The Weekly Read

The Weekly Read for April 1, 2023 is Mendings by Megan Sweeney. Mendings tells an intimate story about family, selfhood, and the love and loss lodged in garments. Sweeney reflects on her childhood entanglement with her mother, her loss-filled relationship with her alcoholic father, and her attachment to the clothes that have mended her as she has mended them. She explores how clothing fosters communication and enables us to cultivate relationships with ourselves and with others, both living and deceased. In dialogue with other clothing lovers, writers, fiber artists, evolutionary biologists, historians, and environmentalists, Sweeney also foregrounds the entwinement of clothing, race, and gender as she considers the ethics and environmental effects of clothing consumption, the history of clothing in the US prison system, and the roles that textiles play as sources of creativity, artistry, and self-fashioning, even within conditions of constraint.

Mendings is a beautifully-illustrated, full-color book. If you enjoy this free online read, you might consider buying a print copy. During our Spring Sale (through April 17) it is 50% off, or only $13.50!

The Weekly Read is a weekly feature in which we highlight articles, books, and chapters that are freely available online. You’ll be able to find a link to the selection here on the blog as well as on our social media channels. Enjoy The Weekly Read, and check back next week for something new to read for free.

Author Events in April

Celebrate Spring by catching our authors in events around the world!

April 4, 2 pm PDT: Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez gives an in-person talk about her book Empire’s Mistress, Starring Isabel Rosario Cooper at University of California, Riverside.

April 4, 4 pm PDT: Sara Ahmed, author of Complaint!,  gives a hybrid lecture entitled “Losing Your Hand: Complaint, Common Sense, and Other Institutional Legacies” at Stanford University. Stanford Humanities Center, Levinthal Hall, 424 Santa Teresa Street

April 5, 8 pm EDT: McKenzie Wark launches her book Raving in-person at Nowadays, with readings by Brock Colyar, Jesús Hilario-Reyes aka Morenxxx, Sabrina Imbler, Oni Lem, and Sul Mousavi. 56-06 Cooper Ave. Ridgewood, New York. 

April 6, 3:30 pm PDT: Barbara Winslow talks about her forthcoming book Revolutionary Feminists in-person at the University of Washington. Communications Building 120, 2023 King Ln NE, Seattle

April 11, 4 pm PDT: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, gives an in-person talk at UCLA. Department of English. Kaplan Hall 193, 415 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles

April 12, 4-5:30 pm BST (11 am – 12:30 pm EDT): Arseli Dokumacı, author of Activist Affordances, gives a hybrid talk at King’s College London.

April 12, 5:30 pm PDT:  Bharat Venkat, author of  At the Limits of Cure, gives a hybrid talk at the Stanford Humanities Center. 424 Santa Teresa Street, Stanford, California

April 13, 5pm EDT: Beeta Baghoolizadeh, author of the forthcoming book The Color Black: Enslavement and Erasure in Iran, gives a hybrid talk at NYU’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies. 255 Sullivan St., New York

April 13, 7pm EDT: Rhiannon Stephens, author of Poverty and Wealth in East Africa, gives a reading at Book Culture. 536 W 112th St, New York

April 15, 8 pm PDT: McKenzie Wark, author of Raving, joins Zoë Beery, Geoffrey Mak, Brittany Newell, Anne Lesley Selcer, McKenzie Wark, Chris Zaldua, and Fault Radio for in-person readings and discussion about writing on raving. An afterparty follows at Club Moniker. The Lab, 2948 16th Street, San Francisco

April 18, 7 pm EDT: Columbia Theological Seminary hosts a book signing with Monique Moultrie, author of Hidden Histories. Harrington Center Chapel, 701 S. Columbia Drive, Decatur, Georgia

April 19, 4 pm EDT: Jean-Thomas Tremblay, author of Breathing Aesthetics, joins former DUP editor Joshua Gutterman Tranen for an in-person conversation at Letters Bookshop. 116 W Main St, Durham, North Carolina

April 19, 7 pm PDT: The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund hosts a hybrid conversation with Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics. Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline St, Berkeley

April 19-June 16: An exhibition to accompany Dissident Practices by Claudia Calirman will be on display at the Anya and Andrew Shiva Art Gallery at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 860 11th Avenue, New York

April 20, 1:30 pm EDT: Duke University’s cultural anthropology department celebrates the work of the late Diane Nelson, author of Who Counts? and Reckoning. Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Smith Warehouse, Bay 4, C105, 114 South Buchanan Blvd, Durham, North Carolina

