In my work at Ooligan Press, I get to work on so many books I’m so excited about, and this sample is from one of them.
The Neighborhood Dames by Portland author and publisher Laura Stanfill (Forest Avenue Press) is a historical literary fiction novel that takes place in the Prohibition era. There are so many layers to this book—illicit cider, Tin Pan Alley, a friendship shaped by the times, neurodivergence, and literal dismantling of the patriarchy—and it’s written so well. When we were reading it for a pitch last academic year, I couldn’t put it down.
The Neighborhood Dames comes out November 10, 2026.
The copyedit of this book was one of the smoothest I ever took part in. I mostly just played hyphenation police and suggested a few word changes. It was a joy to work on such polished prose.
Here’s a PDF of a sampling of my edits:
Once the cover is finalized, I will add it here. It was designed by my colleague, Kaitlyne Bozzone, Ooligan’s Design Department Lead, who is always awesome to work with.
Chrys Buckley 