New Books in Literature
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network, an academic audio library dedicated to public education. Each episode features scholars discussing their recently published research with another expert in their field. The network offers over 150 channels and more than 28,000 episodes. Listeners can explore the full catalog on the New Books Network website.
Episodes
L. L. Madrid, "My Lips, Her Voice" (Creature Publishing, 2025)
L.L. Madrid's My Lips, Her Voice (Creature Publishing, 2025) takes place in Copper City, a town who's bloody history is steeped in ghost stories and whispers of serial killers, but three girls have caught the attention of something far more sinister.
A grandmother tormented by visions tried to warn the town, but no one listened. Now, a haunted inheritance has passed to her granddaughters, Audrey
Ysabelle Cheung, "Patchwork Dolls" (Blair, 2026)
In this debut story collection Patchwork Dolls (Blair, 2026), Ysabelle Cheung weaves an eerie fabulism with tales that cross continents, technology, and time.
Set in Hong Kong and America--between the present day and an uncannily altered future--this story collection warps the familiar rules of our world to ask: what does it mean to be Asian and a woman--living under the specter of state and tec
David Ly, "Not All Dragons" (Poplar Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with David Ly about his novel, Not All Dragons (Wolsak & Wynn, 2026).What is it that you are, Rhys?
In a land of magic and myth, Rhys awakens on the shore of Lanilia with mysterious wounds on his back and no memory of his life before. Disoriented, he stumbles on the Mernese estuary protected by the mermaid Delia, who is quickly intrigued by this mal
Kevin Reilly, "Gregory Ghosts: Haunting Irishness" (Peter Lang, 2026)
Kevin P. Reilly is President Emeritus and Regent Professor with the University of Wisconsin System, having served as President from 2004-13. Kevin grew up in Manhattan and the Bronx, and went on to earn his B.A. at the University of Notre Dame, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, all in English. He has published on higher education policy and accreditation, autobiography and b
“O Albany”: Novelist William Kennedy on His Great Cycle of the City
Monday, June 22—William Kennedy is to Albany what Joyce is to Dublin and Faulkner to Mississippi, a fictional alchemist who transforms his native place into novels at once deeply evocative of their setting and movingly universal in their human resonances. In The Albany Trilogy, just out from Library of America, three of Kennedy’s masterpieces—including his beloved novel Ironweed—take readers from
Emily De Angelis, "The Stones of Burren Bay" (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2024)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with YA author Emily De Angelis about her acclaimed novel, The Stones of Burren Bay (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2024).
In a tragic car accident, 15-year-old Norie loses her father while her distant mother is injured. Her prized possession, an antique artist’s box that traveled from Ireland with her great-great-grandmother, is destroyed along with her d
Naomi Hirahara, "Crown City (A Japantown Mystery)" (Soho Crime, 2026)
In Crown City (A Japantown Mystery)" (Soho Crime, 2026), Ryunosuke “Ryui Wada is orphaned at 18, with no family or path left in Japan. He’s lucky when merchants from the states pay for him to get to Pasadena to work in their store selling authentic Japanese merchandise. It’s 1903, and although he’s lonely and confused by American customs, he’s committed to his new life. He thinks he’s starting to
Jason Weiss, "Other Lives Our Own" (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing, 2025)
In Other Lives Our Own (Spuyten Duyvil, 2025) Jason Weiss reflects on travel, language, memory, identity, and the stories we inherit and create. This conversation explores how we inhabit each other's stories, tracing how movement across places and languages reshapes our understanding of self and belonging. Drawing on experiences in New York, Paris, Mexico, California and beyond, Weiss reflects on
Loretta Chefchaouni, "The Lustrous Dark" (Peachtree Teen, 2026)
Loretta Chefchaouni's debut The Lustrous Dark (Peachtree Teen, 2026) follows protagonist Shay.Orphaned as a baby, Shay has spent her life training as the midwife’s apprentice. Her role grants her stability, yet Shay has always yearned for more. Namely, motherly affection and answers regarding her mysterious birth—neither of which the midwife deems practical to provide.After Shay discovers her birt
Wendy J Fox, "The Last Supper" (Sante Fe Writer's Project, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Wendy J. Fox about her novel, The Last Supper, published by Sante Fe Writer's Project, 2026.
As stay-at-home mom Amanda turns forty, she faces a reckoning. She' s doing her best at parenting eight-year-old Toby, who only wants to eat orange-colored food, and almost-four-year-old Blake, who really should be in pre-school but is home doing YouTu
Shana Galen, "A Shop Girl's Guide to Wooing a Lord" (Berkley, 2026)
Romance novels—especially historical romance novels—thrive on heroes and heroines who don’t match in terms of social class. There must be conflict, after all, or the novel would end before it began. But not even George Bernard Shaw’s mismatched couple in Pygmalion (later My Fair Lady) can claim quite as much distance as Shana Galen’s Tamsin Archer and the Honourable Garret Kildare, the main charac
Kimberly McCreight, "Someone Else's Husband" (Knopf, 2026)
New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight delivers a tour de force of character-driven suspense with her latest novel, Someone Else's Husband (Knopf, 2026), the story of two women whose secrets and desires entrap them in a deadly love triangle. You had to rely on the power of love. That he loved you enough not to do the thing that would break your heart. It was paper-thin ice on which t
Justin C. Key, "The Hospital at the End of the World: A Novel" (Harper, 2026)
From author Justin C. Key comes The Hospital at the End of the World: A Novel (Harper, 2026), set in a near future where artificial
intelligence runs the world, involving a young medical student who must
unravel family secrets to uncover the truth of his father’s mysterious
death.
In a time not so far from our own, society is run
by a global AI system controlled by an all powerful corporatio
Ro Skelton, “Naow’s Boutique” (Spring, 2025)
Ro Skelton speaks to Emily Everett about her essay “Naow’s Boutique,” which appears in The Common’s Spring issue. The essay explores Ro’s time living and working in Dakar, where she formed a friendship in her neighborhood that eventually led to a sense of community, and then a community garden, and then a lifelong friendship. Ro also discusses how the essay fits into her focus as a writer – writin
Deb Olin Unferth, "Earth 7: A Novel" (Graywolf Press 2026)
Well, that’s about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any lov
Kyra Davis Lurie, "The Great Mann" (Crown, 2025)
In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed West Adams Heights, Charlie is immediately captivated by the Black opulence of L.A.’s newly rechristened “Sugar Hill.”Settling in at a local actress’s energetic boarding house, Charlie discovers a different way of life—one brimming with opp
Deb Olin Unferth, "Earth 7" (Graywolf Press 2026)
With thanks to “forever” plastics, the earth has reverted to sand and dust. Dylan has been raised by her scientist mother, in a pod under the sea, and longs to escape the loneliness of being confined. The only friend she ever had was a pen pal from Mars, who disappeared. With great effort, she’s escorted onto land, to the place of her mother’s employment where she becomes the groundskeeper. Unoffi
Terese Mason Pierre, "As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories" (Spiderline, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with editor, poet, and author, Terese Mason Pierre about As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories (Spiderline, 2025).
A ground-breaking anthology of haunting speculative stories by
contemporary Black Canadian writers that explore growth, futurity, and
joy.
Edited by esteemed poet Terese Mason Pierre, this bold and innovative
antho
Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh trans., "Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband" (Wide Open Window Books, 2025)
Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh bring into English for the first time a long-inaccessible masterpiece of South Asian literature Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband (2025). Composed in the late seventeenth century by Upendra Bhanja — the Odia prince-poet hailed as Kavi Samrat, the Emperor of Poets — the work is a Ramayana that privileges shringara, the erotic sentiment, over ma
Terao Tetsuya and translated by Kevin Wang, "Spent Bullets" (HarperVia, 2025)
With Taiwan Travelogue winning the 2026 International Booker Prize, Taiwanese literature in translation has achieved new heights of visibility in the Anglosphere.
In this episode of the New Books Network, we chat with writer and translator Kevin Wang about his English language rendition of Spent Bullets (HarperCollins, 2025), another Taiwanese novel that Taiwan Travelogue’s translator Lin King he
Martha Conway, "We Meet Apart" (Regal House Publishing, 2026)
It’s 1940 and Gaby’s parents and sister succumb to Typhus after staying in France to care for Gaby and Sabine’s dying grandmother. The war is in full swing and Gaby can’t get home to Poughkeepsie, NY. Her aunt lives in Ireland, which stayed neutral during WWII, so she heads there. But the aunt has just died, and 18-year-old Gaby makes her way to the remote manor of her aunt’s husband’s relatives,
Mackenzi Lee, "Masters of the Universe: Teela: Daughter of Eternos" (Mattel, 2026)
Mackenzi Lee's Masters of the Universe: Teela: Daughter of Eternos (Mattel, 2026) is a young adult tie-in for the Masters of the Universe (2026) film.
A FALLEN KINGDOMFour years after Skeletor decimated the kingdom of Eternos, Teela and the scattered refugees of Eternia survive by never staying in one place for long. When a brutal storm of acidic rain deep within the Evergreen Forest leaves thei
chaun webster, "Without Terminus: untraining an archive" (Greywolf, 2026)
In his first work of nonfiction, poet chaun webster blends memoir, archival research, visual poetics, and cultural criticism to trace the ways structural anti-Black violence has shaped his inheritance, and grapples with the question of how to know—and mourn—the kin he was never able to meet.webster is particularly drawn to his grandfather Reginald, who worked for years as a Pullman porter, who was
Elina Penner, 'Nightberries" (CMU Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Elina Penner about her translated novel, Nightberries (CMU Press, 2026, translated by Bradley Schmidt).
Where is your husband?Nelli doesn’t seem to be in crisis—or does she? The quiet youngest daughter in a noisy, tangled German Mennonite family who fled from Russia in the 1990s, does she even know where she belongs? Marriage, loyalty, faith,
An Interview with Senior Literary Agent Stephen Fraser
Stephen Fraser is senior literary agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, after having worked as an editor for over 25 years before becoming an agent. He represents children’s books in a wide range of genres. We talked about his experiences in the worlds of editing and agenting, his do's and don'ts for submissions, his thoughts on the current state of children's literature, and the impo
An Interview with Senior Literary Agent Stephen Fraser
Stephen Fraser is senior literary agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, after having worked as an editor for over 25 years before becoming an agent. He represents children’s books in a wide range of genres. We talked about his experiences in the worlds of editing and agenting, his do's and don'ts for submissions, his thoughts on the current state of children's literature, and the impo
Elizabeth Bradfield's Books in Dark Times (JP)
For the RtB Books in Dark Times series back in 2021, John spoke with Elizabeth Bradfield, editor of Broadsided Press, poet, professor of creative writing at Brandeis, naturalist, photographer.
Her books include Interpretive Work, Approaching Ice, Once Removed, and Toward Antarctica. She lives on Cape Cod, travels north every summer to guide people into Arctic climes, birdwatches.
Liz is in and o
Paige Lewis, "Canon" (Viking, 2026)
In Canon (Viking, 2026), two unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor in this outrageously entertaining, profoundly heartfelt novel that announces an ingenious new voice in the tradition of Chain-Gang All-Stars, No One Is Talking About This, and Martyr!Yara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family an
Mike Papantonio, "A Death in Arcadia" (Arcade Publishing, 2026)
In Mike Papantonio's A Death in Arcadia (Arcade Publishing, 2026) Nicholas “Deke”Deketomis Returns to Face His Darkest Case Yet—And His Own Haunted Past When fifteen-year-old Trayvon Clapper is murdered by a guard at Camp B in Florida, his fringe-living mother and boyfriend come to Bergman-Deketomis to file a lawsuit against the facility. Details of the case trigger in Deke memories of his own tro
Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, "A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams" (William Morrow, 2026)
So close to the semiquincentennial, it’s great to see a novel focused on the life of Abigail Adams, a woman appreciated even in her own time—especially by her husband of more than half a century, John Adams, the second president of the United States—but not, at the time, for her determination that her new country should also extend liberty to its female citizens.
Of course, Abigail Adams has rec
K'wan, "House of the Rising Sun" (Akashic Books, 2026)
When Artie Howell moves with his wife back to her sleepy hometown, he must protect their son Nicky from the skeletons coming out of the closets from both of their pasts in House of the Rising Sun (Akashic Books, 2026)
When the Howell family moves into a house on Heckler Lane, it causes quite a stir around the small town of Sunny Cove, Pennsylvania. Elise Howell, a well-known cardio surgeon, has
Caroline Bicks, "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" (Hogarth, 2026)
My guest is Caroline Bicks, whose new book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King (Hogarth, 2026) became a bestseller shortly after release. After she was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, Caroline Bicks became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that docu
Maria Ingrande Mora, "A Wild Radiance" (Peachtree Teen, 2026)
Maria Ingrande Mora's latest fantasy romance A Wild Radiance (Peachtree Teen, 2026) brings readers to the magical industrial revolution. Josephine Haven is about to find out exactly where she fits into the march of Progress. Her outbursts are infamous at the House of Industry, the school for children who can wield radiance, an electricity-like magic. She's tried to follow the rules, but her fiery
J.J. Dupuis, "Roanoke Ridge: A Creature X Mystery" (Dundurn Press, 2020)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with J.J. Dupuis about Roanoke Ridge—the first book in his Creature X series published with Dundurn Press, 2020.
There’s been a string of Bigfoot sightings in Roanoke Ridge. Do they have something to do with the body in the woods?When Bigfoot researcher Professor Berton Sorel goes missing in the temperate rainforest of Roanoke Ridge, Oregon, help is
Sarah Stone, "Marriage to the Sea: Linked Novellas" (Four Way Books, 2026)
Six years ago, Katya Zamarin’s mother was murdered by a stranger who also maimed her Aunt Julia. More recently, her father died of a heart attack. He visits Katya in a dream, and she believes he wants her to head to Paris for a conference organized by his environmentalist hero. Katya’s youngest sister, Arielle, a recovering addict and aspiring actress, tags along. And Aunt Julia, once an infamous
Shannon Chakraborty, "The Tapestry of Fate" (Harper Voyager, 2026)
Shannon Chakraborty’s novel The Tapestry of Fate, the second installment in the The Adventures of Amina-al Sarafi, encounters the titular Amina at a time of transition. trying to balance her work on her ship chasing arcane artifacts and time on land spent raising her daughter Marjana. After interference from her estranged husband, Amina finds herself and her crew on a possibly futile quest to stea
Wesley Brown, "Looking for Frank Wills" (McSweenys, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Wesley Brown about how novella, Looking for Frank Wills (McSweenys, 2026). It's 1972. Tricky Dick is in office, James Brown is on the radio, and Wayne Beasley reluctantly presides over the comings and goings of his barbers and patrons at Wayne's Clip and Trim in Augusta, South Carolina. When one of Wayne's former customers, an unassuming small-t
Elana K. Arnold, "Holloway" (Clarion Books, 2026)
In her latest young adult novel, Holloway (Clarion Books, 2026), award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink. It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro. Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken. Nora, who couldn't help her mother
JoAnn McCaig, "Beneficiary" (U Calgary Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with JoAnn McCaig about her new novel, Beneficiary (U Calgary Press, 2026).
A novel about what it means to face the world as a woman on her own terms from the award-winning author of The Textbook of the Rose and An Honest Woman.
Seren was doomed to a country club cage and a leash of pearls until out of the blue on a Tuesday night in 1969, she foun
A. J. Bermudez, “The Sixteenth Brother” The Common Magazine (Fall, 2025)
A. J. Bermudez speaks to Emily Everett about her story “The Sixteenth Brother,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. With a fable-like feel, the story explores the dynamics of family and gender roles in Morocco, as fifteen brothers scheme to convince their youngest sibling to allow the sale of the family’s ancient and opulent riyad. A. J. discusses the story’s framing device—a storyteller rel
Peter Darbyshire, "The Wonder Lands War" (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Peter Darbyshire about the fourth book in his Cross series, The Wonder Lands War (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025).
