Omnium Gatherum: Alumni & Teaching Staff News

Her debut novel Italian Love Cake (Bordighera Press, 2021) is named 2023 Distinguished Favorite in General Fiction by the Independent Press Award. Italian Love Cake is available in two French editions, under the title Liberata, Éditions Anne Carrière (2022), and Pocket (2023),

Her debut children’s book, Arletis, Abuelo, and the Message in a Bottle, will be published simultaneously in English and in Spanish by Star Bright Books in April, 2023. The Spanish edition was a Junior Library Guild selection.

Her second novel, In the Time of Our History, about rebellious women in a large Iranian-American family, will be published on January 3rd, 2023. It is a Buzz Books selection and will appear on the January Indie Next list. Amy Tan says, “I fell in love with this jewel of a novel from the first page.’ Rabih Alameddine calls it “both unique and universal, a must-read tile in the new mosaic of American novels.” Publishers Weekly calls it “a luminous multigenerational tale…that navigates the cultural differences between newer Americans and older immigrants and provides a frank look at fraught family dynamics.”

Her novel Confessions of a Knight Errant was recently published by Cune Press. The novel is a comedic, picaresque novel in the tradition of Don Quixote with a flamboyant cast of characters. Dr. Gary Watson is the picaro, a radical environmentalist and wannabe novelist who has been accused of masterminding a computer hack that wiped out the files of a major publishing company. His Sancho Panza is Kharalombos, a fat, gluttonous Greek dancing teacher, who is wanted by the secret police for cavorting with the daughter of the Big Man of Egypt. Self-preservation necessitates a hurried journey to the refuge of a girls’ camp in rural Texas. Then a corpse turns up.

His novel Ursula Lake was published in Spring 2022 by Red Hen Press.

Her newest, Book of Knives, was published in October, 2022, from Poisoned Pen Press.

She was named a 2022 Whiting Award Winner in Fiction, and her short story collection, Site Fidelity, won the 2022 High Plains Book Award for Short Stories.

His memoir, Refraction, will be published on November 15, 2022. It has won several writing awards, and is published by Wayfarer Books, an Eco-Lit imprint of Homebound Publications. Homebound is a partner of One Tree Planted, and for every book they sell in their store, a tree is planted.

Her newest, Murder at the Jubilee Rally, a Samuel Craddock mystery, was published in October, 2022.

Her story collection The Woods has won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award through the Iowa Short Fiction Award Series and will be published in November, 2022.

Her new book, Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Cooperation and Generosity in Nature, will be released by Patagonia Books on September 6. Publisher’s Weekly says, “Journalist Ohlson (The Soil Will Save Us) pushes back against the Darwinian notion that “competition rules” in this vivid survey. Despite the popular notion that nature is a “vicious and never-ending battle of survival for meager resources,” Ohlson makes a solid case that the opposite is often true…This is as charming as it is enlightening.”

Her debut book of fiction, It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories, won the 2022 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and is available for purchase (release date Oct. 4, University of Pittsburgh Press).

Her new novel, Meet Us by the Roaring Sea, was published by Macmillan in August, 2022.

Her new book, Tracing Inca Trails: An Adventure in the Andes, will be published on September 20, 2022.

His book, The Abolitionist’s Journal: The Memories of an American Antislavery Family, will be published in fall 2022 by High Road Books, an imprint of the University of New Mexico Press. Over the course of more than twenty years, Richardson and his wife, Lori, retraced the steps of his ancestor, George Richardson (1824–1911), revealing his great-great-grandfather Richardson’s involvement in the Underground Railroad, serving as the chaplain to a Black Union regiment in the Civil War and founding a college in Texas for the formerly enslaved. The author raises questions about why this fervent commitment to the emancipation of African Americans was nearly forgotten by his family. More info.

In Swimming with Corpses, published in June, 2022, Margaret Allen has pieced together the early years of a doctor, a soldier, and a nurse, from their 1920s English childhoods in Portsmouth, Manchester, and India to their experiences in the London Blitz, on the D-Day beaches of Normandy, and in the chaos of war-torn Europe. This true story of three people who would probably never have met were it not for the lacerating events of the Second World War illuminates unfamiliar intimacies that occur during conflict and their impact on subsequent relationships. More info

Her debut novel, Sirens and Muses, will be published by Penguin Random House in July, 2022.

