Taylor Jenkins Reid returns with a 1980s set love story amid NASA's Space Shuttle program while YA author Renée Ahdieh makes her adult debut with a novel about young lawyer Jia Song and the wealthy Park family.
Winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards and shortlists for the Nero Book Awards are revealed. NYT releases its selections for the year’s best graphic novels and SFF. CrimeReads shares its picks for the best psychological thrillers of 2024. The Internet Archive has decided not to appeal its copyright case to the Supreme Court. Plus, Page to Screen and an interview with Jacqueline Woodson.
Award-winning Susan Choi and Joyce Carol Oates offer new novels, and Ho-Yeon Kim's international bestseller is released in the U.S.
Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits wins the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. The winners of the Christianity Today Book Awards and the longlist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize are revealed. Susannah Dickey’s ISDAL wins the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize for poetry published in the UK or Ireland. Spotify Wrapped now includes audiobook listens; Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses was the most-streamed audiobook of 2024. Audiofile shares its lists of the best audiobooks of the year.
Oprah selects Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These for her book club and launches a new podcast. Read with Jenna picks Mary Oliver’s Devotions. Joya Chatterji wins the Wolfson History Prize for Shadows at Noon. Best of 2024 booklists arrive from The Atlantic, The Guardian, NYT, LitHub, Bill Gates and ELLE. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson. Netflix nabs film rights to Callie Hart’s fantasy romance Quicksilver, and Alan Moore’s The Great When will be adapted for television.
All the May 2025 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.
The NYT announces the 10 best books of 2024. Reese Witherspoon selects City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim for her December book club. The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is GMA’s pick. Target’s pick is Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen. Liza Minnelli’s forthcoming memoir, due out in 2026, will be adapted for television. Peter Mackay has been named Scotland’s national poet, and Kate Beaton wins the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. Marian Keyes’s “Walsh Sisters” books will be adapted for TV in Ireland and the UK. Plus, Oxford University Press selects “brain rot” as its word of the year.
Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth leads holds this week. People’s book of the week is Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth About the Case of Barbara Graham by Marcia Clark. Jon Ransom wins the Polari Book Prize. LJ's Best Books 2024 arrives, NYT names 100 Notable Books of 2024, and NPR releases their 2024 Books We Love. Costco announces it will stop selling books year-round in stores. Plus, LJ’s December starred reviews.
Washington Post shares its 10 best books of 2024. Alice Loxton’s Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives is Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo is named Foyles Book of the Year. The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation—and the Other 99% by Conor Niland wins the William Hill Sports Book Award. Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America’s Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens wins the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. Winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize and the shortlist for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year are also announced. Plus, Page to Screen.
The National Book Awards winners are announced: Percival Everett’s James in fiction, Yáng Shuāng-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue in translated literature, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s Something About Living in poetry, and Jason De León’s Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling in nonfiction. Washington Post publishes its lists of the best books of 2024. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Sergio de la Pava, Glory Edim, and Ruben Reyes Jr.
Bestselling Laura Lippman returns with a book featuring middle-aged widow Muriel Blossom from her Tess Monaghan books, Nilima Rao writes a second Sergeant Akal Singh historical mystery, and Sally Smith debuts with a cozy gaslight series set in 1901 London.
Readers can look forward to new suspense from Lisa Jewell, psychological thrillers from Matthew Blake and Liv Constantine, and a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic from S.A. Cosby this month.
Richard Flanagan wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for his memoir Question 7 but refuses the £50,000 cash award over the sponsor’s ties to fossil fuel. Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is named Waterstones Irish Book of the Year. The Christy Award winners are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Now or Never by Janet Evanovich, the top holds title of the week. Agents and authors react to Harper Collins’s AI deal. Microsoft launches a new publishing imprint. Plus, the winners of the 75th Annual National Book Awards will be announced tonight.
