New Books for May 2026
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.
May 2026 Featured Books
Fight Like a Machine: The Combat Future of the Human Body, Thomas M. Hunt, The University of Oklahoma Press
See Editor’s Choice blog post here.
No Packing Necessary: Poems for the Solo Journey, Patricia Ann Joslin, Main Street Rag
Patricia Joslin’s poems explore grief, memory, and healing after loss, celebrating life’s enduring beauty through vivid, empathetic detail. See sponsored blog post here.
More Notable New Books
Poetry
Abrupt Edges, David Goodrum, Bass Clef Books
All Us Beautiful Monsters, Alex Lemon, Milkweed Editions
distant water, Beth Piatote, Milkweed Editions
Eros Rex, Haley Hodges, Orison Books
Horses, Jake Skeets, Milkweed Books
The Lost Songs of Nina Simone, Shonda Buchanan, Running Wild Press
The Negroes Send Their Love, Sean Hill, Milkweed Editions
Oddest & Oldest & Saddest & Best, Jane Zwart, Orison Books
Reading Water, Chris Bullard, Bass Clef Books
Seeing Double, Gary J. Whitehead, Terrapin Books
Transitions: New and Selected Sonnets, Marilyn Hacker, Milkweed Editions
Zen Pessimism, Dana Stamps II, Green Stamps Books
Fiction
Aliens Attack!, Dave Housley, Mason Jar Press
“The Ambiguity of the Hypotheses”: Four Landmarks within the Tangles, Networks, and Knots of Gadda’s Pasticciaccio, Adria Bernardi, Bordighera Press
Asleep Awake Asleep, Jo-Ann Bekker, Catalyst Press
The Chismosas Only Book Club, Laekan Zea Kemp, illus Heidi Moreno, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Family Night, Ani King, Mason Jar Press
Ghoul, Kasey Iris, Top Shelf Productions
Hear Ye Mortals, Yamile Saied Méndez, Levine Querido
The Marsh Fellows, Anna-Laura Sullivan, Top Shelf Productions
Our Fair Share, Sarah Marie Jette, Henry Holt and Co.
Please Don’t Go, E. Salvador, Atria/Primero Sueno Press
Tarantula, Eduardo Halfon, trans Daniel Hahn, Bellevue Literary Press
Nonfiction
A.P. Indy: Champion Racehorse and Breed-Shaping Sire, Lenny Shulman, University Press of Kentucky
Archetypal Coaching: Creating Synergies through Astrology and Dream Work, Alba Carod, Routledge
The Game at the End of the World, Juan Villoro, trans Francisco Cantú, Restless Books
Managing the Bucket List: The Journey Begins – Volume I, Carol McIlwain, Author Published
Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, Reyna Grande, Atria/Primero Sueno Press
Think Bigger, Lead Better: Eight to Great Principles for Organizational Success, Rick Tollakson, Forbes Books
A Person My Colour: Love, Adoption and Parenting While White, Martina Dahlmanns, Catalyst Press
Skybound, Roger Jones, Bass Clef Books
Tumbleweed Underworld: A Saga of Morphine and Mayhem in the Arizona Territory, Eduardo Obregón Pagán, The University of Oklahoma Press
See April 2026 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!