The work of the late poet Adrienne Rich was an important part of Cheryl Strayed's trek along the Pacific Coast Trail, chronicled in her riveting new memoir Wild. When Discover Great New Writers asked the author to talk about her book and her journey, she told us, "I've always loved books. But the books I took with me on my PCT hike were even more important because they were often my only companions. Some  I chose because I'd always heard I should read them -- books like Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and Nabokov's Lolita fall in to that category -- others I chose because I'd already read and loved them, such as Adrienne Rich's The Dream of Common Language, which is something of a sacred text in Wild."

Alex Gilvarry, author of the unroariously funny political satire, From the Memoirs of a Non-enemy Combatant, a Spring 2012 Discover selection, recommends 3 great reads.

Discover alumna Julie Otsuka wins 2012 PEN Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Buddha in the Attic.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters recently awarded the Sue Kauffman Prize for First Fiction to Ismet Prcic for Shards, a Holiday 2011 Discover Great New Writers selection.

Alan Heathcock, author of the indelible story collection Volt, winner of third place, fiction in the 2011 Discover Awards, recommends three great reads.

Joshua Cody, author of the unfogettable memoir, [sic], winner of third place, nonfiction in the 2011 Discover Awards, recommends 3 great reads

Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Spring 2012 Discover pick Birds of a Lesser Paradise, on Beryl Markham's West with the Night

Our booksellers can't stop talking about the March B&N Recommends selection, Imagine: How Creativity Works, the new book from Jonah Lehrer, author of the 2007 Discover selection Proust was a Neuroscientist.

Alice LaPlante, author of the national bestseller Turn of Mind, winner of second place, fiction in the 2011 Discover Awards, recommends three great reads.

Annia Ciezadlo, winner of second place, nonfiction in the 2011 Discover Awards for Day of Honey, recommends 3 great reads.

The Discover selection committee readers were truly impressed by Joe Blair's powerful prose in his memoir, By the Iowa Sea (a Spring 2012 selection).  This is a sample of what they saw...

Hari Kunzru's incredible debut, The Impressionist, was a Discover pick in 2002. Here's an excerpt from Tom LeClair's review of Kunzru's dazzling new novel, Gods Without Men.

Scott O'Connor, the author of Untouchable -- winner of first place, fiction at the 2011 Discover Awards -- recommends three great reads.

Michael Levy, author of Kosher Chinese -- winner of first place, nonfiction at the 2011 Discover Awards -- recommends three great reads.

Here's what our independent panel of judges has to say about Scott O'Connor's compelling debut, Untouchable, winner of winner of first place, fiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

Here's what our independent panel of judges had to say about Michael Levy's insightful memoir Kosher Chinese, winner of first place, fiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

Here's what our independent panel of judges had to say about Alice LaPlante's bestselling novel, Turn of Mind, winner of second place, fiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

Here's what our independent panel of judges had to say about Annia Ciezadlo's unforgettable memoir, Day of Honey, winner of second place, nonfiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

Here's what our independent panel of Judges has to say about Alan Heathcock's mesmerizing story collection, Volt, third place winner, fiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

Here's what our independent panel of judges had to say about Joshua Cody's ferocious memoir, [Sic], third place winner, nonfiction at the 2011 Discover Awards.

The 2011 Discover Awards were announced today at our annual awards ceremony in NYC.

"Gripping.... One of the best accounts of addition, the college experience, or what it means to be an average teenage girl in America today." -- Entertainment Weekly on 2005 Discover pick and National Bestseller, Smashed

"Freeman is a matchless writer...and his conclusions are rational, practical and wholly refreshing." -- Kirkus Reviews on 2009 Discover pick, The Tyranny of E-mail

"Arana has left her own imprint on her material, while at the same time displaying virtuosity in the storyteller's traditional gifts: spareness, clarity, and a passion for allegory." -- The New York Times Book Review on 2001 Discover selection American Chica

"What ardent, dazzling souls emerge from these American missionaries in China. ...A beautiful, searing book that leaves an indelible presence in the mind." -- Patricia Hampl, author of The Florist's Daughter, on the bestseller City of Tranquil Light

"An ingenious first novel.... Alive with historical figures who mingle seamlessly with the fictional characters.... A huge, sprawling portrait of the United States at the turn of the last century." -- The New York Times Book Review on 1999 Discover selection City of Light

"Chris Abani is a force of nature." -- Junot Díaz, author of 2005 Discover selection Drown and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction