Christian Robinson. 

The multi-award-winning author of The Beast You Are: Stories tells LJ of his love for the short story format and why he thinks “write what you know” is “terrible writing advice.”

Bryce’s biographical historical novel The Other Princess is based on Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a real-life Yoruba princess who became a ward and goddaughter of Queen Victoria.

A veteran journalist, Denise Crittendon has been writing for so long that she sometimes wonders if she has ink in her blood. Her career includes two major metropolitan daily newspapers and stints as editor-in-chief of two magazines, one national and one based in her hometown, Detroit. Kristi Chadwick, LJ’s co-columnist for SFF, talks with her about writing, reading, and the SFF genre.

Lauren Kung Jessen is a mixed-race Chinese American writer with a fondness for witty, flirtatious dialogue and making meals with too many steps but lots of flavor. She is fascinated by myths and superstitions and how ideas, beliefs, traditions, and stories evolve over time. LJ reviewer Eve Stano, talked with Kung Jessen about books, the Chinese zodiac, and more.

Author Vanessa Riley’s new historical novel, Sister Mother Warrior, probes Haitian history and fictionalizes the lives of two women who figured prominently in the Haitian revolution: Abdaraya “Gran” Toya, a woman warrior who was part of the fight for freedom against the island’s French enslavers; and Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur, a free woman of color who would become Empress of Haiti, ruling with Jean-Jacques Dessalines. LJ asked Riley about the inspiration for her newest novel.

Horror author and licensed counselor Mark Matthews writes about addiction horror and his three anthologies.

Graphic novelist Talia Dutton drew the cover art for our April issue and will release her debut this June. She talks with LJ about art, influences, and M Is for Monster.

LJ asked Kellye Garrett, author of Like a Sister (Mulholland, Mar.) and the acclaimed “Detective by Day” mysteries, to discuss new developments in the crime fiction genre. The “Detective by Day” opener Hollywood Homicide won the Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and IPPY for best first novel. It’s also one of BookBub’s “Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.” The second, Hollywood Ending, was featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Garrett serves on Sisters in Crime’s national board and is a cofounder of Crime Writers of Color. Learn more at KellyeGarrett.com.

Alma Katsu is an internationally award-winning novelist. The Hunger is one of NPR’s 100 favorite horror stories, and The Deep was nominated for the Stoker and Locus awards for best horror novel. Red Widow draws on her career as an intelligence officer, and her latest novel, The Fervor, is a horror novel set in a Japanese internment camp. LJ caught up with her to talk about writing, the power of horror fiction, and authors who inspire.

Fonda Lee, author of the “Green Bone Saga,” deftly spans science fiction and fantasy. She talks with LJ about the connections and divergences in sff, martial arts, and the authors who inspire her.

Hailey Piper discusses the intersection of romance and horror, her literary and film influences, and her first novel, Queen of Teeth.

Eric LaRocca (he/they) writes horror and dark fiction, including the novella Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (LJ starred review) and the story collection The Strange Thing We Become: And Other Dark Tales (LJ starred review). LJ horror reviewer Emily Vinci asks LaRocca about writing, inspiration, and queer horror.

Wanda M. Morris talks to LJ about her debut novel, wrapping women’s stories in legal thrillers, and how an Atlanta library was instrumental in the creation of All Her Little Secrets.

In Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Mary Roach examines the science of human sexuality. LJ caught up with Roach ahead of the publication of her new book, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.

Erin Benzakein talks with LJ about growing flowers for your home, her new book about dahilas, and books she suggests to others. 

Gerry Smyth discusses his book Sailor Song: The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas and ponders the newfound popularity of the art form on social media.

Going virtual in a pandemic year, the National Book Awards reveals that writing matters more than ever. 

The Contradictions, Sophie Yanow's Eisner-winning webcomic, now a full-length graphic novel, chronicles a youthful examination of conscience through the story of a young woman trying to live her convictions in a complicated world. Here, Yanow shares her influences and the process of creating this sharply observed, precisely penned work.

Kwana Jackson advocates for diversifying the romance genre under the hashtag she coined, #WeNeedDiverseRomance. LJ recently caught up with Jackson to talk books, libraries, and the future of her favorite genre.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright discusses his new role at PEN America, succeeding novelist Jennifer Egan, and encourages librarians to join in its efforts. 

In his third novel, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Héctor Tobar reimagines the adventures of real-life Joe Sanderson, linking the United States and Central America as he considers who can claim the act of storytelling. 