Anne Michaels wins the Giller Prize for her novel Held. Agustín Fernández Mallo wins the Cercador Prize for The Book of All Loves. The Salam Award winners are announced, along with the Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist. Earlyword’s November Galleychat spreadsheet is out now. National Book Network announces its closure next year. B&N sells Union Square Publishing to Hachette, and PGW will distribute McNally Editions starting January 1. Stephen King previews his forthcoming novel, Never Flinch, due out May 27, and Ruth Ware announces a sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10. Legendary guidebook publisher Arthur Frommer has died at the age of 95.
Now or Never by Janet Evanovich leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by Nora Roberts, Sophie Cousens, Danielle Steel, and Cher. People’s book of the week is Time of the Child by Niall Williams. Six LibraryReads and eight Indie Next picks publish this week. Percival Everett’s James is named the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year. Earlyword announces that GalleyChat will move platforms from X to BlueSky, starting December 5.
Alexis Wright’s Praiseworthy wins the Melbourne Prize for Literature. The winners of Canada Council for the Arts Governor General's Literary Awards are revealed. Edenville by Sam Rebelein and All I Want Is To Take Shrooms and Listen to the Color of Nazi Screams by John Baltisberger win Wonderland Book Awards for Excellence in Bizarro Fiction. The shortlist is announced for the Eccles Institute and Hay Festival Global Writer’s Award. CrimeReads releases its list of the best gothic novels of 2024. Trinidad-born novelist Elizabeth Nunez has died at age 80. Plus, Page to Screen
Amazon and Kirkus reveal their lists of the best books of 2024. Libro.fm shares its bestselling audiobooks of 2024. The shortlist for ALA’s Carnegie Medal and the longlist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize are announced. EveryLibrary has a chart tracking how library-related ballot measures fared in last week’s elections. Plus, interviews with Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey and the National Book Award nominees, and new title bestsellers.
Samantha Harvey’s Orbital wins the Booker Prize. Arthur Sze will receive the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, and the Ignyte Awards winners are announced. Time Releases “The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024.” LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for To Die For by David Baldacci. Lena Dunham will adapt Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis. Plus, Vox argues “why libraries need librarians.”
Ron Chernow writes an epic biography about Mark Twain, Tourmaline offers a biography of activist Marsha P. Johnson, and Michelle Young reveals French Resistance hero Rose Valland's life as a spy.
American women pilots who flew during World War II, the Battle of Midway, the Underground Railroad’s maritime origins, and the lead up to Abraham Lincoln’s decision to go to war are explored in this month's titles.
This month's historical novels include a Jane Austen–inspired tale from Natalie Jenner, a World War II story set on Martha's Vineyard by Martha Hall Kelly, and a matriarch's tale of land and legacy in the Lowcountry of South Carolina from Mary Alice Monroe.
To Die For by David Baldacci leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Graham Brown, J.R. Ward, and Richard Price. People’s book of the week is The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy.The Booker Prize will be announced later today. Adam Shatz wins the American Library in Paris Book Award. Grammy nominations have been announced, including Best Audiobook. Fight Club, based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk, turns 25. And Bastard Out of Carolina author Dorothy Allison and “Magic School Bus” illustrator Bruce Degan have died.
While Texas continues to be a leading state in the number of book bans reported each year, a recent challenge at the Montgomery County Memorial Library has been reversed. The Texas Freedom to Read Project reported that a children’s book, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag)—an account of American colonization and Native traditions described from an Indigenous perspective—was challenged in September and subsequently moved out of the juvenile nonfiction area to the fiction collection.
Rachel Cusk’s Parade wins the Goldsmiths Prize, Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo by Craig L. Symonds wins the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize, and Mara Faye Lethem’s translation of Irene Solà’s Catalan novel When I Sing, Mountains Dance wins the Lewis Galantière Award. The Booker Prize shortlist is announced, and Vulture adds to their list of the best books of 2024 so far. EveryLibrary warns that U.S. election results will mean more uncertainty for libraries. Plus new title bestsellers.
Suad Aldarra is awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. LJ kicks off its countdown to the reveal of the best books of 2024. People shares best books for Native American Heritage Month. DK acquires UK-based digital publisher Canelo. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage, the top holds title of the week. Plus, interviews arrive with Peter Ames Carlin, Jody Hobbs Hesler, and Jenna Tang.
