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10 Literary Debuts Worth Your Attention in 2025

Quietly powerful, beautifully crafted — these authors are shaping the literary conversation of tomorrow.

April 10, 2025

There’s something uniquely compelling about a debut — that first articulation of voice, vision, and vulnerability. These books arrive without legacy or expectation, but when they land well, they do more than introduce a writer. They widen the lens of what fiction can do.

The following ten debut novels span cultures, generations, and forms. Some are already gaining attention from prize juries and literary tastemakers; others are quietly emerging with striking clarity of voice. Each one is worth reading — not because it’s a debut, but because it’s good.

The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories

Stacie Shannon Denetsosie

A moving short story collection exploring contemporary Navajo identity, generational memory, and inherited survival — rooted in both pain and tenderness.

Release Date: 12 September 2023

Goodreads: 4.32 | Amazon UK: 4.6

Formats: Paperback

A layered collage cover blending photography and colour wash. A rocky mountain landscape is split between a realistic grey-toned section and a pink-and-orange tinted overlay, with the title in bold yellow and white.

The Original Daughter

Jemimah Wei

A lyrical coming-of-age story set in Singapore and Paris, following a young woman’s fractured relationship with her mother and her own inheritance of silence. A debut with striking intimacy and atmosphere.

Release Date: 5th June 2025

Goodreads: 4.25 (Advance Review Copies) | Amazon UK: No Ratings

:A red and cream-toned illustrated cover showing two mirrored women lying in opposite directions on a bed, their long hair cascading outwards, stylised in a flat, modern graphic style.


Homeseeking

Karissa Chen

An epic and intimate tale of one couple across decades and dynasties in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the U.S. Sweeping, quiet, and emotionally resonant — perfect for fans of Lisa Ko and Min Jin Lee.

Release Date: 27 February 2025

Goodreads: 4.26 | Amazon UK: 4.4

A richly illustrated cover showing a vibrant urban scene with birds flying through a street lined with red lanterns, blossoming trees, and layered rooftops. The sky is soft blue with glowing sunset hues in the background.

The Emperor of Gladness

Ocean Vuong

This novel follows 19-year-old Hai in East Glasgow as he navigates grief, queer identity, and the ghosts of the Vietnam War. Stylistically daring and thematically rich — a long-awaited debut that carries the emotional weight of Vuong’s poetry into fiction.

Release Date: 15 May 2025

Goodreads: 4.37 | Amazon UK: No Ratings

A minimal, moody cover with a glowing orange palette and the silhouette of a young figure looking down, partially obscured in warm light and shadow. The title and author's name are in elegant, thin white text.

Red Clay

Charles B. Fancher

A multigenerational saga tracing the aftermath of the American Civil War through the lives of an enslaved family and their former white owners. Historical fiction with intimacy, scope, and a striking emotional register.

Release Date: 14 January 2025

Goodreads: 4.46 | Amazon UK: 4.5

Formats: Kindle | Audible

A striking, colourful painting-style cover featuring faceless, abstract silhouettes of three people in bold primary colours—purple, orange, green—on a textured backdrop, with the title "Red Clay" in large white script.

The Names

Florence Knapp

Three parallel lives unfold from the moment a mother chooses her child’s name. A meditation on trauma, identity, and the butterfly effect of fate.

Release Date: 8 May 2025

Goodreads: 4.35 | Amazon UK: No Ratings

A stylised cover showing a man walking barefoot into a large pink X-shaped path set against a green background. The title "The Names" is bold and centered above the figure.

The Lilac People

Milo Todd

A powerful WWII novel following a trans man surviving the camps and fighting for queer identity in post-war Berlin. Based on true events.

Release Date: 29 April 2025

Goodreads: 4.36 | Amazon UK: No Ratings

Formats: Hardback

A nostalgic cover with a vintage tone showing a man in suspenders and a flat cap walking through a golden wheat field beneath a dreamy, pastel sky filled with lilac and peach clouds.

Junie

Erin Crosby Eckstine

In 1860 Alabama, 16-year-old Junie’s impulsive act leads to a haunting reckoning as the dead refuse to stay buried. A lyrical, unsettling debut of moral ambiguity and quiet power.

Release Date: 4 February 2025

Goodreads: 4.3 | Amazon UK: 4.5

Formats: Hardback

A warm, illustrated cover featuring a woman in a white dress sitting by a reflective pond surrounded by tall grass and trees, set against a vivid sunset of pink, orange, and purple hues. The title "Junie" is large and central in cream letters.

The Edge of Water

Olufunke Grace Bankole

Spanning Nigeria and New Orleans, this novel explores family legacy, migration, and resilience through the eyes of a young woman seeking her future.

Release Date: 4 February 2025

Goodreads: 4.0 | Amazon UK: 4.5

Formats: Paperback

A vibrant and abstract cover with iridescent swirls of green, pink, and blue resembling water or floral shapes on a black background. The title "The Edge of Water" is in bold, large serif font, with the author's name below in white.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay

Kate Fagan

A literary mystery about a pseudonymous author hiding a painful past. A story of identity, fame, and healing that’s both intimate and psychologically rich.

Release Date: 7 January 2025

Goodreads: 3.8 | Amazon UK: 4.2

A bright, summery cover featuring a woman in sunglasses floating in a swimming pool, arms stretched wide. The title overlays the water in bold white font, with a palm tree silhouette and film strip framing the image.

Whether you gravitate toward emotionally resonant historical fiction or nuanced contemporary voices, these debuts offer a glimpse at what’s still possible in storytelling. They’re not just promising — they’re already delivering. And if this is what these writers are starting with, we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Until next time, happy reading.
— The Page Sage

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Thumbnail Photo by Daria Kraplak on Unsplash

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