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.” [3] 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.” [4] 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.” [5] 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.” [6] 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.” [7] 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.