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21 Fall Debut Novels to Read Now
One of the great joys of a serious reading habit is discovering a new author that no one else knows about. Yet. This collection is designed to help you scout for new talent, with a few quick caveats.
Each of the books below is a debut novel for adult readers, published late August through mid-October. Bear in mind, however, that some of these authors have published before–just not in the adult novel category. So you might have a YA author’s first foray into adult fiction – and, in fact, you do: Zoraida Córdova’s The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. Or maybe it’s a short story writer ramping up to her first novel, as with Shruti Swamy’s The Archer. Or maybe it’s an astronaut with an orbital mystery-thriller (Chris Hadfield’s The Apollo Murders).
In any case, this particular curation cuts across virtually all genres – sci-fi, romance, historical fiction, horror, YA – with an eye toward welcoming new authors to the fold. Be kind, won’t you?
Take a leisurely scroll over the covers below to learn more about each book, and be sure to add the titles that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf!
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Have you discovered a new debut author? Tell is about their book in the comments below!
Check out more recent articles:
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Check out more recent articles:
New Historical Fiction Set Way Back in Time
The 30 Most Popular True-Crime Books of the Past Five Years
Old-School Thrills: The Top Historical Mysteries of the Past Five Years
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Anthony
(last edited Oct 19, 2021 04:15AM)
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Oct 19, 2021 04:11AM
Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M.
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Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."Puzzling observation!
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."This is Goodreads. You have to go elsewhere for recommendations of books you will actually enjoy.
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."That's so interesting. My ad on FB gets the opposite, primarily male interest. Hmmm, go figure. I tried to post an example of the photo but couldn't.
Shirley wrote: "Anthony I'm female and my debut psychological thriller, The Fatal Path, has been recommended as "prime for a TV series" by the prestigious Weekend Australian - yet no interest shown in Goodreads. I..."Bingo! Yes.
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."That was the first thing I noticed!
Unless GR chooses their blog books by most hideous cover?
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."After so many hundreds of years of the reverse, it seems a little strange to be taking umbrage at an anomaly. I have never been paid (in any form) to read a book or review one. I take recommendations from friends, my library, social media, goodreads etc. Of the many hundreds of books I have read the vast majority are by male writers. Historically that is what was predominantly available. It makes a refreshing change to me to read female perspectives - especially those of people from different cultural backgrounds. Surely you can't begrudge these writers finally getting a platform?
my debut psychological thriller, The Fatal Path, has been recommended as "prime for a TV series" by the prestigious Weekend Australian - yet no interest shown in Goodreads.Shirley, maybe add a description of your book on Goodreads so readers know what it is about?
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."why is this puzzling?
Misogyny is out in full force in the comments... so glad to see we've come so far...
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."not so puzzling White Guy complaining though...
Melissa wrote: "Misogyny is out in full force in the comments... so glad to see we've come so far..."I dare disagree. I don't see it as misogyny. GR recs have been before, so it's everyone's right to question them further. Inclusivity and diversity are top tier qualities, as we both know, but they (should) have an inherent balance.
We're talking 81% versus 19%, which isn't exactly what you'd call balanced. And it's not that randomly this fall women wrote better than men... (That'd be a very limiting perspective to have). Back to percentages, it's more likely that whoever made this list gave better treatment to women than to men here.
Jim wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."That was the first thing I noticed!"
yeah, well maybe after centuries of seeing White Dudes everywhere it's time for something better.
Elentarri wrote: "Unless GR chooses their blog books by most hideous cover?"i was kinda think along those lines. sure, it's not fair to judge a book so, but these are some unappealing pieces here. hope the insides are better :)
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."I wonder if you have this same observational critique when looking at the distribution of US Senators, US Representatives, business CEOs, and world leaders?
Gonna go with "Probably not".
Read books you like, or you think you will like. Enjoy it like a getaway. Don’t mind what others say, male or female authors, ugly covers or pretty ones. Life is hard enough as it is, so no need to politicise this kind of site. Don’t like it don’t use it.
Melissa wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."why is this puzzling?"
I'm a guy and this is the ratio at which I tend to read novels. I never really took notice of the gender of an author when I bought them. It just seems I have some innate connection to the female voice when it comes to reading. So a list like this is a win win. And yes, there's been a million lists like this before where it was the complete opposite. I guess it's puzzling to some who aren't yet used to the swing.
LaviniaAlexandra wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Misogyny is out in full force in the comments... so glad to see we've come so far..."I dare disagree. I don't see it as misogyny. GR recs have been before, so it's everyone's righ..."
does GR state anywhere all their lists will be "balanced", as you term it? nope. how does anyone know if the authors are male or female anyway?
Well, the distribution reflects the demographics of Goodreads members. Across all age groups women members are 2-fold or more plentiful than men. Also, women members read more than 2 fold more books than men. And, surprise, women authors, in the first year of publication have a preponderance of female readers (80%). Male authors have about 50% female readers. Just google demographics of Goodreads.
JFC you guys suck. I knew the internet was full of toxic BS but I kind of thought at least goodreads would be above that. To the person who did the tally initially… why?
To the person who claimed that was the first thing they noticed… why?
To the girl who claims we can’t make the assumption there was a higher quality of output from debut female authors this fall… Why can’t we? Seems like a reasonable explanation.
And finally to the author who was trying to peddle his book while being misogynistic…. Good luck with that.
Krisakarcher wrote: "JFC you guys suck. I knew the internet was full of toxic BS but I kind of thought at least goodreads would be above that. To the person who did the tally initially… why?
To the person who claim..."
Brilliantly articulated!!