The Book of Cross 4
I would take the whole world apart to find her.
The immortal Cross is back in a wild new adventure – a desperate hunt to find the enigmatic Alice from the Wonderland tales. Alice has helped Cross save the world countless
Sara Maurer, "A Good Animal" (St. Martin's Press, 2026)
Sara Maurer's debut, A Good Animal (St. Martin's Press, 2026). Staying is his dream. Leaving is hers. One secret threatens them both. In the farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan—a border town where life moves slow and dreams run fast—most kids want out. Not Everett Lindt. He’s set on staying put, rebuilding his family’s sheep farm, and carving a future from the land he loves. Then he me
James Cahill, "The Violet Hour" (Pegasus Books, 2026)
A wealthy, old art collector always wants more, a successful gallery owner finds herself alone, and a famous painter at the top of his game might have been involved with the mysterious death of an art gallery employee. The world of buying and selling art is portrayed as hazy and ridiculous, but the astronomical numbers are serious. While some of the characters are a bit unlikable, everyone has a s
Ray Welling, "Byline for the Dead: A Novel of Labor, Conspiracy, a Bloody Uprising and Two Ambitious Journalists" (Sager Group, 2025)
Byline for the Dead: A Novel of Labor, Conspiracy, a Bloody Uprising and Two Ambitious Journalists (Sager Group, 2025) is a historical mystery-thriller that interweaves stories from different eras as two journalists, five decades apart, work to unravel the truths about one of the most violent labor strikes in American history. In 1984, Gray Wheeler is a disillusioned young reporter working for T
Brianna Jett, "Under a Carnivore Sky" (Page Street YA, 2026)
Under a Carnivore Sky (Page Street YA, 2026) is Brianna Jett's debut young adult novel in verse. Sixteen-year-old Lili is a hunter, which means she has one goal: Find the monster lurking in the carnivorous, labyrinthian swamp that borders their hometown—and slay it. Her father failed to kill the beast, and like all townsfolk over eighteen, bits of his flesh and bone are being stolen away by its cu
Jinwoo Park, "Oxford Soju Club" (Dundurn, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Jinwoo Park about his novel, Oxford Soju Club (Dundurn Press, 2025).
A SHELF AWARENESS BEST BOOK OF 2025 • A CBC BOOKS BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOK OF 2025 • A CRIMEREADS BEST BOOK OF 2025
The natural enemy of a Korean is another Korean. When North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is mysteriously killed in Oxford, his protégé, Yohan Kim, chases the o
Kaie Kellough, "Interposition" (McClelland & Stewart, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks wit Griffin Prize winner Kaie Kellough about his new long poem, Interposition (McClelland & Steward, 2026).
Featured in the Publishers Weekly Spring 2026 PreviewFrom Kaie Kellough, poet, sound performer, and Griffin prize winner, comes a linguistic incursion into desire, technology, and the absurd.Kaie Kellough (Magnetic Equator, Griffin Poetry Priz
Dawn Macdonald, "Northerny" (U Alberta Press, 2024)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Dawn MacDonald about her Griffin Prize winning collection, Northerny (University of Alberta Press, 2024).
