Press
In the News and On The Air
Interviews
Devil Is Fine (2024)
John Vercher's novel 'Devil Is Fine' tackles grief through magical realism (NPR’s Weekend Edition)
Loving the Struggle with John Vercher (Writer’s Bone)
John Vercher Can’t Unbox (The Inside Flap Podcast)
After the Lights Go Out (2022)
A novelist's time in the MMA cage informed his book on memory loss and identity (Fresh Air)
CURIOSITY OVER CERTAINTY (UNC Asheville)
Cognoscenti contributor John Vercher talks about race and family (Radio Boston)
John Vercher, Author of After the Lights Go Out (Writer’s Bone)
Author Spotlight with Rachel Barenbaum (A Mighty Blaze)
Interview with John Vercher (Now, Appalachia)
Shop Talk with Eli Cranor (CrimeReads)
Three-Fifths (2019)
Interview with Paul Burke (Crime Time FM)
Race, Identity, and Three-Fifths (Crime Writers of Color podcast w/Robert Justice)
Invisible Blackness and Three-Fifths (Southpaw w/Sam and Paul)
Interview with Dan Medicus (The Inside Flap Podcast)
John Vercher, Author of Three-Fifths (Writer’s Bone)
John Vercher: Novelist, Short Story Writer and Essayist (The Liars Club Oddcast)
Representing the Biracial Man Through Fiction with John Vercher (Multiracial Family Man Podcast)
Articles
Devil Is Fine (2024)
The 2025 Longlist (Aspen Words Literary Prize)
Debut authors and Pulitzer Prize finalists make the cut for the Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist (Aspen Public Radio)
The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 (TIME)
The Best New Books to Read This Summer (TIME)
Indie Next (July) (The American Booksellers Association)
10 books to add to your reading list in June (Los Angeles Times)
June 2024 Books by Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read (The Root)
I’m a Dad With ‘Big Feelings.’ Here’s How I’m Helping My Sons With Theirs. (Men’s Health)
STARRED review (Booklist)
STARRED review (BookPage)
12 Must-Read Books of June 2024 (Chicago Review of Books)
A Quiet Place (Center for Fiction)
Book of the Day, July 9, 2024 (NPR)
Simmering over summer books (NPR’s It’s Been A Minute)
The Annotated Nightstand: What Danez Smith is Reading Now, and Next (Lit Hub)
Duality Is Fine (Chapter 16)
A Philly Bookstore Crawl guide to the best books of 2024 so far (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Fully Booked shares 12 new titles coming to online and physical store shelves this July (adobo magazine)
Making Reality Bigger Than Life: A Conversation with John Vercher About Devil Is Fine (Chicago Review of Books)
A Conversation with Author John Vercher (Alan Squire Publishing Bulletin)
27 New Books Out Today (Lit Hub)
Communication Breakdown: PW Talks with John Vercher (Publishers Weekly)
After the Lights Go Out (2022)
Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2022 (Booklist)
The Best Crime Novels of the Year: 2022 (CrimeReads)
The Best Books of 2022 (Writer’s Bone)
Novelist David Joy’s Favorite Books This Year (2022) (Garden & Gun)
The Best New Fiction (The Daily Mail)
The Best New Thrillers for September 2022 (The Times UK)
5 New Books to Read This Week (The Independent)
Where Are the Larger-Than-Life Stories of Black Boxers in Fiction? (LitHub)
Newly Published, from Asteroids to Garden Gnomes (The New York Times)
Pitt Graduate’s Second Novel is a Knockout (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
30 new books to pack in your beach bag this summer (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Interview with Gabino Iglesias (Lit Reactor)
STARRED review (Booklist)
STARRED review (Publishers Weekly)
Top 10 Summer Reads 2022 (Publishers Weekly)
After the Lights Go Out pulls you into the ring and then breaks your heart (PINJ)
WHAT’S THE BUZZ: 40 OF THE BEST SUMMER READS FOR 2022 (Book Riot)
THE MOST ANTICIPATED CRIME BOOKS OF 2022: SUMMER READING EDITION (CrimeReads)
BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (SO FAR): CRIME FICTION IN 2022 (CrimeReads)
Three-Fifths (2019)
CWA Dagger 2021 Shortlists (The Crime Writers’ Association)
Pushkin Bags Vercher's Latest 'Propulsive and Gritty' Novel (The Bookseller)
The Best Books of 2020 to Support Indie Publishers this Christmas (The Guardian)
The Best Crime Novels to Buy for Christmas (Spectator Life)
Best Crime of 2020 (Financial Times)
Best Crime Books of the Year 2020 (The Times/The Sunday Times)
Best Crime and Thrillers of 2020 (The Guardian)
Battle of the Books (NPR’s Code Switch)
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup (The Guardian)
DEBUTS (The Daily Mail Online)
Three-Fifths: America’s fractured society past and present (The Irish Times)
The Sunday Times pick of the month’s best crime fiction for October 2020 (The Sunday Times U.K.)
