Through nine emotionally vivid stories, all narrated from animal perspectives, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s debut collection explores themes of environmentalism, conservation, identity, belonging, loss, and family with resounding heart and deep tenderness. In Kolluri’s pages, a faithful hound mourns the loss of the endangered rhino he swore to protect. Vultures seek meaning as they attend to the antelope that perished in Central Asia. A beloved donkey’s loyalty to a zookeeper in Gaza is put to the ultimate test. And a wounded pigeon in Delhi finds an unlikely friend. In striking, immersive detail against the backdrop of an ever-changing international landscape, What We Fed to the Manticore speaks to the fears and joys of the creatures we share our world with, and ultimately places the reader under the rich canopy of the tree of life.

Between life and death there is a library. When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

A nationally recognized activist's 21st century guide to liberation through a Black queer feminist lens. Appearing on The Roots' annual list, in 2017, as one of the most influential young African Americans, Carruthers--at age 32--is among a handful of high profile activists. Her debut book upends mainstream ideas about race, class and gender and sets forth a radically inclusive path to collective liberation. Her inclusive story about Black struggle draws on Black intellectual and grassroots organizing traditions including the Haitian Revolution, U.S. Civil Rights, and Black and LGBTQ Feminist Movements. Bold and honest, Unapologetic is an inside look from an on-the-ground activist and movement leader about how to move people from the margins to the center of political strategy and practice.

Perfect for fans of Tamsyn Muir and Rebecca Thorne, this joyful debut follows a gardener fighting to secure her dream job in the Divine Gardens—manipulating God, antagonizing her attractive rival, and running afoul of a brewing rebellion along the way. Cyprin grows perfect apples. No other worker tends the orchards like she can. Sick of living in a Jenga-esque megacity where she’s never alone (there’s always a rat), Cyprin dreams of a job in the Divine Gardens, tending to the plants overseen by God. Her only way in is winning an annual flower pageant—one that’s been dominated by the Divine Gardens’ head gardener for five years an insufferable woman with an undeniable affinity for plants. When Cyprin plays dirty (criminally dirty) and wins, she jumps headfirst into life in the gardens and her rivalry with the head gardener, who she just can’t stop thinking about. Pranks, backstabbing, and a lot of heated glaring unite them, until they’re both drawn into a plot to take down God—who’s really just some guy with a great garden. As they spiral through layers of the city’s history and underground rebel group, Cyprin and her rival will find they understand each other like no one else does, even if there can only be one head gardener in the end. But rise or fall, at least Cyprin will always have the rats. A chaotically queer exploration of love, ambition, and toxic work culture, The Divine Gardener's Handbook is a romp of a science fantasy that will leave you gasping for more.

A philosophy of games to help us win back control over what we value The philosopher C. Thi Nguyen—one of the leading experts on the philosophy of games and the philosophy of data—takes us deep into the heart of games, and into the depths of bureaucracy, to see how scoring systems shape our desires. Games are the most important art form of our era. They embody the spirit of free play. They show us the subtle beauty of action everywhere in life in video games, sports, and boardgames—but also cooking, gardening, fly-fishing, and running. They remind us that it isn’t always about outcomes, but about how glorious it feels to be doing the thing. And the scoring systems help get us there, by giving us new goals to try on. Scoring systems are also at the center of our corporations and bureaucracies—in the form of metrics and rankings. They tell us exactly how to measure our success. They encourage us to outsource our values to an external authority. And they push on us to value simple, countable things. Metrics don’t capture what really matters; they only capture what’s easy to measure. The price of that clarity is our independence. The Score asks us is this the game you really want to be playing?

A rallying cry to fight the commodification of human attention, with the tools we need to reclaim our humanity, by a group of writers, artists, and activists in the vanguard of the movement“A stirring battle cry on behalf of our shared humanity against the forces that seek to diminish and degrade it. Downright invigorating. Just what the moment calls for.”—Chris Hayes, author of The Sirens’ CallWe all feel something is seriously wrong. Our attention—that essential ability to give our minds and senses to the world—is being trapped, gutted, and sold out from under us by an industry of immense technological and financial power. The heedless exploitation of this vital capacity by a handful of tech companies is harming us all, reducing our very selfhood to that which can be quantified, bought, and sold—and shaking the foundations of our democracy.To push back against this “human fracking,” we need more than individual willpower or isolated efforts. We need a movement of collective resistance. Such a movement is beginning to bloom, and in this radical, first-of-its-kind guide, The Friends of Attention show us how to join the fight. We meet welders, nurses, poets, and surfers, all of whom are engaged in attentional practices. We learn to seek out sanctuaries—theaters and museums, houses of worship, dance parties—where together we can take refuge from the frackers. Attention Activism takes our apocalyptic present, turns it on its head, and reveals new vistas of human flourishing.Drawing on a rich legacy of critical intellectuals and the creative wisdom of diverse traditions, Attensity calls on us to come together to defeat the greedy dehumanizing forces of brute instrumentalization—and re-enchant the world.

A gorgeously drawn graphic novel reminiscent of stained glass and illuminated manuscripts, telling a story of queer transmasc romance, daring adventure, and (literally) fighting your demons. Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers him a deal to escape: an illicit tryst and lifelong possession. Jules takes the deal, and begins his new life as a criminal who's impervious to harm. He soon meets Casper, another trans man and a poetic thief, and together they steal, lie, and cheat their way through bewildering adventures, and develop feelings for each other along the way. But as Jules and Casper's relationship deepens, so does the devil's jealous grasp...

BEHIND EVERY HERO, THERE'S A HISTORIANAn ambitious young scholar is sent to research the mysteries of an adventurer's inn – only to uncover a centuries-old secret in this heart-warming and poignant fantasy.Mount Vengeance is legendary, a monumental climb with a dragon at its peak.For most, it’s an adventure, or a quest to prove themselves worthy of fame and glory.For Ainsworth, it’s perfect thesis material.Ainsworth Gladsly, ambitious young scholar, research fellow and up-and-coming historian is finally ready to make his mark on the world. When his supervisor learns of a rustic inn at the foot of the legendary Mount Vengeance, she send him to be the first to to document the exploits of the bold adventurers who face the perils of the mountain – and the dragon said to inhabit it.But the inn is far from the sophisticated city life he’s grown to love, and even as he grudgingly warms to its rustic charm – and its lovely innkeeper, Honey – the mystery of the mountain refuses to reveal itself. Worse, Ainsworth can’t find evidence that anyone has ever undertaken the climb – every adventurer comes to the inn, stays for a single night, and then returns home.And with Ainsworth’s reputation as an academic on the line, it’s a mystery he can’t allow to remain unsolved – even if he has to push the adventurers up the mountain himself.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was the most famous scientist of his age, a visionary German naturalist and polymath whose discoveries forever changed the way we understand the natural world. Among his most revolutionary ideas was a radical conception of nature as a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. In North America, Humboldt’s name still graces towns, counties, parks, bays, lakes, mountains, and a river. And yet the man has been all but forgotten. In this illuminating biography, Andrea Wulf brings Humboldt’s extraordinary life back into focus: his prediction of human-induced climate change; his daring expeditions to the highest peaks of South America and to the anthrax-infected steppes of Siberia; his relationships with iconic figures, including Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson; and the lasting influence of his writings on Darwin, Wordsworth, Goethe, Muir, Thoreau, and many others. Brilliantly researched and stunningly written, The Invention of Nature reveals the myriad ways in which Humboldt’s ideas form the foundation of modern environmentalism—and reminds us why they are as prescient and vital as ever.

