Ingenious literature from debut and auto buy authors immersed readers in rich culture, induced fear with chilling horror, and broke our hearts with refreshing vulnerability. Poetry and short story collections captivated readers all of 2023.
Chrome Valley by Mahogany Browne
An intricate portrayal of Black womanhood in America told through the experiences of generational trauma, young love, and resilience. Chrome Valley illustrates Maghony Browne’s profound poetic voice as she delivers a bold and delicate, witty and grounded journey of girlhood to womanhood.
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Above Ground by Clint Smith
This vibrant poetry collection captivates readers and expertly calls into question what it means to balance two extremes. How does one find joy in the darkness? These lyrical poems explore the explicit ways institutions shape our every day, parenthood, injustice, and how we view the world through a child’s innocent eyes.
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Never Whistle at Night by Shane Hawk
An imaginative yet unsettling short story collection, featuring prolific indigenous voices, culminating around the belief held across cultures that whistling at night will conjure evil spirits. Introduced by Stephen Graham Jones, these menacing stories invite readers to revel in the eerie consequences of an ill-advised whistle and keep an eye out for the ghosts, curses, and monsters lurking around the corner.
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Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
From Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jhumpa Lahiri comes a beautiful short story collection, told in translation, centered on Rome. Through these nine stories expose readers to the complexities of Rome’s social and cultural dynamics as well as the search for the meaning of home.
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The Hive and The Honey by Paul Yoon
The Hive and The Honey brilliantly demonstrates Paul Yoon’s storytelling prowess exploring identity, belonging, and cultural complexity. Within these pages, readers join a boy’s search for his father, a woman spying on a possible estranged son, a samurai’s journey, and a man rebuilding his life post-incarceration. Each story illustrates the nuances of diasporic communities and what future generators inherit from their ancestors.
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A Broken People’s Playlist by Chimeka Garricks
In her distinct lyrical voice, this magical collection of poems is both paying homage and delivering a love letter to Port Harcourt. Garricks intricately weaves beautifully textured and flawed characters that will leave readers breathless as they experience love, living, hurting and healing.
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Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal
This thought provoking debut short story collection and Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction examines the Black Muslim experience and the intersectionalities of race, religion, sexuality, economics and politics. Within these stories, contradictions are exposed between beliefs and actions illustrating the flaws of being human.
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At Night He Lifts Weights by Kang Young-Sook
Kang Young-sook’s stories reveal a society wrestling with unsettling ecological upheaval and loss. Following an artist as she obsesses over her perplexing double amidst a disease outbreak. When a series of murders take place in a suburban neighborhood many suspect the strong elderly man. Meanwhile, a radiation-exposed woman inherits a storage warehouse for city escapees.
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This is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
This inventive short story collection and 2023 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction explores the intricacies of interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships and their immense impact. The stories unveil a journey of connection and meaning, capturing characters’ endless search for communion amid life’s upheavals.
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Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele
A captivating anthropology, featuring a star-studded author lineup and edited by Jordan Peele, unpacks the terrors of injustice in the U.S. that exist both on screen and in reality. These electrifying stories will haunt readers as they encounter a cop who sees blinking eyes instead of headlights, freedom riders experience disturbing moments, and a young girl battles demons underground.
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