The best recent thrillers – review roundup (The Observer)
Three-Fifths by John Vercher - Star Pick (The Sunday Times Crime Club)
The Strand Magazine announces nominations for the 2020 Strand Critics Awards (The Strand Magazine)
MWA Announces the 2020 Edgar Nominations (Mystery Writers of America)
2020 Left Coast Crime “Lefty” Award Nominations Announced (Left Coast Crime)
What Are You, Anyway? (Booklist)
Top 10 Crime Fiction Debuts (Booklist)
Crime Writer Conversations: John Vercher And Tom Andes (Mystery Tribune)
Throwing Rocks: An Interview with John Vercher (Los Angeles Review of Books with Alex Segura)
The Best Books of 2019 (Chicago Tribune)
Trending: Thriller 2020 Preview (The Big Thrill)
The Best Books of 2019: Debut Fiction (CrimeReads)
The Best Crime Novels of 2019 (Notable Selection) (CrimeReads)
LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2019 (LitReactor)
The Best Books of 2019 (Writer’s Bone)
Top Reads of 2019 (BOLO Books)
Five Favorite Debut Novels of 2019 (MysteryPeople)
Fall/Winter Bests | Debut Novels (Library Journal)
12 Thrillers Readers Are Currently Loving (BookBub)
50 MUST-READ CRIME NOVELS FOR FALL AND WINTER 2019 (BookRiot)
The Best Books of the Week (New York Post)
The Most Wanted Books of the Fall (BookBub)
STARRED Review (Booklist)
STARRED Review (Library Journal)
Kirkus Review (Kirkus)
Book Review: Three-Fifths (Criminal Element)
Three-Fifths – The BOLO Books Review (BOLO Books)
BookTrib Spotlight: John Vercher (The Big Thrill)
Q&A with Clinician Turned Novelist, John Vercher '16MFA (Southern New Hampshire University)
Y’all, I’m Getting Pretty Excited About Agora’s Diverse Crime Fiction (Matt Coleman of Book Riot)
18 Twisty Thrillers Coming This Summer (BookBub)
See the covers for three thrillers bringing diversity to crime fiction (Entertainment Weekly)
BookExpo 2019: Polis Debuts Diverse Imprint, Agora Books (Publisher’s Weekly Show Daily)
A new publishing imprint aims to bring diversity to mystery thrillers (New York Post)
Polis Books Launches Diversity-Focused Crime Imprint (Publishers Weekly)
Three-Fifths (Pen & Ink Reviews)
Indie Press Polis Launches Diversity-Focused Crime Imprint Agora Books (Matt Coleman of Book Riot)
Polis Books Launching Agora Imprint (Shelf Awareness)
New Imprint Agora Set To Bring More Diverse Voices To Crime Fiction (Mystery Tribune)
Polis Books is launching Agora Books, a diversity-focused imprint for crime and noir fiction (BTW News Briefs)
Polis Books launched Agora Books, a new imprint focused on crime fiction… (Book Riot — Unusual Suspects)