Red Clocks, Leni Zumas: what if abortion were illegal again? And a pink wall divided America from Canada? That’s the imagined world in which Zumas spins her timely tale.

Conversations on Writing, Ursula K. Le Guin: a newly published collection packed with nuggets of fiery wisdom

Field Theories, Samiya Bashir: the poet weds thermodynamics and the blues in this visceral study of black bodies.

Animals Strike Curious Poses, Elena Passarello: a woolly mammoth to a headless chicken, Passarello brings 17 beasts to life.

The Book of Joan, Lidia Yuknavitch: a dystopian saga starring a child warrior who communes with the earth

Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home, Nicole J. Georges: a coming-of-age graphic memoir and a tribute to Beija, Georges’s shar-pei/corgi mix

I Think I’m Ready to See Frank Ocean, Shayla Lawson: poems that weave the cultural and the personal, with the hip-hop artist as omnipresent muse

Self-Made Woman, Denise Chanterelle DuBois: a searing account of gender transition in middle age

Libba, Laura Veirs: the singer-songwriter switches gears with this kids' book about folk musician Elizabeth Cotten.

Pointe, Claw, Amber J. Keyser: ballet, a broken friendship, and body alterations, wrapped up in one powerful young adult novel