There are a lot of things to look forward to in 2021, and new books are at the top of our list! When our authors aren’t writing, lots of them are reading, and we asked them what books they’re excited to read next year.
“Halli Gomez’s List of Ten is a contemporary YA debut about a teen living with Tourette syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder who is considering suicide. I read an early draft of this #ownvoices novel and it handles these challenging issues in a thoughtful and inspiring way.
Nicole Lesperance’s The Nightmare Thief, a MG fantasy about a girl who works in her family’s dream shop, where they can craft any dream you want — including nightmares. Lesperance is a beautiful writer and I’m a sucker for MG fantasy, so I can’t wait for this one!
Rissy No Kissies by Katey Howes tackles the issue of consent for the picture book set. Beautifully illustrated by Jess Engle, it creates a forum for discussion of bodily autonomy in an engaging and informative way.”
Katharine Manning, author of The Empathetic Workplace
“I couldn’t stick with just one so indulge me, people, but there are four books from the world of crime fiction I’m excited about. In no particular order, P.J. Vernon’s Bath Haus is already garnering a lot of accolades and is poised to be his breakout novel. I’ve been a fan of Laura McHugh’s work for a while, and What’s Done in Darkness looks spectacular. I first read Hannah Mary McKinnon this year, which was a mistake since I should have read her much earlier – she’s now on my “read as soon as it’s out” list, and You Will Remember Me sounds fantastic. And Mia P. Manansala’s debut, Arsenic and Adobo, is long-awaited (Mia’s racked up “emerging writer” awards on her way to publication) and the promising start of a wonderful career.”
E.A. Aymar, author of They’re Gone (written as E.A. Barres)
“There are so many 2021 releases that I’m looking forward to adding to my bookshelves, but the one I’m probably the MOST excited about is Blackout. Not only does this book feature stories written by six AMAZING Black female YA writers (Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woolfolk, and Nicola Yoon), but these short stories are all focused on Black love. 2020 was a tough year for everyone, but especially Black and Brown folks — so seeing more Black joy stories couldn’t have come at a better time!”
Pamela Harris, author of When You Look Like Us
“I recommend Trial By Fire, by Scott James. Through interview-based reporting, James investigates the 2003 nightclub fire at The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island, which happened during a Great White concert. James spoke with concertgoers and local media who survived the fire, as well as others close to the investigation with their own stories and information to share. A true story that reads like a thriller novel.”
Katie Burke, author of Urban Playground
“The books I anticipate reading early in the new year are mainly ones I have, but have not yet gotten to this year.
A novel by Philip Duke called The Village, a story about the German invasion of Crete in WWII, a rich history and a well-paced thriller that explores several points of view, including not only the Cretan guerrillas and the people of the eponymous village, but the opposing figures of a British soldier who gets caught up in it and a German paratrooper. True I have already begun to read it, and we may know how the story ends in history but I’m eager to see how it turns out for the characters.
Most of my reading is research, and most of my research these days is either concerned with the immediate future of our species, particularly related to climate issues. To that end, I also read about the deep past. Here is a sampling:
Humankind, by Rutger Bregman, a more optimistic look at us that I hold and hopefully an antidote to my current pessimism. He wrote Utopia for Realists.
The Rules of Contagion by Adam Kucharski, appropriate for the time of pandemic, but an ongoing issue for the world, and appropriate for my current project, third in my Lisa Emmer series of thrillers. Not only contagions, but toxic memes and disinformation all follow the rules.
Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes. My recent book, Mixed Harvest: Stories from the Human Past, touches on encounters between modern humans and Neanderthals in the Paleolithic era. Research in this area remains intense since it overturned everything we thought we knew about our cousins. Many of us carry Neanderthal genes, which should not only give us more respect, but again in the history of science knock us down another peg on the Great Chain of Being.
Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind by Peter Godfrey-Smith. I picked this book because of Other Minds, his wonderful book about cephalopods, particular octopuses, and how consciousness emerges, and how very different it can develop even on our own planet. They are the real aliens, except from Earth.”
Rob Swigart, author of Mixed Harvest: Stories From the Human Past
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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