The Indigenous Books I Can’t Stop Talking About

Now is the most exciting time to be a reader of Indigenous books. There are more Native voices being published than ever before, and it’s up to us to keep that momentum going by showing publishers that these stories matter. Here are a few of my favorite new reads.

There’s nothing more challenging than writing romance and humor, and Chickasaw author Danica Nava shines at both. Her newest book, Love Is a War Song, taps into the cowboy-romance trend, with an Indigenous / Hannah Montana twist. A disgraced pop singer goes into hiding with her estranged family in Oklahoma, where a sexy but grumpy cowboy needs her help to save the ranch. Plus, Danica is the only (yes, only!) traditionally published Indigenous romance author, so support really matters.

Horror is the hottest genre right now. I’m a big fan of author Nick Medina, who writes of a fictional Louisiana reservation, inspired by his own Tunica Belxi family’s home. For his new book, The Whistler, I chatted with Nick on my Instagram Live show the night before his book launched about the incredible amount of research that went into creating his main character, a ghost hunter who becomes paralyzed and must return to his family’s reservation where the hauntings continue. Combining Nick’s passion for Indigenous folklore with his book-a-year schedule, I think we have another Stephen Graham Jones on our hands, so get in on the ground floor with all three of his books (and another coming in 2026).

There is nothing like publishing your debut book, but none left more tears in my eyes than Eliana Ramage’s To the Moon and Back. From NASA ambitions to Oklahoma Cherokee identity, her book is the story of a woman driven to become the first Cherokee astronaut, an ambition that strains important relationships in her life, from her girlfriend to her Native influencer and activist sister and even mother. The story also tackles real issues from the Trail of Tears to the Indian Child Welfare Act, and so many powerful narrative echoes like Eliana’s own Cherokee roots with Hawaiian colonization but resilient culture. I was lucky enough to join Eliana for a panel discussion at the Cherokee Art Market in Tulsa, and she spoke about how every time she tried to make the story smaller, it wasn’t right. Being a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick for September is just one indication that this debut author aiming for the moon was the right move indeed.

Carson Faust reaches deep into his own family history from Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe of South Carolina to create his debut novel, If the Dead Belong Here, a journey through a family’s grief after a young girl disappears from her bed one night. Nadine, the young girl’s older sister, is guided through generational trauma by folklore, dreams, and the supernatural to find answers about her sister's disappearance. A lot of Indigenous writers (myself included) grapple with how generational trauma manifests — in a person, in a country — and this book rips into those tender questions with no easy answers. Carson shared that his grandmother had boxes of “anthropological research” from census records to newspaper articles to weave — beautifully and hauntingly — those traditions and stories of survival into his own powerful first novel.

Cherokee author Daniel H. Wilson is known for his techno-thrillers — from a smash hit debut book, Robopocolyse, to helming Michael Crichton’s Andromeda Strain sequel—but for his 17th book, Hole in the Sky, he returns to his hometown of Tulsa to tell an Indigenous first-contact story. Daniel was also at the Cherokee Art Market, and during our panel discussion, he shared how personal this story was for him. It opens on the Spiro Mounds, the ancestral grounds of the Osage Nation (and a place Daniel visited as a kid). Just so happens, the Mounds are in the direct path of an unidentified flying object coming in hot from deep space. Daniel is adapting the novel for Netflix with Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs) attached to direct.

And speaking of personal, if you’re a literary-fiction fan, Cherokee author and National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson returns with The Devil Is a Southpaw, a surreal journey that begins with a found manuscript of an incarcerated boy at an abusive facility, a fact shared with us by a fictionalized Brandon Hobson — known here as Santo Hornbond — exploring themes of artistic jealousy, the price of cultural disconnect, and how we remember the past.

Short-story anthologies are a wonderful way to dip into a writer’s voice, and one successful edition for Indigenous authors is the Never Whistle at Night anthology (which included Carson Faust and Nick Medina). The anthology has maintained its spot on the USA Today bestseller list for over 100 weeks. Two new anthologies, Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories and Beyond the Glittering World, feature all Indigenous writers.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories is edited by bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) and contains heartfelt stories that each share the need for a place to appear that serves belonging and connection along with delicious frybread. The only disappointment is that Sandy June’s Drive-In can only be visited in the pages of this soulful collection and not our own towns when we need it the most.

Also put Beyond the Glittering World on your radar, set for a November 11th release. The anthology features 20 emerging and established Native women writers showcasing incredible talents. The collection of short stories and poetry explores everything from Indigenous futurism to the purpose of artifacts in museums.

Cookbook aficionados will not want to miss Chef Sean Sherman's new book, Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Talk about a dream team: Sherman is a James Beard Award–winning chef and Oglala Lakota leader in Indigenous cuisine revitalization; Kristin Donnelly is a multiple cookbook author and former food editor at Food & Wine magazine; and award-winning Tlingit journalist Kate Nelson is C&I's editor-at-large.

If you’re in the mood for a thriller centering on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and including a Cherokee protagonist, my Syd Walker series returns with The Bone Thief on October 28. Archaeologist Syd Walker is back in Rhode Island searching for stolen remains tied to an early colonial attack on the Narraganset tribe and a missing Native teenager, both with connections to a secret historical society that traces its lineage all the way back to The Mayflower.

I’d love to know what Indigenous authors you’ve read lately (or what you’re excited to read soon) on Facebook or Instagram. The books we buy (or check out from the library) help amplify long-silenced voices and communicate to publishers the types of Indigenous stories that need to be told. So, wado (“thank you”) for your support of Native voices.

Written by Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation), author of the Syd Walker series. Her latest novel, The Bone Thief, releases October 28 from Berkley. Learn more at VanessaLillie.com or pre-order here.

Hear more from Vanessa in her recent conversation on C&I’s Writing the West podcast.