Indie Book Buzz: Graywolf Press

It's a great day for some Indie Book Buzz here at TNBBC. Over the next few weeks, we will be inviting members of the indie publishing houses to share which of their upcoming 2012 releases they are most excited about!

This week's picks come from Marisa Atkinson,

Marketing and Publicity Associate at Graywolf Press

BOLETO by Alyson Hagy

(May 2012) 

Get ready to fall in love with your new favorite book: BOLETO by Alyson Hagy. This is one of the most sincere, authentic, and moving novels I’ve read in a very long time, and it tops my list of Graywolf favorites. Hagy (Ghosts of Wyoming and Snow, Ashes) is a remarkable writer; I continually marvel at how she’s able to pack so much punch into such economical phrasing. Sure, BOLETO is the story of a young man (the swoon-worthy, heartbreaking Will Testerman, played by Ryan Gosling in my mind from the start) and his filly, but this is no mere “horse novel.” It’s a coming-of-age novel, a family drama, a Western, a survival tale, and an exposé of the equine circuit. It is a breathtaking masterpiece somehow contained within a mere 250 pages. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

INFERNO by Dante Alighieri 

a new translation by Mary Jo Bang, 

illustrated by Henrik Drescher

(June 2012)

If you’re rolling your eyes at yet another edition of Dante’s Inferno, I don’t blame you, but trust me: Bang’s interpretation is truly is unlike any Dante you’ve read before. Though she faithfully translated INFERNO from the medieval Italian of the original, Bang’s translation is an imaginative and lively modernization, complete with pop culture references and twenty-first century touchstones. This collection is sure to cause at least a little controversy, as not everyone likes their Dante with a side of Bob Dylan, South Park, and Michael Jackson. But personally, I’m on the side of readership that loves the idea of updating canonical tomes for the modern age, and I know I’m not alone (hello, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!). The collection is also illustrated with the haunting work of Henrik Drescher, so once you’re done reading it will make a stunning objet d’art unfurled on your coffee table. Graywolf will be promoting INFERNO at BEA in June, so be sure to stop by and check it out.

Graywolf's line-ups always impress me. I wish I could devote time to reading everything they put out there, but alas, I cannot. However, dear collective readers, if you were to get your hands on one of these when they release, please be sure to come back and tell me how they were. I want to live vicariously through you!

About Marissa

Marisa Atkinson is the Marketing and Publicity Associate at Graywolf Press, where she has worked with Belle Boggs, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Jim Moore, Melanie Rae Thon, and others. She will read any coming-of-age or campus novel you put in front of her. She has never read The Great Gatsby, but promises it’s on her summer reading list. You can follow her on Twitter at @totesmarisa and check outGraywolf on Facebook.

So what do you think guys? See anything that catches your eye? Which of these books are you most excited to see release? Help TNBBC and Graywolf Press spread the buzz about these books by sharing this post with others!