If or When I Call: Will Johnson Discusses His Debut Novel

Long-held itch harvests the road, autobiography, and compassion

"...was born, If or When I Call titles the debut novel from Austin singer-songwriter and painter Will Johnson, creative..."

April 9, 2021 Music Post by Matt White

Suicide Club: A Novel About Living by Rachel Heng

This debut novel about a future in which people can live forever is a bittersweet yet life-affirming story of eternity versus death

"...Kirino, a "lifer" and the protagonist of Rachel Heng's debut dystopian novel, Suicide Club: A Novel About Living...."

Oct. 12, 2018 Arts Review by M. Brianna Stallings

Queer Lit: Gina Marie Guadagnino’s Debut Combines Lesbian Romance and Historical Fiction

The Parting Glass makes for an engaging, at times cheesy, read

"...with some hesitance that I approached Gina Marie Guadagnino’s debut novel, The Parting Glass, a sapphic take on historical..."

March 4, 2019 Qmmunity Post by Mikaila Rushing

Wildfire

Vivid imagery and a rapid pace make this debut novel about wildland firefighters fun as hell to read

"...promise of regrowth. Released in October 2014, Wildfire, the debut novel by Austin native Mary Pauline Lowry, is, on..."

July 24, 2015 Arts Feature by Jessi Cape

Good as Gone: A Novel of Suspense

Amy Gentry's page-turning thriller is set apart by its realistic and empathetic portrayal of abuse victims and their families

"...Like Jennifer Dubois, who based her successful 2014 novel Cartwheel not so loosely on the Amanda Knox story,..."

July 22, 2016 Arts Feature by Jessi Cape

A Novel Approach

Playing with the narrative of In Stereo

"...In his debut feature, In Stereo, opening Friday, July 3, writer/director and..."

July 3, 2015 Screens Feature by Caitlin Moore

Do I Stay or Do I Go?

In her debut novel Migratory Animals, Austin author Mary Helen Specht explores the push and pull of place

"...remarkable story that crosses the East-West hemispheric divide. Her debut novel Migratory Animals (Harper Perennial, 320pp., $14.99) explores the..."

Jan. 16, 2015 Arts Feature by Jessi Cape

Strange Magic

Andrew Porter talks about his debut novel, 'In Between Days,' and his mysterious creative process

"...His debut novel In Between Days (Knopf) is deep, dark stuff,..."

Sept. 7, 2012 Books Feature by Roberto Ontiveros

Nathan Harris Pens an Intimate Civil War Tale in The Sweetness of Water

In his debut novel, the Michener Center alumnus brings "a new story to the table"

"...words come from Nathan Harris' richly imagined, deeply compassionate debut novel, The Sweetness of Water. Set around the town..."

June 18, 2021 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

Who runs the world? Secretaries, spies, and survivors in Lara Prescott's debut novel

"...the most alluring element in the title of the debut novel by Michener Center for Writers graduate Lara Prescott..."

Sept. 13, 2019 Arts Review by Rosalind Faires

Hezada! I Miss You by Erin Pringle

Erin Pringle's debut novel is a circus of grief

"...Hezada! I Miss You, Erin Pringle's debut novel released by local Awst Press, is bittersweet and..."

March 6, 2020 Arts Review by Cat McCarrey

Brick Lane

Brick Lane shows us the life of a Bangladeshi woman, who moves to London to marry a man she's never met, keep house, raise a family, and eventually act on her squelched yearnings.

"...whole lot of information. Adapted from Monica Ali’s acclaimed debut novel, Gavron’s film is a primer on race relations..."

July 18, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Snow Angels

Filmmaker David Gordon Green guides his cast, headed by Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale, through a fumbling world of nursed grudges and blown opportunities.

"...Noonan. Midway through writer/director Green’s adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s debut novel, high school freshman Arthur Parkinson (Angarano) – floppy-haired..."

April 4, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

All Things Left Wild by James Wade

In his debut novel, the Austin author reveals a world of brotherly sin and redemption across the Old West

"...across the dance floors of Austin, has set his debut novel in that post-Civil War domain of cowboys and..."

Aug. 7, 2020 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

The Devil's Backbone

Bill Wittliff's debut novel is a picaresque tale with a "Lucky Heart"

"...In Bill Wittliff's debut novel The Devil's Backbone, an 1880s boy known only..."