April 27, 7 pm CET: Martin Savransky, author of Around the Day in Eighty Worlds, joins Paula Serafini for an in-person conversation at Ark Books. Møllegade 10, Copenhagen

April 27, 5:30 PM CDT: Shannen Williams, author of Subversive Habits gives a hybrid talk about her book at the University of Chicago’s Martin Marty Center. Swift 3rd Floor Lecture Hall, 1025 E. 58th St., Chicago

April 28, 9:30 am BST: Stefan Helmreich will read from and speak about A Book of Waves in a hybrid talk at Exeter University. Streatham Court C, Streatham Campus, University of Exeter, Exeter

Spring Sale Starts Today

We’re excited to announce that our Spring Sale starts today. Save 50% on all in-stock and pre-order books and journal issues with coupon code SPRING23 through April 17.

Customers in Canada may order directly from the University of Toronto Press. UTP is our distribution partner in Canada and can offer significantly improved shipping times. No coupon code is needed to receive the 50% discount code.

Here’s the usual fine print: The discount does not apply to e-books, apparel, journals subscriptions, or society memberships. Regular shipping applies and all sales are final. We now accept pre-orders on books within 5 months of publication. Look for “Availability: Pre-Order” below the buy button and a release date on the product page to identify titles eligible for pre-publication order. You may use coupon code SPRING23 on titles in pre-order status. You will receive those books when they are published. The discount may not be combined with any other offers.

If you have any difficulty ordering via our website, you can call our customer service department at 888-651-0122 during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8-5 Eastern Time).

March Author Events

March is a great time to get out and see our authors at events around the world, or to catch them at online events. Some of these events do not yet have complete information; follow us on Twitter for up-to-date event information.

March 2, 12 pm EST: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, presents an online webinar on Black disability activism, sponsored by Western University. 

March 2, 12 pm PST: Richard T. Rodríguez, author of A Kiss across the Ocean, joins John Alba Cutler for an in-person conversation at University of California, Berkeley. 2547 Channing Way, Berkeley, California

March 2, 4:30 pm PST: Jennifer Lynn Kelly, author of Invited to Witness, joins Nick Mitchell and Sophia Azeb for a hybrid conversation sponsored by University of California Santa Cruz’s Feminist Studies and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies departments. Humanities Institute, Rm 210, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

March 2, 7:30 pm PST: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, is in conversation Toshio Meronek in an in-person event at Revolutions Bookshop. 8713 N Lombard, Portland, Oregon

March 2, 3:45 pm PST: Joseph Plaster, author of Kids on the Street, speaks in-person at the University of Puget Sound. Rausch Auditorium, McIntyre Hall, 1500 North Warner Street, Tacoma, Washington

March 2, 5:30 pm EST: Shannen Dee Williams, author of Subversive Habits, will give a lecture at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Strong Hall 101, 1621 West Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996

March 6, 5:30 pm EST: Lucia Hulsether, author of Capitalist Humanitarianism, is joined by Adam Tinkle for an in-person conversation at Skidmore College. Payne Preservation Room, Tang Museum, 815 N Broadway #1632, Saratoga Springs

March 6, 6:30 pm EST: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, is in conversation with Vilissa Thompson, Brandon Kazen-Maddox, and Juana Aguilar in an online event sponsored by Intellectual Publics.

March 7, 4:30 pm GMT: AbdouMaliq Simone, author of The Surrounds, gives an in-person talk about his book at University College London, followed by responses by Dr Tatiana Thieme and Dr Fabien Cante and then refreshments. UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, Common Ground (room G11 of the South Wing), London

March 7, 11 am CST: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, takes part in the Spring Diversity Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. University Center 275, Old Main Ballroom, 800 W Main St, Whitewater, Wisconsin

March 7, 12 pm EST: Rumya Putcha, author of The Dancer’s Voice, will give a virtual lecture with the Morrisson-Reeves Library in-conjunction with Earlham College’s Center for Social Justice.

March 8, 5:30 pm SAST: Love Books hosts an in-person launch for Wake Up, This is Joburg by Tanya Zack and Mark Lewis. They will be joined in conversation by Bronwyn Law-Viljoen. The Bamboo Lifestyle, 53, Rustenburg Road, Melville, Johannesburg

March 8, 6:30 pm GMT: The Bayes Business School of the City University of London hosts Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill, authors of Confidence Culture, for a hybrid talk. Bayes Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, London

March 8: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, gives an in-person talk at State University of New York at New Paltz.

