Although the end of year marks a slow period for publishing, the upcoming slate of books from now into 2027 surely exude the maxim of quality over quantity. Whether forced inside by the cold weather, or saddled to a bus, train, or plane seat by holiday travels, winter is the perfect time to stock up on and crack open a stack of new tomes. To help get things started, we curated a list of the best new releases from Nobel Prize winners, cultural critics, and literary It-boys alike that’ll keep you in this season’s literary loop.
The First House by Avni Doshi
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Nov. 10
What It Is: The Booker Prize finalist turns her attention to the breakdown of a marriage, opening with a scene set in a bedroom. A husband of 13 years walks in and announces he doesn’t want to be married anymore. So, where does his wife go from there?
Why It’s Worth a Look: Doshi renders an extended family, tensions and all, in wonderfully unique and surprising prose. A must-read for those who unabashedly love the minutiae of language.
On the Calculation of Volume, Book V by Solvej Balle
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Nov. 17
What It Is: In the fifth installment of Balle’s time loop series, protagonist Tara Setler has become accustomed to her unusual life, and finally begins to reckon with what she’s gained and lost in her estrangement from the humanity around her.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Balle deftly turns this supernatural premise into an examination of the all-too-human realities of loss, marriage, and connection.
The Sensualist: Adventures in Pure Pleasure by Gary Shteyngart
Genre: Humor
When: Nov. 17
What It Is: A collection of disparate essays from the acclaimed Atlantic and New Yorker writer charting his pursuit of the sublime. That includes capybaras, the world’s largest cruise ship, and a plethora of martinis.
Why It’s Worth a Look: We don’t know about you, but as the weather turns crisp, we could use a good belly laugh. Shteyngart never promises anything less.
Weird Era: How Pitchfork Changed Music Forever by Ryan Schreiber
Genre: Memoir
When: Dec. 1
What It Is: An account of the dawn of modern music criticism from the founder of Pitchfork, the last delightfully pretentious publication still standing. Schreiber takes readers from starting out on his family desktop to his eventual blockbuster Condé Nast sale.
Why It’s Worth a Look: As the relationship between artists and critics grows increasingly contentious across mediums (Taika Waititi’s recent Instagram post anyone?), Schreiber’s memoir comes as an interesting rationale from the so-called opposition.
Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk; translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Dec. 1
What It Is: With a familial epic spanning three generations, International Booker and Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk takes us to a mythical Polish village, Primeval, sitting at the cusp of reality and mysticism. Through a collection of stories, which are called “Times,” the novel explores the distortion of history, war, and hope through the eyes of the village’s residents, magical forest spirits, and even its inanimate objects.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Originally published in 1996 in Poland, the novel is being rereleased with a highly anticipated new English translation from star-translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones.
Arendal by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Jan. 12
What It Is: Mr. Struggle is back with a new English translation of his 2024 novel Arendal, set in 1976 as a man gets stranded in his hometown with his wife and two sons after the car breaks down.
Why It’s Worth a Look: One of the last true literary It-men, Knausgaard’s latest is sure to be a tome worth discussing voraciously, and leaving conspicuously littered around the house or coffee shop.
In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak
Genre: Historical Fiction
When: Jan. 12
What It Is: A recounting of the life of Madame Bovary’s famed author, Gustave Flaubert, through the eyes of the women entangled in his upbringing, the mistresses of his adult life, and the characters in his oeuvre. The book asks not only the question of how these women shape the mind of one of the greatest voices in 19th-century literature, but who is allowed to have their voices heard.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Enjoying The Gilded Age or the new Sense and Sensibility adaptation? Here’s a modern twist on a period piece for when you need a break from screens.
My Stalkers by Catherine Lacey
Genre: Short Fiction
When: Jan. 19
What It Is: In her new collection of short stories, certified genre-bender Catherine Lacey tackles nine tales of women whose blissful, montage-esque lives are deftly interrupted. Queue stolen passports, criminal doppelgangers, and a literal mountain of men.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Looking for a cathartic release from an absurdist world? Recently been into “weird girl lit”? This collection is for you.
A Cow Gives Birth at Night by Pajtim Statovci; translated by David Hackston
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Jan. 26
What It Is: Decades after a harrowing childhood summer at his grandfather’s home in Kosovo, a Finnish author returns to his ancestral land to visit his mother. There, in the depths of a family marked by trauma, he witnesses the social rule of a charlatan leader.
Why It’s Worth a Look: National Book Award finalist Pajtim Statovci, a Kosovo-born, Finland-based author, holds more than a few commonalities with the novel’s protagonist, making it perfect for fans of the autofictional prose of Ocean Vuong and Douglas Stuart.
Clarity by Tim O’Brien
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Jan. 26
What It Is: He’s a Lutheran minister who’s lost faith. She’s a pregnant teen seeking his help in arranging the adoption of her child. When the baby is stillborn, he tells her it survived. The lie bonds them together for decades.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Book blurbs may be considered passé by some, but Haruki Murakami saying O’Brien is the author “whose works I look forward to the most”? Ring up my order, please!
The Antwerp Six by Avery Trufelman
Genre: History
When: Jan. 26
What It Is: A biography of the six young, Belgian designers—Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, and Marina Yee—who would go on to change the trajectory of modern fashion.
Why It’s Worth a Look: The Antwerp Six is the debut literary effort from Trufelman, who will be better known to fashion obsessives as the host of Articles of Interest, a podcast investigating why we wear what we wear.
Maria, Maria by Jennifer Galvão
Genre: Historical Fiction
When: Feb. 2
What It Is: Benedito da Silva’s new bride is attacked in 1949. When he kills the attacker, he is forced to flee under threat of revenge from the dead man’s powerful family. In Benedito’s seven-year absence, his wife tends uneasily to the home and strikes up an unlikely relationship with his mistress, who has been tasked with delivering clandestine letters between the two estranged lovers.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Ann Patchett calls Galvão’s debut “breathtaking.” In just over 300 pages, she excises love’s most unlikely pockets with precision.
Iris by Weike Wang
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Feb. 2
What It Is: Artists Iris and Bowen have an undeniable chemistry. If only they weren’t married… to other people. After a shared artist residency program, impassioned debates, and mutual confessions, the two embark on a day-long date to decide the trajectory of their emotional affair.
Why It’s Worth a Look: Wang’s incising look at the complexity of relationships is perfect for fans of will-they-won’t-they romance and 19th-century tragedy.
Herself, of Course by Alice McDermott
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Feb. 2
What It Is: A renowned New York writer gets the opportunity to rewrite the story of her life—an exaggerated version of it, that is, sans the boring and broken parts.
Why It’s Worth a Look: In a literary age marked by autofiction, two-time National Book Award winner Alice McDermott’s novel explores the ethics behind the genre. Is it a metatextual take on the term? A work of autofiction itself? You’ll have to read it to find out.
Tom Cruise: A Life by Jeff Benedict
Genre: Biography
When: Feb. 23
What It Is: An unauthorized biography of the man often regarded as the last true movie star. Benedict—best known for his Tiger Woods deep-dive that spawned an Emmy-winning miniseries—plumbs court records and conducts hundreds of interviews to narrow in on the truth of a man guarded by both personal and institutional machinations.
Why It’s Worth a Look: After the great box office flop of Cruise’s return to dramatic acting earlier this year with Digger, and the stilted interviews that came with it, this is an ever-more-interesting time to investigate the legacy of one of Hollywood’s most bankable, eerie, beloved, cult-endorsing, low-key nefarious stars.
Otter Music by Karen Joy Fowler
Genre: Literary Fiction
When: Feb. 23
What It Is: A divorced, introverted marine biologist spends most of her time studying endangered sea otters and obsessing over the perils of climate change. After an accusation from her young niece—that she is, irrevocably, not very fun—she sets out to enjoy her life in the midst of environmental chaos.
Why It’s Worth a Look: The cognitive dissonance at the center of Fowler’s tale is increasingly common. Otter Music is all at once jovial, humorous, and devastating.
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