LJ Best Booker Shokoofeh Azar has a new book, Lambda Award winner Marisa Crane returns with a coming-of-age novel, and Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Madeleine Thien offers a story that leaps across centuries; plus five debuts to note.
GMA Book Club pick author Disha Bose offers a coming-of-age story about a woman who moves from Calcutta to Ireland, while Oprah’s Book Club author Wally Lamb returns with a novel about a young father in prison who finds kinship with the prison librarian.
It is one of our favorite times at LJ, the weeks before we announce the Best Books of the year. Look for our list of 2024’s not-to-miss titles in the December issue. As we count down to our big reveal, we are delighted to highlight some of our 2023 picks, titles we still treasure, reread, and suggest widely. To start the countdown, look for the witty, deeply clever, and read-it-like-you-just-robbed-some-pirates fast The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton.
By day, Michael Nayak is Doctor/Major Nayak at DARPA (the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). He talks with LJ about his debut novel, Symbiote, his tenure at the South Pole, his writing inspiration, and the work of DARPA imagining the future.
All the April 2025 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.
Shortlists for the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize and the Voss Literary Prize are announced. Simon & Schuster will distribute ACC Art Books. Politico writes about how Jon Grinspan’s 2021 book, The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought To Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915, has become a cult favorite among members of Congress. Martha Stewart’s 100th cookbook arrives this week, along with a new Netflix documentary on her life; Eater looks at Stewart’s other 99 cookbooks. Plus, USA Today highlights Salma Hayek’s new series adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate.
Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by Isabel Ibañez, Phillip Margolin, Bill Zehme, and Beatriz Williams. People’s book of the week is The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. The Southern Book Prize finalists, Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist, and Audiofile November Earphones Award winners are announced. Martha Stewart’s latest cookbook arrives, along with November book previews. Music legend Quincy Jones has died at the age of 91.
The shortlists for Scotland’s National Book Awards and for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year are announced. Barnes & Noble has selected 13 finalists for the 2024 Book of the Year. Suzanne Nossel is stepping down as CEO of PEN America. Plus, Page to Screen and interviews with Jeff VanderMeer, Paula Hawkins, and William Boyd.
Kathleen DuVal’s Native Nations: A Millennium in North America wins the Cundill History Prize. NYT reports on librarian burnout in the face of the “crisis of violence and abuse” that libraries are encountering. Some Nobel and Pulitzer winners have signed an open letter denouncing cultural boycotts of Israel. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Stanley Tucci, Scott Hawkins, Jane Hirshfield, and Jess Walter.
December’s Indie Next list features #1 pick The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. GMA's November book club pick is The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins, and Reese Witherspoon’s pick is We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People by Nemonte Nenquimo & Mitch Anderson. Taylor Jenkins Reid previews her forthcoming novel Atmosphere. Tina Knowles announces her memoir, Matriarch, due out in April. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Louise Penny’s buzzy book, The Grey Wolf. Alan Murrin’s The Coast Road will be adapted for TV. Plus, authors Joe Hill and Stephen Graham Jones recommend great horror books on the NYT Book Review podcast.
There's romance at the track, in a small town, and by the lake this month in new novels from Simone Soltani, Ashley Herring Blake, and Carley Fortune.
LJ Andrews starts a new series set in a fantasy Viking world, Danielle Jensen returns with the second in a series, and debuts include the first in a Celtic-inspired duology and a cursed, shapeshifting prince.
Emily Tesh writes a sapphic dark academia fantasy while Tochi Onyebuchi and Adam Oyebanji offer mystery-infused SFF.
Christopher Golden pens an atmospheric horror thriller, Sarah Pinborough offers a gothic novel, and Caitlin Starling writes a medieval horror with a touch of fantasy.
Shortlists for the An Post Irish Book Awards and winners of the National Translation Awards and the World Fantasy Awards are announced. Jenna Bush Hager selects This Motherless Land by Nikki May for her November book club. Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger is B&N’s pick. Ingram’s Consortium adds seven new publishers for distribution. Nick Offerman joins the cast of Apple TV+’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the book by Rufi Thorpe. Novelist and poet Paul Bailey has died at the age of 87.
