New Books for October 2025
Small, Independent, and University Press, and Author-published Books
NewPages learns about many wonderful book titles each month to share with our readers. You can read more about some of these by clicking on the link to their blog post. If you are a publisher or author looking to be listed here and featured on our blog, social media, and in our weekly newsletter, please visit our FAQ page.
October 2025 Featured Books
Abbreviate, Sarah Fawn Montgomery, Small Harbor Publishing
Montgomery’s essays expose how patriarchal conditioning diminishes girls while celebrating female resilience, friendship, and reclamation. Read the book review here.
Certain Shelter, Abbie Kiefer, June Road Press
Kiefer intertwines personal and communal loss, celebrating endurance, ordinary lives, and Maine’s fading heritage. Read the book review here.
Crack-Up Capitalism, Quinn Slobodian, Metropolitan Books
Slobodian exposes global economic zones prioritizing capitalism over democracy, revealing alarming insights into power, profit, and freedom. Read the book review here.
Don’t Call It a Comeback, Keira D’Amato with Evelyn Spence, St. Martin’s Press
“A story about finding joy in what one loves, whether that’s running or any other vocation or avocation one might have.” Read the book review here.
ENTWINE, Mary Newell, BlazeVOX [books]
“An ‘anthropocentric lament,’ advocating for living deliberately and attentively within one’s environment.” Read the book review here.
even my dreams are over the constant state of anxiety, Irene Cooper, Airlie Press
Poetry in various forms that explores the interconnectedness of personal and collective stories. Read the book review here.
Girl in a Bear Suit, Jen Jabaily-Blackburn, Elixir Press
Jabaily-Blackburn’s reimagines womanhood, confronting patriarchal narratives through transformation, resistance, and reclaiming female voice. Read the book review here.
The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich, Evan Osnos, Scribner
Osnos’s essay collection examines the ultrarich — how they spend, protect, and sometimes lose immense wealth. Read the book review here.
Now We Are Here: Family, Migration, Children’s Education, and Dreams for a Better Life, Gabrielle Oliveira, Stanford University Press
Oliveira explores immigrant families’ trauma, silenced children’s stories, and educators’ struggle to foster safety. Read the book review here.
The Payback, Kashana Cauley, Atria Books
Cauley’s darkly comic heist novel satirizes student debt, racism, and society’s contradictory promises about education and success. Read the book review here.
Same As It Ever Was, Claire Lombardo, Doubleday
“Life is found in the struggles, as well as the moments of joy, especially in the quotidian nature of life…” Read the book review here.
Sanctuary School: Innovating to Empower Immigrant Youth, Chandler Patton Miranda, Harvard Education Press
‘An alternative model of inclusive, welcoming education…members are encouraged to work together and weigh in on all school governance decisions.’ Read the book review here.
Solidarity With Children: An Essay Against Adult Supremacy, Madeline Lane-McKinley. Haymarket Books
“…its overarching argument — that adults and children must be allies and collaborators in remaking the world.. ” Read the book review here.
What Good is Heaven, Raye Hendrix, TRP: The University Press of SHSU
Raye Hendrix’s debut explores queer identity, Southern Gothic heritage, and resilience amid faith, violence, and rural repression. Read the book review here.
More Notable New Books
Poetry
At the Edge: Selected Political Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, trans Margaree Little, Green Linden Press
dementia lyrics, Dennis Hinrichsen, Green Linden Press
I AM RETURNING FOR THE BODY, Rachel Jihye Han, Switchback Books
Touché, Pascalle Monnier, trans Cole Swensen, Green Linden Press
Toss Repeat, John Monroe Johnson, SurVision Books
Fiction
Francine, Joe Taylor, Main Street Rag
Our Brother’s Computer, Desiree K Williams, Author Published
Target Pool, S. A. Black, Author Published
Usurper: Essays on the Death of Reality, D. Harlan Wilson, Guide Dog Books
Where Blackbirds Fly, Shann Ray, University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction
Fit Into Me, Molly Gaudry, Rose Metal Press
See September 2025 book titles here.
To discover more great books from small, independent, and university presses, visit the NewPages Guide to Publishers as well as our Books Received monthly roundup. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay up to date!