BOOKS
Category Spotlight Discover
Category Spotlight Discover A preview of new titles published in May 2022
Looking ahead to May, there is a wealth of titles to look forward to from underrepresented authors and perspectives
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Natasha Onwuemezi @TashaOnwuemezi
Category highlights
n eclectic mix of titles this month include The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas, a “chilling
literary labyrinth” by Daniel James, What Goes Unsaid, an extraordinary memoir from Emiliano Monge, and Twent-Eight Pounds Ten Shillings (HopeRoad), a polyphonic tribute to the Windrush generation by Tony Fairweather. Also featured are the latest instalment of Anne Cakebread’s Teach Your Dog series, this time in Italian; a takedown of the billion-dollar yoga industry from Nadia Gilani; and a wonderful collection of interviews, leters and tips from leading Black voices by Rene Germain.
In more non-fiction, German sensation Kübra Gümüsay discusses language in Speaking and Being, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa provide a definitive and exploratory biography of George Floyd and American singer Ronnie Spector lays her life bare in Be My Baby.
Kids’ titles give us a glimpse of the life of a deaf character in Caryl Lewis’ Seed and neurodiversit in The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks by Emily Kenny. In Poetry, diabetes is under the microscope in Sarah James’ Blood Sugar, Sex, Magic and we have Out for Air, a collection from former pro skateboarder Olly Todd.
Fiction
Sara Novic True Biz Little, Brown, 5th, £18.99, HB, 9781408714881
Submissions Category Spotlights preview forthcoming titles within a certain genre. For submission guidelines and publication dates, visit
thebookseller.com/ publishing-calendar. The next Category Spotlight will be Country Focus: Wales in the 29th April issue.
34 22nd April 2022
An outstanding and revelatory novel set in a residential school for the Deaf. It follows Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another Deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmis- tress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both.
Fiction
Deesha Philyaw The Secret Lives of
Church Ladies Pushkin, 5th, £14.99, HB, 9781911590699
A sizzling, sexy and raw short story collection that follows a cast of Black women navigat- ing social pressure, the hurdles and joys of being in love, and joyous respites from being "good". It was shortlisted for the National Book Award in the US and a major HBO Max TV adaptation is in the works, executive- produced by Tessa Thompson.
Current affairs
Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa His Name is
George Floyd Bantam Press, 19th, £20, HB, 9781787635838
Drawing on the Washington Post's in-depth reporting and award-winning series on Floyd, this title is a definitive biography diving deep into the structural racism that shaped Floyd's life and death from reporters Samuels and Olorunnipa. An essential and intimate portrait of an emblem- atic life.
Health and wellbeing
Samara Linton, Rianna Walcott (eds) The Colour of Madness: Mental Health and Race in
Technicolour Bluebird, 12th, £16.99, HB, 9781529088496
This important anthol- ogy of work amplifies the voices of people of colour and their experi- ences with mental health. It was initially published in 2018 by Stirling Publishing but the authors ended their relationship with the publisher after it was linked to a far-right group. The new edition has been updated with added contributions and powerful artwork.
Current affairs
Ione Gamble Poor Little Sick Girls Dialogue, 26th, £16.99, HB, 9780349702407
Diagnosed with an incurable illness two weeks after her 19th birthday, Gamble's début non-fiction book unpicks our obsession with self-care, personal branding, productivity and “empowerment”. Bold, intimate and unflinching, the essays on sleep ("a love letter to bed") and fatphobia ("self-love is a lie") are particular highlights.
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