Northerny: winner of the 2025 Canadian First Book Prize, awarded by the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Fresh, funny, and imbued with infectious energy, Northerny tells a much-needed and compelling story of growing up and living in the North. Here a
Radha Lin Chaddah, "And the Ancestors Sing" (Rising Action, 2026)
Starting in the late 1970s, three women navigate post Cultural Revolution China: Lulu, who’s forced to become a prostitute in Shanghai to save her mother and sister from starving, Lei who is sold in marriage for cigarettes and a few eggs, and Yan, Lei’s smart, beautiful daughter, whose kindness to the farmer master’s neurodivergent son allows her to get an education. Both Lei and Lulu must put asi
Lauren J.A. Bear, "Aphrodite in Pieces" (Ace, 2026)
Aphrodite in Pieces gathers diverse myths featuring the goddess and unites them to create a comprehensive portrait. Beginning with her innocent days on the island of Cyprus, progressing to her disappointing welcome in the pantheon of Olympus, and culminating in her shattering experiences of the Trojan war, Aphrodite is depicted in all her aspects—calculating and vengeful, kind and forgiving, passi
Sasha Senderovich and Harriet Murav, "In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union" (Stanford UP, 2026)
In their anthology, In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union (Stanford University Press, 2026), Sasha Senderovitch and Harriet Murav provide an underappreciated perspective on the Holocaust, as it was experienced and remembered in the former Soviet Union. In these works, Jewish authors from Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus, writing in Yiddish and
Sayantani DasGupta, "Theft of the Ruby Lotus" (Scholastic Press, 2026)
Sayantani DasGupta's latest middle grades novel, Theft of the Ruby Lotus (Scholastic, 2026) is an adventure heist. Ria Bailey finds herself in quite a fix, and it's all because of a strange treasure that turns up in the mail one fateful day. It might be a ruby, and it just might hold the key to some troubling developments in her life. Most importantly, if she and her besties Miracle Owusu and Anni
New Book Releases 2026 on Japan, Taiwan
This episode of the Books on Asia podcast introduces new fiction and non-fiction on Japan to be published this year, 2026, along with two upcoming books on Taiwan. Books are presented in the order they appear on the podcast. Listen to the episode for more information on each title:
Phantom Paradise: Escape from Manchuria, by Kay Enokido (Bold Story Press, January 13, 2026)
Kokun: The Girl
Jinwoo Park, "Oxford Soju Club" (Dundurn Press, 2025)
Doha, a North Korean spymaster, is found stabbed in an alley in Oxford. Doha tells his mentee–another North Korean spy named Yohan—to go to the Oxford Soju Club, a restaurant in the British college town. That starts a dance between three different Koreans: Yohan; Jihoon, the South Korean owner of the Soju Club; and Yunah, a Korean-American recruited to weed out Yonah.
Oxford Soju Club (Dundurn Pr
Lisa Lee, "American Han" (Algonquin Books, 2026)
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s, Jane Kim and her brother, Kevin, dutifully embodied the model minority myth as their parents demanded: both stellar tennis players and academically gifted, they worked hard to make their parents proud. Jane went on to law school. Kevin came close to becoming a professional tennis player.
But where they started is nowhere near where they have
Linda Hamilton, "The Fourth Wife" (Kensington, 2026)
There must be a shift in the Zeitgeist of the publishing world, because after a long drought in Gothic novels, this is the second one I’ve encountered in little more than a month. The Fourth Wife (Kensington, 2026) takes place near Salt Lake City, Utah, during the years when the Mormon community there still practiced polygamy but was coming under increasing pressure from the US government to aband
Jason Reynolds, "Soundtrack: A Novel" (Random House, 2026)
The print adaptation of Jason Reynolds acclaimed, award-winning audiobook Soundtrack (Crown Books, 2026)—a stirring story of music, friendship, and finding your voice in 2000s New York City. Stuy Grey plays the drums, just like his mom, a founding member of the all-black punk band the Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. He teaches himself by watching videos of tap dancers. Now he’s left home, estranged from h
Casey Walker, "Islands" The Common Magazine (Fall, 2025)
Casey Walker speaks to Emily Everett about his story “Islands,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. Set at an old lake house rife with unresolved family tensions, the story explores the dynamics between three orphaned brothers, and between the narrator and his pregnant wife. Casey discusses how the piece evolved over more than a decade, and how he always hopes a story will take on a life of
Danielle Girard, "Pinky Swear" (Simon and Schuster, 2026)
In Pinky Swear (Simon and Schuster, 2026) Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mar
Ed Simon, "Writing During the Apocalypse: Reflections on the Great Unraveling" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
Rising authoritarianism. Covid. Inflation. Wealth disparity. War. Climate change. While every time period is marked by apocalyptic fears, it certainly seems like our current anxieties aren't ill placed. And yet, art and literature persist.In captivating and culturally savvy prose, Ed Simon grapples with the notion that writers and their work ought to distract readers from the dire situation we fac
