Adrienne Celt's work has been published in Esquire, the Kenyon Review, the Rumpus, and elsewhere, and she holds an MFA from Arizona State University. Her work has been awarded the PEN Southwest Book Award, an O. Henry Story Prize, and a Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Singer Distance (2022) Ethan Chatagnier "Singer Distance pulled me in from the very first page. I fell in love with the characters-who are full of mettle, vitality, and human chaos-and the audacity of the book's alternate history, wherein contact has been made with a civilization on Mars, but that contact leaves humanity with more questions than answers about the nature of the universe. This book is a love song to our desire for understanding, the scientific drive for progress, and the thread of faith that runs through both. An outstanding debut novel."
The Women Could Fly (2022) Megan Giddings "The Women Could Fly drew me in immediately with its balance of humor and pain, magic and familiarity, and the unforgettable characters who are the novel's beating heart. Reading this book is like putting on an old winter coat and discovering a magical talisman in the pocket: it's full of warmth, comfort, and a whole new world of possibility. Megan Giddings is an exquisite novelist, and a writer to watch."
The Wonders (2022) Elena Medel "Dreamlike yet precise, internal yet expansive, The Wonders moves between generations of women with a clear-eyed empathy for their struggles to be free. Medel's characters are hungry, angry, imperfect, and completely alive."
Nazare (2021) JJ Amaworo Wilson "Steeped in awe and everyday mysticism, Nazaré captured me with its stunning opening scene, and never let go. It is a story both timeless and urgent, and every passage is alight with humor, ingenuity, and surprise. A singular voice in contemporary fiction, JJ Amaworo Wilson offers readers both an energizing escape and a look at how to live with courage and clarity through absurd times."
The Chosen and the Beautiful (2021) (The Chosen and the Beautiful) Nghi Vo "Luxurious, thrilling, and sexy, Nghi Vo's debut novel dives into the world of The Great Gatsby and wears it like a second skin. A shapeshifter of a book that had me hypnotized from the first pages, The Chosen and the Beautiful brings new intensity to a story you thought you knew."
Body of Stars (2021) Laura Maylene Walter "A tender rebuke to the idea that biology is destiny, Body of Stars explores the boundaries of family, identity, and predestination. Through the lens of a complex coming-of-age story, Laura Maylene Walter asks us to consider how we can make the future matter when it seems like we already know its outlines, and what the difference is between the destiny of an individual and the fate of a society."
Shiner (2020) Amy Jo Burns "Shiner is a book like a thunderstorm: weighty, emotional, romantic, and full of heat. It speaks to the energy and ambition of youth, in a voice unlike any we've seen before. Set in an Appalachian hillside that holds itself so remote it feels like a new civilization, Amy Jo Burns has introduced us to a world we will not soon forget. Her characters seek high truths and make hard choices, and they will linger in my mind for a long time to come."
Light from Other Stars (2019) Erika Swyler "At once expansive and strikingly intimate, Light from Other Stars is a story you won't be able to put down . . . This book is no less than a declaration that life is worth living, which makes it a vital book for our times."
The Honey Farm (2018) Harriet Alida Lye "Harriet Alida Lye has created a modern-day Eden, shot through with innocence and foreboding. The landscape of this gripping debut is alive with tension and temptation, and I found myself seduced alongside Lye's unforgettable characters. Laying bare faith, identity, and love, this book presents a world where nothing is quite as it seems."