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Paula Hawkins, M.L. Wang, and Kerri Maniscalco. Publishers Weekly touts the best books of 2024. People’s book of the week is Roman Year: A Memoir by André Aciman. Winners of the Geffen Awards are announced. Plus, Earlyword’s October “GalleyChat” spreadsheet arrives.
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith wins the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. The longlists for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, the shortlist for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, and the finalists for the Kitschies are announced. Plus, Page to Screen and interviews with Danzy Senna, Frieda McFadden, and Ada Limón.
Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie wins both the ARA Historical Novel Society Australasia Prize and the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award. A Texas county library system has reversed its decision to classify a children’s Indigenous history book as fiction. Plus, interviews with Yael van der Wouden, Mosab Abu Toha, Ben Okri, and Richard McGuire and new title bestsellers.
Essie Chambers’s Swift River wins Barnes & Noble’s 2024 Discover Prize. Ross Perlin wins the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding for Language City: The Fight To Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York. Barnes & Noble releases its best books of 2024 lists. Publishers Weekly reports from the 2024 New York Comic Con. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for buzzy book In Too Deep by Lee Child & Andrew Child. WSJ profiles Teen Mom 2 star and rising book influencer Kailyn Lowry. Interviews arrive with Alex van Halen, Danielle Trussoni, Jeff VanderMeer, and Evan Friss Plus, buzz builds for Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
M.M. Olivas calls herself a “Chicana-futurist” and has had work published in such outlets as Uncanny Magazine, Weird Horror Magazine, and Apex. Her debut novel, Sundown in San Ojuela, will be published in November by Lanternfish Press. She talks with LJ about her interest in the horror genre, its cinematic connections, and the role of folklore in her novel.
Big books out this month include titles from Carl Hiaasen, Chris Pavone, Nora Roberts, and Brendan Slocumb.
Rachel Howzell Hall starts a new series featuring an LAPD cop, Freya Sampson sets her newest within a dysfunctional book club, and the sheep are on the case in Leonie Swann's latest.
Anne de Marcken wins the Ursula LeGuin Prize for Fiction for It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over. Margaret Owen wins the Endeavour Award for Painted Devils. Winners of the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards are announced, and President Biden awards 2022 and 2023 National Humanities Medals. OverDrive has launched the new Cleveland-inspired imprint Heights Press. Interviews arrive with Bethany Joy Lenz, Jenny Slate, Nick Harkaway, and Alex van Halen. Plus, a new series adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie is in development.
In Too Deep by Lee Child & Andrew Child leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Benjamin Stevenson, Bethany Joy Lenz, Robert Dugoni, and Jeff VanderMeer. People’s book of the week is The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman. Memoirs by Alexei Navalny and Shirley Maclaine arrive.
Naomi Shihab Nye wins the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award for lifetime achievement, and Evie Shockley wins the Academy of American Poets Fellowship. The shortlist has been unveiled for the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Kate McKinnon will host the 75th National Book Awards. Plus an interview with Karl Ove Knausgaard and Page to Screen.
Percival Everett’s James and Adam Higginbotham’s Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space win Kirkus Prizes. A shortlist is released for the Laurel Prize for environmental and nature poetry. Plus, interviews with Randy Newman, Emily Witt, and Colin Kaepernick, a new memoir by Pope Francis, and new title bestsellers.
November’s LibraryReads list is out, featuring top pick Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage. Ken Follett’s forthcoming historical epic Circle of Days will examine the mysteries of Stonehenge. James Patterson launches a new Substack, Hungry Dogs. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title The Waiting by Michael Connelly. Riku Onda’s crime novel The Aosawa Murders will get a limited series adaptation, and Phaedra Patrick’s The Little Italian Hotel will be adapted for TV. Plus, the Kirkus Prize winners will be announced tonight.
Sandra Dallas writes an homage to True Grit, Joanna Miller debuts with a story set at Oxford University in 1920, and Danielle Steel offers a sweeping historical novel.
Melinda French Gates offers personal anecdotes and guidance on how to navigate transitions, Top Chef’s Kristen Kish writes a memoir, and the creator of @PoetsSquareCats pens a memoir about community and cats.
Alice McDermott wins the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award for her novel Absolution. The Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist is announced, along with the winners of the British Fantasy Awards and the Prix Utopiales. The Waiting by Michael Connelly leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, Bob Woodward, Debbie Macomber, and David Rosenfelt. People’s book of the week is The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Al Pacino’s memoir, Sonny Boy, arrives. Plus, M.K. Oliver’s buzzy forthcoming debut novel, A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage, will get the series treatment at Hulu.
South Korean novelist Han Kang, best known for 2016’s Booker Prize–winning The Vegetarian, wins the Nobel Prize in literature. The shortlist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize is announced. BBC’s Between the Covers book club has revealed its books and guests for its eighth season, starting with Chris Whitaker’s All the Colors of the Dark. Winners of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards and Scholastic UK’s inaugural Graphic Novel Prize are announced. Created by Humans, a company that helps writers license their works for use by AI, has forged a partnership with the Authors Guild. Plus new title bestsellers.
Oprah picks From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley, with Riley Keough, for her book club. Publishers Weekly rounds up the rest of October’s book club picks. Finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the Wonderland Awards are announced. October’s Loanstars features top pick The Waiting by Michael Connelly. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak. BBC will adapt Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister, to be aired during the 30th anniversary of BBC’s classic Pride and Prejudice series. Plus, the latest on the Princess Diaries 3 film, based on the books by Meg Cabot.
Sosuke Natsukawa returns with a sequel to The Cat Who Saved Books; plus new titles from Jennifer Haigh and Lydia Millet.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez returns with a novel inspired by the real-life Kingdom of the Happy Land, Jennifer Weiner pens a story about sisters who form a pop supergroup, and Nancy Thayer offers another Nantucket-set novel.
Former librarian Terah Shelton Harris has been named Target’s author of the year; The Women by Kristin Hannah is book of the year. The Elgin Awards winners are announced. The 2024 Nobel prize in literature will be awarded this Thursday. From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley with Riley Keough gets reviews and buzz. The Millions revisits Claudia Rankine’s Citizen 10 years after its publication. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty will get a new series adaptation, courtesy of Nicole Kidman. Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him will be adapted for film. NYT looks at weeding in libraries. Plus, LJ announces a new partnership with the Libraries Lead podcast.
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Sophie Kinsella, Patricia Cornwell, Melania Trump, and James Patterson and Brian Sitts. Five LibraryReads and five Indie Next picks publish this week. The Millions releases “The Great Fall 2024 Book Preview.” Salman Rushdie announced he will publish a series of novellas, his first works of fiction since his stabbing in 2022. And novelist Robert Coover has died at the age of 92.
The finalists for the Cundill History Prize are announced, the winners of the Ned Kelly Award for Australian crime writing, the shortlist for the Endeavour Award for SFF by Pacific Northwest authors is announced, and the winners of the Rhysling Awards for speculative poetry are announced. The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore wins an Isle of Wight Book Award. A federal judge has ordered an Arkansas library to stop segregating controversial books into special “social sections.”
The shortlist for the Goldsmiths Prize and the finalists for the Writers’ Trust of Canada Balsillie Prize for Public Policy are announced. Reese Witherspoon announces her first novel, a thriller cowritten with Harlan Coben and due out next fall. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Kate McKinnon, Lola Milholland, and Kate Conger and Ryan Mac.
All the March 2025 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.
Jamie Wesley is the author of A Legend in the Baking, Fake It Till You Bake It, and the “One-on-One” series. When she’s not writing or reading romance, Jamie can be found watching TV, rooting for her favorite sports teams, or planning her next trip to Disney World. She talks with LJ about the appeal of romance, athletes as protagonists, and favorite tropes.