March 8, 5 pm PST: Lata Mani gives an online presentation about her book Myriad Intimacies, sponsored by the Las Maestras Center at UC Santa Barbara.

March 9, 5:30 pm CET, Penny Von Eschen, author of Paradoxes of Nostalgia, gives an in-person lecture at Charles University. Faculty of Arts Building, Rm 111, Charles University, Prague

March 10, 1 pm EST: Thomas Beller, author of Lost in the Game, joins Tyler Bridges and Jeff Duncan on a panel at the New Orleans Book Festival. Pederson Lobby, Lavin-Bernick Center, Tulane University, New Orleans

March 11, 11am EST: Christopher Schaberg, author of Fly-Fishing, will moderate a panel with Todd Doughty, Priscilla Painton, & Julia Prosser at the New Orleans Book Festival. Diboll Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans.

March 13, 12:25pm EDT, Mary Louise Pratt, author of Planetary Longings, speaks in-person at Penn State’s Comp Lit Luncheon. 102 Kern Building, State College, Pennsylvania

March 13, 5pm EDT: Rupal Oza, author of Semiotics of Rape, joins Vasuki Nesiah, for an in-person conversation at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House. 47-49 E 65th St, New York City

March 15, 11 am GMT, Gavin Butt, author of No Machos or Pop Stars, gives an in-person lecture at Leeds School of Arts entitled “Revisiting Art Education’s Intermedia Dream.”. Leeds School of Arts Building, The Theatre, Portland Way, Leeds

March 15: Joseph Plaster, author of Kids on the Street, gives a talk at SF State

March 16, 5:30 pm PDT: Joseph Plaster, author of Kids on the Street, participates in an in-person book talk and discussion panel at the Tenderloin Museum with Susan Stryker. 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

March 16, 6 pm EDT, Cisco Bradley, author of The Williamsburg Avant-Garde, signs books at Shift, followed by a musical performance at 8 pm. 411 Kent Ave., Brooklyn

March 17, 5 pm GMT, Gavin Butt, author of No Machos or Pop Stars, speaks in person at the École des beaux-arts. He is joined by James Horton and Gallien Déjean on a panel entitled Pédagogie et post-punk : histoires alternatives de l’école d’art. 14 rue Bonaparte, Bâtiment des Loges, salle 2B, Paris

March 20, 6 pm EDT: Christopher Schaberg, author of Fly-Fishing, joins some of his students for an in-person reading of his book and their essays on fly-fishing. The Eliza Jane, 15 Magazine Street, New Orleans

March 21, 3 pm GMT: Moyukh Chatterjee, author of Composing Violence, participates in the Social Anthropology Joint Book Launch hosted by CRITIQUE. Gaddum Lecture Theatre, 1 George Square, Edinburgh

March 21, 4:30 pm EDT: Sonny Coráñez Bolton, author of Crip Colony, gives an in-person talk at Cornell University. Klarman Hall, 232 Feeney Way, Ithaca, NY

March 21, 4 pm EDT: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, gives an in-person talk at Brown University, sponsored by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. Pembroke Hall, Room 305, Providence

March 22, 6 pm EDT: Thomas Beller will read in-person from his recent book Lost in the Game at Vassar College. Spitzer Auditorium, Sanders Classroom, 24 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie

March 22, 12 pm PDT: Lisa Bloom, author of Climate Change and the New Polar Aesthetics, gives an online talk sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Gender and Women’s Studies department.

March 22, 6:30 pm EDT: Hiʻilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart, author of Cooling the Tropics, will feature in a panel for the A/P/A Institute at NYU. Kimball Hall Lounge, 246 Greene Street, New York City

March 23, 5 pm EDT: Sophie Chao, author of In the Shadow of the Palms, gives an online talk sponsored by Concordia University entitled “More than Human Entanglements in the Plantation Nexus.” 

March 23, 6:30 pm PDT: Lindsey A. Freeman launches her new book Running with an in-person event at Simon Fraser University. SFU Harbour Center, Room 7000, 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

March 23, 7 pm EDT: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, has an in-person discussion with Chris Lee at Riffraff Bookstore. 60 Valley Street, Providence, RI

March 24, 2-3:30 pm GMT: Srila Roy, author of Changing the Subject, gives an online talk at the University of Essex’s Centre for Global South Studies.

