Plain Things for Lustrous is a new work of contemporary fiction by Julia Merican, published in August 2026 by Antigone Editions. It is a compact, pocket-sized paperback of 152 pages, and photographs by Man Yin Wu run alongside the text, so the book reads as much as an object as a story. It was edited by Alicia Hamerman and designed by Zi Fei Effy Ge. A small, carefully made book, it will suit readers drawn to independent publishing and to writing that sits between literature and image.