Dec. 5, 2014 Arts Feature by Joe O'Connell

Presidio by Randy Kennedy

For his debut novel, Kennedy creates a road story that portrays the harsh West Texas terrain beautifully and fills it with sympathetic characters.

"...backdrop in fiction these days. But for his superb debut novel, Panhandle-bred Randy Kennedy so vividly captures the sprawling,..."

Sept. 14, 2018 Books Review by Jay Trachtenberg

Out of Peel Tree

Laura Long's debut novel chronicles the tug-of-war between moving forward and staying the same in a small town

"...new land and keeping one's home in Appalachia. Her debut novel, Out of Peel Tree, captures all the confusing..."

May 16, 2014 Arts Feature by Chase Hoffberger

'Sleep Toward Heaven'

We're not reviewing Amanda Eyre Ward's debut novel, Sleep Toward Heaven, and we're not interviewing her as an author, either, because she has contributed to The Austin Chronicle for more than three years. It would be a conflict of interest. We are, however, excerpting an early chapter of the book, and we are proud and happy to do so.

"...We're not reviewing Amanda Eyre Ward's debut novel, Sleep Toward Heaven (MacAdam/Cage, $24), and we're not..."

March 21, 2003 Books Feature

Back Roads

Dark family drama works, but was better as a book

"...books. Then again, it’s safe to say Tawni O’Dell’s debut novel Back Roads isn’t exactly cut from the same..."

Dec. 7, 2018 Movie Review by Matthew Monagle

Texas Book Festival 2017: The First Dozen

Lisa Ko, Claire Messud lead off first look at fest lineup

"...promises a wealth of talent for fans of the novel, lit for kids and young adults, and cookbooks...."

June 7, 2017 Arts Post by Robert Faires

Ernest Cline Is Taking The Bridge to Bat City

Ready Player One author making kid lit debut

"...Now he's stepping into his hometown's history for his debut children's novel, Bridge to Bat City, announced this morning...."

June 13, 2023 Arts Post by Richard Whittaker

No Small Feat

Scott Blackwood's novel experiments in form

"...Scott Blackwood's slim debut novel, We Agreed to Meet Just Here, clocks in..."

March 13, 2009 Books Feature by Kimberley Jones

The Son Rises With Philipp Meyer

Austin author on adapting his award-winning novel for AMC

"...porch when he decided to adapt his epic Texas novel The Son for the screen...."

April 7, 2017 Screens Feature by Joe O'Connell

War and Pieces

Mayor's Book Club takes on Kevin Powers' 'The Yellow Birds'

"...Kevin Powers’ debut novel, The Yellow Birds, looks like a war novel,..."

April 30, 2013 Books Post by Amy Gentry

Amy Gentry on Good as Gone

This Austin author didn't set out to make her first novel a thriller, but now that it's out, she's good with that

"...with former Chronicle columnist Amy Gentry to discuss her debut novel, Good as Gone. The Houston native and longtime..."

July 22, 2016 Arts Feature by Jessi Cape

Blood Brothers

Bringing James Welch's novel of Native life, 'Winter in the Blood,' to the screen

"...34-year-old writer living in Missoula, Mont., published his first novel. James Welch had grown up around the Blackfeet Indian..."

Oct. 25, 2013 Screens Feature by Paul Stekler

All the Ladies in the House

Texas authors Sarah Bird and Diane Wilson win Dobie Paisano fellowships

"...cold hard cash. Texas Monthly columnist and much-loved comic novelist Sarah Bird (How Perfect Is That) won the Johnston..."

May 15, 2009 Books Post by Kimberley Jones

Take Me, Instead

An interview with SWT's Arturo Mancha, whose novel in progress was a recent break-in casualty

"...Arturo Mancha would have called the theft of his debut novel five years in the writing devastating. Titled Auroboros,..."

April 25, 2003 Books Feature by Michael Erard

Lit-urday: The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing

Mira Jacob's novel tracks an Indian family torn by grief

"...let's call it Lit-urday. Maybe you feel like a novel about a family's struggles that feels so true to..."

Aug. 2, 2014 Books Post by Amy Kamp

Hugo Rising

The nominees for science fiction's best novel of 2013 find a new guard challenging the old

"...with most fans listening for the announcement of Best Novel at the end of the night. And like the..."

Aug. 30, 2013 Arts Feature by Amy Gentry

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