DMLA congratulates august clarke as METAL FROM HEAVEN wins Lammy for Best LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction for the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards! The Lammys celebrate more than 150 LGBTQ writers across 26 categories spanning a number of genres, lived identities, and experiences. It proudly recognizes works by self-published authors and independent and academic presses alongside works supported by traditional big 5 publishers.

Margaret’s rare autoimmune condition has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated and in pain. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can―until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial. The conditions are simple, if grueling: she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration.

She tried to kill him, so he made her his wife. Skadi first met her husband-to-be with blades in hand on the opposite side of a battle. She lost, and he claimed his prize. To her horror, the king of the shadow elven agrees to marry her off to Jonas, a prince in the fae realms, as a way to unite their kingdoms against a shared enemy—the light elves.

Mateo's mother forbade him from ever using magic, but now that she’s gone, magic’s his only marketable skill, and he’d really like an exorcism—which costs money he doesn’t have. What’s the harm in making a quick buck by calling himself an Occult Specialist and chanting a few half-remembered spells in his crappy Spanish? Enter Topher, a naive nepo baby with a curse that keeps killing people around him.

Twenty-five-year-old Jade Crawford spends her days selling crystals, conducting séances, and reading tarot cards in her shop in Winston-Salem, NC. But her connection to the other side is all a facade. After losing their mother to a terrible accident and their father serving jail time, Jade and her younger sister Stevie do what they can to survive. When a local politician goes missing, Jade sees a lucrative opportunity to drum up new clients and inject some much-needed cash into their pockets.

Booklist: Witch King (2023) introduced readers to Kai and his crew of disgruntled witches and other assorted enemies of the former Hierarchs. Wells continues their story here, recounting how scholar Dahin has a theory that means they need to go to the archaeological site of the Hierarchs' origin, and quickly. Meanwhile, an accompanying time line from the past tells a story of Bashara and Kai and their journeys together in the older war, before the events of the first novel.

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes the remarkable sequel to the USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling novel, Witch King. A fantasy of epic scope, Queen Demon is a story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose. Dahin, a beloved member of the Witch King's coterie, believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.

High in the Rocky Mountains on a secluded campus, sits Hildegard College, a celebrated institution known for its scientific innovation and its sprawling, botanical gardens. Historian Robin Quain has been awarded a residency to examine Hildegard’s impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, but she has a secret. She’s actually on the hunt for an artifact―one she must find before her former best friend turned professional rival gets his hands on it first.

Kirkus: Science writer and columnist Alkon offers an all-encompassing look at menopause and perimenopause—and how to thrive throughout both. When the author started waking up multiple times a night, she chalked it up to stress. But when it became hot flashes and night sweats, she quickly realized “at 52, menopause was finally creeping up.” She begins with a deep dive into the current standard medical advice for women going through menopause, much of which is outdated or outright incorrect; she also offers compelling studies showing that many doctors are unable or unwilling to alter long-prescribed courses of treatment, even when presented with new information that directly contradicts them.

Audio rights to Melissa K Roehrich's THE REAPER and UNRELENTING WINDS, two novellas related to the Lady of Darkness series, to Brian Sweany at Recorded Books, in an exclusive submission, by Katie Shea Boutillier at Donald Maass Literary Agency (NA). Martha Wells renewed audio rights on novellas ROGUE PROTOCOL and EXIT STRATEGY, books 3 and 4 in the New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries, now an Apple+ series. Brian Sweany at Recorded Books secured the rights in a pre-empt in a significant deal negotiated by Jennifer Jackson.

After making a grievous mistake that ended in death, Henryk Mandrusiak feels increasingly ostracized within his own community, and after the passing on of his parents and the departure of his best friend, Reid, there is little left to tie him to the place he calls home. Henryk does something he never expected: he sets out into the harsh wilds alone, in search of far-flung family.

Chinese (simplified) rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells' QUEEN DEMON, the second book in the Rising World, to Science Fiction World, by Yichan Peng at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson. Estonian rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells' NETWORK EFFECT and FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, the fifth and sixth books in The Murderbot Diaries, to Fantaasia, by Nada Popovic at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Daedalus of Crete is many things: The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur. And the grieving father of Icarus, who plunged into the sea as father and son flew from the grasp of the tyrannical King Minos. Now, Daedalus seeks to reunite with Icarus in the Underworld, even as he revisits his own memories of Crete, hoping to understand what went so terribly wrong at the end of his son's life.

In this science-fiction revision of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Kalivas lives in solitude on the Farallon Islands, off the San Francisco Bay, until the Master and his daughter M colonize his lonely realm. Kalivas, the last free-range human, is pressed into completing dangerous and menial tasks on the Master's behalf. The new regime is disrupted when a great storm brings more cyborg mainlanders to the island shores.

Louisa Walsh emerged from a tumultuous childhood with a degree in counseling, a wealthy boyfriend, and her sunny outlook on life mostly intact. But that optimism is tested when she’s dumped and left unable to afford rent on their gorgeous house in the mountains of Colorado. Even with her life in disarray, Lou knows losing the one stable place she’s ever called home is not an option.

Library Journal: DEBUT The well-known myth and metaphor of Icarus is that he flew too close to the sun because he was overwhelmed by the freedom of flight or because he didn’t listen to his father Daedalus’s instructions. In this mythic retelling from Daedalus’s perspective, he’s not satisfied with that explanation. He needs to hear the truth from his son’s own lips—even if Daedalus has to descend to hell himself to get his answer.

Library Journal: The second book in “The Rising World” series (a sequel to Witch King) continues to recount the trials and tribulations of Witch King Kai in dual timelines. In the past timeline, Kai’s breaking of the death-magic-corrupted Hierarchs brings forth a world-spanning rebellion that is hurtling toward a precipice of disaster, while in the present timeline, Kai and his found family travel to the ends of their world to prevent a second rise of tyranny.

Congratulations to Nalo Hopkinson for winning the 2025 Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic — making her a three-time winner of the award! Hopkinson was named the winner of this year’s prize for her novel Blackheart Man (Saga Press/Simon & Schuster)!

Shelf Awareness: "Mehta's ambitious, sprawling fantasy will invite comparisons to Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, not only because its settings are vast, unmapped rambles of wonder and danger but also for the author's clarity of voice and ability to evoke a precise emotional mood."

This Christmas, it’s all about getting what you really want in this dark billionaire stalker romance sequel to He Sees You When You’re Sleeping. Stalking in a winter wonderland... Jewelry designer Sloane dreams of launching her own custom line—but she needs a Christmas miracle to pull it off. With traditional banks turning her down left and right, she can’t resist when a mysterious stranger offers her a lifeline.

July, 1945 The end of World War II is finally in sight. The Nazis have been defeated in Europe, and Albie hopes that means he and his brother, Joe, can get back to normal life. Or as normal as life can be following the death of their parents. But the war against Imperial Japan still rages, and when Joe’s given a new assignment on the USS Indianapolis, Albie refuses to be left behind.

With his queen missing, the king’s wrath knows no boundaries. Captive. Challenger. Queen. Enemies took her from the man who holds her heart. They might see her as weak, as a pawn in wicked games, but they’re no match for the first Ever Queen. Let them think they’ve won. Her heart belongs to a beautiful monster, and she will never stop fighting until she’s back in his arms.

Publishers Weekly: Nick Thomas at Levine Querido has bought world rights to illustrated YA novel Children of Owl by Newbery Honor author Darcie Little Badger, illustrated by Abigail Rajunov. After Lipan Apache teenager Maisie sees the son of Owl, she knows it portends evil for one of her beloved cousins and that she must do anything to stop it from happening.

Congratulations to these DMLA authors on their 2025 Hugo Award wins! 2025 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book Sheine Lende, by Darcie Little Badger Best Novel The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett

Washington Post: I have been exhorting all my friends to read this breathtakingly gorgeous book, but it is nearly impossible to summarize. Two sisters, Myung and Laleh, live inside the whale of babel, which swims through space and contains an entire universe inside its skin — but Myung is determined to leave the whale and see the universe beyond. Myung’s quest leads her to the story of two other sisters, Wisa and Magali, who live on Esi, a shape-shifting island that descends into barbaric chaos once every century.