21 Debut Authors to Discover Now

Posted by Cybil on January 16, 2020


Every new year ushers in a brand-new class of debut authors to discover. And the beginning of 2020 has plenty of fresh new voices to add to your Want to Read shelf. Below you'll find some of the buzziest fiction debuts that are catching our readers' attention—and they perfectly capture the present moment.

From a dystopian take on a highly visible future for D-list social media celebrities to a #MeToo novel about a woman looking back on her relationship with her high school English teacher, these books will not only keep you up way too late reading, but they will also be the novels you'll be recommending to friends.

Which of these upcoming releases are making their way onto your Want to Read shelf? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

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Release: December 31
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Release: January 7
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Release: January 7
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Release: January 14
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Release: January 14
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Release: January 14
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Release: January 28
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Release: February 4
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Release: February 11
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Release: February 18
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Release: February 18
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Release: March 3
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Release: March 10
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Release: March 10
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Release: March 10
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Release: April 7
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Release: April 7
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Release: April 14
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Release: April 21
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Release: April 28
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Release: May 26


Which of these debut novels are you most looking forward to? Tell us in the comments!

Check out more recent articles:
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Comments Showing 1-44 of 44 (44 new)

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message 1: by TMR (new)

TMR These all look so fabulous! I’m eager to read them all.


message 2: by Marja (new)

Marja The Mercies sounds intriguing but I don't think it's written by a debut author...


message 3: by TMR (new)

TMR Marja wrote: "The Mercies sounds intriguing but I don't think it's written by a debut author..."

You are right. She does have previous books written.


message 4: by Preeti (new)

Preeti TMR wrote: "Marja wrote: "The Mercies sounds intriguing but I don't think it's written by a debut author..."

You are right. She does have previous books written."


I think this her first adult fiction work and that is why it has been added in this list. All her previous books seem to either be children's books/young adult books or poetry.


message 5: by TMR (new)

TMR Preeti wrote: "TMR wrote: "Marja wrote: "The Mercies sounds intriguing but I don't think it's written by a debut author..."

You are right. She does have previous books written."

I think this her first adult fic..."


Yes, after browsing through her books, I can see that you’re right, with her various books being children’s fiction/young adult, and poetry.


message 6: by Marja (new)

Marja Preeti wrote: I think this her first adult fiction work and that is why it has been added in this list. All her previous books seem to either be children's books/young adult books or poetry..

TMR wrote: Yes, after browsing through her books, I can see that you’re right, with her various books being children’s fiction/young adult, and poetry.


Fair enough. I didn't browse her books in detail so you're probably right about her being added to this list because of her first adult fiction book. In any case, The Mercies definitely caught my attention and I want to read it.


message 7: by kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude (last edited Jan 16, 2020 04:49AM) (new)

kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude What a great list - 14 of them sing to me! with My Dark Vanessa being absolutely top of the pile and only 4 out of the 21 total I'd heard of before now.


message 8: by Sasha (new)

Sasha Ambroz God, I want them all and my to-read list is more than 1000 books already.


message 9: by Cybil, Goodreads employee (new)

Cybil Marja wrote: "The Mercies sounds intriguing but I don't think it's written by a debut author..."

You are correct! I've replaced it with a great debut. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.


message 10: by Mariuki (new)

Mariuki They look great! and the covers make them even more appealing!


message 11: by Brett (new)

Brett Benner Can’t wait for ‘Real Life’ and “...Vanessa”


message 12: by Toni (new)

Toni I have ARCs of 11 of those and want to read at least four of the others. Looking forward to them all.


Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ I was already looking for If I Had Your Face


message 14: by BJ (new)

BJ Dee How do some of these books have reviews already if they are not yet released? I am confused....


message 15: by Preeti (new)

Preeti Brandon wrote: "How do some of these books have reviews already if they are not yet released? I am confused...."

Most are from people who have received ARCs.


message 16: by Danielle (new)

Danielle Jobes Finding Elenore by P.W. Hazeldine should be on this list and should certainly be in the Romance Books of the year. This really is one of best love stories I have read in a very long time.


message 17: by Angel (new)

Angel The covers are gorgeous!


message 18: by Coolkid97 (new)

Coolkid97 Great article!! these look great


message 19: by [deleted user] (new)

I have ARC's of GOD SHOT and SIN EATER


message 20: by Costin (new)

Costin Manda Feminist epics, books about racial divides, deep musings about family drama and war world shenanigans... OK, OK, but where are the fun books?


message 21: by David (new)

David Munro Why did Britain's largest manufacturing company collapse? Why do the opposite sex often drive you to distraction?Think the boomer generation had it easy? 'The Tower' is a debut novel which answers some of these questions. It's even fun... in places. The author is in his seventh decade, and isn't associated with the 'Time Jigsaw' series of books.


message 22: by Jenni (new)

Jenni Cornell Gee, I wish I'd thought of exploiting my relationship with my English teacher. "Shocking!"


kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude Costin wrote: "Feminist epics, books about racial divides, deep musings about family drama and war world shenanigans... OK, OK, but where are the fun books?"

