HG Literary News

RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. COSBY / FLATIRON, JULY 2021

Represented by Josh Getzler

September 2021:

S. A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears (Flatiron, July 2021) is a 2021 Book of the Year Nominee

S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland (Flatiron, July 2020) won the 2021 Barry Award for Best Novel as well as the 2021 Anthony Award for Best Novel at Bouchercon.

Also at Bouchercon, Razorblade Tears won the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Novel

RAZORBLADE TEARS

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their murdered sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

“Cosby’s prose is vibrant and inventive, his action exuberant and relentless…You may come for the setup, but you’ll stay for the storytelling. Cosby writes in a spirit of generous abundance and gleeful abandon.”
—New York Times Book Review

“S.A. Cosby’s new crime novel is provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too…Elmore Leonard, wherever you are, you’ve got competition…S.A. Cosby has reappeared as one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction.”
—Washington Post

BLACKTOP WASTELAND by S.A. Cosby / Flatiron Books, July 2020

Amazon Editors’ Pick for the BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in Mysteries and Thrillers, #3 Book of the Year overall. Chosen as a NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020 by the New York Times. Chosen as one of the BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2020 by Lithub, Crimereads, Book Riot, & the New York Post.

YEAR OF THE TIGER: AN ACTIVIST’S LIFE BY ALICE WONG / vINTAGE, september 2022

Represented by Julia Kardon

RECIPIENT OF A MACARTHUR “GENIUS” GRANT

WINNER of the Northern California Book Award for Creative Nonfiction

NPR Books We Love of 2022

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2022

A Goodreads Choice Award nominee

A USA Today Must-Read Book

This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist’s journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project.

“Alice Wong provides deep truths in this fun and deceptively easy read about her survival in this hectic and ableist society.” —Selma Blair, bestselling author of Mean Baby

“Enlightening. . . . Incisive critiques, humor, practicality, and optimism become compellingly inseparable. . . . Year of the Tiger demonstrates an individual mind at work, as one might expect from a good memoir, and encompasses something larger. . . . Memoir will be redefined for many readers by Wong’s candid voice, tenacious spirit and necessary truths.” —Anna Leahy, The Washington Post

“A remix of essays, interviews, and archival ephemera relayed in a style that is by turns intimate, profane, and crackling with righteous anger.” —Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times

“Powerful. . . . Wong’s memoir is full of wit and humor but also frustration and rage, and she doesn’t hold back in exposing the systemic oppression and inequities faced by disabled people in an ableist society. . . . An empowering read.” —Reyna Grande, San Francisco Chronicle

THE LAUGHTER BY SONORA JHA / HARPERVIA, february 2023

Represented by Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts

WINNER of the 2024 Washington State Book Award for Fiction

NPR Books We Love of 2023

Shelf Awareness Top 10 Fiction Titles of 2023

The New Yorker Best Books of 2023

Longlisted for the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize

An explosive, tense, and illuminating work of fiction, The Laughter is a fascinating portrait of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that forces us to confront the assumptions we make, as both readers and as citizens.

"A deliciously sharp, mercilessly perceptive exploration of power, The Laughter explores how ‘otherness’ is both fetishized and demonized, and what it means to love something—a person, a country—that does not love you back." —Celeste Ng, New York Times-bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts

“Examining old prejudices, new fixations, and the sting of unrequited love, Jha offers a complete triumph.” —Booklist, starred review

“Jha impressively avoids the trap of preachiness and moralizing that stories of identity politics on campus tend to fall into; rather, hers is a subtle and nuanced look at the subject. A powerful and darkly funny campus novel with an unexpected narrative perspective.” —Kirkus, starred review

BROTHER BRONTE BY FERNANDO FLORES / MCD, february 2025

Represented by Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts

"Deliciously odd, funny and affecting, Brother Brontë delights at every turn—of which there are a glorious many. A puzzle where each piece not only helps complete the picture but expands its margins, I cherished every character, every story, and (again) fell in love with Fernando A. Flores’s profound empathy and wild imagination. Brother Brontë is a gorgeously bonkers joyride." —Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrilio

"The trick with dystopia is to leave room for light, and lightness; in our real world, tragedy and comedy are braided together. Fernando A. Flores gets this: his imagination ranges from the grimmest realities, of blood and fire and life made small, all the way through to breathtaking hope, and surprise, and solidarity. Brother Brontë evokes Octavia Butler, William Gibson, and John Steinbeck; these are all my favorites, and with this book, Fernando A. Flores joins the list." —Robin Sloan, author of Moonbound

"We fans of Fernando Flores’s work have long admired his virtuoso word play, his wizardly conjuring of images, and the power of his Texas borderlands vision and voice. Brother Brontë is his wildest and bravest work yet.” —Héctor Tobar, author of Our Migrant Souls

"With nods to Fahrenheit 451 and The Grapes of Wrath, Flores’s Brother Brontë carves out a space for itself in the landscape of post-collapse literature—and one which it fills with as much human warmth and vibrant poetry as it does righteous anger and dystopian sadness. A visceral journey through a uniquely American future, and an essential read." —Tim Maughan, author of Infinite Detail

"In rich, exciting prose, Flores takes the reader on a wild and frightening adventure, roving narrative territories left completely unexplored by other recent U.S. writing, territories bordered in the far distance by the fantastic realms of Latin American and Eastern European greats. Sardonic, disturbing, and thoroughly pleasurable, Brother Brontë feels like nothing so much as a profoundly generous gift." —Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey

THE BEST WE COULD HOPE FOR BY NICOLA KRAUS / LITTLE A, JANUARY 2025

Represented by Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts

“Written with grace and intelligence, Kraus explores the complex intersection of memory and loyalty in a sweeping story of a broken family and the women who knit together the remains. Perfect for book clubs."—Sarah Pekkanen, #1 NYT bestselling author of House of Glass

“From a beloved writer comes a unique, deeply moving story told with heart, depth and humor about the women we are, the women we come from, and the way we heal.”—Rebecca Serle, NYT bestselling author of Expiration Dates

“So heartbreaking and so good I couldn't stop reading--even when I needed to catch a train or make dinner. Like Ann Patchett, Kraus gets at the heart of how people can disconnect from their truest selves, and how, if they’re lucky, they can find their way back."—Caroline Leavitt, NYT beselling author of Days of Wonder

“For anyone who grew up with Kramer vs. Kramer and MTV, Kraus perfectly captures the ache and stretch of adolescence, the grief and rage of middle age, and the loss and doubt that's the drumbeat beneath it all. Consistently surprising in all the best ways, this book is a beacon!"—Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things

“Nicola Kraus deftly shows how the fog of generational trauma can finally give way to clarity and understanding when the grown children in a uniquely blended family learn how their mothers’ painful pasts shaped them all.”—Laura Zigman, author of Small World

HG LITERARY ILLUSTRATOR NEWS

September 2021:

Bon Orthwick, HG Literary illustrator of Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, an instant NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller.

HG LITERARY CLIENTS SWEEP THE BANK STREET BOOK AWARDS

Represented by Victoria Wells Arms:

Rural Voices by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (Candlewick, October 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 14 and up

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (Running Press, March 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 14 and up

Trowbridge Road by Marcella Pixley (Candlewick, October 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 12-14

Nacho’s Nachos by Sandra Nickel (Lee & Low, August 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 5-9

The Three Billy Goats Bueno by Susan Middleton Elya (Putnam, March 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 5-9

Represented by Carrie Hannigan & Josh Getzler:

The Smartest Kid in the Universe by Chris Grabenstein (Random House, December 2020) named a Best Book of 2021, ages 8-12

HIJAB BUTCH BLUES by Lamya H / Dial, February 2023

Represented by Julia Kardon

THEM’S HONOREE IN LITERATURE

WINNER OF THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD, THE ISRAEL FISHMAN NONFICTION AWARD

WINNER of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize

Lambda Literary Award Finalist

Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize, the Stonewall Book Award

An Audacious Book Club pick

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Autostraddle, Book Riot, BookPage, Harper’s Bazaar, Electric Lit, and Audible

A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this daring, provocative, and radically hopeful memoir.

“To be invited into the richness of their interior world—the beauty of childhood skepticism, the complexity of Muslim storytelling, and the glory of life in a queer body—is no minor gift. Hijab Butch Blues is for anyone coming home to themselves in a world content to disorient us. Lamya H will show us the way.” -Cole Arthur Riley, NYT bestselling author of This Here Flesh

“A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust with my whole heart.” -Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed 

“A revelation, an emotional journey of faith, family, community, and sexuality. With precision, compassion, and deeply observed storytelling, Lamya H—a new, distinctive voice—navigates the fault lines of life and love in a queer Muslim body.” -Linda Villarosa, author of Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation

“Hijab Butch Blues is more than a must-read. It's also a study guide on Islam, a handbook for abolitionists, and a queer manifesto. It inspires critical thinking, upholds activist self-care, and permits the defining of one's own queerness.” -NPR

DON’T LOOK BACK by achut deng & keely hutton / fsg byr, october 2022

Represented by Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts

In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don't Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up.

After a deadly attack in South Sudan left six-year-old Achut Deng without a family, she lived in refugee camps for ten years, until a refugee relocation program gave her the opportunity to move to the United States. But the chance at starting a new life in a new country came with a different set of challenges. Some of them equally deadly. Taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward, overcoming one obstacle after another, facing each day with hope and faith in her future. Yet, just as Achut began to think of the US as her home, a tie to her old life resurfaced, and for the first time, she had no choice but to remember her past.

"This is a gripping account of an extraordinary journey. A powerful read for this time of unprecedented refugee movement across the globe." — Kirkus Reviews

THE WITCH HUNTER by Max Seeck / Berkley, November 2020

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, and the Barnes & Noble Mystery & Thriller Pick for November! 

A shocking murder in an affluent Helsinki suburb has ties to witchcraft and the occult in this thrilling U.S. debut from Finnish author Max Seeck.

“One twist follows another, baffling the police and readers alike. Seeck imbues this riveting procedural with a deliciously creepy undertone. Readers will be excited to see what Seeck does next.”–Publisher’s Weekly STARRED REVIEW

TROWBRIDGE ROAD by Marcella Pixley / Candlewick Press, Oct 2020

Represented by Victoria Wells Arms

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST; An Amazon “Hot New Releases;” Shelf Awareness's BEST CHILDREN & TEEN BOOKS OF 2020 in the Chapter and Middle Grade Books category, Chosen as an Amazon BEST OF THE YEAR ages 9-12.

“June Bug narrates this work of historical realism with a magical, poetic quality, turning the ordinary extraordinary. June Bug and Ziggy’s fanciful adventures are likely to resonate with fans of Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia (1977)...An exceptional story for readers who feel deeply.”

—Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

THE NINTH NIGHT OF HANUKKAH by Erica Perl / Sterling, September 2020

Represented by Carrie Hannigan

As seen in the LOS ANGELES TIMES.

A heartwarming picture book with a fresh twist on a Hanukkah celebration: celebrating a ninth night with new neighbors and friends!

“Children will enjoy watching the family’s cat reacting to the various goings-on and seeing the furnishings gradually replacing boxes over the course of the story. Instructions for a DIY “Shamash Night” close the book.” -Kirkus

THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett / Riverhead Books, Jun 2020

Represented by Julia Kardon

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES • THE WASHINGTON POST • NPR • PEOPLE • TIME MAGAZINE • VANITY FAIR • GLAMOUR • ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY • VULTURE • USA TODAY • GO • HARPER’S BAZAAR • BUSTLE

New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

2021 WOMEN’S PRIZE FINALIST

From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations.

“Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” —Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal

“A story of absolute, universal timelessness . . . For any era, it’s an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it’s piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be….” – Entertainment Weekly