I wouldn’t consider myself a harsh critic, but none of these really look that interesting. Not at all fitting recommendations for fall.
How to increase your odds of being a featured book on goodreads (or any major publication booklist): 1) write a book (fiction or nonfiction) that engages favorably with leftist identity politics and 2) be a woman.
And of course remember, pointing out the extreme gender and political bias in the publishing industry makes you a bigot, even though the disproportionate representation is so extreme in the other direction.
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."Huh... funny. Now that women are actually getting some rep, all the men are counting how many books written by women are in the article? I don't recall seeing this when articles were still mostly dominated by men. Do us a favor and just keep opinions to yourself if they're going to come out like that. We're getting some rep.
Publishers pay for their authors to be on these lists. So if you're an author who wants to be on a list like this, you need a better agent. As for the male/female ratio, Good Reads doesn't care about as long as they get paid.
Krisakarcher wrote: "JFC you guys suck. I knew the internet was full of toxic BS but I kind of thought at least goodreads would be above that. To the person who did the tally initially… why?
To the person who claim..."
Because we the customer want a better variety, you think it is toxic? All we get in these lists is the same recycled authors and tripe. You like the tripe so good for you. Others of us don't.
I wasn’t talking to you Warren. Did I say…To the wanker who cried about going elsewhere for good recommendations?
No. I did not.
Dylan wrote: "And of course remember, pointing out the extreme gender and political bias in the publishing industry makes you a bigot, even though the disproportionate representation is so extreme in the other d..."thanks, whingeing White Male.
John wrote: "I know Anthony and I'm not tooting my horn even though my debut crime/thriller has 27, 5 star reviews and Book of the Month in England. Kirkus and Publishers Weekly like it. But it goes nowhere on ..."That's so poignant, John. Getting all those accolades, having privilege, but still there's a place where you're not center stage.
Sometimes if I'm in my feelings, I like to get out in nature. Of course, after dark I have to be careful since I'm a woman, and anything that happens to me will be my fault, but I'd recommend it.
Warren wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."This is Goodreads. You have to go elsewhere for recommendations of books you will actually enjoy."
Of course, who could enjoy a book written by a woman? Inconceivable. ;)
Melissa wrote: "Misogyny is out in full force in the comments... so glad to see we've come so far..."Yup, women spend their whole lives seeing art created by men take center stage, seeing their POV featured. PoC see white narratives prioritized. Ableism abounds. Heterosexuality, the default. And everyone learned to make due, to empathize with groups they're not a part of. Well, everyone other than cis, straight white dudes, who never had to build that muscle, and can't cope when asked to even consider another viewpoint, to hold open space for someone else.
Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."facts
Wow, the misogynistic comments here are disgusting. If you consistently don’t like what Goodreads is recommending - GO ELSEWHERE! Or don’t read the lists. No one is making you have a Goodreads account if you find them so insulting. Do you really have to come here and moan to the rest of us? Do we care about your pathetic gripes? No. I like reading the Goodreads lists! It opens my mind up to new books I haven’t heard of and new authors. Not all of the recs are for me, so I just disregard those, but I would never criticise someone for creating a list just because it isn’t 100% for me!
Male privilege at its finest 🙄 And maybe, just maybe, you might be able to find your list of male authors elsewhere, GOD KNOWS there’s enough of them.
So many women authors, and yet nothing that appeals to me, I think that the problem here is that GR needs a better grip on the diverse and widely varied tastes of the readers who use this site. Oddly enough, we don't all want to read the same books that GR keeps promoting.
Zoë wrote: "Wow, the misogynistic comments here are disgusting. If you consistently don’t like what Goodreads is recommending - GO ELSEWHERE! Or don’t read the lists. No one is making you have a Goodreads acco..."100% agreed!
Anty wrote: "Read books you like, or you think you will like. Enjoy it like a getaway. Don’t mind what others say, male or female authors, ugly covers or pretty ones. Life is hard enough as it is, so no need to..."You! I like you! 100% on this train.
M. wrote: "Warren wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."This is Goodreads. You have to go elsewhere for recommendations of books you will actually enjoy."
Of course, who could enjo..."
M. wrote: "Warren wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Puzzling gender distribution: 17F, 4M."
This is Goodreads. You have to go elsewhere for recommendations of books you will actually enjoy."
Of course, who could enjo..."
I guess you haven't looked at my read list. My complaint, as always, is these GR lists are useless. You are in the target bubble so you are satisfied with them.
Warren wrote: "My complaint, as always, is these GR lists are useless. You are in the target bubble so you are satisfied with them."Duh. And if the list were targeting your interests, you'd be in the "target bubble", the list would be magically useful and GR would be doing a good job.
You're being childish. Of course no list can satisfy everybody. Instead of throwing a tantrum because the world doesn't revolve around your interests, next time you see something that isn't targeting you, you just pass your turn, like an adult.
Delphine wrote: "Warren wrote: "My complaint, as always, is these GR lists are useless. You are in the target bubble so you are satisfied with them."Duh. And if the list were targeting your interests, you'd be in..."
Not sure if you are a GR employee, trolling, or just ignorant as to how bad these lists are. If you can't handle criticism of GR, maybe you should just skip the comments.
Skip wrote: "my debut psychological thriller, The Fatal Path, has been recommended as "prime for a TV series" by the prestigious Weekend Australian - yet no interest shown in Goodreads.Shirley, maybe add a de..."
How do I do that? The Fatal Path is already 'listed' with GR is that what you mean? Do authors pay reviewers to get their books placed more prominently. To see my book you have to know about it and type in the title.
This comment section is a thing of beauty. Thanks everyone.
