With so many good books being published every month, some literary titles worth exploring can get lost in the stacks. Page One offers the first lines of a dozen recently released books, including Black and Female by Tsitsi Dangarembga and The Faraway World by Patricia Engel.
“Ramón climbed up the Coca-Cola billboard near the highway one Monday.” How to Turn Into a Bird (Tin House, December 2022) by María José Ferrada, translated from the Spanish by Elizabeth Bryer. Fifty-fifth book, second novel. Agent: Vito D’Onghia. Editor: Masie Cochran. Publicist: Becky Kraemer.
“I was at a low ebb when the ambulance / reversed along the gravel and the roar / traveled to Janine.” Decade of the Brain (Alice James Books, January 2023) by Janine Joseph. Second book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Carey Salerno. Publicist: Alyson Sinclair.
“I am in heart failure.” Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul (Ecco, December 2022) by Evette Dionne. Third book, first essay collection. Agent: Sarah Phair. Editor: Sara Birmingham. Publicist: Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski.
“In the beginning, yes, a garden.” Short Film Starring My Beloved’s Red Bronco (Milkweed Editions, January 2023) by K. Iver. First book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Daniel Slager. Publicist: Morgan LaRocca.
“Not long after the end of World War II, a family of three travels from Canton, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois.” Chi Boy: Native Sons and Chicago Reckonings (Mad Creek Books, January 2023) by Keenan Norris. Fourth book, first essay collection. Agent: Felicia Eth. Editor: Kristen Elias Rowley. Publicist: Samara Rafert.
“The detective wanted to know if Aida was the sort of girl who would run away from home.” The Faraway World (Avid Reader Press, January 2023) by Patricia Engel. Fifth book, second story collection. Agent: Ayesha Pande. Editor: Lauren Wein. Publicist: Alexandra Primiani.
“I was tropical once.” Ice Hours (Michigan State University Press, January 2023) by Marion Starling Boyer. Third book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Anita Skeen. Publicist: Nicole Utter.
“I am an existential refugee.” Black and Female (Graywolf Press, January 2023) by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Fourth book, first essay collection. Agent: Nicola Chang. Editor: Yuka Igarashi. Publicist: Claire Laine.
“Twelve years ago, I broke the only promise I ever made to myself: never to become one of them—an automaton, a cubicle puppet, an office worker.” The Red-Headed Pilgrim (Two Dollar Radio, January 2023) by Kevin Maloney. Second book, novel. Agent: None. Editor: Eric Obenauf. Publicist: Brett Gregory.
“I recently sent a letter to a terrorist I used to know.” Brotherless Night (Random House, January 2023) by V. V. Ganeshananthan. Second book, novel. Agent: Stephanie Cabot. Editor: Caitlin McKenna. Publicists: Vanessa DeJesús and Abdi Omer.
“…but as / Fishes glide, leaving no print where they pass, / Nor making sound…” Was It for This (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 2023) by Hannah Sullivan. Third book, second poetry collection. Agent: Sarah Chalfant. Editor: Mitzi Angel. Publicist: Claire Tobin.
“The truth is that I was asked to leave the Petco, but I told everyone I was banned.” How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures (Little, Brown, December 2022) by Sabrina Imbler. First book, essay collection. Agent: Ayesha Pande. Editor: Jean Garnett. Publicist: Gabrielle Leporati.
