A new year brings with it a plethora of new weird moments to acknowledge and even more to ignore. There’s the upcoming sociopolitical scene: grappling with the malcontent that’s led Donald Trump to the White House again, bracing for deportations, corporate marauding, and more cultural upheaval. But there’s also a new heft of offerings from both established authors and first-time novelists. Most of the writers here are each unpacking what it all means through searing fiction or incisive essays — and a couple are just going for pure escapism. But regardless of why you want to pick up a book, the list below includes an option for every type of reader.
Death of the Author
Nnedi Okorafor
HarperCollins, January
Afrofuturist superstar Nnedi Okorafor weaves a meta tale about a Nigerian author named Zelu whose latest work — a sci-fi epic about robots and AI overlords — skyrockets her to literary fame. But as the narrative of her original work begins to slip from her grasp, this embedded narrative changes more than Zelu’s life — it changes what the entire world could be.
How to Sell Out
Chad Sanders
Simon & Schuster, February
When liberal Americans decided to learn about race in 2020, a viral op-ed on the topic by writer Chad Sanders made him an overnight success. He got podcast, book, and television deals. People wanted what he had to write. But the path wasn’t without problems. In this amusing essay collection, Sanders unpacks the complications Black writers face in being paid to mine their trauma; how race, class, and cash remain inextricably tied; and the hidden cost of being a Black writer in today’s media world.
Hungerstone
Kat Dunn
Zando, February
This gothic novel sets its retelling of Carmilla — the sapphic vampire story that inspired Dracula — in the Industrial Revolution, kicking off with a carriage crash that brings main character Lenore and her steel-magnate husband into contact with a mysterious stranger. But as they try and fail to convince themselves that everything is fine with their new acquaintance, Carmilla, a strange sickness overtaking their town and the couple’s unraveling relationship forces the characters ito confront exactly what they’re hungry for.
Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer
Dylan Mulvaney
Abrams, March
When Dylan Mulvaney began posting her Days of Girlhood series on TikTok, her transition went from a personal revelation to a wildly public journey, turning her into an internet sensation and right-wing political target in little more than a year. In her memoir, the actress and singer takes a comedic look at everything from auditions, to tucking, to dating when you’re at the center of a roiling online scandal. Fans have seen it all of TikTok star Dylan. But now Dylan the girl invites viewers to get an even more personal look at life when the cameras aren’t rolling, even when it’s less than picture perfect.
O Sinners!
Nicole Cuffy
Penguin Random House, March
When Faruq Zaidi, a grieving Muslim journalist, seizes the chance to embed himself in a California cult, his determination to get a story pushes him into the world of its mystical leader. But by trying to escape from his bad memories, Faruq’s story brings him closer to potential ruin.
Stag Dance
Torrey Peters
Penguin Random House, March
The Detransition, Baby author continues to explore the place of gender identity in small communities in her latest collection of short stories, which features cross-dressers, lumberjacks, a gender apocalypse, and one of Torrey Peters’ defining queries: At what point are we taking ourselves a bit too seriously?
Great Big Beautiful Life
Emily Henry
Penguin Random House, April
Bestselling romance author Emily Henry returns with a new book — sure to be optioned for the screen, as her last five were — focused on two writers who are vying to pen the biography of a famous heiress. Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson both want to write the biography of famed heiress Margaret Ives. But when she pits them against each other during a trial period for the job, sparks fly. What do they want more: a chance at love or the story of a lifetime?
Audition
Katie Kitamura
Penguin Random House, April
It begins simply enough: An actress and a much younger man walk into a Manhattan restaurant. But as award-winning author Katie Kitamura unravels the connections between these two characters, readers will be forced to confront their own preconceptions about how relationships play out, with and without an audience.
My Documents
Kevin Nguyen
Penguin Random House, April
As another Trump administration kicks into gear, there may be no better, or scarier, work to consider than Kevin Nguyen’s second novel, which sees the U.S. government set up internment camps for Vietnamese Americans. The four Nguyen cousins, Alvin, Ursula, Duncan and Jen, are young adults ready to take the next steps in their lives and careers. But when are some are imprisoned, and others not, the group is forced to contend with the cold realities of naked racism.
Aggregated Discontent
Harron Walker
Penguin Random House, May
Journalist and cultural critic Harron Walker takes sharp aim at modern white womanhood in her debut book that interrogates how bath bombs, pink marketing, and the United States’ antiquated healthcare system all work against the women it claims to protect. It’s a collection of essays that’s part memoir, part investigation of the girlboss-ification of the modern labor system.
