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Foreword Reviews

We discover, curate, critique, and share new indie books in our bi-monthly print magazine and daily updated website. That's why we're here for you.

Identifying the right book for the right time is more difficult than ever. Foreword Reviews is a media company dedicated exclusively to covering independently published books. Whether you choose to read our award winning magazine, website, or enewsletter, the information you need to find the best books in indie publishing is at your fingertips. We're who booksellers, librarians, agents, publishing

professionals, and readers turn to for reviews of the best titles from small, alternative, and academic presses. Foreword affects the choices of booksellers and librarians across the country who tell millions what to read. Established in 1998, we share indie-only coverage with the widest possible audience through our award-winning print and digital magazine, our website, our annual IndieFab book awards, and at international tradeshows. We were also an industry pioneer with Clarion Reviews, the first and most trusted fee-for-review service for indie and self-publishers.

10/03/2025

This week’s featured book brings to mind a question we never got around to asking the smart people at the National Geographic Society: Why is there a big grassy field in the middle of America?

The prairies in North America formed as the Rocky Mountains grew taller and taller. … Once the mountains got tall enough, they blocked significant amounts of rain from falling on the east side of the mountains, creating what is called a rain shadow. This rain shadow prevented trees from growing extensively east of the mountains, and the result was the prairie landscape.

And rivers run through it—just ask George Frazier, who’s paddled many of those “glorious and forgotten grassland rivers of America” and stayed above water to write about it in his Riverine Dreams. Check out Jeff Fleischer’s review of the book in Foreword and then head over to INDIES central to discover three other fantastic Travel books.

Enjoy the conversation:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/reviewer-jeff-fleischer-interviews-george-frazier-author-of-riverine-dreams-away-to-the-glorious-and-forgotten-grassland-rivers-of-america/

10/01/2025

Step into this week’s Book of the Day Roundup, featuring titles that spark curiosity and invite readers to explore new ideas. From the challenges of green energy in "Why We Struggle to Go Green" to the rich stories behind apple cultivation in "The Light Between Apple Trees," these books deliver insight, inspiration, and fresh perspectives.

See the full roundup here:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/book-of-the-day-roundup-september-22-26-2025/

09/30/2025

Just a quick reminder that if you want to save $10 on your entry into the 2025 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, you have only hours left—the discount ends tonight, September 30th, at midnight EST.

Maximize your publicity dollars by taking advantage of the discounted fee. Larger publishing houses have the marketing power to flood the marketplace, influencing consumer spending and reducing the visibility of new books and authors from independent publishers. This is just one more reason to make the INDIES an essential part of your marketing strategy.

Registration is $109 for the first category and $89 for any additional categories. End-of-year titles can also take advantage of this offer. The INDIES provides an easy online registration; simply click here to get started.

Entry for the 2025 awards will close on January 15, 2026. Judging copies need to be received in the Foreword offices by January 22, 2026.

We look forward to seeing your books!

Register now:
https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/awards/

09/29/2025

Stacy, our sales director, had the pleasure of attending the 10th annual Harbor Springs Festival of the Book on Saturday, a two hour drive from our offices. She mingled with attendees from across the country at this sold out event, and chatted with authors from indie and university presses including Grove Atlantic , Libby books, Graywolf, Wayne State University Press, Levine Querido, Wave Books, Holiday House Books for Young People, ABRAMS Books, and W. W. Norton & Company. She delighted in attending sessions on topics including Food & Media and Ground Cover: Listening to Earth, as well as listening to picture book and poetry readings at the beautiful Harbor Springs Library. She also visited the local bookshop, Between the Covers, which donates 20% of their weekend Festival book sales to the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book.

According to the local paper, "Harbor Light," this year's "remarkable gathering of authors, illustrators, artists and poets has only gotten better with age bringing in amazing people to discuss their craft with each other and with attendees in this small town in northern Michigan."

Pictured: Stacy with Daniel Nayeri (Iranian American author of children's and young adult books, including "Everything Sad is Untrue" which earned a Foreword star) and Rebecca Lee Kunz (celebrated illustrator of "Chooch Helped," recipient of the Caldecott Medal), both published by Levine Querido; and M. Bartley Seigel (former poet laureate of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow) reading a poem from "In The Bone-Cracking Cold" poetry collection from Wayne State University Press, which was reviewed in our March/April 2025 issue.

Learn more about the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book here:
https://www.hsfotb.org/about-more

09/26/2025

An often overlooked position of mighty power resides in the white men (almost always) who decide what gets taught in history books and therefore shape the world view of countless children. Is there a more important job on Earth? Why is it so often left to compromised politicians?

Everything you need to know about this interview with Brian Jones is conveyed in his title, "Black History Is for Everyone." We lean on pine breaks to tease out of Brian the reasons our kids—and adults—benefit from a deeper understanding of the Black experience, in addition to a sampling of lesser-known historical events that deserve everyone’s attention.

