Week 14 Recap: New Paltz Prevails

New Paltz, New Paltz wins with simple, offbeat charm

New Paltz, New Paltz by Mike Powell took top honors in a week defined by flat color, strong shapes, and no gradients in sight.

Equal parts deadpan and disarming, this debut from Double Negative charmed voters with a bordered, quietly risk-taking cover that mixes simple whimsy with cartoon sadness, leaving a mental impression that lingers for days.

Week 14 Winner: New Paltz, New Paltz by Mike Powell

Congrats to Mike Powell and the Double Negative team!

Week 15: Beautiful Debutiful

Speaking of debuts, this week’s contenders were all recently featured by Debutiful, the literary platform and podcast run by fellow Coloradan Adam Vitcavage. If you're drawn to literary fiction that’s fresh and fearless, you’ll love Debutiful—and this lineup.

Blob by Maggie Su (Harper, Jan 28, 2025): A surreal, funny, and quietly profound debut about a woman who tries to mold a sentient blob into her ideal boyfriend. Love, loneliness, and identity collide.
Softie by Megan Howell (West Virginia University Press, Dec 1, 2024): Magical realist stories of girls and women bending bodies and minds in a quest for meaning. Melancholy, eerie, and deeply human.
Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen (Catapult, Jul 1, 2025): A satirical knockout starring two trans volleyball stars navigating queer identity, online fame, and bro culture in the wake of a pandemic.
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth (Melville House, Jul 8, 2025): A tender, queer coming-of-age story set in 1990s Ireland that explores secrecy, first love, and the aching choice between hiding and becoming.

Week 15 Lineup

Voting is open now through Sunday at 10pm ET. Tell yr cat Mister Fuzzy Mittens.

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Yours in bold beginnings,

Will Pass
Book Jacket Bracket Guy