The most hotly anticipated books of 2026

All of us have fallen prey to promising to read more every year and then being consumed by a terrible reading slump. The good news is that 2026 promises to be an eventful year in books, and there are a lot of wonderful options coming over the next few months.

1. ‘Land’ by Maggie O’Farrell 

It is a grand year to be Maggie O’Farrell. A movie on her beautifully lyrical book, Hamnet,  starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley is coming out telling the 400 year old story of the often overlooked, Agnes, Shakespeare’s wife and his son who died, Hamnet.  

Her new book Land, is set to release in June, and tells a tale closer to where she belongs. It is set in Ireland and tells the sweeping story years before and after the Great Hunger, of Tomas and his begrudging son Liam who are working on a project to map the whole island, and a strained and broken father-son relationship which only worsens upon wounds inflicted on them by circumstances. Like all of her previous books, it is bound to be brilliant.

2. ‘John of John’ by Douglas Stuart

Douglas Stuart specialises in writing about addiction, love, destitution, religion and hope. Both of his novels, Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, have been heartbreaking and violent, and he excels at portraying addiction not as something villainous, but with all its nuances, in tenderness and destruction, in the gritty town of Glasgow (where he grew up) in Scotland. The cover image is incredibly personal to the book because it is the same view from the ferry that carries his protagonist home.

Cal, the young man around whom the book is centred, returns home after his degree in Art School with not many prospects on the horizon, and realises that not much has changed, but him. In the meantime his father is ashamed of how Cal refuses to be Saved, and what he calls a pitiful and more looking haircut and his long beautiful hair.

3. ‘Half his Age’ by Jennette McCurdy 

Everybody adored Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, a darkly funny albeit horrifying story of the relationship the young Nickelodeon actress shared with her mother, in which she details the shudder-worthy micromanaging that her Mum used to do, the absolute abuse by the alleged Dan Schneider (whom she calls The Creator),  the eating disorders and brief stint of alcoholism that she developed. She also mentions that despite all the fame she received after acting, what she truly wanted was to be a writer.

Half his Age is her debut novel, with a salacious looking cover, and as the title suggests, it tells the story of a teenage girl in a relationship with a man 20 years older than her. The book could have taken a high-ground stance on the relationship, depicting a dull (but quite necessarily needed) morality clause, but McCurdy’s observations are astute and brilliant. Her conversations on sex, class, consumerism , loneliness and sex are witty and wonderful, and she views sex not as a flowery act, but as the lustful desirous thing that it is.

4. ‘Hooked’ by Asako Yuzuki  

From the author of the bestselling novel Butter, a story about food, a lady in prison and a lot of resentment, a novel about a cook turned murderer drenched in fatphobia and misogyny, comes a new book, privy to heavy expectations and a keen readers’ eye.

Hooked is a tale of obsession and the depths it can take us to. Translated by Polly Barton, Hooked tells the story of an isolated woman, Eriko, who becomes obsessed with a lifestyle blogger. Shoko’s posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife’s manicured lifestyle. When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion, and then wary of all the things she does.

5. ‘Whistler’ by Ann Patchett 

Even if one isn’t a fan of Patchett’s writing, the covers of her books, all of which look like paintings, are bound to draw you in. Whistler is the story of  Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan, as they realise time simultaneously changes everything and nothing. Daphne meets her former step-father Eddie Triplett, with whom her relationship was brief but fulfilling. Now reunited, the two don’t ever intend to let go of each other.  

Whistler is a story of two people looking at what is defined by will and fate, and about bravery, memory and how impermanence is the only real wheel that continually churns. The story is about the power of enduring love, and how feeling like you are understood, even for a short time can change everything.

6. ‘Sisters in Yellow’ by Mieko Kawakami 

Kawakami is one of the most well revered voices in contemporary Japanese literature, and her stories always speak of the uncomfortable experiences of being a woman. Breasts and Eggs very vividly describes reproductive trauma, motherhood and bodily autonomy, All the Lovers in the Night is a tragic tale of teenagers in love.  

Sisters in Yellow tells the story of Hana, a fifteen year old who lives with her young mother who works as a hostess at a dive bar in Tokyo. Hanna makes friends with Kimiko, an older woman who helps her set up a new bar and make her feel like she finally has a purpose in life, to help keep herself and her mother going. The story is of secrets and betrayal, and the complexities of teenage friendship and the stakes it holds.  

7. ‘The Last of the Earth’ by Deepa Anappara

Deepa Anappara’s debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, and NPR. The India(BHARAT)n born but UK based journalist comes out with her novel The Last of Earth, this year.

The novel is set in 19th century Tibet, and unfolds the narrative of two immigrants, an British ‘lady’ explorer, and an India(BHARAT)n schoolteacher spying for the British empire as they tread on contentious ground. It speaks about the desire of immortality and the indomitable power of love and friendship.  

8. ‘What am I, A Deer?’ by Polly Barton 

Polly Barton is no stranger to writing. She has translated several Japanese novels and even written Fifty Sounds in which she details her love for the country and Porn: An Oral History, a detailed and savoury exploration of a conversation we stop ourselves from having.

What Am I, A Deer, is her first fiction novel, centering around a young woman who accomplishes her dream of running away to a far off land where no one knows her, and gets a job at a well known gaming company wide-eyed and committed to reinvent herself. She speaks of authenticity, love and intoxication, all in a ravishingly dizzying manner.