Her debut novel Sirens & Muses will be published by Ballantine/Random House on July 12, 2022. She is on tour promoting the book and will be doing events in Minneapolis, Brooklyn, Cape Cod, Stillwater, MN and Northfield, MN. See her website for more details. 

Her most recent book Abacus of Loss: A Memoir in Verse (University of Arkansas Press, March 2022) is hailed by Ilya Kaminsky as a book “that created its own genre—a thrill of lyric combined with the narrative spell.” A short film about the book marries her poetry and voice to music and film: https://youtu.be/0iHMAZwYrhw

Her debut novel, The Long Answer, was published by Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House) on June 21, 2022.

Her fourth historical mystery in the John Singer Sargent/Violet Paget series is out now! The Eleventh Commandment was dubbed by Kirkus Reviews as “A thrilling whodunit and an edifying work of historical fiction….an exceedingly intelligent and entertaining novel.”

Her new novel, The Candy House, was published on April 5, 2022 from Scribner’s.

She has a new novel out, Standing Up: Tales of Struggle, written with her husband Larry Miller. Inspired by five decades of organizing, Standing Up is about those who clean bloody hospital sheets, forge parts for sewer pipes, arrange flights, or process checks — all while caring for kids, holding relationships together and wrestling with multiple forms of oppression. As the characters stand up, slow down, form unions, leave an abusive relationship or just stir up good trouble, they entertain and enlighten and encourage us to love deeply, as we continue the fight for justice. Best-selling author Jacquelyn Mitchard calls it “Shocking, terrifying, inspiring and deeply felt lives of the unsung.”

Her short story collection, Proof of Me and Other Stories, is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble.com. It will be released by New American Press in Philadelphia on March 24, 2022 during AWP. To preorder: tinyurl.com/5f58mcf4

Her debut novel for adults, Last Stop on the 6 (Bordighera Press), workshopped during her time at Community Writers, was published in November, 2021.

The inaugural volume of a short story anthology, Coolest American Stories 2022, founded and edited by Mark Wisniewski, has been published and received early praise from Ben Fontain, Lori Ostlund, The Washington Independent Review of Books, and the Santa Fe Reporter. Mark’s goal is to publish “interesting, compelling storytelling that appeals to people from all walks of life,” thus, he hopes, providing a yearly collection of tales that can serve as a common ground for enjoyment rather than divide Americans nationwide.

His new translation of the classical Tamil masterpiece on ethics, power, and love, The Kural: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural, was published by Beacon Press on January 11, 2022.

Her debut novel, Shadows of Pecan Hollow, was just published by William Morrow. It’s a gritty Texas thriller about a fierce woman and the partner in crime she can’t escape. Caroline workshopped a chapter from her novel at Community of Writers in 2017.

Her novel, Poser, will be published by Outcast Press in February, 2022.

First in a noir series called the Eucalyptus Lane Novels, set in and around Palo Alto, CA, Poser offers a “class-conscious, peeping-Tom gaze into Silicon Valley’s bedrooms and back-alleys, where dreams really do come true and unlikely, life-altering connections are made, for better—or worse.”

Her novel Away to Stay comes out with Regal House Press in February, 2022.

Her short story collection, Proof of Me and Other Stories, is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble.com. It will be released by New American Press in Philadelphia on March 24, 2022 during AWP. To preorder: tinyurl.com/5f58mcf4

Her novel Stopgaps was published in May, 2021 and is available through Bookbaby. com or Amazon.com.

Her newest novel, Monster in the Middle, was recently published by Riverhead Books.

His newest novel, A Mistaken Hostage, was published in September, 2021.

His newest novel, A Calling for Charlie Barnes, was published in September, 2021, by Little, Brown and Company.

Judy Juanita’s poetry collection, Manhattan My Ass, You’re in Oakland, won the American Book Award 2021 from the Before Columbus Foundation. Many of the poems appear in New Verse News online. Her short story collection, The High Price of Freeways, won the Tartt Fiction Prize 2021 at the University of West Alabama [UWA] and will be published by Livingston Press [UWA] in 2022.

Terence Clarke’s latest novel is The Moment Before, was published September 15. Renowned Parisian artist Yvette Roman suffers from epileptic seizures that are preceded by extraordinary visions. Much of her work is based on those visions. While in New York City for an exhibition of her work at The Guggenheim, a painting by Yvette is delivered to her Manhattan gallery. But, Yvette has no recollection of having done it, even though the painting may be her masterwork. Is it hers? Is it a forgery? Is someone trying to destroy Yvette?

This novel is the third of a trilogy. The others are My Father in The Night and When Clara Was Twelve. All three are available everywhere, in print and digital versions.

Her most recent novel, The Postmistress of Paris (HarperCollins, November, 2021) was included on Publishers Weekly’s notable literary fiction for fall 2021, and received a starred review praising its “lyrical, thought-provoking prose” and concluding, “This sterling portrait of a complex woman stands head and shoulders above most contemporary WWII fiction.” Meg’s international bestseller and National Jewish Book Award finalist The Last Train to London is now forthcoming or published in 20 languages.

Her debut memoir, Everything is Perfect, narrated by the author, was released by Audible on August 5th.

Her novel, Celeste & Chris, workshopped at Community of Writers, was recently published.

His book Out on Good Behavior: Teaching Math While Looking Over Your Shoulder was published by John Catt Educational, in January, 2021.

Splitting Heirs, written and illustrated by Anne Chadwick (McCaa Books,  July, 2021), reimagines her grandfather’s legal quest to find the rightful heirs of mysterious loner. In 1923, a puritanical lawyer teams with a profligate genealogist on an odyssey from Los Angeles to Paris and Provence, where they encounter characters ranging from grateful to greedy and sympathetic to seductive. This historical courtroom fiction explores multicultural perspectives on families and kinship.

His debut story collection, Golden Heart Parade, will be published by Santa Fe Writers Project in September, 2021. Golden Heart Parade was a winner of the SFWP Literary Awards, which were judged by Carmen Maria Machado. In her comments, Machado wrote, “I loved this collection—it’s raw, dark, and surprisingly funny. . . . There’s so much precision and verve in these stories. I was captivated the entire way through.”

His debut novel, Radiant Fugitives, following three generations of a Muslim Indian family confronted with a nation on the brink of change in Obama-era San Francisco and Texas, was published by Counterpoint Press on August 3, 2021.

Her article “A reading guide to legendary Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez” was recently published in the Los Angeles Times Books section.

Her short story collection, A Place Remote, (West Virginia University Press) has won a Silver IPPY in the Great Lakes – Best Regional Fiction category.

Her debut novel The Photographer will be published by Minotaur Books/ St. Martin’s Press (U.S.) on May 25, 2021 and by Hodder Books (UK) on May 13, 2021.

Her novel, Revival Season, will be published by Simon and Schuster on June 15, 2021.

An unanchored traveler meets devastating consequences as he searches for a new life in The Salt Fields, a debut work of prose from Stacy D. Flood, a stark and poignant Southern Gothic novella focused on the African American Great Migration after the Second World War, and a work that will leave readers thinking long after the final page.

Her new book, You Look Tired: An Excruciatingly Honest Guide to New Parenthood, was published by Running Press/Hachette in May, 2021. An audiobook is also available.

Her debut novel, The Music of Bees, will be published on April 27 by Dutton.

Her new novel, Sinking Islands, will be published in September, 2021 by Red Hen Press. It has been chosen as the Rumpus Book Club pick for July, and she will be interviewed on A Mighty Blaze by Lisa Genova on April 29.

Her young adult novel, Wider than the Sky, about sisters in the aftermath of their father’s sudden death who discover family secrets, was published by Soho Teen on January 19, 2021.

Her memoir, Loving Before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White, will be published May 18, 2021, from the University of Wisconsin Press. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker says, “This book is the real deal, the way it was. A good book for folks to grow on. I love it.”

His debut novel, Chateau Laux, will be released in April, 2021.

Her debut novel, What Comes After, will be published by Riverhead Books on April 13th, 2021.

Her novel The Bohemians was published on April 6, 2021, by Ballantine. The novel imagines the friendship between a young Dorothea Lange and her Chinese American assistant in 1920s San Francisco.

His novel, Bones of a Saint, will be published by Soho Press March 16, 2021. The opening chapter to this novel was first treated in workshop at the Community of Writers.

Her new book, Permission Granted: Kickass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love, will be published by New World Library in June, 2021. Permission Granted illustrates proven paths from “you couldn’t possibly” to “just watch me!” Regina Louise puts a unique spin on tried-and-true techniques of personal growth, coaching readers to deeply understand who they are and what they have been through. From this self-awareness, they can move into self-compassion and learn to give themselves the care and support they may have lacked.

