Hello and welcome to Diversishelf!
This week’s issue, only one month from our hundredth (!!!) is our biggest one yet! 56 books, one more than issue #87, which if our archives don’t mislead me, was our previous highest scorer.
It’s amazing just how many authors from diverse backgrounds are able to bring their experiences and expertise to the industry, and we hope this is only to get more common in the years to come. I hope we’ll be here reporting on the new releases even then!
I can’t think of a better start to May, which brings us AAPI Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, and Jewish American Heritage Month. Lucky for us, this issue has a few fitting titles, namely That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall, by a native Hawaiian author, The Cove by Claire Rose and Homebound by Portia Elan, both Jewish authors, Staring into the Sun by Madelyn Postman, a Chinese American author, and more.
Some of these books contain sensitive themes. Please check content warnings before purchasing and reading these titles.
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Chai and Charmcraft by Lynn Strong - Out 01 May 26
Tags: Fantasy, Queer representation, Achillean representation, Nonbinary author, queer author, disabled author, neurodivergent author
Deviants and Trailblazers: A History of Trans Activism in Britain by Rebecca Jane Morgan - Out 20 May 26 UK/04 May 26 US
Tags: Political Nonfiction, Transfemme author, trans representation, anti-transphobia themes
Tags: Science Fiction, Queer author, queer representation, neurodivergent author, Australian author
The Reaper and The Waiting by January Sun - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Graphic Novel, Achillean representation
Staring into the Sun: Stories from a Chinese American Family 1895-2015 by Madelyn Postman - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Memoir, Chinese American author
High-Class Homos: Volume 2 by Momozerii - Out 04 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Graphic Novel, Queer representation
Stalking Not Required by Corina Bair - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Fantasy , Bisexual representation, bisexual author
Love in the West End by Maude Winters - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Romance, Sapphic representation, pansexual author, disabled author, neurodivergent author
Chaotic Energy by Stephanie Yeboah - Out 05 Mar 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Romance, Black American author, Black American representation, fat representation
That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: YA Thriller, Native Hawaiian author, sapphic representation, Native Hawaiian representation
John of John by Douglas Stuart - Out 21 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, Achillean author, achillean representation
Now Then by Morgan Radford - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Literary Fiction, Black-Cuban author, debut author, Cuban representation, immigrant representation, biracial representation
Girls Like Us by Jennifer Dugan - Out 12 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: YA Romance, Sapphic representation, bisexual author
Raw and Zero by Imogen Smith - Out 18 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Poetry, Trans author, queer author, pro-Palestine author, Muslim representation
Homebound by Portia Elan - Out 07 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Science Fiction, Jewish author, debut author, queer author
Against Money by JW Mason and Arjun Jayadev - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Political Nonfiction, Indian author, anti-capitalism themes
Love, Me: A Letter to Black Women in a Toxic Country, Career, and Relationship by Tiffany D. Cross - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Political Nonfiction, Black American author, anti-racism themes, feminism themes
Shadows in Dream Stone by Kelly K. Branyik - Out 16 Apr 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Science Fiction, Bisexual author, sapphic representation, feminism themes
She Knows All the Names by Michelle Jabès Corpora - Out 05 May 26
Tags: YA Fantasy, Egyptian author
Young World by Soman Chainani - Out 04 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: YA Thriller, Indian American author
You Pierce My Soul by Jessica Mary Best - Out 10 Mar 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: YA Dystopian, Queer author, sapphic representation
Verity Guild by Mai Corland - Out 07 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Romantasy, Korean American author
Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter by Stephanie Fairyington - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Political Nonfiction, Queer author, feminism themes, debut author
Turn (W)here: A Geography of Home by Chet'la Sebree - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Memoir, Black American author, anti-racism themes
The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Historical Fiction, Taiwanese American author, Chinese American representation
The Wives of Herrick Hall by Julie Lew - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Horror, Sapphic representation, nonbinary author, debut author, Chinese American author
The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed - Out 14 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Science Fiction, British Egyptian author, debut author, anti-imperialism themes
The Outer Country by Davin Malasarn - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Literary Fiction, Thai American author, Thai representation, queer representation, debut author, immigrant representation
The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod - Out 18 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Romance, Queer author, sapphic representation
The Library of Flowers by L.C. Chu - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Literary Fiction, Chinese American author, Chinese American representation
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Science Fiction, AAPI author
The Instigators: How Black Women Have Been Essential to American Democracy by Atima Omara - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Political Nonfiction, Black American author, Black American representation, anti-racism themes, feminism themes
The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Horror, Biracial author, autistic author, Chinese representation
The Fallen: The Lost Girls of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries and a Legacy of Silence by Louise Brangan - Out 30 Apr 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Historical Nonfiction, Irish author, feminism themes, abolition themes
The Cove by Claire Rose - Out 15 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: YA Horror, Debut author, queer author, Jewish author, bisexual representation
She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang - Out 05 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Horror, Chinese Filipino author, Filipino representation, debut author
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Young Adult, Indigenous American author, Indigenous American representation, anti-colonialism themes
Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu - Out 06 Aug 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, AAPI author, debut author, AAPI representation
Saturn Returning by Kim Narby - Out 18 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, Debut author, queer author, queer representation
One Leg on Earth by ‘Pemi Aguda - Out 07 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, Nigerian author, Nigerian representation
Like We Were in Paris by Stephan Lee - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Young Adult, Achillean author, Achillean representation, AAPI author
Tags: Psychology Nonfiction, Indigenous American author, decolonialism themes
Hollow Inside by Asako Otani - Out 12 Feb 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, Translated, Japanese author, Japanese representation, debut author
Hear Ye Mortals by Yamile Saied Mendez - Out 14 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: YA Historical Fiction, Argentine American author, Argentine representation, anti-fascism themes, immigrant representation
Good News by Alexa Yasemin Brahme - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Literary Fiction, Turkish representation, immigrant representation, debut author, Turkish American author
Earthly Playing Field by Radhika Singh - Out 18 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Science Fiction, Queer representation, AAPI author, Punjabi representation, anti-colonialism themes
But I Won't Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao - Out 18 Jun 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Horror, Indo-Chinese author, environmental justice themes
Between Sun and Shadow by Laura Genn - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: YA Science Fiction, Bisexual author, sapphic representation, debut author
Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Memoir, Black American author, anti-racism themes
Abundance by Hafeez Lakhani - Out 05 May 26 US
Info & Order - US link
Tags: Literary Fiction, Muslim representation, Indian representation, Indian American author, immigrant representation, debut author
A Proxy Africa: Guyana, African Americans, and the Radical 1970s by Russell Rickford - Out 05 May 26
Tags: Historical Nonfiction, Black American author, African representation, anti-imperialism themes
A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo - Out 16 Jul 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Fantasy, Vietnamese-American author, queer author, nonbinary representation
Honey by Imani Thompson - Out 06 May 26 UK/05 May 26 US
Tags: Literary Fiction, Jamaican author, feminism themes, anti-racism themes, debut author
Havisham by Elle Machray - Out 07 May 26 UK
Info & Order - UK link
Tags: Historical Fiction, Queer author, neurodivergent author, Black author, nonbinary author, queer representation, feminism themes
Ex Marks the Spot by Eleanor Vendrell - Out 07 May 26 UK
Info & Order - UK link
Tags: Romance, Bisexual representation, bisexual author
Smallie by Eden McKenzie-Goddard - Out 07 May 26 UK
Info & Order - UK link
Tags: Literary Fiction, Black British author, debut author, Barbadian representation
Thank you for reading all the way to the end of the issue! Thoughts? Comments? Or simply want to keep in touch? Email us at [email protected], or find us at @diversishelf on Instagram. The next issue will be out on Monday, May 11. In the meantime, why not reach out with a comment, or share this with your friends?