Love was in the air the weekend of August 28–30, despite the turmoil rocking the romance industry for the better part of 2020. Following the May cancellation of the prestigious RITA Awards, now retired and replaced by the Vivian, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) forged ahead to produce a memorable annual virtual conference.

From canceled book deals and darkened theaters, to closed churches, libraries, schools, and storefronts, to spikes in suicides and substance abuse, to unemployment claims in the tens of millions—the devastation wrought by COVID-19 and the unprecedented measures taken to "stop the spread" have forced many writers to question whether civilization itself is in decline. Others are contemplating how isolation is transforming us, wondering where will it all lead?

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, aka Tenacious D, discuss their latest project, previously released as an animated film and music album. The ribald rock opera Post-Apocalypto finds the pair wandering a postapocalyptic world ruled by monsters, robots, and hate-mongers.

At this year's American Library Association (ALA) Virtual Conference, the well-attended panel “Breaking the Rules of Graphic Novels" touched on topics of defying taboos and how owning one's story can make familiar ideas feel utterly new.  

“I always set out to write [characters] as people, not paper dolls. They’re always real to me,” Cooney continues. “This is the first in what I hope will be a long stretch of adult mysteries."

LJ's horror columnist Becky Spratford chats with author Daniel Kraus about his work, his thoughts on the power of the genre and where it's headed, and how he completed George A. Romero's unfinished manuscript for The Living Dead.

The literary world lost a legend this week with the passing of Clive Cussler at age 88. When librarians and readers alike thought of action-adventure novels, his name and works were at the top of the list.

Out of this year’s winners, one overall Indie Author of the Year will be chosen by a panel of industry experts. Along with the prizes that come with their regional award, this Indie Author of the Year will also receive an additional $1,000, professional audiobook production, and a myriad of marketing and promotional opportunities throughout the year.

For the past ten years, I’ve been working on my first book, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote, and libraries play an essential role in that story.

The 2020 American Library Association Midwinter conference, held January 24–28 in Philadelphia, closed with featured speaker Chanel Miller on Monday afternoon. Miller, an author and unintentional activist, considers libraries to be her home away from home.

Prolific, best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark died on Friday, January 31. In this 1990 cover story from LJ's archives, she discussed her career, book tours, libraries, and the growing popularity of audiobooks.

The 2020 American Library Association Midwinter conference, held January 24–28 in Philadelphia, officially kicked off with featured speaker Wes Moore’s opening session on Friday afternoon. Moore—an author, social entrepreneur, television producer, and decorated U.S. Army combat veteran—linked his journey as a reader to pressing issues of social justice and the role libraries can, and should, play.

Welsh actor, writer, comedian, screenwriter, film director, historian, and founder of the Monty Python comedy team Terry Jones died on January 21 at his home in London.

Hailing from ­Australia, Darcy Coates is the author of a number of USA Today best-selling horror ebooks, but her work has not been easily accessible to libraries—until now.

With Making Comics, Lynda Barry brings four decades of cartooning experience to her delightfully unorthodox pedagogy. In a recent phone interview with LJ, the ­newly minted MacArthur Fellow revealed a few of the secrets of her creative recipes. Here’s what she had to say. 

The White House recently honored the bestselling author for his work supporting citizens’ engagement with literature. Patterson has committed extensive philanthropic support to literacy, public libraries, teachers, and bookstores. He has also developed programming nationwide to improve literacy and education among Americans, and to support all citizens’ love of reading. LJ asked Patterson about the books he loves, how he feels about winning, and what libraries can do collectively to support literacy and create stronger readers.

Liz Gorinsky founded the boutique sf and fantasy publisher Erewhon Books in late June 2018. In spring 2020, the company will launch its first titles. Here, she talks with LJ about starting a small sf/fantasy press and honing the voice of speculative fiction in the literary crossover space. 

Author, stuntwoman, mathematician, and firearms expert S.L. Huang applies her myriad expertise to sf/fantasy works such as the "Cas Russell" series, which features a mathematical-genius superhero. LJ caught up with the author to talk fighting, math, and writing. 

On Wednesday, November 13, Nikole Hannah-Jones joined Jamelle Bouie for a conversation, moderated by Jelani Cobb, about the making of The New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project.

Since the 2016 release of her debut historical romance, The Soldier’s Scoundrel, Cat Sebastian has been queering historical romance with books featuring complex but exceedingly lovable gay, bisexual, nonbinary, and other diverse characters. We asked the author about her path to romance and the pleasures of mixing history and small-town mystery.

In their new book, Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America, Erik Nielson and Andrea L. Dennis show how aspiring rappers have often fallen victim to a corrupt justice system, as prosecutors twist lyrics into evidence of murder, assault, drug trafficking, and other crimes.

A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice, this debut is inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago.

Kim Deitch began his career scripting comics in the pages of the East Village Other in 1967. Often regarded as a "cartoonist’s cartoonist," he won an Eisner Award for Stuff of Dreams in 2003 and an Inkpot Award in 2008.

This Banned Books Week (9/22 to 9/28), Penguin Random House is celebrating the freedom to read and drawing attention to the destructiveness of censorship.

Margaret Atwood’s dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid’s Tale, has become a modern classic—and now she brings the iconic story to a dramatic conclusion in this riveting sequel.

Earlier this year, Penguin Random House Library Marketing hosted their annual BookExpo Librarian Breakfast, where librarians were the first to hear five incredible authors discuss their upcoming books. For those who could couldn’t be there or who want to watch again, here are the powerful speeches from the authors.

On a recent August day, Ran Walker, winner of the 2019 National Indie Author of the Year Award, stopped by the LJ offices to talk about writing and teaching creative fiction and poetry, his coining of a new subgenre term, and winning several high-profile awards for his self-published novel, Daykeeper.

Since its launch in 2015, Flame Con, the LGBTQ-themed comic convention created by nonprofit Geeks OUT, has had increasingly more to offer: a multitude of panels, several workshops, and an increasing number of vendors. Eager crowds from a variety of fandoms gathered on Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18 for this year's event.

Award-winning American author, editor, and professor Toni Morrison died after a brief illness on August 5, at the age of 88. Morrison was the author of a number of celebrated novels centering the experiences of African Americans—most often women—including The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), Paradise (1997), Love (2003), A Mercy (2008), Home (2012), and God Help the Child (2015).

In July, poet and writer Saeed Jones spoke with LJ about his latest work, How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir. Jones is also the author of the award-winning poetry collections Prelude to Bruise (2014) and When the Only Light Is Fire (2011).

These 36 editors' picks for fall include political action, injustices fought, identities formed, invisible friends, kids bursting into flames, and much more. 

This year’s ThrillerFest, the 14th annual meet-up of authors, aspiring writers, readers, agents, booksellers, and thriller fans, was held (as it has been since nearly the beginning…) at New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, July 9–13.

The eighth annual Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction ceremony and reception, held during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington, DC, at the Renaissance Hotel, celebrated winning authors Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers, Viking) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy: An American Memoir, Scribner).

Karen Berger’s career in comics began at DC Comics in 1979, when she was just 21. With a keen eye for cultivating new talent, Berger rose quickly through the company’s ranks and in 1993 helped establish DC’s experimental and hugely successful Vertigo line, editing boundary-busting classics such as Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta, and Moore’s Swamp Thing.

Like W.E.B. Du Bois’s fictional megascope—an instrument that allows users to see forgotten aspects of history—John Jennings’s new Megascope line, launching this fall as a subimprint of Abrams’s ComicArts, will delve into the past and future, reviving classic stories primarily by creators of color.

Lisa Grunwald’s Time After Time is a magical love story, inspired by the legend of a woman who vanished from Grand Central Terminal, that sweeps readers from the 1920s to World War II and beyond.

A dark, thrilling new novel from the bestselling author of Longbourn: a work of riveting psychological suspense that grapples with how to live as a woman in the world—or in the pages of a book—when the stakes are dangerously high.

Making the Make Book has become a fixture of BookExpo in recent years. The (almost) annual panel, which details how publishers have led a debut or midlist book to success, often draws crowds of publishing executives, booksellers, and librarians.

Day of Dialog's "Top Fiction Debuts" featured Andrea Bobotis, Kira Jane Buxton, E.R. Ramzipoor, and Cadwell Turnbull. 

The sixth annual BookCon, held on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2, drew crowds eager to celebrate books, fandom, and more. The show grew in both panels and exhibitors, with a varied lineup of pop culture-related sessions as well as lengthy autographing lines on both days.

An emotionally raw and resonant story of love, loss, and the enduring power of friendship.

Seth is the author of several books, including It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken and Clyde Fans, which follows the slow decline of two brothers charged with keeping the electric fan company started by their father afloat over several decades. 

Inspiring, lively, and often undeniably comic, When the Irish Invaded Canada is the untold tale of a band of fiercely patriotic Irish Americans and their chapter in Ireland's centuries-long fight for independence.

Tara Westover, author of Educated: A Memoir, joined bestselling novelist Min Jin Lee (Free Food for Millionaires; Pachinko) to discuss their works at the launch of the PEN World Voices Festival.

For fans of The Perfect Mother and The Wife Between Us comes a gripping psychological suspense debut about two strangers, one incredible connection, and the steep price of obsession.

What does it mean to be an antiracist? How can one strive toward social justice? Learn more with coverage of the first annual Antiracist Book Festival held at American University in Washington, DC, on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

An international school's class reunion in New Jersey ends with the death of journalist Angie in Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer's crime fiction debut, The Mask Collectors.  LJ asked Vilhauer about her globe-trotting characters and more.

Expressly designed for librarians, LJ’s Day of Dialog again takes place on May 29 at John Jay College in New York.

On March 6, the 15th annual Story Prize, awarded to the top short story collection of the year, went to Lauren Groff for Florida (Riverhead). Groff takes home the $20,000 first prize, as well as an engraved silver bowl, for the collection, which was also short-listed for the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction. The two runners-up—debut author Jamel Brinkley, whose A Lucky Man (Graywolf) won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winner Deborah Eisenberg for Your Duck Is My Duck (Ecco), her fifth collection—received $5,000 each. The $1,000 Spotlight Award, for a collection of exceptional merit, went to Akil Kumarasamy for her debut collection Half Gods (Farrar).

Tania Bayard's In the Shadow of the Enemy transports readers to 14th century Paris with the return of her intrepid detective author and women's advocate Christine de Pizan.

Spotlighting titles published from February through June, this seasonal roundup uncovers more hot debuts than ever, whether already reviewed by LJ (“Books To Get”) or chosen as the best yet to come (“Books To Anticipate”).

Benjamin’s forthcoming Mistress of the Ritz tells the compelling story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II—while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hôtel Ritz in Paris.

An interview with Afrofuturist Agnes Gomillion about her new novel, The Record Keeper.

Spanning the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.

This month, the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost will delight her fans with a new novel, More Than Words. This heartbreaking and romantic new novel centers on a woman at a crossroads after the death of her father, and caught between the love of two men.

An interview with Fran Dorricott about her debut crime thriller AFTER THE ECLIPSE.

On January 18–19, more than 10,000 comics fans, creators, publishers, and community members gathered for the Seventh Annual Black Comic Book Festival (BCBF) at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. 

For fans of Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes, Amanda Coplin's The Orchardist comes The Weight of a Piano, a tour-de-force about two women and the piano that inexorably ties their lives together through time and across continents, for better and for worse.

LJ editors rely on reviewers' dedication, expertise, and trusted insights throughout the year. As 2018 wound to a close, we took the opportunity to shine a light on some of our exceptional reviewers. We couldn't do it without you!

Cathy Ace is the author of the award-winning Cait Morgan Mysteries and the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries. Now she’s turned to the darker side of Welsh crime fiction with The Wrong Boy and it seems she’s hit a home run

From New Yorker contributor and the Thurber Prize-winning author of Truth in Advertising comes a wry yet tenderhearted look at how one man's public fall from grace leads him back to his family, and back to the man he used to be. Imagine that the worst moment of your life is caught on tape and goes viral.

Since its publication in 2017 readers have fallen in love with the characters in Elizabeth Berg’s emotionally powerful novel, The Story of Arthur Truluv. And, they have embraced its uplifting messages of friendship, community, second chances, and the possibility of achieving happiness at any age.

Since its publication in 2016, Martha Hall Kelly’s debut novel, Lilac Girls, has become a bestselling novel and a book club favorite.

With his catch phrases, gigantic grin, and enormous sunglasses serving as his costume, a character as colorful and iconic as any he cocreated (including the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Black Panther, and the X-Men), Stan Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber (1922–2018), who died on November 12, was a huckster and a hustler, a charlatan and a visionary.

Author and advice columnist Heather Havrilesky learned a great deal about libraries when she inadvertently sparked the ire of Library Twitter.

Debut novelist Sonya Lalli’s The Matchmaker’s List is a romantic comedy set in her community. Intrigued by the characters and setting, we asked her to tell us more.

Sociologist Eric Klinenberg  is the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture Speaker at the upcoming ALA Midwinter Meeting. In this Q&A about his book Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, he suggests that the key to a more equitable society may lie in our shared spaces—particularly libraries.

Sifting through catalogs and websites, listening to podcasts and Internet chatter, reading blurbs, and more, our staff searched for the big titles of fall.