Discover Debut Novels..

First step. First word. First day of school. First kiss. First love. First dance. First job. First drink. First heartbreak. First concert. The list of milestones measured by firsts in our lives is never-ending, so I will do us all a favour and stop here.  Well, not quite. Unsurprisingly, the benchmarks that are most memorable for me are of the bookish kind. First book read on my own. First trip to the library. First library book never returned (oops). First book bought with my own money.  First book read in secret, hidden from the prying eyes of parents. First book that kept me up all night. First book that made me snotty cry.  First book that made me tingle in my special places. I’ll stop here…your welcome. Based on that, it should come as no surprise to you that as my number of books read has risen over the years to the mid four-digit numbers, no decimal points, I have wholly embraced the joy of unearthing debut authors. These gems are often in the background as established writers are more likely to land on the highly anticipated and best of lists. But that feeling of discovering something no one else knows about is like nothing else. It bubbles up and leaves you breathless to wave the book at everyone you know and screech “read this now!” 

2025 - Debut Novels

The Art Of Vanishing - Morgan Pager

Killer Potential - Hannah Deitch

Julie Chan Is Dead - Liann Zhang

Nothing Serious - Emily J. Smith

Serial Killer Support Group - Saratoga Schaefer

A Trail Of Blood On The Snow - Sam Lee

Tell Them You Lied - Laura Leffler

Deep Cuts - Holly Brickley

The Cut - C.J. Dotson

Doll Parts - Penny Zang

The Artist - Lucy Steeds

2024 - Debut Novels

The Husbands - Holly Gramazio

I Think I Might Be In Trouble - Daniel Aleman

The Ministry Of Time - Kaliane Bradley

Busy Body - Kemper Donovan

I Hope This Finds You Well - Natalie Sue

The List Of Suspicious Things - Jennie Godfrey

Book Of Doors - Gareth Brown

Headshot - Rita Bullwinkel

Five-Star Strangers - Kat Tang

You Know What You Did - K.T. Nguyen

Piglet - Lottie Hazel

2023 - Debut Novels

Carnivale Of Curiousities - Aimee Gibbs

Scorched Grace - Margot Douahily

Sink - Joesph Earl Thomas

I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself - Marisa Crane

The Second Ending - Michelle Hoffman

Assistant To The Villian - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

God Of Endings - Jacqueline Holland

Weyward - Emilia Hart

The First Bright Thing - J.R. Dawson

Camp Zero - Michelle Min Sterling

A Flaw In The Design - Nathan Oates

2022 - Debut Novels

Blood Sugar – Sascha Rothchild

Luda - Grant Morrison

How To Kill Your Family – Bella Mackie

Verifiers – Jane Pek

Mindwalker - Kate Dylan

The Violin Conspiracy - Brendan Slocumb

Sign Here - Claudia Lux

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead - Emily Austin

The Maid - Nita Prose

The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean

Lesson’s In Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus