Winter/Spring 2025 Indies Introduce Featured Titles

ABA is proud to announce the titles selected for the Winter/Spring 2025 Indies Introduce program.

Each year, the Indies Introduce program brings booksellers together from across the US for conversation and connection centered around exciting upcoming debut adult, middle grade, and young adult titles.

Kids' Panelist Suzanne Lucey of Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC, said, “I loved doing this. The group was so thoughtful, supportive, and thought about who would be reading each book. It gave me a better understanding of what each bookseller has experienced. Like a book club, whether you leave liking or disliking a book, after talking about it you leave feeling smarter.”

Adult Panelist Austin Carter of Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, said, “Serving on the Indies Introduce committee has been a joy from beginning to end — the worst part was finding room in my office for the piles of new manuscripts! I loved meeting and working with booksellers across the country, and I loved reading the selected debuts and really digging into them with my colleagues. What a treat to dedicate time to thinking about and exploring what a truly wonderful debut can do!”

Once again this year, publishers are offering specials on all titles appearing on the lists.

For stores that have taken part in past Indies Introduce promotions, there’s no need to sign up to take advantage of publishers’ Winter/Spring 2025 offers. However, stores that are new to Indies Introduce must complete the Indies Introduce sign-up form by October 14 in order to participate in the program.

This list is available as a collection on Edelweiss. And marketing assets for the Winter/Spring 2025 list are available now on BookWeb.org. 

The Indies Introduce titles will be presented at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO. The presentation will be recorded and posted on BookWeb in the weeks after the event.

Indies Introduce bookseller and author interviews will be posted on ABA's BookED podcast! 

Here are the Winter/Spring 2025 Indies Introduce Kids’ and Adult Debuts:

Adult Debuts

Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
Harper, 9780063358645, Hardcover Fiction, $26.99, On Sale: 1/28/2025

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Crown, 9780593799086, Hardcover Fiction, $28, On Sale: 2/25/2025

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Tiny Reparations Books, 9780593851388, Hardcover Fiction, $28, On Sale: 2/25/2025

The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana
Biblioasis, 9781771966306, Paperback Fiction, $16.95, On Sale: 3/4/2025

Tilt by Emma Pattee
Marysue Rucci Books, 9781668055472, Hardcover Fiction, $27.99, On Sale: 3/4/2025

33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen
Grove Press, 9780802164087, Hardcover Fiction, $28, On Sale: 3/11/2025

The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguín
Red Hen Press, 9781636282718, Paperback Short Stories, $16.95, On Sale: 4/29/2025

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei
Doubleday, 9780385551014, Hardcover Fiction, $30, On Sale: 5/6/2025

Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin
Summit Books, 9781668077436, Hardcover Fiction, $28.99, On Sale: 6/3/2025

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Vintage, 9798217006731, Paperback Fiction, $18 On Sale: 8/5/2025

Kids’ Debuts

Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang
Holiday House, 9780823457885, Hardcover Middle Grade Fantasy, $17.99, On Sale: 1/7/2025

Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia
Hyperion, 9781368099080, Hardcover Young Adult Mystery, $18.99, On Sale: 1/7/2025

Honeysuckle and Bone by Trisha Tobias
Sweet July Books, 9781638931027, Hardcover Young Adult Horror, $19.99, On Sale: 1/14/2025

Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King, Claire Powell (Illus.)
Candlewick Press, 9781536241662/9781536241679, Hardcover/Paperback Middle Grade Mystery, $18.99/$9.99, On Sale: 2/11/2025

Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, Brian Rea (Illus.)
Penguin Workshop, 9780593523957, Hardcover Middle Grade Memoir, $18.99, On Sale: 3/18/2025

Ollie In Between by Jess Callans
Feiwel & Friends, 9781250331342, Hardcover Middle Grade Fiction, $17.99, On Sale: 4/8/2025

All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665952651, Hardcover Young Adult Fiction, $19.99, On Sale: 4/15/2025

The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu
Quill Tree Books, 9780063326958, Hardcover Middle Grade Fiction, $18.99, On Sale: 4/15/2025

Trans History: A Graphic Novel by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett
Candlewick Press, 9781536219234, Hardcover Young Adult Graphic Nonfiction, $24.99, On Sale: 5/13/2025

One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller
Levine Querido, 9781646145027, Hardcover Young Adult Fiction, $19.99, On Sale: 5/13/2025

Bookseller panelists who served on the adult and kids’ panels include:

Adult Panelists
Chair: Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
Austin Carter, Pocket Books Shop, Lancaster, PA
Sophie Chen, Belmont Books, Belmont, MA
Shelley Lowe, Monkey and Dog Books, Fort Worth, TX
Jessica Nock, Main Street Books, Davidson, NC
Randy Schiller, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
Dave Suiter, {pages} a bookstore, Manhattan Beach, CA
Desirae Wilkerson, Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, WA

Kids’ Panelists
Chair: Jessica Hahl, Books Inc., Alameda, CA
Morgan Haywood-Joy, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY
Kristine Jelstrom-Hamill, Buttonwood Books & Toys, Cohasset, MA
Kalli King, Rediscovered Books, Boise, ID
Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC
Claire Margetts, Weller Book Works, Salt Lake City, UT
Jonathan Pope, Prologue Bookshop, Columbus, OH
Tanvi Rastogi, Dog-Eared Books, Ames, IA