New Books for September 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.

September 2025 Featured Books

the artemisia, William S. Barnes, Inlandia Institute
This collection blends lyrical love poems, mythology, and botany, honoring passion, mortality, and nature’s mystery. Read the book review here.

Atavists, Lydia Millet, W.W. Norton
This collection of short stories follows a family and their network, exploring the climate crisis and human nature. Read the book review here.

Black Silk and Other Poems: Creative Work of Ruth Mountaingrove, ed. Vincent Peloso & Sue Hilton, Many Name Press
A deserved tribute to a maverick working for women’s rights, equality, and freedom in all things through art, music, and writing. See Editor’s Choice blog post here.

The Boy From the Sea, Garrett Carr, Alfred A. Knopf
A boy who washes ashore in a barrel is adopted by a family, changing a small Irish village. Read the book review here.

If I Had Said Beauty, Tami Haaland, Lost Horse Press
“Haaland views herself in a process of ‘becoming’ that allows her to continually rethink her existence, which in turn allows her poems to reframe it.” Read the book review here.

I Want to Burn This Place Down, Maris Kreizman, Ecco
This essay collection argues for a political shift to the left by connecting personal experiences with broader cultural and political issues. Read the book review here.

King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation, Scott Anderson, Doubleday
This historical narrative details how a special relationship between the U.S. and Iran led to the Iranian Revolution. Read the book review here.

Kids on Earth: The Learning Potential of 5 Billion Minds, Howard Blumenthal & Robert C. Pianta, Harvard Education Press
“As a roadmap for lifelong learning, the book serves as an antidote to staid scholarship.” Read the book review here.

Necessary Fiction, Eloghosa Osunde, Riverhead Books
“This novel is about love and care among a group of friends who make meaningful lives out of some difficult circumstances.” Read the book review here.

The Queer Allies Bible: The Ultimate Guide to Being an Empowering LGBTQIA+ Ally, NV Gay,
Ig Publishing
This guide provides tools and strategies for becoming an effective ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. See Editor’s Choice blog post here.

The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden, Avid Reader Press
This novel follows an isolated woman who confronts suppressed truths about herself, her family, and her country. Read the book review here.

Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S., Caitlin Cass, Fantagraphics
Drawing “strength from the women of the past,” Cass is “optimistic about the future, as she refuses to give into hopelessness.” Read the book review here.

The Thing About My Uncle, Peter J. Stavros, Author Published Young Adult Thriller
A troubled teen, sent to live with his uncle, uncovers a past connection, learning to reconcile with his family’s secrets. See the sponsored book post here.

Things in Nature Merely Grow, Yiyun Li, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“Reading such a work should provide us with more empathy . . . especially when we deal with grief and loss in ways others might not understand.” Read the book review here.

Where Heaven Sinks, María Esquinca, University of Nevada Press
This poetry collection uses striking imagery and typography to explore border life, immigration, and resilience. See the sponsored book post here.

Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, Randi Weingarten, Penguin Random House
This book argues for the essential role of teachers and public education in protecting democracy from authoritarian threats. Read the book review here.

Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy, Flatiron Books
“…characters and readers will need to change their approach to the world to have any chance of survival.” Read the book review here.

More Notable New Books

Poetry

All These Urban Fields, Loisa Fenichell, Nothing to Say
The Anxiety of Conception, Katy Ilonka Gero, Nothing to Say
Barley Child, Greg Rappleye, University of Arkansas Press
Between Heart and Sap, Dani Cole, Nothing to Say
The Birth of Undoing, Emily Patterson, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
BOY APPARITION, mk zariel, Vinegar Press
Earth Symphony and Other Poems, Todd Boss, Author Published
Flowers on a Train, Laurel Benjamin, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
I AM RETURNING FOR THE BODY, Rachel Jihye Han, Switchback Books
A Man Made of Stories, George Franklin, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
Scenes From the Planet Earth, Joseph D. Reich, Sagging Meniscus
That Special Something, John Popielaski, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions
Tributaries: Essays & Verses Flowing From & Celebrating Favorite Poems, Kurt Luchs, Sagging Meniscus
Two of Pentacles, Allison Parrish, Nothing to Say

Fiction

All That Dies in April, Mariana Travacio, World Editions
The Bittersweet Year, Barry Potyondi, Holand Press
The Cracks We Bear, Catalina Infante, World Editions
The Cut Line, Carolina Pihelgas, World Editions
The Shipikisha Club, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Dzanc Books
State of Emergency, Jeremy Tiang, World Editions

Nonfiction

Empathy Takes Action, Aimee Cliff, The Experiment
Even Strange Ghosts Can Be Shared: The Collected Letters of Jack Spicer, ed Kevin Killian, Kelly Holt, and Daniel Benjamin, Wesleyan University Press
The Hottest Seat on Campus: A Roadmap for Mastering Leadership in College Admission, Angel B. Pérez, Harvard Education Press
The House That Jack Built: The Collected Lectures of Jack Spicer, ed Peter Gizzi, Wesleyan University Press
Plant-Based Magic, Lisanna Wallance, The Experiment
Queens of Society, Siân Evans, The Experiment
Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives: How Students’ Reading Achievement Has Been Held Back and What We Can Do About It, Timothy Shanahan, Harvard Education Press
Your Next Big Career Move, Cara Bedick, The Experiment

See August 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!