Read the full interview here:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/reviewer-pine-breaks-interviews-brian-jones-author-of-black-history-is-for-everyone/

09/24/2025

The "brilliantly human" Booker Prize shortlist has been announced. "Encapsulating a range of international experiences, the six shortlisted books transport readers from Hungary to Japan, from Venice to New York, from India to England’s West Country, and feature often rootless characters far from the places they once called home." Foreword Reviews extends its warmest congratulations to all six authors and publishers, including independent presses Faber & Faber for "The Rest of Our Lives" and Europa Editions for "The Land in Winter."

Faber Books
Europa Editions

09/23/2025

Our beautiful Nov/Dec Holiday Issue will include 100+ reviews on fresh new books from indie authors and presses - a Japanese street food cookbook, a biography about Michigan native and legendary writer Jim Harrison, a graphic novel about resisting and surviving the conditions of an unforgiving world, and a book about properly caring for your books at home - just to name a few.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to get your titles into the mix and on the radar of librarian and bookstore buyers with a thoughtful ad message.

Explore the options at forewordmagazine.com or reach out to Stacy before the end of the month.

09/22/2025

This week’s Book of the Day Roundup is a selection of exceptional titles from independent and small presses. Each book highlights the best of indie publishing, giving readers access to voices and stories they might not find elsewhere. From fiction to nonfiction, these titles deserve attention for their originality, depth, and the quality of writing.

See the full Roundup here:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/book-of-the-day-roundup-september-15-19-2025/

09/19/2025

“Syr Hayati Beker’s gleaming novella What a Fish Looks Like alchemizes confessional notes and remixed fairy tales to tell a story of q***r survival amid ecological disaster. … passed notes, party invitations, and other ephemera appear between inventive riffs on classic stories like Beauty and the Beast. The cumulative effect is intimate, voyeuristic, and rewarding.’’ —From Luke Sutherland’s Starred Review

We’re giddy about this interview, it exemplifies why we bring together reviewers and authors to help us understand an incomprehensible world. In their answer to Luke’s question about what compels so many q***r writers to wade into the distressing subject of climate change, Syr jokes that q***r writers were all perhaps bitten by a radioactive spider and then speculates that the otherworldliness of q***r existence mimics a planet at odds with itself. In other words, the q***r community is able to keep their s**t together through these apocalyptic times because they have witnessed their own bodies go off the rails, and it’s nothing new to them.

Syr is a very, very special thinker, and this conversation, which is fascinating in a heartbreaking way, will keep you thinking for weeks.

Read the full interview here:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/reviewer-luke-sutherland-interviews-syr-hayati-beker-author-of-what-a-fish-looks-like-foreword-this-week/

09/17/2025

Foreword Reviews applauds Delaware’s new Freedom to Read Act, signed into law on September 15, 2025. The legislation sets clear statewide standards for public and school libraries, ensuring protection against ideological censorship, fair review processes for challenged materials, and safeguards for library staff. By keeping materials accessible and accountability public, the law reinforces the importance of intellectual freedom and the right to read for all.

09/16/2025

Foreword's projects coordinator, Kathy, and her daughter, Stella, visited Detroit's newest bookstore over the weekend: Sip-n-Read Book Bar, "where sips and stories flow." Sip N’ Read was founded by visionary Tamela Todd (who is also an author) to "fill a need in Detroit—a space where literature, wine, and meaningful conversation could collide. More than just a book bar, it was born from the belief that every city deserves a place where sophistication meets comfort and community is always at the heart." We welcome this unique bookstore to our home state of Michigan with open arms, and raise our glasses to them!

PS. If you'd like your book to be seen by buyers at indie bookstores, Foreword can help.

09/15/2025

This week’s Book of the Day Roundup highlights compelling new titles from independent publishers. From gripping fiction to thought-provoking nonfiction, these selections showcase the creativity, insight, and storytelling that make indie books stand out. Explore the full roundup and discover your next great read.

See the full roundup here:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/book-of-the-day-roundup-september-8-12-2025/

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Our Story

Foreword Reviews is dedicated to the “art” of book reviewing. With a review team of talented writers who are experts in their fields, our journal is designed for a discerning librarian—in recognition of the fact that quality paper, generous use of white space, and creative design encourages a time investment by readers. Foreword’s reviews are insightful critiques, robust in length and thoughtful. That is why our readership loves us so much. And why our reviews are licensed to wholesalers like Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bowker, Cengage, Ebsco, and others. Established in 1998, we share indie-only coverage with the widest possible audience through our award-winning print and digital magazine, our website, our annual Indies book of the year awards, and at international tradeshows. We were also an industry pioneer with Clarion Reviews, the first and most trusted fee-for-review service for indie and self-publishers.