Inspiration can strike in the most unexpected of places. For bestselling author and Western New York native Susan Wiggs, it was during a visit home to her childhood church in 2021.
Susan became fascinated with the influence of the Catholic Church during the 1960s and ’70s. Her new novel, “Wayward Girls,” is inspired by the real-life confinement of teenagers in Catholic reformatories, where girls faced harsh labor, isolation and hidden abuse.
“My research led me to 485 Best Street in Buffalo, where I discovered a forbidding walled complex that once housed a Magdalene Laundry—one of many institutions where ‘wayward girls’ were sent to be ‘reformed’ by strict nuns,” Susan says. “I’d known such places existed in Ireland, but I was shocked to learn how many were here in the U.S.”
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“Wayward Girls” centers around Mairin O’Hara and five others sent to the Good Shepherd Refuge in Buffalo. Some are entrusted to the nuns by family hoping to protect them. Others are sent there for being pregnant, gay or merely disobedient.
Seeking to understand the experiences of girls at such institutions, Susan dove into the subject.
“I connected with some of the survivors—brave women now in their seventies and eighties—whose lives had been permanently shaped by their time behind those walls,” she says. “Their stories ignited my imagination and my sense of justice. ‘Wayward Girls’ grew from that fire, and it became one of the most personal and emotionally involving novels I’ve ever written.”
It’s a departure from Susan’s past works, darker in tone and more grounded in research.
“I needed to confront the harsh realities of this institution while still delivering a compelling, hopeful narrative, one with the emotional payoff and triumphant resolution my readers deserve,” Wiggs says.
Where to find it: Talking Leaves Bookstore in Buffalo and national retailers across the country.
Wiggs isn’t the only author with Buffalo ties to have a new release—far from it. Here are six more new releases by both former and current Western New Yorkers.
Buffalonian Stephen G. Eoannou’s neo-noir “After Pearl” is set in the Queen City in 1942. While World War II rages overseas, luckless private investigator Nicholas Bishop is working out of The Lafayette Hotel. Following a days-long bender, Bishop wakes up missing a client and up a one-eyed dog. As his search takes him to local landmarks like the revolving bar of the Chez Ami Supper Club, he’ll need the help of his spirited assistant Gia Alessi to reconstruct his own movements and solve the case. A Claymore Awards Best Mystery Finalist, “After Pearl” is the first in a planned series of Nicholas Bishop stories.
Where to find it: Talking Leaves Bookstore and national retailers.
“The One and Only Vivian Stone,” Western New York writer Melissa O’Connor’s debut novel, features a different type of mystery. Margot DuBois is cleaning out her grandmother’s attic when she finds a love letter and cassette tapes. With help from her high school flame, Leo, she discovers that the recordings were made by legendary comedy star Vivian Stone. Margot becomes entranced by Vivian’s long-lost stories and forbidden romance. Meanwhile, reconnecting with Leo brings complications and new possibilities.
Where to find it: Vibe Yoga Lab in Lancaster, Afterglow Books in Buffalo and national retailers.
Buffalo native Gene Jankowski recalls career highlights and his years as president of CBS Broadcast Group in “Behind the Eye: My Life in Media.” The memoir follows Jankowski from his youth at Buffalo Public School 69 to early work in broadcasting and success at a national level, where he helped shape the media landscape during the Golden Age of TV in the 1970s and 80s. He shares behind-the-scenes stories about some of the era’s biggest names, including Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Martha Stewart, Ted Turner and Donald Trump.
Jankowski, who was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2022, credits his education at Saint Joseph’s Collegiate Institute and Canisius College with helping live his life intellectually, morally and spiritually.
Where to find it: National retailers.
Fredonia native Suzanne Cope, a professor at New York University, uses her skills as journalist and scholar to reveal the hidden heroism of Italian resistance members during World War II. “Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies and Couriers who Fought the Nazis,” spotlights four women who risked capture, torture and death to oppose fascism: Carla Capponi, who built bombs under Rome; Bianca Guidetti Serra, who dodged gunfire to transport news and ammunition; Teresa Mattei, who carried secret communiques; and Anita Malavasi, who led troops over mountains. Each true story offers lessons in courage and resilience.
Where to find it: Talking Leaves Bookstore and national retailers.
“Marzia: A Judge’s Fight for Afghan Women’s Rights,” co-authored by Marzia Babakarkhail and Olean native Pamela Say, recounts Babakarkhail’s time serving as a judge in Afghanistan in the 1990s and her work to protect women from abuse and honor killings. Targeted by the Taliban, she persevered to set up a school for refugees in Pakistan. After narrowly avoiding another assassination attempt, she found asylum in the U.K. and continues speaking out for oppressed women in Afghanistan, including fellow former judges still trapped there.
Where to find it: “Marzia” is scheduled for release March 1, 2026 and is available for pre-order at judgemarzia.com.
Writer and historian Robert Lowell Goller debunks myths and unearths illuminating and entertaining facts in “Who Put the ‘East’ in East Aurora?” Beyond exploring the origin of the quaint village’s name, Goller delves into local tales concerning everything from horse breeding to World Series baseball champions. Based on extensive research, Goller’s book draws on his experience as a former journalist and current town historian.
Where to find it: The Bookworm, Vidler’s 5&10 and the Roycroft Copper Shop Gallery (all in East Aurora), as well as national retailers.
