Book Recs: Indie, Small Press & Self Published Books

This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while. We all know about all of the Big 5 books, the ones that appear on most rec lists most often, that get more marketing (comparatively speaking) and which more people know about. So, today’s rec list is specifically the opposite of that. Today, I’m reccing you books by independent publishers, small presses, and self-published authors.

For ease, the definition of indie here that I’m using is “not Big 5 or an imprint of Big 5”. That is, not Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, or Hachette. Since the indies range in size beyond that, I’ve split those into two sections: smaller and larger (generally decided by output).

A little key before we start:

💛 = sapphic
💚 = achillean
💙 = trans or nonbinary
🌻 = contemporary
🌿 = historical
🐚 = fantasy
🌺 = mystery/thriller
🍂 = paranormal/horror
🍃 = science fiction

For this list, I stuck to a single book by each author (although there are many where I’d rec multiple books) because I figured, hey, this can be a series! So, check back later this year for more, I guess!

SELF PUBLISHED

🌻 There Is a Light by Ban Gilmartin 💚
🌿 The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K. J. Charles 💚
🌻 Hold Me by Courtney Milan 💚💙
🐚 Night Flowers Shirking from the Light of the Sun by Li Xing 💛
🌻 The History of Us by Nyrae Dawn 💚

🌻 Division Bells by Iona Datt Sharma 💚
🌿🐚 Heart of Stone by Johannes T. Evans 💚
🌿🐚 The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell 💚
🌻 The Gay Girl’s Guide to Ruining Prom by Siera Maley 💛
🌻 The Simple Answer by Lily Seabrooke 💛

SMALL PRESS & SMALLER INDIES

🌻 Work for It by Talia Hibbert 💚
🌻 Night Tide by Anna Burke 💛
🐚 The Scapegracers by Clarke 💛
🌿🐚 Pyre at the Eyreholme Trust by Lin Darrow 💚💙
🍃 Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard 💛

🌿🐚 Moontangled by Stephanie Burgis 💛
🐚 Water Horse by Melissa Scott 💚💛
🌿 The Pursued and the Pursuing by AJ Odasso 💚
🌺 The Little Death by Michael Nava 💚
🍃 Lion City by Ng Yi-Sheng 💚💛

LARGER INDIES

🌿 Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn 💛
🌺 After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott 💛
🐚 The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska 💛
🌿 Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg 💙
🌻 This Town Sleeps by Dennis Staples 💚

🌻 The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough 💚
🌺 The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis 💛
🐚 Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell 💛
🐚 Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria 💚
🌻 The Flywheel by Erin Gough 💛

What would you rec?

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