Just Slightly Outside the Circle: Peter Orner and Sarah Wasserman (EH)
Chicago is the main character, the setting, the obsession, and the historical grist for the mill of Peter Orner’s most recent novel, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter (Little Brown and Company, 2025). In conversation about his hometown with Novel Dialogue host Sarah Wasserman, Peter brings us into a lost pocket of time. It is the early 1960s, when Chicagoans partied in a kind of “Midwestern Weimar”
Namwali Serpell, "On Morrison" (Hogarth, 2026)
Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and one of our most beloved writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, “she is our only truly canonical black female writer—and her work is highly complex.” In On Morrison (Hogarth, 2026), Serpell brings her unique experience as both an awar
Dana Mele, "The Beast You Let In" (Sourcebooks, 2026)
Dana Mele talks about their latest book, The Beast You Let In (Sourcebooks, 2026). Everyone in the rural town of Ashling knows the tale of Veronica Green, a teen who was murdered in the woods. But did a party trick bring her back to claim her revenge? A fast-paced, suspenseful YA horror from the author of Summer's Edge and People Like Us. There is no one Hazel trusts less than her self-centered tw
Zhou Meisen, "Property of the People" (Sinoist, 2025)
"Honoured Investors,
As Zhongfu Group enters its eighth decade, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of two famous coal mines. These assets further demonstrate our steadfast commitment to promoting the interests of local government and the people of Jingzhou.
While the recent death of a Discipline Inspection Committee member has been regrettable, rest assured that any accusations of accoun
Cameron Sullivan, "The Red Winter" (Tor Books, 2026)
Cameron Sullivan’s novel The Red Winter (Tor Books, 2026) follows Sebastian Grave, a centuries old monster hunter, recounting events that occurred in largely the woods of Gévaudan during the years leading up to the French Revolution. The story centers around a terrible beast that hunts the local people and has not been stopped by even the resources of the French crown itself. Sebastian is drawn i
Teddy Jones, "Far From Uncertain: One Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds" (Stoney Creek, 2026)
When a young reporter comes to interview Margaret Kenyon, the oldest practicing nurse in the Texas panhandle, she tells him that he’ll have to listen to her story before she answers any questions. It’s 2000, but her story begins in 1925, with Frankie, a beautiful 15-year-old who has never known anything other than violence, hunger, and fear. Frankie grabs the opportunity to escape her home with a
Alison Gadsby, "Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive" (Guernica Editions, 2026)
n this NBN episode, NBN host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Alison Gadsby about her collection of short fiction, Breathing is How Some People Stay Alive (Guernica Editions, 2026).
Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive blurs the lines between horror, catastrophic speculative fiction, and psychological realism in a collection that might best be described as weird fiction. These connected stories offe
Why Did Langston Hughes's "Troubled Lands" Go Unpublished for Nearly a Century?: A Conversation with Ricardo Wilson
Why did Langston Hughes's translations of Mexican and Cuban stories go unpublished for nearly a century?
A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes’s translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writers In late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than
10.2 Beautiful Sentences Matter. Billy-Ray Belcourt and Matt Hooley (SW)
Can a novel with a singular voice also be a chorus? Can it reject the conventions of the novel and still be a novel? Poet, essayist, and novelist Billy-Ray Belcourt tells critic Matt Hooley how his desire to write a novel that “would sound like something else,” led him to produce A Minor Chorus, his experimental debut novel. Together they consider how Billy-Ray’s vulnerable, first-person narrator
Daniel Poppick, "The Copywriter" (Scribner, 2026)
Daniel Poppick is a poet and novelist. He is the author of the poetry collections Fear of Description, selected for the National Poetry Series, and The Police. His work appears in The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, The Drift, Harper's, BOMB, The New Republic, Chicago Review, and other journals. The recipient of awards from MacDowell and Yaddo and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he h
Esther Goldenberg, "Song of the Bluebird" (Row House, 2026)
Much of history has revolved around the journeys, challenges, and relationships, of men, but Serrah, daughter of Asher describes the teachings of her mother, grandmother, and all the women who shared their skills, compassion, hopes, and dreams. She’s mentioned once in passing in Genesis and again in the Book of Chronicles, but in Song of the Bluebird (Row House 2026), she’s known as Blue, who live
Janice Hadlow, "Rules of the Heart" (Henry Holt and Company, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Janice Hadlow about her fascinating novel, Rules of the Heart (Henry Holt & Company, 2026).