The National Book Award Finalists are announced, as are the longlist for the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation and Audiofile’s October 2024 Earphones Award winners. The 2024 slate of MacArthur Fellows includes writers Ling Ma, Juan Felipe Herrera, Jason Reynolds, and Jericho Brown. Reese Witherspoon selects Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown for her October book club. The October book club pick for both Read with Jenna and B&N is The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. According to NYT, Jimmy Carter, who turned 100 yesterday, is the most prolific author of all ex-presidents.
Bestselling Chuck Wendig returns with a tale of small-town scares and a mysterious staircase to nowhere, while S.A. Barnes offers more space horror; plus multiple terrifying debuts.
Juliette Cross launches a series featuring a dragon shapeshifter, Venessa Vida Kelley debuts with a historical romantasy about a Coney Island merman, and RuNyx offers a twist on the Hades and Persephone myth, set in a dark academia world.
Chef José Andrés shares life lessons, Admiral William H. McRaven offers advice, and Gretchen Rubin distills her insights into the secrets of adulthood.
Olivie Blake returns with the story of three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted siblings, and Nghi Vo continues the story of Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby from her acclaimed novel The Chosen and the Beautiful.
Shortlists for the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Polari Prize are announced. The Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction finalists are announced. Jenna Bush Hager selects Louise Erdrich’s The Mighty Red for her October book club. StokerCon 2025 announces guests of honor including Joyce Carol Oates, Gaby Triana, and Tim Waggoner. October booklists arrive. Plus, it’s Stephen Graham Jones Day (#SGJday), in honor of new reissued editions of six of his previously out-of-print titles.
Even those well versed in slashers and their tropes will be surprised by the directions Jones takes. Readable both as representative of slasher films and book and as an exploration of the rules of the genre, this novel will have wide appeal to readers who are new to Jones’s work as well as established fans. Recommended as a contrast for fans of recent “final girl” books like the ones by Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager and readers who enjoyed The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay.
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Ina Garten, Louise Erdrich, Malcolm Gladwell, James Patterson and David Ellis, and Nita Prose. Seven LibraryReads and seven Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Love Can’t Feed You by Cherry Lou Sy. Plus, LitHub previews “The Literary Film & TV You Need to Stream in October.”
This novel is effective in innumerable ways, particularly with its attention to the generational gap and the emotional disconnection created by the internet. Pargin’s deft combination of mystery and satire will appeal to the YA audience and to older readers.
For readers curious about how museums work, this engaging new look at MoMA’s origins will whet appetites for further scholarship on these fascinating figures.
Costanza Casati’s Clytemnestra wins the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. David Waldstreicher wins the George Washington Prize for The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence. Winners of the Alberta Book Publishing Awards are announced. Plus, Page to Screen and interviews with Emmanuel Acho, Elizabeth Strout, Garth Greenwell, and Lauren Elkin.
Shortlists for the Wolfson History Prize and the British Academy Book Prize are announced. The Treaties We Break by Tina Shah wins the Mo Siewcharran Prize for unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic backgrounds. Llano County, TX, told the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it should hand politicians near total authority over what books can go on public library shelves. Plus new title bestsellers and interviews with Richard Osman, Isabella Hammad, Paola Ramos, Uzo Aduba, and Myriam J.A. Chancy.
The Washington State Book Award and Dream Foundry Award winners are announced. Elly Griffiths wins Author of the Year at the BA Conference Awards. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo. Interviews arrive with Janice Hallett, Elyse Graham, Ed Burns, Kenny G, Ashley Spencer, David Sedaris, Aaron Zebley, and Wright Thompson. The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green will get a TV adaptation, and Garth Greenwell’s What Belongs to You goes to the opera. Plus, NYT delves into the “Strega Nona September” TikTok trend, inspired by the children’s books by Tomie dePaola.
Rick Atkinson and John Ferling offer books about the Revolutionary War on its 250th anniversary, while Ojibwe journalist Mary Annette Pember writes a mix of history and personal biography about Indigenous boarding schools in the U.S.
New books from bestselling Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, queer romances from Jasmine Guillory and Meryl Wilsner, and second series entries from India Holton and Eloisa James.
