As challenging as 2020 was for all of us, it never gets old seeing our books celebrated far and wide on lists, in reviews, and with awards. Read on to see the 2020 titles that had the critics and judges talking—and stack up anything you still need in your TBR pile! Here’s to another big year for books and a better one for everyone.
FICTION
• trans(re)lating house one by Poupeh Missaghi• Library Journal, “Best Debut Novels”
• The Millions, “Most Anticipated”
• “Partisan of Dreams: Reading Poupeh Missaghi’s trans(re)lating house one” by Zoe Tuck
“trans(re)lating house one is timeless and timely. . . . Missaghi’s dual attention to art and activism intervenes meaningfully on the ongoing conversation about the role of art in/as politics.”
“trans(re)lating house one is timeless and timely. . . . Missaghi’s dual attention to art and activism intervenes meaningfully on the ongoing conversation about the role of art in/as politics.”
• Temporary by Hilary Leichter (Emily Books)
• Longlisted for the 2021 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
• Shortlisted for the 2020 Center For Fiction First Novel Prize
• NPR, “Favorite Books of 2020”
• Publishers Weekly, “Best Books of 2020”
• Chicago Tribune, “Books to Read in Winter 2020”
• Literary Hub, “Most Anticipated Books of 2020”
• I-D, “Best Books of 2020”
• Refinery29, “Best Indie Books of 2020”
• Bustle, “Must-Read Books of 2020”
• Thrillist, “Best Books of 2020”
• Tor.com, “Best Books of 2020”
• New York Times, “Editors’ Choice”
“In this brisk, wildly imaginative first novel by Hilary Leichter, the unnamed protagonist is a temp worker who trudges between 23 jobs that tip into the surreal.”
“In this brisk, wildly imaginative first novel by Hilary Leichter, the unnamed protagonist is a temp worker who trudges between 23 jobs that tip into the surreal.”
• The Book of Anna by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Samantha Schnee
• Words Without Borders, “Best Translated Books of 2020”
• Observer, “Best Books of Spring 2020” by Lauren LeBlanc
“A book of nimble prose that deftly plays with the boundaries between fiction and history. . . . Boullosa brings heightened eroticism, feminism, and liberation to Tolstoy’s imagined world.”
“A book of nimble prose that deftly plays with the boundaries between fiction and history. . . . Boullosa brings heightened eroticism, feminism, and liberation to Tolstoy’s imagined world.”
• Sansei and Sensibility by Karen Tei Yamashita
• Kirkus, “Best Fiction of 2020”
• Salon.com, “Must Read Spring Books”
• Refinery29, “Best Spring Books 2020”
• Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The range of characters, sparkling humor, connective themes, and creative ambition all showcase Yamashita’s impressive powers.”
“The range of characters, sparkling humor, connective themes, and creative ambition all showcase Yamashita’s impressive powers.”
• Ornamental by Juan Cárdenas, translated by Lizzie Davis
• Longlisted for the 2021 PEN Translation Prize
• Los Angeles Review of Books, “Art and Futility: A Review of Juan Cárdenas’s ‘Ornamental,’ Translated by Lizzie Davis” by Dashiel Carrera
“Brilliantly executed and cleverly translated, Ornamental leaves us with a fresh understanding of the creation of art and the nature of meaning-making.”
“Brilliantly executed and cleverly translated, Ornamental leaves us with a fresh understanding of the creation of art and the nature of meaning-making.”
• Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau
• Refinery29, “Best Fall Books 2020”
• Paperback Paris, “Best New Books”
• Maudlin House, “Exit Tangibility” by Gauraa Shekhar
“A rapturous inversion of boy-meets-girl; a narrative that unfurls with prescience in surrealist vignettes, laced with cosmic specificities.”
“A rapturous inversion of boy-meets-girl; a narrative that unfurls with prescience in surrealist vignettes, laced with cosmic specificities.”
