The Report: March 23, 2026

Selecting the semifinalists for the BookLife Prize Contest is a challenge. Would it surprise you to know that it keeps me up at night? So many of the books submitted to the prize are remarkable. Beautiful books. The books that don't fit tidily into one particular genre. Books that display the full range of human emotions. In this issue of The Report, we present the 20 titles that have moved along to the BookLife Prize semifinals. Bookstores, librarians, readers...get your copies! – Matia Query

New and Noteworthy

Announcing the BookLife Prize Nonfiction Semifinalists!
Twenty titles have advanced to the semifinal round of the prize. Stay tuned for our announcement of the finalists. more

Behind the Story: Betsy Vereckey
An author discusses her memoir about navigating divorce, finding renewed purpose, and the most faithful of companions. more

Booklife Testimonials
An author discusses how reviews have garnered attention for her work. more

BookLife Opportunities

Call for Submissions: Indie Spotlight: Our April Indie Spotlight will feature humor and satire. To submit your book, email booklife@booklife.com with the subject line: "Indie Spotlight: Humor." Include your book name, author name, and a personal statement (written in first-person).
Free BookLife Editorial Features for Indie Authors: Standing out isn’t easy for self-published authors. BookLife’s editorial features provide visibility and credibility—at no cost. Check out the opportunities!

From the Shelves: BookLife Titles on Our Radar

'Will the Devil Help Me Now?' by Caytlyn Brooke: Brooke’s historical drama of rumor, accusations, and lies slithers with a creeping dread that reveals humanity’s hypocrisy and injustice.
Hop Fight : The Authoritative Guide to the Drunken Sport Even a Child Can Play by S. Pluck and P. MacCruiskeen: You likely have never heard of "hop fight," the one-legged sport whose history, lore, and significance is explored, disputed, and celebrated in editor F.T. Marquardt's hilarious new guidebook.

The following are this week's books from PW Select, Publishers Weekly's marketing program for indie authors. To sign up your book for PW Select, click here.

Existential Ruminations by Gentry Thomason	Downfall And Freedom: A Novel about the Arms Trade, South Africa, and the KwaZulu by Charles E. "Chuck" Webb	Truly Dubmfounded, Dismayed, and Delighted by Charles C. Morgan
Defiant: A Global Conspiracy. A Final Mission. (Kate Preacher Thriller Series — Book 3) by Michael Maloof	Tangled Dreams by Delores Lowe Friedman	What Waste? by Nathan Guinn
It Always Rains in Estaran by Murat Boyner	Shelter Island: A January Hoolihan and Crisscross Adventure by Jill Wisoff

Click here to see all the recent titles enrolled in PW Select, or click here to sign up your book for the program.

Send editorial questions about this e-newsletter to: mburnett@publishersweekly.com
Send advertising questions about this newsletter to: jmurray@publishersweekly.com

For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below.

BookLife
49 West 23rd Street
Ninth Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone 212-377-5500

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

You are receiving this email because npkvdejmf6@nie.podam.pl subscribed to one of Publishers Weekly's newsletters. If you are not npkvdejmf6@nie.podam.pl, then please disregard this message. Update your newsletter preferences here.

PW takes spam very seriously. This email message meets all the requirements of the United States CAN-SPAM Act and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). To remove yourself from the BookLife Report email list, unsubscribe.