An undead orc knight leaves battle behind for a new kind of afterlife—one with good food, good friends, and maybe even fatherhood.   Rottgor is worn out. Literally. Barely held together by dark magic, he has protected the necropolis for centuries. When he’s forced into retirement, he’s faced with a new to forge a future guided not by obligation, but by passion.   Following his heart (and stomach), he decides to open a restaurant where the city’s undead and living residents can share food and community. He’s helped in his quest by an unlikely assortment of neighbors, including elves, skeletons, vampires—and a young orphan girl named Astra, whose ancestry, if discovered, could put her and the entire necropolis in danger. To protect Astra and the life he’s building, Rottgor must face his past and form new alliances built on friendship, loyalty, and love. As comforting as warm pumpkin bread, this gentle fantasy traces how even a dark history can rise into a bright future. 

A delirious and gripping story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the reimagined destinies of Greek mythic figures Daedalus, Icarus, King Minos, and the Minotaur. Daedalus of Crete is many things. The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur. And the grieving father of Icarus—plunged into the sea as father and son flew from the grasp of the tyrannical King Minos. Now that Daedalus is dead, he seeks to reunite with Icarus in the Underworld. Daedalus will confront any terror to see his son again—whether it be the vengeful spirit of Minos, the cunning Queen Persephone, or even the insatiable ghost of the Minotaur. But a shocking realization follows in his wake. As Daedalus encounters the souls from his past, he begins to worry that his identity as a husband and father, mentor and friend was all a lie. And that the truth, stalking him in the labyrinth of his own heart, might be too monstrous for him to bear.

Trained to make them laugh—now, he must make them bleed. On the rising continent of Novra, old-world empires wage a brutal contest for control. Tazio, a Danuiin street performer whose only weapon is his wit, is caught in the currents. When the conqueror Lord Falkone razes his life to ash, Tazio burns with vengeance. But to kill a king, he must learn the way of shadows—a brutal path where deception is currency, loyalty is fragile, and power answers to sacrifice. Step into a world of political feuds, magic born from dreams and desire, and players who never reveal their full hand. As ancient forces clash, Tazio is pulled deeper into a game where every step closer to vengeance claws at the fabric of who he is, and who he loves. In a realm on the brink, Tazio must decide—will he remain the fool, or become the blade that topples Falkone... Why you might love Jester: A Dark Underdog Transformation: Follow Tazio’s evolution from a sharp-tongued performer to calculating shadow, driven by vengeance and shaped by obligation Immersive Political Fantasy: Explore the Realm of Galia: emerald towers, treacherous seas, bitter old-world feuds, and the ethereal force of Etria Love Forged in the Shadows: Fierce, haunting, forbidden. Passion that collides with duty and love that tests whether the heart can survive what the soul demands Complex Cast & Multiple POVs: A rotating lens on flawed characters, each navigating ambition, loyalty, and regret High-Stakes Magic with a Cost: Power born from dreams and desire—capable of miracles or devastation, never without consequence Perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Name of the Wind, Jester is an epic fantasy tale of loss, loyalty, and the ultimate long game.

Shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize The story of art collective Gran Fury—which fought back during the AIDS crisis through direct action and community-made propaganda—offers lessons in love and grief. In the late 1980s, the AIDS pandemic was annihilating queer people, intravenous drug users, and communities of color in America, and disinformation about the disease ran rampant. Out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an art collective that called itself Gran Fury formed to campaign against corporate greed, government inaction, stigma, and public indifference to the epidemic. Writer Jack Lowery examines Gran Fury’s art and activism from iconic images like the “Kissing Doesn’t Kill” poster to the act of dropping piles of fake bills onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Lowery offers a complex, moving portrait of a collective and its members, who built essential solidarities with each other and whose lives evidenced the profound trauma of enduring the AIDS crisis. Gran Fury and ACT UP’s strategies are still used frequently by the activists leading contemporary movements. In an era when structural violence and the devastation of COVID-19 continue to target the most vulnerable, this belief in the power of public art and action persists.

The advanced technology of a house first pleases then increasingly terrifies its occupants.