March 24, 1 pm EDT: Christopher Schaberg, author of Fly-Fishing, appears on a panel at the Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans called “Passion Projects: Writing About What You Love.”Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom, 938 Lafayette St, New Orleans, LA 

March 24, 7 pm EDT: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, gives an in-person book talk with Ianna Hawkins Owen at the Lucy Parsons Center. 549 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA.

March 26, 3 PM EDT: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, appears at the Bureau of General Services–Queer Division with Tourmaline. 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY

March 28, 4 pm EDT: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, gives an in person talk entitled “Black Disability Poetics and Politics: A Conversation” at Wake Forest University, hosted by the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Department.

March 29: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, speaks at the Health Humanities Program at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

March 29: Eric Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence, speaks at VCU in Richmond, Virginia.

March 30, 6 pm EDT: Rupal Oza, author of Semiotics of Rape, joins Linda Alcoff and Dina Siddqi in-person for a discussion at the CUNY Graduate Center. Pre-registration is required. CUNY Graduate Center Room 9205, 365 5th Avenue New York City

March 30, 6 pm CDT: Christopher Schaberg, author of Fly-Fishing, reads and speaks at Octavia Books in New Orleans.

March 30, 6:15 pm PDT: Lindsey A. Freeman, author of Running, holds an in-person event sponsored by the  Vancouver Running Company Flight Crew. 1886 W1st Ave, Vancouver

The Weekly Read

The Weekly Read for February 4, 2023 is Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi′ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart. In this fascinating book, Hobart charts the social history of ice in Hawaiʻi, showing how ice and refrigeration underpinned settler colonial ideas about race, environment, and the senses. Paige West calls it “a beautifully written, genre-bending contribution that is one of the only truly transdisciplinary books I have ever read.” From now until April 6, you can download it for free.

For a preview, catch Hobart’s interview on Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.

The Weekly Read is a weekly feature in which we highlight articles, books, and chapters that are freely available online. You’ll be able to find a link to the selection here on the blog as well as on our social media channels. Enjoy The Weekly Read, and check back next week for something new to read for free.

Author Events in February

You have many chances to catch our authors in-person and virtually at events this month.

February 1, 6 pm CST: The Dikeou Collection welcomes Thomas Beller, author of Lost in the Game, and Michael Singer, the Nuggets correspondent for The Denver Post for an in-person conversation on Nikola Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP, as well as other matters related to life, cities, and basketball.

February 2, 5:30 pm EST: Shannen Dee Williams, author of Subversive Habits, delivers the 2023 Piediscalzi Lecture in-person at Wright State University. 163 Student Union, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Fairborn, Ohio

February 3, 7 pm PST:The University of California Riverside and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture sponsor a joint reading and conversation with Ricky Rodríguez, author of A Kiss Across the Ocean, and Kid Congo Powers, author of Some New Kind of Kick. Audience Q&A, reception, and book signing to follow.

February 4, 3 pm EST: Willard Jenkins, editor of Ain’t But a Few of Us, joins Don Palmer, Gene Seymour, Jordannah Elizabeth, and Steve Monroe for an in-person panel discussion at Politics and Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC

February 6, 9 am EST: Srila Roy, author of Changing the Subject, has a virtual book conversation with Professor Kanika Batra, TTU, hosted by the African Feminist Initiative at Penn State.

February 9, 12 pm PST: Rumya Sree Putcha, author of The Dancer’s Voice, gives a book talk sponsored by Stanford University’s Center for South Asia.

February 9, 6 pm EST: Sophie Chao, author of In the Shadow of the Palms, gives the Gatty Lecture at Cornell University. This is a virtual event.

February 13, 5:30 pm EST: Sami Schalk, author of Black Disability Politics, gives an in-person talk at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University. Pembroke Hall, 172 Meeting St, Providence, Rhode Island.

February 14, 12 pm EST: Omar Kasmani, author of Queer Companions, gives an online talk sponsored by the Center for Global Islamic Studies at the University of Florida.

February 15, 6 pm CST: John D’Emilio, author of Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood, gives a hybrid talk at Left Bank Books. 399 N. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, Missouri

February 15, 5:15pm EST: Joseph Plaster, author of Kids on the Street, has a book launch at Johns Hopkins University book launch in Olin Hall, Room 305.

February 15, 1 pm GMT: Srila Roy, author of Changing the Subject, gives a virtual book talk, sponsored by the Leeds University sociology department.

February 16, 2:15 pm EST: The Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University sponsors a hybrid discussion with Muriam Haleh Davis, author of Markets of Civilization, and Mona Oraby. Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St NW, Room 505, Washington, D.C.

February 16, 7 pm EST: Ed Cohen, author of On Learning to Heal, gives an in-person talk at The Bookmark Shoppe in Brooklyn. 8415 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

February 17, 12-1:15 EST: Rhiannon Stephens, author of Poverty and Wealth in East Africa, speaks in-person in the Heyman Center Common Room at Columbia University. 74 Morningside Dr, New York City

February 16, 6 pm CST: John D’Emilio, author of Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood gives an in-person talk at the University of Missouri. A reception at 5 pm precedes the talk. Student Union Theater, 5100 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri

February 16, 7 pm EST: Lisa Bloom speaks in-person about her book Climate Change and the New Polar Aesthetics at Scandinavia House. 58 Park Avenue, New York City

February 18, 1 pm EST: Laura E. Perez, co-editor of Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, speaks at Underwood’s exhibition at Ruiz-Healy Art, 74 East 79th Street, 2D, New York City

February 21, 6:30 pm EST: Intellectual Publics presents an online conversation between Tavia Nyong’o and Lee Edelman, author of Bad Education.

February 22: The Creative Writing Program at the University of Oregon hosts an in-person talk by Thomas Beller, author of Lost in the Game. 

February 24, 7 pm PST: Thomas Beller, author of Lost in the Game, gives an in-person reading at Elliott Bay Book Company. 1521 10th Ave., Seattle

February 26, 7:30 pm CST: David Grubbs will give a live in-person performance and read from his most recent book, Good night the pleasure was ours, at KMFA Classical’s Draylen Mason Studio in Austin. 41 Navasota St. Austin, Texas

February 28, 5 pm EST: Jafari Allen, author of There’s a Disco Ball Between Us, speaks about his book as part of Duke University’s Gender Studies Now event series. East Duke Parlors, 1304 Campus Drive, Durham, North Carolina

Introducing The Weekly Read

We are pleased to announce a new weekly feature, The Weekly Read, in which we highlight articles, books, and chapters that are freely available online. You’ll be able to find a link to the selection here on the blog as well as on our social media channels.

Today we offer a book, Sami Schalk’s 2018 title Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction, newly made open access.

Writing on Twitter, Schalk said, “As a Black feminist disability studies scholar, I believe that #AccessIsLove & I try to practice that in all I do in the classroom, my writing, & how I share my work. I’m so grateful to be able to do my intellectual & political work in ways that feel right to me.”

Enjoy The Weekly Read, and check back next week for something new to read for free.

Author Events in January

Start your new year with some great talks and readings by our authors!

January 13, 7 pm EST: Ed Cohen, author of On Learning to Heal, discusses his book with Emily Lim Rogers at a hybrid event at Bureau of General Services, Queer Division. Room 210, LGBT Community Center, 208 W 13th St., New York City

January 16, 5 pm CEST: Bharat Venkat, author of At the Limits of Cure, gives a virtual book talk at Humboldt University of Berlin

January 19, 7:30 pm EST: Ed Cohen, author of On Learning to Heal, discusses his book with Emily Lim Rogers at an in-person event at Greenlight Books. 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York

January 26, 12 pm CST: Bharat Venkat, author of  At the Limits of Cure, gives a virtual book talk at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Institute for Bioethics and Health Humanities

January 26, 7 pm CST: Elisabeth R. Anker, author of Ugly Freedoms, gives a hybrid book talk at the University of Tulsa’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities. Zarrow Center for Art & Education, 124 East Reconciliation Way, Tulsa, OK

January 29, 4:00 pm EST: Alexandra Juhasz and Theodore Kerr, authors of We Are Having This Conversation Now, will join Cory Silverberg and other authors in an online event with GLASS Bookshop in Edmonton.

At the time of writing, several of these events did not have links. Check back closer to the time of the event to get the link, or follow us on Twitter.

Best Books of 2022

We are always pleased when our books appear on various best of the year lists. Check out some of this year’s picks from a wide variety of publications.

Kirkus Reviews named Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood by John D’Emilio one of 2022’s best memoirs. They said the book was “upbeat and generous spirited about its author’s early life and challenges.”