Her second novel, In the Quick, will be published by Random House on March 2, 2021.

He has a new book, Comedy Writer, about techniques and habits of mind for humor writing. The paperback is half craft, including exercises, and half information about markets. It covers TV, monologue, animation, stage and print, expanding on an undergrad course Andrew taught at UC Davis as Artist in Residence in 2019. Andrew was also the former head writer for Johnny Carson.

She has just published The Memory Hive, a novel about a woman struggling to survive with an abusive husband, a demented mother, and a demanding job. In a non-linear way, the story unfolds in 50 interconnected episodes, exploring the way that memory works.

He recently launched Gatsby in Connecticut head-on into the global pandemic thinking the film festival circuit might bring attention to his documentary. The film, starring Sam Waterston and narrated by Keir Dullea, made The New Yorker’s Best Movies List for 2020. According to The New Yorker, the film develops in poignant detail the story of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s wild summer of 1920. Available on Amazon Prime, major cable and other digital platforms in the US/Canada. ROW in 2021. Distributed by Vision Films.

Her debut novel, At the Edge of the Haight, which won the 2019 PEN/Bellwether prize, will be published by Algonquin Books in January, 2021.

A Discerning Eye by Carol Orange was published by Cavan Bridge Press in October 2020. An audiobook narrated by Campbell Scott and Kathleen McElfresh was launched in December 2020. The story takes off from the tragic robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Jack Estes’ new novel, Searching for Gurney, which follows the lives of three US Marines and a North Vietnamese soldier during the Vietnam war, was published by O’Callahan Press in November 10, 2020.

Her book, Face, A Memoir, will be published Jan. 12, 2021, by Saddle Road Press.

His short story “How Does Your Garden Grow?” appeared in the 2020 issue of the literary magazine, The Broken Plate.

She will have two new titles published this year: Other Small Histories (Poetry Society of America, 2019 Chapbook Fellowship winner), and Allegiance: Micro Essays, in which she dissects her beliefs and navigates the complexity of family dynamics in search of her identity–– What does it mean to be Chinese American? How are we reflected in the people we love, and us in them? What obligation do we have to those who share our blood, and how does a woman claim her life as her own?

Her debut novel, Bone Broth, will be published by Hidden Timber Books in spring 2021. Her short story, “Jazz & Other Words for Love,” appeared in issue 2 of the Community of Writers’ new online literary journal, Omnium Gatherum Quarterly.

His debut novel, The Book of Lost Light, won the 2019 Big Moose Prize and will be published by Black Lawrence Press on November 16, 2020. It’s the story of Joseph Kylander, his obsessive photographer father, and the impulsive young cousin helping to raise him, as they take refuge with a group of artists in the Berkeley hills after the 1906 earthquake.

Jacquelyn Stolos’ debut novel, Edendale, will be published by Creature Publishing on October 20, 2020.

Her debut novel, Mother Mother, was published by Loyola University’s Apprentice House Press on October 1, 2020.

Her latest novel, Suburban Souls, was published on October 15, 2020, by Tailwinds Press.

Her historical fiction, Once in a Blood Moon, was a 2020 American Fiction Winner for the African American Category. The novel is also a 5 Star Reader’s Choice pick.

Her debut novel, Prospects of a Woman, is available October, 2020  from She Writes Press. A gripping and illuminating window into life in the Old West, Prospects of a Woman is the story of one woman’s passionate quest to carve out a place for herself in the liberal and bewildering society that emerged during the California gold rush frenzy. Featured in BuzzFeed as “New Historical Fiction Books You Won’t Be Able To Put Down This Fall.” Favorable Early Reviews: “The author’s language is evocative and beautiful.”—Kirkus. “A lusty, intelligent, and captivating portrait of a woman in early California.”—Foreward. “A fascinating, complex, dark, and beautiful novel.”—Douglas Glover

Her second novel, Land of the Cranes, was published in September, 2020, from Scholastic Press. It is about a little girl and her pregnant mother who are caged in an immigration detention facility. The book has already gained a starred review from KIRKUS who called it, “powerful… lyrical… soaring…” and another starred review by Publisher’s Weekly who called it “Lyrical, passionate, and all-too timely.” It was a BookCon 2020 Middle Grade Buzz Book and was featured on the Cultural Frontline on the BBC’s World Service’s program Cultural Impact.

Her short story collection, A Place Remote, was published in September, 2020, by West Virginia University Press.