Boyd’s treasure trove of information about the global impact of world music (particularly on the United States) is a tour de force that will fascinate music lovers.
Banned Books Week is underway, with newly released reports from PEN America and ALA on book challenges in the U.S. Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo garners rave reviews, including a four-star review from USA Today. Interviews arrive with Law Roach, Ashley Spencer, Robert A. Caro, Shayna Maci Warner, Elizabeth Strout, Morgan Talty, Wright Thompson, and Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. Influential critic Fredric Jameson has died at the age of 90.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney leads holds this week and is People’s book of the week. Also in demand are titles by Nicholas Sparks, Sharon McMahon, Emily Rath, Richard Powers, and Tami Hoag. The Wolfson History Prize shortlist is announced. October’s LibraryReads list is out, featuring top pick Exposure by Ramona Emerson. LitHub provides a flowchart to answer the question “Which Big Fall Book Should You Read?” Plus, Banned Books Week arrives amid a new surge in censorship.
Buttar makes brilliant use of primary sources and provides readers with a rich understanding of the unique nature of Leningrad, its military, and its people during a perilous time.
Victor Luckerson’s Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street and Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song win Dayton Literary Peace Prizes. Writers’ Trust of Canada announces shortlists for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for 2SLGBTQ+ Emerging Writers and the Hilary Weston Prize for Nonfiction. Plus, censorship and ebooks in prison, a profile of Katherine Rundell, and Page to Screen.
Lahey’s passion for great tasting bread and his easy, accessible recipes will inspire a new batch of bakers to try their hand at turning out artisanal quality bread at home.
The shortlist for the Nota Bene Prize, for novels “that have received organic, word-of-mouth recognition and are deserving of a wider readership,” is revealed. Annabel Sowemimo wins the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing for Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need To Decolonise Healthcare. Salman Rushdie wins the Halldór Laxness International Literary Prize. Winners of the V&A Illustration Awards and the shortlist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year are also announced. Several academic publishers facing an antitrust suit over unpaid peer review processes. Plus, new title bestsellers and an Isabel Allende Barbie doll.
As readers saw in Alam’s previous novel, Leave the World Behind, there is a palpable sense of dread running through this highly recommended book as well. In this case, it is not an existential threat to humanity; it’s the train wreck that is Brooke’s life. Readers may see it coming, but they won’t be able to look away.
LitHub releases its ultimate fall reading list. Nadia Davids wins the Caine Short Story Prize, and the German Book Prize shortlist is announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Richard Osman’s latest novel, We Solve Murders. Memoirs from Connie Chung, Jaleel White, Melania Trump, Wilmer Valderrama, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey get buzz. Plus, interviews with Srikanth Reddy, Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert, Sharon McMahon, Terry Szuplat, and Francis S. Collins.
Readers can look forward to a Jazz Age murder mystery featuring Jay Gatsby’s sleuthing younger sister, a story inspired by a real-life antiquities scandal in Pakistan, and the return of senior sleuth Vera Wong.
David Baldacci sets his latest in a 1944 London bookshop, Julia Bartz offers a locked-room thriller, and Heather Graham writes about a would-be-murderous smart house and personal AI.
The Booker Prize shortlist is announced. Entitlement by Rumaan Alam gets reviewed. Memoirs arrive from James Middleton, Eric Roberts, Ina Garten, and Mark Hoppus. Plus, interviews with Gillian Anderson, Coco Mellors, Mirya R. Holman, and Connie Chung.
Harrow’s breathtaking debut delves deep into the raw emotions of grief and the pure beauty of rediscovering joy in an exquisite tale of second chances, featuring an enemies-to-lovers romance.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Laura Dave, Kelly Bishop, Hilary Rodham Clinton, and Rumaan Alam. People’s book of the week is The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts by Louis Bayard. All the National Book Award longlists are out now. Shōgun, based on the novel by James Clavell, wins big at the 2024 Emmys.
An extraordinary, incomparable work of world literature that requires and rewards multiple readings.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing