Foreword Reviews

Foreword Reviews is dedicated to nurturing the literary community, a commitment that includes strong support for local bookstores. Recently, we visited Leelanau Books, a gem in our local community, to connect directly with the space that brings indie books to readers. By spotlighting exceptional books from independent publishers, we help local bookstores like Leelanau Books discover and stock titles that resonate deeply with their customers. This not only enriches the reading culture but also bolsters the economic vitality of local businesses. Through our hands-on approach, we strive to be a valuable ally, fostering success for bookstores and libraries around the country and world.

Uncover this week’s top indie selections with the Foreword Reviews Book of the Day Roundup! Dive into our carefully chosen list that features the latest releases and undiscovered gems from independent publishers, crafted to enrich your reading experience. #BOTD #BookOfTheDay #IndieBooks #ForewordReview See the full list here: https://lnkd.in/g9KBcNWF

In every issue of Foreword Reviews, we discover a gem of a book that crosses genres and appeals on so many levels that we don’t know where to start. Jenny Haysom’s Keep—reviewed by Rebecca Foster—fits that bill in September/October; it’s a literary novel about aging and letting go but it’s set in Ottawa in 2017, which happens to be Canada’s sesquicentennial, a historical note which allows Jenny to reckon with the appalling treatment of the country’s Indigenous population by its European settlers. In her review, Rebecca says the novel “contrasts hoarding and generosity … raises the moral issue of preservation versus progress [and] … Underneath that is a deeper question of ownership, represented by the graffiti ‘You are all on traditional unceded Algonquin territory.’” If you’re hankering for a high level literary conversation, stay tuned. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gwd5z3Nt

Of Art & Consequences At Foreword, we love a good dystopian novel. See Kree and The Way in our literary fiction feature for evidence: in them, survivors fight through “fetid” worlds, finding and enacting mercy where they can and clinging to love, community, and other intangible beauties after material comforts have faded away. Reviewer Eileen Gonzalez noted the “Pyrrhic satisfaction” in such tales. These are stories we relish—but whose pages we don’t want to live in. We acknowledge, and strive to avoid, the horrific potentialities they reveal; they are antipodal to the futures we dream of. If we are to inhabit stories ourselves, we want them to offer at least the hope of a happy ending—to embody joy, rather than discord. When this issue reaches you, we’ll be breaths away from a consequential election with dark echoes of the recent past. We’ll be readying ourselves to choose what kind of future we’d like to live in—to write the next chapter in our collective story, knowing that none of us can turn the page alone. I believe that readers are uniquely equipped to navigate such choices, such sharp divergences in the road. Art, after all, is inherently political. It celebrates the best that we are capable of, exposes our vices, warns us of potential missteps, and imagines better worlds. It indicts and invents. Sitting with art and absorbing its lessons, we learn to be discerning, following promises of progress and threats of regression through to their logical conclusions. At this almost-there point, we invite you into these 100+ visions of the world as it is and could be with anxious appreciation. Each title in this issue has something to teach us about who we are and could become. And until the choice is made: we hope. Sincerely, Michelle Anne Schingler Editor in Chief

We are excited to welcome Josie Robinson to our sales team! Josie, a successful indie author, brings a wealth of publishing experience to her new role. She co-founded Evergreen Authors, where she spearheaded marketing campaigns for numerous authors and publishing companies. Most recently, she was instrumental in the development of DropCap Marketplace at DropCap Rights Agency, an innovative platform that facilitates connections between indie authors and the foreign rights market. “My passion for writing and indie publishing, combined with my extensive marketing experience, positions me uniquely to contribute to Foreword Reviews’ advertising initiatives. I understand the challenges and opportunities in the book industry from multiple angles—as an author, a marketer, and a business owner,” Josie shared. “Josie was a standout among the applicants for this position and we’re honored that she’ll be joining the sales and marketing department at Foreword. I am confident that our author and publisher clients will really enjoy working with her and benefit from her industry knowledge, not to mention her delightful personality,” said Stacy Price, Sales Director. At Foreword, we offer publishers a range of marketing services aimed at reaching trade buyers and avid readers. Josie will be providing publishers and vendors with expert marketing guidance across our platforms including our bimonthly print magazine, forewordreviews.com, the Foreword This Week eNewsletter, social media campaigns, and trade shows. She can be reached at josie@forewordreviews.com. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gd7P7kkV

Explore this week's top indie selections with Foreword Reviews' Book of the Day Roundup! Dive into our carefully chosen picks, featuring fresh releases and hidden masterpieces from independent publishers, destined to enrich your reading journey. Here is the whole lineup: https://lnkd.in/g-tTwXnB #BOTD #BookOfTheDay #IndieBooks #ForewordReviews #ReadingList

You know Duolingo, Babbel, and Berlitz, but today you’re going to hear about the best foreign language program of all? That would be Van Sise, where you learn only the good stuff from languages you didn’t even know existed, some that don’t even bother to separate nouns from verbs—it’s all a lovely mind riot—and many, unfortunately, with only a handful of speakers still alive. Here’s a sampling: tekariho:ken, between two worlds—Mohawk, still spoken in eastern Canada and upper New York. kapará, worse things have happened—Ladino, a few speakers around the US. onirique, something that comes from a dream—Houma French, Louisiana. koyaanisqatsi, nature out of balance—Hopi, across Arizona. amonati, something you hold and keep safe for someone else—Bukhari, spoken in Brooklyn. ma’goddai, feeling when the blood rises that makes you act both violently and lovingly—Chamorro, Guam, Pacific islands. ny’thkvekuum, I’m going back to where I came from—Maricopa, around Arizona. dena’nena’henash, our land speaks—Koyukon, Alaska. opyêninetêhi, my heart is taking its time—Sauk, Midwestern US and Coahuila, Mexico. There isn’t an app to learn these and many more delightful words but the Van Sise dictionary—On the National Language—will make you want to forget your English. Rachel Jagareski held on just enough to pen a beautiful review in Foreword’s September/October issue, but we could tell she wanted to let loose with some sixty-plus-letter words that would turn our brain inside out—in a good way. Next issue, Rachel. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gYQePNmv

We're excited to announce that Wendy Chapman, Library of Things Coordinator at Buchanan District Library, is the lucky winner of our local goodie basket raffle at the Michigan Library Association's annual conference! Congratulations, Wendy! It was such a pleasure meeting so many incredible people at MLA, and we truly enjoyed connecting with librarians and industry professionals from across the state. The conference was filled with inspiring conversations, and we’re grateful to have been a part of it and to continue supporting libraries and librarians across the state. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello!

Foreword Reviews really is on the move this week, attending the Michigan Library Association's annual conference. The opening keynote, "Creating A Limitless Culture: Better Results, Better Relationships, Limitless Possibilities" by Ben Whiting, was a standout event. Whiting combined his leadership expertise with a dynamic entertainment background to deliver strategies that enhance productivity and foster positive workplace relationships—all packaged in an unforgettable session of magic and mind reading. Stay tuned for more updates from these important events!

Foreword Reviews is pleased to share a new installment to Petit Foreword, our series of bite-sized interviews with indie authors! This week we were joined by Meg Ripley, author of "Necrology" Watch the interview here: https://lnkd.in/erXimR42