Underground Bookshelf

We're rounding out our series centering themes of homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity in literature with books for adult readers. Information access is one small way to push back against cruelty and misinformation, both of which have been used in recent U.S. politics against unhoused communities. Below, you'll find resources for getting active in your community, accessing support for yourself or others, and books (both fiction and nonfiction) that highlight voices and experiences of unhoused folks or people struggling with poverty or food insecurity.

We're rounding out our series centering themes of homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity in literature with books for adult readers. Information access is one small way to push back against cruelty and misinformation, both of which have been used in recent U.S. politics against unhoused communities. Below, you'll find resources for getting active in your community, accessing support for yourself or others, and books (both fiction and nonfiction) that highlight voices and experiences of unhoused folks or people struggling with poverty or food insecurity.

Vanya Kasakta is a poet and artist living in Armenia. His recent work, "Reflection in a Dirty Puddle" was written and translated for Underground Bookshelf readers.

"Pet Sitting" is also available on Wattpad (2024) and Metastellar (2026). It is Chapter One of the book, Of Ice and Snow.

The results are finally here! My apologies for taking as long as I have in making the results announcement. We've had some family things come up at home over the last few weeks that have kept me away from Underground Bookshelf, these contests, and writing.

Emily Ava Gillespie (they/she) is an author, disability activist, and professional daydreamer. They won the 2021 Dr. James Jamieson Influential Alumni Award from Nipissing University. Gillespie has a BA in Gender Equality and Social Justice and an MA in Critical Disability Studies. They earned a certificate in Creative Writing from Concordia University.

Thank you to every one of you who submitted their work to the December 2025 Writing Contest. I know this can be a busy time of year, and I appreciate that you took a little time share your writing with me and the Underground Bookshelf readership. The theme was WRITER'S CHOICE.

Go on, you've got this,

The series centering poverty and homelessness continues with books for young adult readers! There have been some cruel statements made in the American media and actions taken by the U.S. government that target unhoused individuals in recent months. In response to those words and actions, we're sharing resources for folks in need of food, shelter, or other supplies, ways young adult readers can support people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity, and books you can read that discuss these topics either in fictional or nonfictional contexts.

The series centering poverty and homelessness continues with books for young adult readers! There have been some cruel statements made in the American media and actions taken by the U.S. government that target unhoused individuals in recent months. In response to those words and actions, we're sharing resources for folks in need of food, shelter, or other supplies, ways young adult readers can support people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity, and books you can read that discuss these topics either in fictional or nonfictional contexts.

"The Nightmare" by Arushi Kashyap is a spooky tale of a dream gone wrong. It is told in eight parts, with each part whisking the reader into a new dreamscape. This is Chapter Four.

In a town called 'losie