2025 American Literature Catalog

The War Comes with You
Enduring War in Life, Fiction, and Fantasy

Stacey Peebles 

December 12, 2026
$28.99, paper, 978-1-64336-515-2
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-514-5
Also available in ebook

How do we tell twenty-first-century war stories when the wars seem to go on forever?

Bodies in the Middle
Black Women, Sexual Violence, and Complex Imaginings of Justice

Maya Hislop

July 11, 2024
$29.99, paper, 978-1-64336-489-6
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-488-9
Also available in ebook

A probing analysis of Black women's attempts to pursue justice for sexual-violence victims within often hostile social and legal systems

Southern Strategies
Narrative Negotiation in an Evangelical Region

Michael Odom 

March 7, 2024
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-465-0
Also available in ebook

A study of how literary strategies illuminate the evangelical foundation of Southern culture.

Honorable and Brilliant Labors
Orations of William Gilmore Simms

Edited by John D. Miller 

June 13, 2024
$59.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-483-4
$0.00, open access ebook

A primary source collection that offers a window into the mind of nineteenth-century author and public intellectual, William Gilmore Simms

From Chinese Cosmology to English Romanticism
The Intricate Journey of a Monistic Idea

Yu Liu

April 27, 2023
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-380-6
Also available in ebook

A culturally sensitive and rewarding new understanding of the cross-cultural interaction between China and Europe

Light and Legacies
Stories of Black Girlhood and Liberation

Janaka Bowman Lewis 

April 20, 2023
$32.99, paper, 978-1-64336-386-8
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-385-1
Also available in ebook

An engaging examination of Black Girl Magic and its significance in American literature

Embracing Vocation
Cormac McCarthy's Writing Life, 1959-1974

Dianne C. Luce 

January 4, 2023
$34.99, paper, 978-1-64336-355-4
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-354-7
Also available in ebook

Revelations on craft from a foundational scholar of Cormac McCarthy

Citizenship on Catfish Row
Race and Nation in American Popular Culture

Geoffrey Galt Harpham 

July 12, 2022
$29.99, paper, 978-1-64336-328-8
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-327-1
Also available in ebook

A radical reinterpretation of three controversial works that illuminate racism and national identity in the United States

Harry Potter and Beyond
On J. K. Rowling's Fantasies and Other Fictions

Tison Pugh 

June 30, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-087-4
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-086-7
Also available in ebook

An illuminating study of Rowling's novels that broke new ground while adhering to traditional narrative formulas

Bodily Evidence
Racism, Slavery, and Maternal Power in the Novels of Toni Morrison

Geneva Cobb Moore

April 30, 2020
$19.99, paper, 978-1-64336-100-0
Also available in ebook

An exploration of the Nobel Prize-winning author's use of parody, semiotics, and allegory to portray Black life in the United States

The Radiance of Small Things in Ron Rash's Writing

Frédérique Spill

October 11, 2019
$54.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-019-5

An examination of the writer's use of sensory detail to illuminate beauty in dreary situations

In Dogs We Trust
An Anthology of American Dog Literature

Edited by Jacob F. Rivers III and Jeffrey Makala 

May 1, 2019
$34.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-966-8
Also available in ebook

A grand anthology that celebrates the many sterling virtues of the canine species

Resurrecting Leather-Stocking
Pathfinding in Jacksonian America

Bill Christophersen

March 27, 2019
$54.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-960-6
Also available in ebook

An examination of the renowned author's complex portrayal of frontier America

Jesting in Earnest
Percival Everett and Menippean Satire

Derek C. Maus 

March 27, 2019
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-962-0
$0.00, open access ebook

A critical analysis of Percival Everett's oeuvre through the lens of Menippean satire

Hemingway's Brain
With a New Preface

Andrew Farah 

April 17, 2025
$24.99, paper, 978-1-64336-591-6
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2017

A forensic psychiatrist's corrective and innovative diagnosis of the conditions that led to Ernest Hemingway's suicide

Understanding Gish Jen
With a New Preface

Jennifer Ann Ho 

June 15, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-423-0
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2015, 978-1-61117-588-2

An examination of the evolution of Jen's career, her themes, and the development of her narrative voice

Understanding Etheridge Knight
With a New Preface

Michael S. Collins 

July 20, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-439-1
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2012

“Collins has written the book that Knight has long deserved.”
—American Literary Scholarship

Understanding David Mamet
With a New Preface

Brenda Murphy 

February 2, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-382-0
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2011, 978-1-61117-002-3

A new preface covers Mamet's most recent plays and nonfiction writing

Understanding Sam Shepard
With a New Preface

James A. Crank 

February 2, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-373-8
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2012, 978-1-61117-106-8

An ideal introduction into the complex and compelling dramas of the acclaimed playwright

Understanding Philip K. Dick

Eric Carl Link 

November 3, 2022
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-345-5
Also available in ebook
Cloth ed. 2009, 978-1-57003-855-6

A guide to the fantastic world of a science fiction legend

Understanding Hunter S. Thompson

Kevin J. Hayes

May 8, 2025
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-570-1
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-538-1
Also available in ebook

An insightful guide to the life and literary career of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson

Understanding Octavia E. Butler

Kendra R. Parker

April 24, 2025

$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-577-0
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-576-3
Also available in ebook

New insights into the work of an acclaimed science fiction author

Understanding Lynn Nottage

Jennifer L. Hayes 

January 9, 2025
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-510-7
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-509-1
Also available in ebook

The first comprehensive study of the two-time Pulitzer-winning playwright

Understanding Barbara Kingsolver

Ian Tan 

April 11, 2024
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-477-3
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-476-6
Also available in ebook

The most up-to-date and unified study of critically acclaimed and best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver

Understanding Margaret Atwood

Donna M. Bickford 

August 31, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-447-6
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-446-9
Also available in ebook

A timely, accessible introduction to Margaret Atwood's most recent novels and enduring themes

Understanding Michael S. Harper

Michael Antonucci 

April 6, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-400-1
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-399-8
Also available in ebook

A fresh examination of Harper's body of work as an archive of Black life, thought, and culture

Understanding Jonathan Franzen

Timothy W. Galow 

February 16, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-371-4
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-370-7
Also available in ebook

The first comprehensive study to address Franzen's work to date, including his latest novel, Crossroads

Understanding Philip Roth

Matthew A. Shipe

April 14, 2022
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-310-3
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-309-7
Also available in ebook

A panoramic and accessible guide to one of the most celebrated—and controversial—authors of the twentieth century

Understanding Jennifer Egan

Alexander Moran 

September 3, 2021
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-225-0
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-224-3
Also available in ebook

An examination into the major influences and themes in the works of a contemporary fiction writer

Understanding Alice Walker

Thadious M. Davis

August 20, 2021
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-238-0
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-237-3
Also available in ebook

A comprehensive study of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's large, multifaceted canon

Understanding Colson Whitehead
Revised and Expanded Edition

Derek C. Maus 

April 7, 2021
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-174-1
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-173-4
Also available in ebook

An inviting point of entrance into the truth seeking, genre defying novels of the award-winning author

Understanding David Foster Wallace
Revised and Expanded Edition

Marshall Boswell 

September 30, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-069-0
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-068-3
Also available in ebook

A detailed approach to the fiction of a third wave modernism pioneer

Understanding Stewart O'Nan

Heike Paul 

September 30, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-150-5
$0.00, cloth, 978-1-64336-149-9
Also available in ebook

A comprehensive study of the writer's oeuvre and reinvention of American mythology

Understanding Tracy Letts

Thomas Fahy

September 4, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-111-6
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-110-9
Also available in ebook

A compelling analysis of the cultural commentary in the works of one of America's greatest twenty-first century playwrights

Understanding Karen Tei Yamashita

Jolie A. Sheffer 

February 18, 2020
$24.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-031-7
Also available in ebook

An introduction to the writer's major works that explore the effects of globalization on under-resourced populations

Understanding William S. Burroughs

Gerald Alva Miller, Jr. 

February 5, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-081-2
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-034-8
Also available in ebook

A comprehensive examination of the postmodern writer's groundbreaking depictions of historically marginalized communities

Understanding Alice McDermott

Margaret Hallissy 

January 27, 2020
$29.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-027-0
Also available in ebook

A deeply critical analysis of the award-winning author's novels and trademark nonchronological narrative style

Understanding William T. Vollmann

I??l Özcan 

November 1, 2019
$29.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-029-4

A fresh examination of the prolific writer's major fiction and nonfiction works

Understanding John Rechy

María DeGuzmán 

September 19, 2019
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-006-5
Also available in ebook

An intricate analysis of the novelist, essayist, and playwright's representation of identiy and experimentation with genre

Understanding Marsha Norman

Lisa Tyler 

September 13, 2019
$29.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-002-7
Also available in ebook

An engaging study of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's works focused on the lives of interesting and troubled women 

Understanding Randall Kenan

James A. Crank 

April 19, 2021
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-188-8
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-958-3
Also available in ebook

The first book-length study of the life and writings of the critically acclaimed Southern writer

Understanding James Baldwin

Marc Dudley 

January 30, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-076-8
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-964-4
Also available in ebook

An analysis of the groundbreaking author's vision and thematic concerns

Understanding Marge Piercy

Donna M. Bickford 

February 14, 2019
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-952-1
Also available in ebook

An examination of form and theme in Piercy's acclaimed poetry, fiction, and nonfiction

Understanding Jim Grimsley

David Deutsch 

January 2, 2019
$44.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-929-3
Also available in ebook

The first book-length study of an influential voice in contemporary queer American literature

Understanding Agatha Christie

Tison Pugh 

January 27, 2023
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-441-4
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-440-7
$0.00, open access ebook 

Explores seven startling paradoxes behind the bestselling novelist's lasting popularity

Understanding Kate Atkinson

Brian Diemert 

December 14, 2020
$21.99, paper, 978-1-64336-153-6
$114.99, cloth, 978-1-64336-152-9
Also available in ebook

An insightful study of the evolution of the writer's novels from playful, to the detective series, to those that examine the legacy of British history

Understanding Jonathan Coe

Merritt Moseley

July 28, 2016
$29.99, cloth, 978-1-61117-650-6
Also available in ebook

An examination of the life, career, and oeuvre of the British novelist and biographer