Books to look forward to in 2026

Explore the most anticipated book releases of 2026, featuring new fiction from George Saunders, essential poetry by Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska, and powerful memoirs from Gisèle Pelicot and Meena Kandasamy. From speculative history in Kerala to profound literary criticism on Toni Morrison, this curated list covers the year’s must-read titles.

2026 Reading List:
2026 Reading List:

Vigil: A Novel

George Saunders

Penguin Random House

With the wisdom, playfulness, and explosive imagination we’ve come to expect, George Saunders takes on the gravest issues of our time—the menace of corporate greed, the toll of capitalism, the environmental perils of progress—and spins a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the thorny question of absolution.

On Morrison

Namwali Serpell

Penguin Random House

In On Morrison, Namwali Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and a professor who teaches a course on Toni Morrison to illuminate the masterful experiments of the Noble Laureate and beloved writer with the literary form.

The Acrobat: Essential Poems

Wislawa Szymborska

HarperCollins

Wislawa Szymborska was born in Poland and worked as a poetry editor, translator, and columnist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. The poems in The Acrobat grapple with war and history, time’s ruthless march and the fragility of human existence. 

A Hymn to Life 

Gisèle Pelicot

Penguin Random House

In 2024, Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to anonymity in her legal fight against her ex-husband and the 50 men accused of sexually assaulting her. In A Hymn to Life, Pelicot tells her story for the very first time, not as victim, but as witness.

Fieldwork as a Sex Object

Meena Kandasamy

HarperCollins

Fieldwork as a Sex Object is about structural violence and women who resist oppressive systems. It engages with the resilience of a woman who faces the fallout of rape culture as a political strategy and addresses a core thought: What does her liberation look like?

August 17

S Hareesh

Translated by Jayasree Kalathil

DC Books

August 17, S Hareesh’s second novel after the JCB Prize-winning novel, Moustache, is an ‘ambitious work of speculative historical fiction’. Translated by Jayasree Kalathil, the book revisits all the crucial events in the history of Kerala, its people, and events. 

This article was first uploaded on January three, twenty twenty-six, at twenty-four minutes past six in the evening.