We’re (somehow) over halfway through 2026, so we decided it was a great time to look back at all the wonderful books we’ve read so far this year—check out our favorites below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/07/07/o...

Looking for some great outdoor reading or want to beat the heat with a good book? Well, the new releases in July are sure to satisfy, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. Check those picks below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/07/01/1...

So happy to have this out the world! Thank @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social !

"Book Stuff is for readers and the reading curious. By my estimation, reading is still one of the most human and fun ways to spend your time these days." Read more on why @tuckerleg.bsky.social started his podcast Book Stuff below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/06/30/i...

At @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social today, @mbwwelch.bsky.social and I debut a new feature titled Critics in Conversation. In this first installment, we discuss @danielkraus.com's amazing Pulitzer win for Angel Down! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/06/25/c... #books #booksky

Read @mbwwelch.bsky.social and @gregzimmerman.bsky.social in conversation as part of our new feature, a podcast on the page. They're talking about @danielkraus.com's ANGEL DOWN (@atriabooks.bsky.social). chireviewofbooks.com/2026/06/25/c...

From your perfect beach read to captivating books that will carry you into the New Year, our Chicago writing community is bringing you something to enjoy through the rest of 2026 and beyond, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. Check those new books out below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/06/22/n...

@mbwwelch.bsky.social notices two trends across books coming out in June—a number of them look at the humanity and inhumanity of labor, while others look forward into what we lose and retain come the end of the world. Check out his picks at the link below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/06/01/1...

"People think... you must ‘pick a cause.’ But this is a myth. It is the illusion of a monstrous future that wants to swallow you whole." Read Mike Corrao on @ucpworkersguild.bsky.social's unionization campaign. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/05/29/t...

Our first Chicago Writers Showcase reader is @kathleenmrooney.bsky.social reading from his new novel MAN OVERBOARD! (Gallery Books). Kathleen is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, as well as a founding member of Poems While You Wait 🧵 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

We're proud to celebrate 10 years uplifting writers and editors, large and independent presses, and connecting readers with their incredible work.

The first showcase went so well we’re doing it twice a year! Join us on June 2 for your sneak peek on what’s coming from the Chicago lit community in the second half of 2026!

I left this conversation with so much hope (a rare feeling these days!)

To see my book next to Jesmyn Ward’s?!? Pinch me. Huge thanks to @mbwwelch.bsky.social for including HWSTG and for the kind words!

This month’s list features an incredible and eclectic list of new releases that range in tone and perspective, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes, but they all carry a similar theme: tons and tons of style. Check out our picks for the must-read books of May! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/05/01/1...

How would you like to host your own private 2-hour party at the bookstore? Bid now on this auction to support our friends at @storystudiochicago.bsky.social. new.biddingowl.com/item/private...

Finally, some good news: workers at Hachette are unionizing, and you can sign an open letter of support. This is the way! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Oh no, where have all the book reviews gone! Maybe it would help if we stopped doing the New York & corporate media naval gazing for like one second www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/b...

We’re so back

Happy early independent bookstore day! 📚

Thanks to Newcity for this great recent interview/review of our Great Lakes anthology, On an Inland Sea! Editor @mbwwelch.bsky.social reminds us all of the vital environmental element that runs through most of the collection! Check it out here: lit.newcity.com/2026/04/02/w...

Thank you so much @elizabethniarchosneukirch.com for talking with me about "On an Inland Sea" ❤️

I wrote about "On an Inland Sea," a collection of Great Lakes writing by @beltpublishing.bsky.social, edited by @mbwwelch.bsky.social. It's really a wonderful anthology, and deserves a place in the growing body of writing about the Lakes. greatlakesreview.org/shaped-by-th...

This month features some of my favorite debuts of the year, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes, including a deeply moving anthology about estrangement, and a book that turns history on its head. Check out the list below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/04/01/1...

We’re thrilled to co-host the Chicago release of THE MEMORY MUSEUM (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) by M Lin with Women and Children first in Andersonville! It’s on May 3 at 6:30pm! www.eventbrite.com/e/memory-mus...

Super grateful to @rachellayown.bsky.social and @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social for this lovely interview! Get a glimpse of the publisher's life...if you dare! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/03/20/i...

Absolutely not. If you are using AI to write you should 100% be ashamed. Shame is one of the last bulwarks against a total slop apocalypse. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/b...

I absolutely loved curating this series ❤️ This month’s entry from Nathan Hill is on the site now!

I wrote about the first national book banning bill, which effectively seeks to erase trans people. At the end I include a link to let your reps know that you oppose this bill and all it stands for. lithub.com/why-we-must-...

We're so, so excited to be part of Jeff Boyd's release event for his book HARD TIMES (@flatironbooks.bsky.social) and you can join us too! We'll be at the Book Cellar on 3/31 at 6:30 and Jeff'll be in conversation with Chicago's own Rowan Beaird 🤩 Hope to see you there!

I haven't panned a book in 7 years but I think novelists who've earned a $3 million advance are fair game. www.thefrontlist.org/p/yann-marte...

Was really happy to interview @mbwwelch.bsky.social for @michiganquarterly.bsky.social about ON AN INLAND SEA (@beltpublishing.bsky.social), the amazing Great Lakes anthology he edited which everyone should check out!! sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2026/03/...

🌊🌊🌊

Thanks to everyone who braved a literal hail storm to join us for this celebration! 🌊

"There’s something about being in nature and being alongside something that feels so much bigger than you that makes you turn inward." Out now: @celldeathvic.bsky.social's interview with @mbwwelch.bsky.social on "On an Inland Sea” (@beltpublishing.bsky.social). chireviewofbooks.com/2026/03/10/g...

Happy Pub Day to @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social editor-in-chief @mbwwelch.bsky.social. If you're in Chicago, the launch party for ON AN INLAND SEA is tonight at 6:30 pm at @roscoebooks.bsky.social.

Today’s the day! 🌊🌊🌊

Getting my name in the @chicagoreader.com is a pretty major Chicago bucket list item for me: review of On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes chicagoreader.com/books/book-r... @beltpublishing.bsky.social @mbwwelch.bsky.social

Let’s all hang out at the @beltpublishing.bsky.social AWP Happy Hour!

This month, we’re welcoming a wide range of exciting new releases that bend their genre conventions and chart a new path forward of possibility in literature, our EIC @mbwwelch.bsky.social writes. Check out the rest of his picks for March's best books below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/03/02/1...

TONIGHT! Join us for our free panel with @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social celebrating the publication's 10 years. Panelists will discuss what makes a good review, the importance of book coverage these days, and how you can improve your chances to get your work reviewed. Register: buff.ly/aBC7HDS

Check out @mbwwelch.bsky.social on the @literaryhub.bsky.social podcast talking a few of our favorite things... Bookstores and libraries anybody? 🤩 lithub.com/celebrating-...

Our table at the ABA Winter Institute! If you stopped by yesterday, you probably saw a new face behind the table. That’s me (Andrew), a new employee for Belt, helping out with marketing. It was great to meet both new and longtime fans of Belt, and to chat a bit about the year’s upcoming projects!

"Rural spaces, especially agricultural ones, never let you forget that you exist in a body, that you won’t be around forever." @rsdeeren.bsky.social's interview with @saramaurerwrites.bsky.social on "A Good Animal” (@stmartinspress.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/25/w...

"This is my most Southern novel...The characters are all unique, and some of them are larger than life, and they talk a lot of trash. They’re funny." @aaisforaarti.bsky.social's interview with @tayari.bsky.social on "Kin” (@aaknopf.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/24/t...

I have a new article out in Newcity Lit today about the inimitable Camille Bordas! lit.newcity.com/2026/02/23/c...

We’re excited to offer an exclusive cover reveal of Chicago Review of Books Daily Editor @celldeathvic.bsky.social's forthcoming debut novel, The Book of the Jaguar (Fairwood Press, August 18, 2026)! Check it out below 😍 and join us in congratulating Victor! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/19/e...

@mbwwelch.bsky.social on the closing of Chicago’s Volumes Bookcafe and what we lose when we lose independent bookstores.

This is so so lovely. Needed this today. Thank you @mbwelch.bsky.social so much.

I wrote about the loss of @volumesbooks.bsky.social, the encroachment of corporate bookselling in Chicago, and what it means for our literary scene and community overall. A huge thank you to @literaryhub.bsky.social ❤️ lithub.com/what-we-lose...