The Qwillery

Each month you will be able to vote for your favorite cover from that month's debut novels. At the end of the year the 12 monthly winners will be pitted against each other to choose the 2019 Debut Novel Cover of the Year. Please note that a debut novel cover is eligible in the month in which the novel is published in the US. Cover artist/illustrator/designer information is provided when we have it.

I'm using PollCode for this vote. After you the check the circle next to your favorite, click "Vote" to record your vote. If you'd like to see the real-time results click "View". This will take you to the PollCode site where you may see the results. If you want to come back to The Qwillery click "Back" and you will return to this page. Voting will end sometime on June 30, 2019, unless the vote is extended. If the vote is extended the ending date will be updated.

Vote for your favorite June 2019 Debut Cover!

All City

The Hungry Ghost

Kingdom of Exiles

The Lesson

Magic for Liars

The Outside

Oval

The Ragged Blade

The Record Keeper

 

pollcode.com free polls

Happy first Monday in June!

There are 3 debuts this week:

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey;

The Ragged Blade by Christopher Ruz;

and

Oval by Elvia Wilk.





 From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The Soul of Power (The Waking Land 3) by Callie Bates;

Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry is out in Trade Paperback;

Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded by Jason Heller is out in Trade Paperback;

An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim is out in Trade Paperback;

The Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty is out in Trade Paperback;

Fray (Unraveled Kingdom 2) by Rowenna Miller

The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen 1) by Signe Pike is out in Trade Paperback;


Empire of Silence (Sun Eater 1) by Christopher Ruocchio is out in Mass Market Paperback.

and

The Fire Opal Mechanism (Jewel 2) by Fran Wilde.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

June 3, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Give Up the Ghost (e)	Jenn Burke	PM - Not Dead Yet 2
Craving Supernatural Creatures: German Fairy-Tale Figures in American Pop Culture	Claudia Schwabe	FairyT/FolkT/LM/ MTI/LF - Fairy-Tale Studies

June 4, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Wastelands: The New Apocalypse	John Joseph Adams (Ed)	SF/AP/PA - Anthology
The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF, Vol. 5	David Afsharirad (Ed)	SF - Year's Best Military & Adventure Science 5
Spine of the Dragon	Kevin J. Anderson	F - Wake the Dragon 1
The Soul of Power	Callie Bates	F - The Waking Land 3
The Sound of Echoes	Eric Bernt	TechTh/Th/SF - Speed of Sound Thrillers 2
The Plague Stones	James Brodgen	H/SupTh/Occ/Sup
My Enemy's Enemy	Robert Buettner	SF
Brief Cases (h2tp)	Jim Butcher	UF - Dresden Files Collection
Sunspot Jungle: Volume Two: The Ever Expanding Universe of Fantasy and Science Fiction (e)	Bill Campbell (Ed)	SF/F/H - Anthology
This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us (h2tp)	Edgar Cantero	Cr/Satire/BH
To Clear Away the Shadows	David Drake	SF/SO - RCN 13
Abigale Hall (h2tp)	Lauren A. Forry	PsyTh
Magic for Liars (D)	Sarah Gailey	CF/M/Sus
Just One Bite	Jack Heath	Cr/H/PI
Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (h2tp)	Jason Heller	PopCul/LC/SF/F
Zero Sum Game (h2tp)	S. L. Huang	SF/TechTh - Cas Russell 1
Flight or Fright: 17 Turbulent Tales	Stephen King (Ed) Bev Vincent (Ed)	Sus/H - Anthology
The Outsider (h2tp)	Stephen King	Sus
The Hills Have Spies (h2mm)	Mercedes Lackey	F/FR - Valdemar: Family Spies 1
Liaden Universe Constellation IV	Sharon Lee Steve Miller	SF/SO - Liaden Universe collection
An Ocean of Minutes (h2tp)	Thea Lim	LF
Unraveling	Karen Lord	F/FairyT/FolkT/LM
The Robots of Gotham (h2tp)	Todd McAulty	SF
Fray	Rowenna Miller	F/HistF - Unraveled Kingdom 2
The Beyond	Chloe Neill	UF/P/PNR - Devil's Isle 4
Burning Sky (tp2mm)	Weston Ochse	SF/H
From Distant Stars	Sam Peters	SF/M/Noir/SFR/AC - From Darkest Skies 2
The Lost Queen (h2tp)	Signe Pike	Hist - Lost Queen 1
By the Pricking of Her Thumb	Adam Roberts	SF/M/Cr
The Great Eastern	Howard Rodman	HistF
Empire of Silence (h2mm)	Christopher Ruocchio	SF/SO/AC - Sun Eater 1
The Ragged Blade (D)	Christopher Ruz	F - Century of Sand 1
Wolf Rain	Nalini Singh	PNR/SFR/P - Psy-Changeling Trinity 3
War Criminals	Gavin G. Smith	SF/Th/HSF/CyP/AC - Bastard Legion 3
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell	Neal Stephenson	TechTh
At All Costs (Limited Leatherbound Collector's Edition)	David Weber	SF - Honor Harrington 11
The Fire Opal Mechanism	Fran Wilde	F - Jewel 2
Oval (D)	Elvia Wilk	LF/BH/TechTh/Dys/SF/Satire
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine: A Decade of Hugo & Nebula Award Winning Stories, 2005-2015	Sheila Williams (Ed)	SF - Anthology

June 7, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Black Madness :: Mad Blackness	Therí Alyce Pickens	LC/SocSci/SF/F

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
mm - Mass Market Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BH - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SO - Space Opera
SocSci - Social Science
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Alex DiFrancesco

All City
Seven Stories Press, June 18, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 272 pages

All City is more than a novel, it's a foreshadowing of a world to come.

In a near-future New York City ravaged by climate change and economic inequality, a superstorm hits, leaving behind only those who had nowhere else to go and no way to get out. Among those who remain are 24-year-old Makayla, who works in the city’s most ubiquitous convenience store chain, and Jesse, an 18-year-old, genderqueer anarchist living in an abandoned IRT station in the Bronx. In the aftermath of the storm, Jesse joins Makayla’s group of remainders in an abandoned luxury condo building, carving out a small sanctuary in the midst of a destroyed city.

Meanwhile, mysterious, colorful murals begin to appear throughout NYC, bringing hope to the forsaken and left-behind. But the storm’s castaways aren’t the only ones who find beauty in the art: the media, having long abandoned the supposedly-hopeless metropolis, “discovers” the emergence of the murals. When one appears on Makayla and Jesse’s repurposed luxury condo, it is only a matter of time before the landlord class comes back to claim the city for themselves.

Sarah Gailey

Magic for Liars
Tor Books, June 4, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 336 pages

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it.

Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine.

She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister.
Ivy Gamble is a liar.

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself.

“An unmissable debut.”—Adrienne Celt, author of Invitation to a Bonfire

Agnes Gomillion

The Record Keeper
Titan Books, June 18, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 464 pages

The Record Keeper is a visceral and thrilling near-future dystopia examining past and present race relations.

After World War III, Earth is in ruins, and the final armies have come to a reluctant truce. Everyone must obey the law—in every way—or risk shattering the fragile peace and endangering the entire human race.

Arika Cobane is on the threshold of taking her place of privilege as a member of the Kongo elite after ten grueling years of training. But everything changes when a new student arrives speaking dangerous words of treason: What does peace matter if innocent lives are lost to maintain it? As Arika is exposed to new beliefs, she realizes that the laws she has dedicated herself to uphold are the root of her people’s misery. If Arika is to liberate her people, she must unearth her fierce heart and discover the true meaning of freedom: finding the courage to live—or die—without fear.

Ada Hoffmann

The Outside
Angry Robot Books, June 11, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Humanity’s super-intelligent AI Gods brutally punish breaches in reality, as one young scientist discovers, in this intense and brilliant space opera.

Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone aboard. The AI Gods who rule the galaxy declare her work heretical, and Yasira is abducted by their agents. Instead of simply executing her, they offer mercy – if she’ll help them hunt down a bigger target: her own mysterious, vanished mentor. With her homeworld’s fate in the balance, Yasira must choose who to trust: the gods and their ruthless post-human angels, or the rebel scientist whose unorthodox mathematics could turn her world inside out.

File Under: Science Fiction [ False Gods | Angel Inside | Autistic in Space | Here be Monsters ]

Maxym M. Martineau

Kingdom of Exiles
The Beast Charmer 1
Sourcebooks Casablanca, June 25, 2019
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 448 pages

Assassin's Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in this gripping, epic fantasy romance trilogy.

My heart wasn't part of the deal when I bargained for my life,
But assassins so rarely keep their word.

Exiled Charmer Leena Edenfrell is running out of time. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts-an offense punishable by death-and now there's a price on her head. With the realm's most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes Noc an offer he can't refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life.

Plagued by a curse that kills everyone he loves, Noc agrees to Leena's terms in hopes of finding a cure. Never mind that the dark magic binding the assassin's oath will eventually force him to choose between Leena's continued survival...and his own.

The Beast Charmer Series:
Kingdom of Exiles
The Frozen Prince (coming early 2020)
The Shattered Crown (coming late 2020)

Christopher Ruz

The Ragged Blade
Century of Sand 1
Parvus Press, June 4, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Australian horror author and Aurealis Award Nominee Christopher Ruz makes his epic fantasy debut.

After decades of loyal military service, Richard has discovered that the Magician he serves is more monster than man—and young women have been disappearing into the Magician's dungeons.

To keep his own daughter safe, Richard flees into the desert wastes where magic boils beneath the sand and demons walk the dunes in the shape of men. He has stolen one of the Magician's greatest prizes; the calcified heart of a demon, which he hopes to trade in exchange for sanctuary. What he doesn't know is that his daughter, Ana, is the key to all the Magician's plans and he'll lay waste to the world to get her back...

Dalena Storm

The Hungry Ghost
Black Spot Books, June 11, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 200 pages

A hungry ghost escapes from a dark realm into the human world, where it enters the unconscious body of a woman named Sam. When Sam appears to miraculously awaken from her accident-induced coma, her lesbian lover, alcoholic ex-husband, and well-meaning family must come together to try and stop the ghost from devouring everything Sam once loved. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Boston, a mysterious new kitten has just been born who holds the key to understanding what has happened to Sam.

Will Sam’s loved ones be able to put things back in their proper place, or will the ghost destroy them first?

Cadwell Turnbull

The Lesson
Blackstone Publishing, June 18, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 275 page

An alien ship rests over Water Island. For five years the people of the US Virgin Islands have lived with the Ynaa, a race of superadvanced aliens on a research mission they will not fully disclose. They are benevolent in many ways but meet any act of aggression with disproportional wrath. This has led to a strained relationship between the Ynaa and the local Virgin Islanders and a peace that cannot last.

A year after the death of a young boy at the hands of an Ynaa, three families find themselves at the center of the inevitable conflict, witnesses and victims to events that will touch everyone and teach a terrible lesson.

Elvia Wilk

Oval
Soft Skull Press, June 4, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

“Elvia Wilk’s Oval is a marvel. At the core of this seductive, acute, superbly-contemporary update of mid-period J.G. Ballard lies a deep-beating, deep-dreaming heart.” —Jonathan Lethem

“A fascinating near-future exploration of relationships, sustainability, and power. An extraordinarily accomplished debut novel.” —Jeff VanderMeer, author of Borne and Annihilation

In the near future, Berlin’s real estate is being flipped in the name of “sustainability,” only to make the city even more unaffordable; artists are employed by corporations as consultants, and the weather is acting strange. When Anja and Louis are offered a rent-free home on an artificial mountain—yet another eco-friendly initiative run by a corporation—they seize the opportunity, but it isn’t long before the experimental house begins malfunctioning.

After Louis’s mother dies, Anja is convinced he has changed. At work, Louis has become obsessed with a secret project: a pill called Oval that temporarily rewires the user’s brain to be more generous. While Anja is horrified, Louis believes he has found the solution to Berlin’s income
inequality. Oval is a fascinating portrait of the unbalanced relationships that shape our world, as well as a prescient warning of what the future may hold.