Was there ever a time when independently published books were more crucial than they are right now? What we in the industry call the Big 5—large conglomerates that dominate the publishing landscape—appear to be more and more corporatized, eliminating entire houses or imprints at whim (probably because the bottom line is deemed unsatisfactory). Of course, this is the world we all live in now—you can’t escape Meta, Amazon, or Google—but it’s an especially challenging environment in which to take a chance on a promising writer trying new things. Who suffers, ultimately, in this situation? Readers, of course.

Thank God for independent publishing. We first conceived the annual Indie Issue in 2020, and in the years since, self-publishing has exploded (we were all writing novels during the pandemic, right?) and more indie presses have set up shop, freed from the shackles of the corporate world and finding new ways to get great books into readers’ hands. For that matter, more readers are buying those books in independent bookstores, where author events, book club meetings, and passionate booksellers offer a sense of community you won’t find by sitting at your computer and pressing the “add to cart” button.

In her column, president of Kirkus Indie Chaya Schechner shines a light on some of the outstanding books that are bravely telling truths, even as the Trump administration and its cronies erase historical and scientific information wherever they can. We also talk with author Mike Carey about Ghostbox: Volume 1, a graphic novel illustrated by Pablo Raimondi; it began life online before finding a home in print from the indie comics press Mad Cave Studio. 

And lest you think indie books are all wild literary experiments for niche audiences, think again. Some of the best genre fiction these days is coming out of small presses. The following titles, all independently published, received Kirkus stars this year:

The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu (Tin House, March 23): When her mother dies, a therapist buys a home in an isolated housing development with her inheritance money. She’s haunted by her mother’s death, by the memory of an assault by her graduate school mentor, and, quite possibly, by a real ghost. “Highbrow horror that’s still a page-turner,” says our reviewer.

 The Bush Tea Murder by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (Crooked Lane, April 21): A cooking-show celebrity sets out to solve the murder of her aunt on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas while simultaneously developing the pilot for a new food-themed crime series. Our reviewer calls this debut mystery “fun-filled and fulfilling.”

Struck Speechless by Tati Richardson (Generous Press, April 28): After she loses her voice, a happily single sports agent must collaborate with her rival, a decade after the pair had a blissful (but never-to-be-repeated) one-night stand. Our reviewer calls this novel, the second in a series, a “terrific romance, both poignant and funny.”

Whatever your reading tastes, there’s an indie book for you. Read on.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.