We’re over the moon that Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is now available in paperback! A national bestseller, a National Book Foundation Science + Literature Selected Title, and a Time 100 Must-Read Books of 2025, Forest Euphoria is a thrilling book about the abounding queerness of the natural world that challenges our expectations of what is normal, beautiful, and possible. Robin Wall Kimmerer raves that it’s “an antidote to the loneliness of our species.”
Enjoy a Q&A with author Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian below on her journey publishing with Spiegel & Grau.
Why did you choose to publish your book with an Indie?
I was drawn to the attentiveness that many indie publishers give to each of their books. As a debut author and someone new the writing world more broadly, I knew I wanted a more personalized experience. I love a small team of highly dedicated and careful people, which is certainly what I experienced at S&G.
What is a memorable moment from publishing your book with S&G?
It’s hard to point to a singular moment, but I was really heartened by how the team would send me encouraging messages after various book milestones. It felt like everyone was invested in the journey of my book.
Tell me about how it felt to hold your book for the first time.
I’ll always remember vividly the large box that came to my home. It was surreal to slice open the tape and see a dozen or so glossy hardcovers packed inside. These copies were the first physical embodiment of what had felt like such an abstract and intangible process, and it was almost as if it wasn’t real until I held one!
We’re excited to reveal the cover for WHAT KIND OF MOTHER (On Sale January 12th), a powerful memoir that offers a vital new perspective on adoption—from the rarely glimpsed birth mother’s point of view. Minka Kelly raves that this is “the adoption story we’ve needed for decades. Brave, beautiful, impossible to forget.”
When Bernadette Murphy got pregnant at sixteen, she was faced with limited options and a belief —from her Catholic upbringing— that abortion was a sin. She made the impossible choice to give up the baby for adoption. More than forty years later, Bernadette was still consumed by thoughts of the baby she relinquished. As she launched a desperate search for her firstborn, she began writing him letters, recounting her life and trying to explain the choice she had made. At once an incisive, affecting memoir of a childhood filled with hardship and love and the story of a birth mother’s quest to find her son and forgive herself, What Kind of Mother challenges our assumptions about adoption, opening up an important conversation about family, love, and possibility.
What makes independent publishing special?
I love independent publishers because this is where I find some of our most impactful books. Rather than chasing trends, they present books that stand on their own merit. This may result in more risk taking, but it seems to pay off. Independent publishers have the ability to focus on books that may have flown under the radar but will get top-notch treatment from the publisher. At least that’s what I see with Spiegel & Grau titles.
Why are relationships between publishers and independent booksellers so important?
Independent publishers don’t just send out books, they aim to build relationships. As a bookstore owner, I can’t say enough about how meaningful that is; and, I’ll admit that when I’m looking to replenish stock, I always go to the publishers who take care of me first. In a world of Chatbots and frustrating call center chains, it’s refreshing to work with a company that still provides the human touch.
What’s your favorite S&G book to recommend?
Now this is a hard one. Today, I’d say Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards. Nearly everyone likes good historical fiction, and Canticle is among the best. I always appreciate a good nun story, and after having visited one of the béguinage sites in Belgium, I became fascinated by this medieval order of religious women who defied Rome. These women were rock stars.
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