12 Contemporary Books That Will Have You Rethinking Music History(opens in a new tab)

Several of our music titles landed on best of the year lists. Pitchfork chose The Florida Room by Alexandra T. Vazquez for its list. Cat Zhang said it is “a loving and rich account of somewhere that exists both in real life and the imagination, too abundant to be contained.” Spin‘s Book Club featured Good night the pleasure was ours by David Grubbs in their year-end round up, calling it “an enthralling portrayal of the delicate balance between performer, audience, and sound.” Popmatters featured a list of titles that will make you rethink music history and included Emily J. Lordi’s The Meaning of Soul, calling it “the most important, game-changing book on soul—the music, the concept, and its history—ever published.” And Rough Trade bookstore put A Kiss across the Ocean by Richard T. Rodríguez on their best books of the year list. While supplies last, you can order a signed copy from them! Rolling Stone also included A Kiss across the Ocean on it’s Best Music Books of 2022 list, as did NBC Latino.

Publishers Weekly put Subversive Habits by Shannen Dee Williams on their list of Best Religion Books of 2022. In their starred review, they said, “this should be required reading for scholars of Catholic and African American religious history and will undoubtedly become the standard text on its subject.” Marcia Chatelain also included Subversive Habits on her list of the best scholarly books of 2022 in the Chronicle of Higher Education, saying “I have never read a more thoughtful account of the Black Catholic experience.”

Public Books featured There’s a Disco Ball Between Us by Jafari S. Allen on their 2022 Public Picks list. Frank Andrew Guridy said the book is “a tour de force that offers a completely new understanding of Black life and the Black Freedom Struggle.”

In her “Year of Reading” feature in The Millions, novelist Chantal V. Johnson highlighted Cistem Failure by Marquis Bey. She said, “I love when a book articulates things I haven’t been able to put into words. It is as if something that had been squirming inside me settles.” Marquis Bey’s Black Trans Feminism was selected as a best book of 2022 by Ms. Magazine‘s Karla Strand.

Bookriot mentioned LOTE by Shola Von Reinhold as one of the best LGBTQ novels of the year. And in a verse about her 2022 influences in Bomb, Cat Fitzpatrick wrote, “Shola von Reinhold, in her novel Lote / (A book which I advise you to procure) / Says ornament’s divine, one should devote / One’s soul to it, that that’s what life is for.”

CBC Books selected Dionne Brand’s Nomenclature as one of the year’s best Canadian poetry books, calling the titular poem “a thoughtful and wide-ranging reflection on location, consciousness, time and the current state of the world.” The Center for the Art of Translation featured Nomenclature on their holiday gift list, calling it “a gripping catalogue of witness and a call to imagine a better world.”

And finally, Madison’s weekly newspaper Isthmus rounded up the best Wisconsin books of the year and included University of Wisconsin Madison professor Thulani Davis’s The Emancipation Circuit. 

December Events

As we wrap up the year, you still have a few chances to catch out authors at in-person and online events.

December 1, 2 pm EST: Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan, author of The Globally Familiar, speaks at the Mortara Center for International Studies. 3600 N St NW Washington, DC 20007

December 1, 6 pm EST: Manijeh Moradian joins Nadine Naber and Mae Ngai to discuss her new book, This Flame Within in an in-person event sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Denise Jackson Lewis ’66 Conference Room 614 Milstein Center, Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, New York City

December 2, 11 am EST: Michael Degani, author of The City Electric, gives a hybrid talk about his book at Johns Hopkins University.

December 4, 2 pm EST, Michael Degani gives an in-person talk about his book The City Electric at Johns Hopkins University. RSVP to receive the address.

December 8, 6:30pm EST: Thomas Beller and Alexander Wolff discuss their books Lost in the Game and Big Game, Small World in-person at Letters Bookshop. 116 W Main St, Durham, NC

December 10: Alexandra Juhasz and Theodore Kerr, authors of We Are Having This Conversation Now, participate in an in-person event hosted by the William Way Community Center with guests and authors. 1315 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA

December 12, 10 am EST:  Lisa Bloom, author of Climate Change and the New Polar Aesthetics, joins Dolly Jorgensen for an online conversation that is part of the Environmental Humanities Book Talk series at the Greenhouse at the University of Stavenger.

December 11, 2pm PST: Lisa Uperesa speaks in-person about her book Gridiron Capital at Eastwind Books in Berkeley. 2066 University Ave, Berkeley, CA

December 15, 6 pm MST: ecoartspace hosts an online event with Lisa Bloom, author of Climate Change and the New Polar Aesthetics. There is a $10 charge for non-members.

December 21, 6:30 pm IST: Srila Roy, author of Changing the Subject, discusses her book in-person with Arvind Narrain, Atreyee Majumder and Swethaa Ballakrishnen. Bangalore International Centre7, 4th Main Road, Domlur II Stage, Bangalore, Karnataka