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! 💛

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:

  • 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

• Lagg Bookstore in Lehi, Utah is throwing a free "Meet Cute" event with authors and vendors including More Than A Friend author Daisy Wren on Saturday, May 31 from 12-5 p.m. MT. See the store's Instagram for details.

• Fat Hope: Writing Positive Fat Futures: Join writer and PhD candidate Sarah Mould in conversation with Sophia Apostol as they discuss what we miss out on when we exclude fat characters in speculative fiction. Free event!

  • Thursday, June 12, 7–8:30 p.m. ET, Zoom

• Fat Joy Podcast host Sophia Apostol has launched a Silent Book Club chapter! Get the details here and register to attend online sessions in June. Dates:

  • Thursday, June 12, 7–8:30 p.m. ET, Zoom (with special guest Sarah Mould, details above)

  • Tuesday, June 17, 7–8:30 p.m. ET, Zoom

New Releases

• Bears & Bakeries (Sweet & Stocky Book 2) by Dylan Drakes (Unreliable Narrators Publishing)

  • Locky Sorenson isn't a risk taker. He's stuck in an awful office job. He's terrified of turning his one true passion, baking, into something real. And worst of all, he hasn't gotten laid in almost a decade. Sure, he could confront the traumatic reason he’s in this mess, but stress eating donuts under a cozy blanket sounds like a much better option.
    
    Benedict Owens doesn't screw his clients, no matter how beefy and adorkable they are. As a small business advisor, he knows that's a recipe for disaster. Better to keep his distance. That way he won't get burnt again.
    
    But when Locky loses his job, fate pushes them together—forcing them to confront the fears that have held them back for so long.

• Housemates (Paperback) by Emma Copley Eisenberg (Hogarth)

  • Four housemates, looking for a fifth, the ad read. Queer preferred (we all are).
    
    This is how Bernie, a film photographer, meets Leah, a writer, and from opposite sides of a thin bedroom wall in West Philadelphia, the two become closer than they ever could have imagined. When Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie on a road trip to settle a complicated inheritance, what ensues is an unexpected journey into the heart of America as the duo try to make sense of the times they are living in—falling in love with each other and rediscovering the power of making art along the way.