Now More than Ever...

Dear readers,

Now more than ever, the mission of Restless Books is clear: to expand our understanding of a world that seems narrower, to amplify voices that are suppressed or neglected, and to fight the trend toward isolating ourselves through publishing superb literature from around the globe. Our focus is not on publishing books with a specific message, but rather finding stories that express our trying times, that make us see things anew, that surprise and move us, that speak to our restlessness.

Here at Restless, we are about to make some important changes. Starting January 1, 2017, we will operate as a nonprofit. We believe this is the path that will ensure a sustainable future for Restless and allow us to focus even more single-mindedly on the impact we hope to make. Our mission remains the same, and we will continue our current projects as we expand into new terrain. Our Prize for New Immigrant Writing has been welcomed by readers and writers across the map, and we will continue to make immigration a special focus of our list by elevating sharp, culture-straddling writing that addresses American identity in a global age. Our personal-essay series The Face, in which a diverse group of writers offers perspectives on race, culture, identity, and the human experience as encoded in their faces, will expand as well, as will our series of Restless Classics. In particular, we’re proud to be publishing a new edition of the foundational work on race and sociology, The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois, in February 2017 to honor Black History Month, which has never felt more essential. We will publish more Jewish literature from different parts of the globe. And in the coming months we will be bringing out astounding novels, journalism, memoirs, essays, and thrillers from the United Arab Emirates, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, Madagascar, Cuba, Albania, Chile, Iran, and Argentina.

In addition to all of this, we’re thrilled to be launching Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers, a new imprint devoted to books from around the globe for children, middle graders, and young adults. We believe it is essential to teach our children to place themselves in the shoes of others who don’t look or speak like them, to instill in them a lifelong curiosity about the world and their place in it. Books have always been the best vehicles for education and empathy, and we’re energized about putting more of them, from more diverse places and storytellers, into the hands of our kids. Keep an eye out in the new year as we launch a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to help start up Yonder.

Restless Books is fired up about the future. Let’s build it together.

—Ilan Stavans and the Restless team

Booksellers Sing Praises for Ruth Ozeki, Tash Aw, and Chris Abani's The Face

Our new series of personal nonfiction, The Face, has launched to applause! Alternately philosophical, funny, personal, political, and poetic, these short memoirs by Ruth Ozeki, Chris Abani, and Tash Aw offer unique perspectives on race, culture, identity, and the human experience. Check out excerpts in of Tash Aw's book in The New Yorker, of Chris Abani's in Warscapes, and of Ruth Ozeki's on Literary Hub; reviews of all three books in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Brown Girl Reading, and Kirkus; and an interview with Chris and Tash on the BBC Radio 4 Books Program. But best of all has been the bookstore love! Here's a sampling:

Keaton Patterson, Brazos Bookstore (Houston, TX):

“The first installments in Restless Books' new nonfiction series, THE FACE, are compact, penetrating essays exploring the intersection between the personal and the cultural. Ozeki, Abani and Aw put forth wildly divergent takes on the simple premise of "the face," in works that seamlessly blend memoir and criticism. Ultimately, what we have are highly concentrated ruminations on race, identity and history by some of the most astute literary minds from across the globe. THE FACE highlights the diversity and universality of what it means to be human. Profound stuff.”

Tom Nissley, Phinney Books (Seattle, WA):

“Our front window this week is full of faces, in tribute to a new series started by Restless Books: beautiful, inexpensive little books on a subject we all share, but one that defines us most distinctly as individuals. Is your face a mask, or a revelation of your true self? Their first three writers, all novelists, touch on the physical facts of the faces they've been given by ancestry and time, and move to look to the people who gave them that identity: their parents, and their parents' parents, and the societies that look at those faces and make assumptions. There's a tight focus to the subject—you can put a book in your pocket and read it in an hour or two—but also a delicious looseness that comes from seeing where each writer takes the open-ended assignment. You'll find yourself looking at your own face in the mirror and seeing yourself, and others, anew.”

Jonathan Woollen, Politics and Prose (Washington, DC):

"Restless Books has orchestrated its coming-out party with the Face series. This ongoing collection of pocket memoirs holds a beautifully organic conversation on history at the most personal level through a guided tour of the author’s face.  In Ruth Ozeki’s we explore the creation and dispersal of self in Zen Buddhism and contemporary womanhood; in Chris Abani’s we find a complicatedly pithy look at the reach of a father-son relationship, and a confusing history of Chinese diaspora and global change in Tash Aw’s. With incoming entries from the likes of Roxane Gay and Lynne Tillman, the near future promises writing of equal openness and grace."

Contest: Tweet a Biography of Your Face to Win the Books in The Face Series

What stories does a face tell? In a new series from Restless Books, some of our favorite writers have written a first-person account of that most essential human trait: their own face. The first three books in the series—by Ruth Ozeki, Tash Aw, and Chris Abani—have just been released (more info below), and we're offering a gift of all three books to readers who participate in some "faceography" with us.  Here's how it works:

On Twitter, send a tweet with a picture, a short biography of your face, and the hashtag #facebio. Examples:

We'll retweet your mini face biography from the Restless Books twitter account, and we'll pick a handful of the best #facebio tweets whose tweeters will win all three books in the series!  

Details and FAQs:

How long does the contest run?  We'll start today, Wednesday March 16th, and will announce the winners next Wednesday March 23rd.  Send us your #facebio tweets by then!

Do I need a Twitter account?  Yes. Sign up here. Be sure to follow Restless Books!

How do I send a tweet with a photo attached?  Click the "tweet" button in the top right corner of your Twitter window, which brings up the "compose" window. Hit the camera icon in the lower left and choose a photo of your face. You'll have 107 characters left to write a mini biography of your face, plus the hashtag #facebio. Don't forget the hashtag, or we won't be able to find your tweet!

Do I need to tag @RestlessBooks?  Nope, we'll find your tweet with the hashtag. 

Do I need to include a URL/website link?  No. 

How do I get my books if I win?  We'll send you a tweet asking for your info, and then we'll mail you the books!   

The Books: