Yesterday was a very big day for Left Unread. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen me talk about the fact that Buzzard was selected as an summer/fall Indies Introduce pick, but I want to take a few minutes to talk with you about what exactly that means. Because, frankly, it's huge.

Indies Introduce is a very exclusive list of upcoming debut books that is curated by the American Booksellers Association, specifically to highlight and celebrate undiscovered new voices in literature that they believe booksellers should be paying attention to. The list is compiled by participating booksellers, who vote on the books they believe should be included.

Why is this such an honor?

For two reasons:

1. Only 10 books make each list. Which means that, out of the hundreds of thousands of books coming out of publishers each year, booksellers saw Buzzard as a rising star. Which highlights the quality of this book and positions Inez as an author to watch.

2. The Indies Introduce list is specifically geared toward booksellers. Its purpose is to amplify emerging voices in literature and being on the list is an opportunity for publishers/authors to work directly with the American Bookseller Association to promote the book to the booksellers. Which means that this honor comes with exposure that will make it far easier for us to get copies of Buzzard onto bookstore shelves around the country.

As you know (because we've talked about it before), Bindery has a great relationship with indie bookstores. We love Indies and we have had a very positive experience partnering with them to get our titles into people's hands. And being an Indies Introduce pick will almost certainly make that an even more positive and successful experience.

Just to give you a sense of what booksellers are saying about Buzzard, here are a few of the reviews we received back from the American Bookseller Association:

“Buzzard is the best piece of dystopian fiction I’ve read in a long time. Inez Ray drops the reader into a horrifying world for which we are already seeing road signs- patriarchy reigns, women’s rights are suppressed, climate catastrophe is reality, and paramilitary corporations run it all. Mae is serving a sentence for providing abortions in a time where fertility is controlled by companies like Obsityan, who also runs the prison; she spends long days and nights using her nursing skills to aid teenage drone pilot/prisoners and when one too many turns up pregnant, and an opportunity to have her sentence commuted by looking the other way arises, Mae thinks her
time in this Orwellian prison is over and maybe, just maybe, she will get to see her two sons again. But in Ray’s world, Obsityan is everywhere, even in the middle of the desert, where Mae’s past catches up with her when a pregnant woman in labor shows up with a driver who has an agenda.”
—Jamie Hope Anderson, Duck's Cottage, Duck, NC

“A dystopian near future with alarmingly strong ties to our present moment, a cyber-age
Handmaid’s Tale with a furious midwife & abortionist at its center, a full-throated feminist rallying cry. Buzzard is an utterly original and unapologetic argument for freedom and bodily autonomy, wrapped inside a rollicking adventure story.”
——Toni Thayer, Loganberry Books, Cleveland, OH

“Set in the near-future dystopian Southwest, this book is a terrifying look at governmental control and abuse, as well as women’s health care and reproductive rights. But it also shows
heart and the depths of a mother’s love. This book will stick with me for a long time!”
—Jocele Skinner, Shared Stories Books, Caldwell, ID

“Buzzard is my new standard for "Feminist Fiction". Inez Ray has created a dystopian world that you don't have to try too hard to imagine. Buzzard is extremely timely and terrifyingly close to our current reality.”
—Amani Jackson, The Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore, MD

Overall, I am very optimistic that Buzzard is positioned to do very well. It is a phenomenal story with an incredibly important message, and both readers and booksellers are responding very positively to it. So I am very excited!

Thank you all for being here and for helping to amplify this story. I am one hundred percent certain that the efforts of this community played a huge role in getting this book in front of the right people to make this happen. Community continues to be what helps LEFT UNREAD stand out and I am so grateful for all of you!

If you haven't grabbed your copy of Buzzard yet, don't forget that we have partnered with bookshop.org to get you a 15% discount. HERE is a link, and you can use discount code: BUZZARD15