A beautifully evocative historical novel about the perils of all-consuming love, inspired by a real-life eighteenth-century love affair, from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister“When I love at all, it is with my whole soul—my heart must be
Sean Bedell, "Shoebox" (Now or Never, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with author and retired paramedic and fire captain, Sean Paul Bedell, about his novel, Shoebox (NoN Publishing, 2025).In this gritty and emotional exploration of the human condition, Steve Lewis, a dedicated paramedic, faces the devastating aftermath of a fatal accident that casts a dark shadow over his once-passionate commitment to saving lives. Pla
Alice Martin, "Westward Women" (St. Martins Press, 2026)
It starts with an itch.In homes across the country, women ages eighteen to thirty-five begin to slow down.Tired. Blank. Restless.Drawn to the Pacific Ocean like it’s calling them home. They abandon their lives—jobs, families, their very selves. And once they reach the West, they vanish forever.At the center of the story are three young women caught in the pull of something unstoppable.Aimee follow
Meg Merriet Wahlberg, "Chivalry in the Shadows" (Parkwood Manor Press, 2024)
Medieval Brittany, with all its contradictions and complexities, comes alive in Meg Wahlberg’s Chivalry in the Shadows (Parkwood Manor Press, 2024). The author has studied and taught medieval literature, and it shows in her richly imagined descriptions of a world long lost, ruled by assumptions and obligations very different from our own.
But however evocative of the time and place in which it i
Mahesh Rao, "Half Light" (Penguin Random House India, 2025)
On Sep. 6, 2018, India’s Supreme Court ruled that Section 377, a law that criminalized consensual homosexual activity, was unconstitutional, reversing an earlier decision from 2013. Both news headlines and LGBT activists hailed the decision as a major step forward for same-sex rights in India.
But in Mahesh Rao’s new novel Half Light (Penguin Random House India, 2025), the court’s deliberations s
Christine Estima, "Letters to Kafka" (House of Anansi, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Christine Estima about her novel, Letters to Kafka (House of Anansi, 2025).
A sweeping, tragic romance and feminist adventure about translator and resistance fighter Milena Jesenská’s torrid love affair with Franz Kafka. In 1919, Milena Jesenská, a clever and spirited twenty-three-year-old, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to literary critic
E. and H. Heron, "Flaxman Low: Occult Detective" (MIT Press, 2026)
Flaxman Low, literature’s first professional, full-time “occult detective”—that is, an intrepid investigator who deploys the scientific method when tackling paranormal phenomena—appeared in a dozen stories first published from 1898–1899. Flaxman Low: Occult Detective (MIT Press, 2026), the latest edition to the Radium Age series from MIT Press, is introduced and discussed by Dr. Alexander B. Joy.
An Evening with Philip Roth: A Conversation with Bernard Avishai, Igor Webb, and Steven Zipperstein
The YIVO Institute was pleased to present a special evening with acclaimed novelist Philip Roth. Roth read excerpts from his new novel, Nemesis (2010), which tells the story of a terrifying polio epidemic raging in Newark, New Jersey in the summer of 1944 and its devastating effect on the closely knit, family-oriented community and its children. Through this story, Roth addresses profound question
10.1 "Extreme Circumstances, Extreme Reactions:” Aaron Gwyn and Sean McCann (JP)
Aaron Gwyn is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynn’s War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God’s Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fal
