The most anticipated novels coming out in 2026

With 2026 declared the National Year of Reading, book lovers can look forward to an exciting range of new releases across all genres. High-profile novels from the likes of Julian Barnes, Ali Smith and Maggie O’Farrell sit alongside gripping debut works from emerging and the latest by established authors, exploring topics as varied as myth, dystopian drama, dark romance and edge-of-your-seat thrillers.

Glyph by Ali Smith

Billed as a companion novel to “Gliff”, Ali Smith’s 2024 bestseller set in a dystopian near future, “Glyph” examines the fractures in the present world through the lens of grief. Estranged sisters Petra and Patricia are drawn together by the death of their mother. The book’s “primary power comes from its commitment to excavating the sediments of language”, said Keiran Goddard in The Guardian. Smith raises “ethically substantive questions” about how the war dead are represented, touching on stories from the world wars and the Gaza conflict. Smith “can bring any sentence alive with the verve of her wordplay”, said Lara Feigel in The New Statesman. “Her characters spark off one another in speech, echoing, patterning and discovering the energy contained in a single moment.”
Out now

Land by Maggie O’Farrell

Inspired by her Irish heritage, Maggie O’Farrell’s “Land” is set in the mid-19th century in the aftermath of the Great Famine. The novel follows a father employed by Ordnance Survey to map the whole of Ireland. His relationship with his young son is profoundly altered by an unexpected encounter that derails his work and his sense of purpose. It “moves from a storm-lashed Irish peninsula to Canada and India, tracing a multigenerational story of separation and reunion, colonisation and resistance, loyalty and survival”, said Julieanne Corr in The Sunday Times. There’s also a “‘particularly loyal dog’ and a ghost whose presence lingers”. After the success of O’Farrell’s “Hamnet”, the screen rights have already been snapped up.
Due out 2 June

John of John by Douglas Stuart

Known for his poignant prose, Douglas Stuart turns his attention to a fraught family reunion set against the stark beauty of the Hebridean landscape. In “John of John”, a community shaped by tradition and the weight of expectation forms the backdrop to the story of a “troubled father-son bond”, said Daisy Lester in The Independent. After “Shuggie Bain” and “Young Mungo”, the Booker Prize-winning author’s third novel is “sure to be a defining title in 2026”. Exploring his “well-trodden themes of masculinity, coming of age and working-class life in a Scottish setting”, this is “Stuart at his very best”.
Due out 5 May

Vigil by George Saunders

An unrepentant oil tycoon is visited on his deathbed by angels, but will he atone for a lifetime of wrongdoing? In his latest novel, George Saunders revisits his signature blend of dry-witted spirituality and thought-provoking philosophy, building on the irreverent tone of his debut novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo”, which explored Abraham Lincoln’s grief following the death of his son. In “Vigil”, Saunders “returns to that indeterminate space between life and death, comedy and grief, moral inquiry and narrative hijinks”, said Beejay Silcox in The Guardian. The narrator and leading angel, Jill Blaine, is a “spectral death doula” who must confront her own memories of love and loss. “This is where Saunders’s ghosts do their most persuasive work, not as blunt moral instruments, but as unfinished souls.”
Out now

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

“Elizabeth Strout is as prolific as they come,” said Julia Hass on Literary Hub, and “she’s back with a new, poignant, emotional look at relationships, conversation, and feeling less alone in the world”. Set in modern-day Massachusetts, “The Things We Never Say” follows Artie Dam, a high school history teacher whose seemingly pedestrian life is marked by a quiet sense of isolation and confusion. His feelings intensify when he uncovers a secret about his own past. “Strout is consistent and satisfying: her writing is safe, trustworthy, and always delightful, and illuminates the world in new, brighter colours with every book she writes.”
Due out 7 May

Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

“Departure(s)” blends memoir, fiction and philosophical reflection, infused with Julian Barnes’ trademark self-deprecation and uncomfortable truths, as he becomes the unwitting matchmaker in the reunion of two old university friends. It’s often difficult to tell where fact ends and imagination begins; whether in the romantic storyline or in Barnes’ own reflections on mortality, since he was diagnosed with a rare but manageable form of blood cancer in 2020. This charming blurring of lines is at the heart of the story, said Dinah Birch in the Times Literary Supplement. “Barnes muses on the unreliable functions of memory, the construction of the self, the limits of autonomy… These disparate elements are bound together by the skilful management of theme and tone.”
Out now

What am I, a Deer? by Polly Barton

Polly Barton’s name is generating a buzz across literary websites. Not only has she translated “Hooked”, the newly published and highly anticipated follow-up to “Butter” by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki, but she has also just released her own debut novel, “What Am I, a Deer?” The book follows a young woman who moves to Frankfurt hoping to reset her life, only to become consumed by an obsession with a stranger and a new-found love of karaoke. “Barton’s masterful use of language makes for a sharp, mind-racing literary debut,” said Sofia de la Cruz at Wallpaper*. “The story unfolds through a witty, explosive stream of consciousness.”
Out 26 March