The seven short stories in Sour Heart are narrated by young Chinese immigrants—girls who, like author Jenny Zhang, are growing up between two cultures while dealing with belonging, girlhood, family and identity. A graduate of the acclaimed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Zhang was born in Shanghai and raised in New York, where many of Sour Heart’s stories are based. Her prose is candid, blunt, sweet and unafraid to be gross about bodies—often mimicking the way young girls talk to one another or themselves. Underneath is a sharp clarity: Zhang is best at finding humor in the shame, confusion and strangeness of growing up, while speaking to the claustrophobic love of families with tenderness and irreverence.

Zhang has previously published two books of poetry, Hags and Dear Jenny, We Are All Find, and gained a following through her pieces in Tavi Gevinson’s Rookie magazine. Her debut book of prose, Sour Heart is also the first book published through Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s Lenny imprint at Random House, named for their newsletter and website that covers feminism, style, culture and friendship. (Penguin Random House)

›› Buy Book

Over the past two decades, exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin has become internationally renowned for his candid and courageous portrayal of disaffected youth and alternative urban subcultures, coupled with his writings, multimedia work, and political activism. Bros & Brosephines, his latest release from powerHouse Books, acts as a detailed survey of Siberian-born, New York-based Mogutin’s studio and fashion photography and commissioned portraits. Featuring previously unpublished images, the book dissects the conventions of beauty and masculinity through Mogutin’s provocative signature blend of art, fashion, and fetish. Featuring a preface by Zachary Drucker, an essay by David J. Getsy, and an epilogue by Bruce LaBruce, the monograph details Mogutin’s varied artistic collaborations, including Brian Kenny, Gio Black Peter, Audrey Bartenev, Asher Levine, Martin Elmasflaco, Sebastian Meunier, Francois Sagat, Jan Wandrag, and more. (powerHouse Books)

›› Buy Book

›› ISSUE Feature: SUPERM: Slava Mogutin and Brian Kenny

In a collection of over 500 works by 100 historical and contemporary artists, Auto-Photo: Cars and Photography, 1900 to Now documents the ongoing fascination of photographers with the form, impact and meaning surrounding the automobile. The invention of the automobile altered our landscapes, expanded our geographical horizons and drastically modified our appreciations of space and time. As well as exploring these paradigm shifts, photographers captured the automobile’s formal qualities, function and design, and the geometrics of city roads and rural highways. Contributors and renowned photographers include Robert Adams, Brassaï, Langdon Clay, Robert Doisneau, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Anthony Hernandez, Joel Meyerowitz, Daido Moriyama, Catherine Opie, Martin Parr, Ed Ruscha, Malick Sidibé and Stephen Shore. Other projects in Auto Photo shed fresh perspective on the automobile, such as a series of car models created by Alain Bublex for the Foundation Cartier show, as well as a comparative history of auto design and photography, scholarly essays and artist quotes.
(Fondation Cartier Pour L’Art Contemporain/ Editions Xavier Barral)

›› Buy Book

Academy Award winner Holly Hunter drives home this engrossing, lyrical drama that chronicles a mother’s quest for rectitude in the wake of the devastating loss of her son. Written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann and featuring an original score from Sharon Van Etten, Strange Weather tells the story of Darcy Baylor (Hunter), an academic administrator at a Mississippi college, who finds her job in limbo after a round of budget cuts. Still haunted by her son’s suicide seven years ago, Darcy learns that his old college pal is now the owner of a successful restaurant chain, whose concept, down to the last detail, was stolen from her son. Darcy sets out for New Orleans to settle the score, and finds herself on a backroads journey through the thick of her own grief. Strange Weather immerses the viewer in the strange and sultry nuances of the South, subtly emphasized by Van Etten’s powerful score. “Katherine [Dieckmann] is an artist, and she spoke to me like an artist. She taught me a lot about writing to film and how to enhance the scene and emphasize the emotions conveyed (or beneath the surface),” says Van Etten. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Brainstorm Media)

›› View IMDB

Snail Mail, the alias of Baltimore’s 17-year-old indie rocker sensation Lindsey Jordan, is re-releasing her debut EP Habit on vinyl on July 28th, amidst growing buzz. The re-release of the EP, which had previously been released digitally and on cassette, comes in tandem with her recently announced tour dates with Waxahatchee and Girlpool throughout the rest of the summer. Habit delivers a frank and fearless brand of guitar-driven indie rock that captures the emotional sprawl of suburban boredom and teenage restlessness with an expressiveness and lucidity that belies Jordan’s young age. “All the songs on Habit are collectively like a sigh,” says Jordan, who cites guitar legend Mary Timony of Helium as inspiration for her powerful riffs: “[Mary] definitely helped me learn to shred.” (Sister Polygon Records)

›› Buy Album

D.C rapper Chaz French releases his debut album, True Colors, featuring collaborations with notable rappers such as Curren$y, Casey Veggies and BJ The Chicago Kid. Infused with political and personal themes, French credits his music to the influence of gospel, artists like Amy Winehouse and a stint of homelessness. (Motown Records)

›› ISSUE Feature: Live performance and interview with Chaz French

›› Buy Album

From director Michael Showalter and producers Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel, The Big Sick is based on the real courtship of actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani and writer and producer Emily V. Gordon. Kumail plays himself, a Pakistan-born aspiring comedian who connects with grad student Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup performances. When their one-night develops into a serious relationship, Kumail finds himself caught between love and the expectations of his traditional Muslim parents. To further complicate matters, Emily is beset with a mystery illness, compelling Kumail to navigate the crisis with her parents, Beth (Holly Hunter) and Terry (Ray Romano) while coping with the ongoing tug-of-war between his family and his heart. (Amazon Studios / Lionsgate)

›› View IMDB

Born in Aleppo, Syria, and raised in Saudi Arabia, Azniv Korkejian took the stage name Bedouine as a nod to the nomadic tribes of Bedouin people, who live in Middle Eastern and North African deserts, travelling by camel and setting up camps for home. Korkejian is a lifelong nomad herself, who immigrated to the United States with her family and lived in Boston, Houston and throughout the South before moving to Los Angeles, where she began spontaneously writing music. It was never the plan to be a performer—Korkejian works in Hollywood editing dialogue and music. But sitting in her room above Sunset Boulevard with “a guitar in my lap and red wine or bourbon at my side,” she wrote and performed for herself until it felt inevitable to start recording. Bedouine’s self-titled debut layers her striking, soft voice over folk-inspired, finger-picked guitar. (Spacebomb Records)

›› ISSUE Feature: Live performance and interview with Bedouine

›› Buy Album