Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including If You Love That Lady by Maya C. Popa and Without Terminus by chaun webster.
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First Fiction 2026
Eden Royce, R. O. Kwon, Aimee Bender, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Jamel Brinkley introduce the authors of this summer’s best debut fiction: P.C. Verrone, M Lin, Joe Bond, Amanda Rizkalla, and Devyn Defoe.
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Ten Questions for Ismet Prcic
“I treat my life as fodder for literature, so I consider living it (surviving it) as part of writing.” —Ismet Prcic, author of Unspeakable Home
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Ten Questions for Bret Anthony Johnston
“That I’ve never expected this work to be fast or easy is a priceless gift, my saving grace.” —Bret Anthony Johnston, author of We Burn Daylight
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Ten Questions for Ayşegül Savaş
“It seems like a necessary step to figure out how to emerge from mess to order.” —Ayşegül Savaş, author of The Anthropologists
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Ten Questions for Mesha Maren
“If I didn’t like writing then I wouldn’t do it.” —Mesha Maren, author of Shae
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Family Stories: Alternatives for Load-Bearing Clichés
The author of Family Family explores why tired tropes proliferate in fiction—and how to avoid them.
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Hearing Voices: Characterization and Language
The author of The Last Language considers the relationship between character and speech.
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Withholding and Revelation: Managing Information in Fiction
The author of The Last Language considers how to strike the right note of ambiguity in a novel.
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Ten Questions for Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
“I need to be authentic to my culture and invite readers to embrace the Vietnamese culture through my work.” —Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, author of Dust Child
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