Welcome to another installment of Weekly Book News from Fat Forward Books! Each week, we share events, new releases, pre-order links/campaigns, acquisitions news, and more as it pertains to books by fat authors, about fat experiences, and/or featuring fat characters.

If you have an item you want featured in an upcoming news round-up, submit via this form! 💛

Crowdfunding

• Lily X's Kickstarter campaign for her NSFW sapphic witch x vampire romance Will It Hurt? ends Tuesday, May 20 at 1:59 PT.
  
  A wytch prone to chaos. A grieving, murderous vampyre. When hate turns to heat, can they work together to bring a loved one back from the dead?

Events

• Julie Murphy and Jonathan Van Ness are on tour for their upcoming YA release, Let Them Stare. RSVP and get tickets via Murphy's website. Dates and locations:

  • Monday, May 19: Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO

  • Tuesday, May 20: Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, TX

  • Wednesday, May 21: Charis Books & More, Atlanta, GA

  • Thursday, May 22: B&N Union Square, New York, NY

  • Wednesday, May 28: Loud Mouth Books, Indianapolis, IN

  • Thursday, May 29: The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

• Jonathan P. Higgins, Ed.D has added tour dates for their book Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices (in Media) and Learning to Love Yourself (our inaugural Fat Forward Book Club pick!). Dates and locations:

  • Wednesday, May 28: Call & Response Books, Chicago, IL

  • Friday, May 30: Left on Read, Wichita, KS

  • Tuesday, June 3: Mizell Center, Palm Springs, CA

  • Thursday, June 5: Youth Mentoring Action Network (YMAN), Upland, CA

  • Wednesday, June 11: Cal Poly SLO, San Luis Obispo, CA

  • Thursday, June 12: GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco, CA

  • Saturday, June 14: Anaheim Central Library, Anaheim, CA

  • Wednesday: June 18: Whose Books, Dallas, TX

  • Tuesday, June 24: Baldwin & Co, New Orleans, LA

  • Friday, June 27: Clintonville Books, Columbus, OH

  • Tuesday, July 8: Magers & Quinn, Minneapolis, MN

New Releases

• Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy's Let Them Stare hits shelves Tuesday, May 20.
  
  From Emmy Award winner Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a bighearted story about friendship, love—and discovering the secrets and beauty of your own hometown.

Pre-Orders

• Denise Williams's next contemporary romance, The Re-Do List, hits shelves February 3, 2026. Pre-orders are available now. This is a standalone novel in the same universe as Just Our Luck; it follows Deacon, Sybil's roommate and former hookup.
  
  What would you do with a second chance at your first time? Following a bad breakup, Willow Lewis tackles a re-do list with the help of her brother’s best friend in this sweet and sexy new romance from USA Today bestselling author Denise Williams.