These are for the most part literary fiction which is not about 'fun' books.


message 25: by Fenris (new)

Fenris I am looking forward to Creatures and The Animals at Lockwood Manor.


message 26: by Betty (new)

Betty Cross Which one is the dystopian?


message 27: by Michelle (new)

Michelle The Better Liar and Jane Austen Society.


message 28: by ejl (new)

ejl It seems lately that more and more novels have "a novel" written on their cover, including every book on this page... as if we didn't know they're novels. What's with this trend?


message 29: by Tewtz (new)

Tewtz Vonn How are these selected? I’d like to see a much broader list...


kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude ejl wrote: "It seems lately that more and more novels have "a novel" written on their cover, including every book on this page... as if we didn't know they're novels. What's with this trend?"

I've always wondered that too, but it does seem to be a particularly US thing...


message 31: by Michele (new)

Michele Olson Just published my first novel Jan. 1st myself, and congrats to all these listed!
Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) Michele Olson


message 32: by Ozzie (new)

Ozzie Silvers Michele wrote: "Just published my first novel Jan. 1st myself, and congrats to all these listed!
Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) Michele Olson"

Congratulations on your debut novel. I also just debuted in December 14th. I have had a pretty exciting first month. Looking forward to future success.
Congratulations to all those that are debuting all of these books look great!


message 33: by Daniel (new)

Daniel Sorry, nothing grabbed me by the horns as a must read.


Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ ejl wrote: "It seems lately that more and more novels have "a novel" written on their cover, including every book on this page... as if we didn't know they're novels. What's with this trend?"

Always looks a bit pretentious to me.


message 35: by Amy (new)

Amy I'm really looking forward to "If I Had Your Face" and "Saint X". What interesting ideas for novels!


message 36: by Michell (new)

Michell Michele wrote: "Just published my first novel Jan. 1st myself, and congrats to all these listed!
Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) Michele Olson"


Oh, I love your title! Congrats to you.


message 37: by Fenris (new)

Fenris Michell wrote: "Michele wrote: "Just published my first novel Jan. 1st myself, and congrats to all these listed!
Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) Michele Olson"

"

Congratulations on publishing! I love the title and wouldn't mind reading it, but really, only 190 pages? Amazon wants $12.99 for the paperback, and I think that's a lot for something I can read in an hour or so. I do not have a Kindle. Pricing is absurd. I'm sorry.


message 38: by Martin (new)

Martin Barrett Congratulations Michele on your debut book. Writing is hard enough getting any uptake is even more of a challenge. Hope it goes well. I launched "The Heretics' Revenge" (not the heretic revenge) on Kindle recently. An extraordinary but true tale that ultimately leads to a find that could significantly change the Church forever.


message 39: by Kistopher (new)

Kistopher Langdon Since I am very interested in reading books written by authors making their debuts, it comes as a surprise that I did not recognize some of these writers.
Thank you for the compiled list, will make sure to check all of these out. On the subject of new and upcoming writers, I managed to read a novel, the first in a 3-part trilogy, called 'The Black Shade of White' by Renata Levy (pen-name Cattleya). It was amazing and gripped my complete attention. In my opinion, it is destined to land among the list of the best book trilogies of all time. Make sure to check out the book and await its second part coming out this year.


message 40: by Martin (new)

Martin Barrett Daniel wrote: "Sorry, nothing grabbed me by the horns as a must read."

Maybe, Daniel,
you'd like my debut historical novel - "The Heretics' Revenge" recently released on Kindle. At the moment it is only available as an Ebook. I think you'd find it quite different from most of the books listed.


message 41: by Michele (new)

Michele Olson Michell wrote: "Michele wrote: "Just published my first novel Jan. 1st myself, and congrats to all these listed!
Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) Michele Olson"

Oh, I love your title! Congrats to you."



message 42: by Michele (new)

Michele Olson Thanks so much for the kinds words! The title and the book are a hit!


message 43: by Michele (new)

Michele Olson Martin wrote: "Congratulations Michele on your debut book. Writing is hard enough getting any uptake is even more of a challenge. Hope it goes well. I launched "The Heretics' Revenge" (not the heretic revenge) on..."

Congrats on your novel! Thanks for the encouragement.


message 44: by Mim (new)

Mim Eichmann A Sparrow Alone If you're still searching for debut historical fiction, my novel "A Sparrow Alone" -- a coming-of-age saga set in 1890's Colorado -- will be published by Living Springs Publishers on April 15, 2020, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon ~ Mim Eichmann


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