• Ramifications by Daniel Saldaña París, translated by Christina MacSweeney
• The Millions, “Most Anticipated”
• BookRiot, “Best Indie Books for Fall”
• Words Without Borders, “The Watchlist: October 2020” by Tobias Carroll
“Both a novel drenched in memory and a novel about the limits of memory. . . . The result is an utterly stunning read, and one of the year’s best novels.”
“Both a novel drenched in memory and a novel about the limits of memory. . . . The result is an utterly stunning read, and one of the year’s best novels.”
• One Night Two Souls Went Walking by Ellen Cooney
• NPR, “Favorite Books of 2020”
• Newsweek, “Must-Read Fall Books”
• Kirkus, “Best Fiction of 2020”
• Bustle, “Best Books of Fall 2020”
• The Millions, “Most Anticipated”
• Book Page, starred review by Mari Carlson
“Cooney’s novel expands the concept of what’s possible, imagining hope where there is none and pointing always toward the light.”
“Cooney’s novel expands the concept of what’s possible, imagining hope where there is none and pointing always toward the light.”
NONFICTION
• Social Poetics by Mark Nowak
• Entropy Magazine, “Most Anticipated Small Press Releases”
• Jewish Currents, “Revolution in the First Person Plural” by Philip Metres
“Social Poetics invites us down a path where solidarity through poetic community can lead to radical social transformation.”
“Social Poetics invites us down a path where solidarity through poetic community can lead to radical social transformation.”
• The Sprawl by Jason Diamond
• NPR, “Favorite Books of 2020”
• Booklist, “Best New Books 2020”
• Chicago Tribune, “10 Books to Read This Summer”
• Esquire, “Best Summer Books of 2020”
• Town & Country, “Best Summer Books for 2020”
• The Week, “19 Books to Read in 2020”
• Electric Literature, “Best Nonfiction of 2020”
• Literary Hub, “Best New Books to Read This Summer”
• Planetizen, “Top Urban Planning Books of 2020”
• Refinery29, “Best Summer Books 2020”
• Chicago Review of Books, “The Odd History of the American Suburbs in ‘The Sprawl’” by Ian MacAllen
“Diamond is a keen cultural critic leveraging a deep reservoir of knowledge. The Sprawl leads us on a journey through the promise of suburbia while expertly peeling back the curtain.”
“Diamond is a keen cultural critic leveraging a deep reservoir of knowledge. The Sprawl leads us on a journey through the promise of suburbia while expertly peeling back the curtain.”
POETRY
• The Malevolent Volume by Justin Phillip Reed
• Washington Post, “Best Poetry Collections of 2020”
• NPR, “Favorite Books of 2020”
• New York Times, New and Noteworthy
• Buzzfeed, Most Anticipated Titles of 2020
• Literary Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2020
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, review by Erin Adair-Hodges
“Magnificent. . . . The gorgeous precision of the poems refuse to perform for the white gaze—they snatch back blackness from being used as a trope, crafting instead a new canon.”
“Magnificent. . . . The gorgeous precision of the poems refuse to perform for the white gaze—they snatch back blackness from being used as a trope, crafting instead a new canon.”
• THRESHOLES by Lara Mimosa Montes
• Paris Review, “Our Contributors’ Favorite Books of 2020”
• Ms. Magazine, “Best Poetry of 2020”
• Harvard Review, “Eight Books by Latinx Poets”
• Remezcla, “Latino & Latin American Authors to Read in 2020”
• Refinery29, “Best Spring Books of 2020,” “Best Indie Books of 2020”
• Autostraddle, “Books Relevant to Your Queer and Feminist Interests in 2020”
• Latin Post, “Must Read Books by Latin Authors in 2020”
• New York Times, “How Poets Use Punctuation as a Superpower and a Secret Weapon” by Elisa Gabbert
“The gaps between language are part of the language. . . . It’s a trick that never stops feeling like magic, the intimacy of nothing but black marks on white paper.”
“The gaps between language are part of the language. . . . It’s a trick that never stops feeling like magic, the intimacy of nothing but black marks on white paper.”
