New Books for April 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.
Aflame: Learning from Silence, Pico Iyer, Riverhead Books
A revelatory exploration of the abiding clarity and calm to be found in quiet retreat. Read the book review here.
Apprentice to a Breathing Hand, Laynie Browne, Omnidawn Publishing
Paying homage to Mei-Mei- Berssenbruge with a blend of long-lined, short, and acrostic poems. Read the book review here.
Book of Kin, Darius Atefat-Peckham, Autumn House Press
Using a variety of forms, Atefat-Peckham reflects on a life of loss and grief, celebration and sorrow. Read the book review here.
Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood, Angela Denker, Broadleaf Books
“A crash course in the marketing of toxic masculinity for white supremacist and Christian nationalist ends.” Read the book review here.
The Dove that Didn’t Return, Yael S. Hacohen, Holy Cow! Press
“What peace can exist in isolation? Who suffers from the consequences of war?” Read the book review here.
earthwork, Jill Khoury, Switchback Books
This award-winning collection of poems offers readers a poignant look at feminine societal conventions and complex mother-daughter relationships. Read the book review here.
For Today, Carolyn Hembree, Louisiana State University Press
Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, these poem examine the delicate interplay of ‘sandwich generation’ responsibilities. Read the book review here.
Four Mothers: An Intimate Journey Through the First Year of Parenthood in Four Countries, Abigail Leonard, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
“While Four Mothers does not make policy recommendations, its case studies serve as a potent directive.” Read the book review here.
The Murmur of Everything Moving, Maureen Stanton, University of Georgia Press
Join Maureen Stanton on an odyssey through the difficult yet exquisite terrain of love in the face of mortality in this memoir. See sponsor blog post here.
Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future, Emile Suotonye DeWeaver, The New Press
“Observations about prison, policing, criminal injustices, and the foundational racism that undergirds many US social policies.” Read the book review here.
Wrongful, Lee Upton, Sagging Meniscus Press
The new novel explores the many ways we can get everything wrong, time and again, even after we’re certain we discovered the truth. See sponsor book post here.
You Only Get What You’re Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty, Liz Theoharis and Noam Sandweiss-Back, Beacon Press
A blend of memoir, polemic, theological discussion, and policy guide on wide-ranging efforts used in grassroots campaigns. Read the book review here.
More Notable New Books
Poetry
A Carnival of Atrocities, Natalia García Freire, trans. Victor Meadowcroft, World Editions
Firefall, Heather Lang-Cassera, Unsolicited Press
Five-Paragraph Essay on the Body-Mind Problem, Rachel Trousdale, Wesleyan University Press
If I Had Said Beauty, Tami Haaland, Lost Horse Press
night myths • • before the body, Abi Pollokoff, Red Hen Press
Social Studies, Joseph D. Reich, Audience Askew Press
We, April Ossmann, Red Hen Press
Fiction
Blood Wolf Moon, Elise Paschen, Red Hen Press
The Burning Heart of the World, Nancy Kricorian, Red Hen Press
Child of Light, Jesi Bender, Whisk(e)y Tit
City of Smoke and Sea, Malia Márquez, Red Hen Press
Giant Baby!, Liz Rosenberg, illus. Eva Byrne, Marble Press
The Legends of Big Bend National Park, Ginger Hopkins, Hummingbird House Press
The Medici Curse, Daco S. Auffenorde, Scarlet
The Sea Gives Up the Dead, Molly Olguín, Red Hen Press
The Tractor Squad Saves the Day, Heather Dawn Torres, illus. Gary Laib, Marble Press
Visiting Composer, Andrea Avery, Miami University Press
Nonfiction
Compost Happens, Diane Morgan Dean, Windsor River Press
Forest Magic for Kids, Susie Spikol, ills. Renia Metallinou, Gibbs Smith Publisher
Imagine a Door, Laura Stanfill, Forest Avenue Press
A Kid’s Guide to Backyard Trees, Felicia Brower, ills. Nicole LaRue, Gibbs Smith Publisher
What I Know About Nature, Gibbs Smith Publisher
See March 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!