Find books you’ll love
Get book news, recommendations and more
Readers’ 60 Most Anticipated Fall Books
Autumn is traditionally the busiest season in book publishing. Eventual holiday shopping is part of it, but it seems that people just tend to read more books in the fall. It’s the year’s most literary season!
Goodreads’ editorial team has spent the last few weeks scouting out the situation and preparing this year’s Big Books of Fall collection. This genre-sorted assortment of upcoming titles is ultimately determined by you, the loyal Goodreads reader. Books are selected by tracking early reviews and determining which titles people are adding to their Want to Read shelves. All of the books listed below are scheduled to be published in the U.S. between August and the end of December.
You’ll find plenty of familiar names and high-profile authors in this year’s collection, including new novels from Pulitzer Prize winners Barbara Kingsolver (Partita) and, down in the science fiction section, Hernan Diaz (Ply). Actually, the line between literary and speculative fiction is particularly blurry this year—look for new books from Emily St. John Mandel (cautionary sci-fi) and Tananarive Due (historical horror), plus a straight-up coming-of-age novel from gleeful genre hopper R.F. Kuang.
Mystery and thriller fans can look forward to new stories from Lucy Foley, John Grisham, and Freida McFadden, plus a big little sequel book from Liane Moriarty. Romance and romantasy readers, prep for series installments from Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig, along with a new contemporary romance from Rebecca Yarros.
Over in the fantasy aisles, you’ll find concluding chapters to Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House series and V.E. Schwab’s Villains series, plus a new witchy series starter from Alice Hoffman, of the renowned Practical Magic series. Traditional science fiction fans may want to flag new titles from Chloe Benjamin, Becky Chambers, and Audrey Niffenegger. Also watch for a buzzy cyberpunk thriller from James Islington.
All that plus the latest in horror (Appalachian monsters! Slasher weddings! Parallel dimensions!), young adult books (NYC romance! Gilded Age fantasy! Veronica Roth!), and nonfiction (Jared Diamond! Malcolm Gladwell! The California gold rush!).
Happy autumn! Happy reading! And, as always, feel free to add any interesting leads to your digital shelf using the Want to Read button.
Contemporary & Historical Fiction
Inspired by Irish history and folklore, the new novel from Ariel Lawhon (The Frozen River) is historical fiction wrapped in outlaw glory. The book follows the adventures of Grace O’Malley, the 16th-century noblewoman turned pirate queen who ultimately became a national hero. Fighting off the British is noble work in any era, but those Elizabethans were the worst.
Publication date: September 8
Publication date: September 8
The indefatigable R.F. Kuang (Yellowface, Babel) continues her tour of fiction genres with this coming-of-age story about a Chinese American college student and her summer trip to Taipei. Lily Chen just wants to feel a connection—with her family and her heritage. But life doesn’t always cooperate. Look for humor and heart in Kuang’s latest.
Publication date: September 8
Publication date: September 8
For another angle on the here and now, consider the latest from veteran storyteller Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper). Molly Fitzgerald lost her mom in the 9/11 attacks, and now she runs the Rhode Island Department for Emergency Preparedness. Bitter irony ensues. Picoult always does interesting things with open questions. Like, for instance: How should we prepare for catastrophe?
Publication date: September 22
Publication date: September 22
Two aspiring actors strap into the Hollywood hype machine when their breakthrough movie blows up. The ever-restless author John Green—who wrote both The Fault in Our Stars and a history of tuberculosis—delivers a dual-POV love story set in the spiraling weirdness of celebrity culture and the modern attention economy.
Publication date: September 22
Publication date: September 22
When John and Helen Koh are forced to abandon their comfortable middle-class life in Korea, fortune deposits the family in the wilds of Southern California. Author and National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) tinkers with the traditional clockwork mechanisms of historical fiction and multigenerational family drama.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
This much anticipated debut novel from short fiction author Deesha Philyaw introduces Scharisse Freeman, a megachurch pastor’s wife whose carefully assembled life collapses in scandal. Look for comedy and drama, both. Bonus trivia: Philyaw won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her 2020 story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
When Livia Cable gets a phone call from an old flame, she’s compelled to finally confront some hard truths about her past. Told in a dual-timeline format, this latest novel from Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead) dares to tackle the really hard stuff: love, loss, art, ambition, and fraught reunions with old lovers.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Twentysomething New Yorker Batter Gray is determined to undertake the most difficult task in the known cosmos. He wants to make a living in poetry. The good news: He just got hired at NYC’s most prestigious journal. The bad news: His new colleagues are…difficult. Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry) has the details.
Publication date: October 27
Publication date: October 27
Mystery & Thriller
It’s a spooky setup, all right: In 1926, residents of a commune for spiritual mediums simply disappeared from a remote Vermont island. All that remained: five dresses hanging from an oak tree. One hundred years later, a film crew arrives to research the unsolved mystery. Did the spiritualists conjure something sinister? Old pro Riley Sager returns to the mystery aisle.
Publication date: August 4
Publication date: August 4
This second installment in author Karin Slaughter’s North Falls series returns to the story of small-town sheriff Emmy Clifton (she’s sheriff now) as she investigates a puzzling domestic murder. Everyone is sure that they know who the killer is, but Emmy and her sister—former federal agent Jude Archer—have other ideas. Early reader reviews highlight the book’s gritty intensity and layered characterizations.
Publication date: August 11
Publication date: August 11
They’re back! Probably the year’s biggest sequel novel, Big Little Truths is the long-awaited follow-up to Liane Moriarty’s 2014 supernova, Big Little Lies. Ten years have passed, and Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie have new concerns: Teenage kids. Aging parents. Marriage crises. A severed finger in the mail. These sorts of things.
Publication date: August 25
Publication date: August 25
Canadian author Jennifer Hillier (Little Secrets) writes psychological thrillers with a focus on sustained suspense. Her latest concerns a seaside amusement park, a maniac called the Carnival Killer, and a group of friends with a terrible secret. Also in the mix: a reality-TV show, a recanted confession, and a local cranberry bog. Can’t miss!
Publication date: August 25
Publication date: August 25
Good news for Agatha Christie fans! Fifty years after the Queen of Crime’s final published book, veteran U.K. author Lucy Foley delivers a new Miss Marple adventure. Commissioned by the Christie estate, the new mystery finds the indomitable Miss Marple sleuthing out a baffling murder in a snowbound Swiss Alps luxury hotel. Pro tip: Interested parties may also want to check out Sophie Hannah’s New Hercule Poirot Mysteries series.
Publication date: September 22
Publication date: September 22
Now here’s an interesting development: After exploring the classic whodunnit mystery with last year’s The Widow, legal-thriller king John Grisham delivers his first international espionage thriller. The plot concerns an abduction in Paris and trouble with the French intelligence community. But check the Goodreads book page for a note from the author about his ultimate intent with the book.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
Just in time for Halloween binge reading, the latest from prolific mystery-thriller ace Freida McFadden is a different kind of haunted house story. Newly unemployed Julia Barlow has just returned, reluctantly, to her family’s 17th-century Massachusetts estate. Escalating disturbances suggest that the old house is haunted. Subsequent research reveals a sinister family secret dating back to 1692.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Science Fiction
Just in from Down Under, this intriguing cyberpunk thriller imagines a world in which the wealthy elite have developed a way to live forever. All good, except we live on a planet with limited resources. Some kind of deterrent seems to be in order. Assassins, say. Australian author James Islington (The Will of the Many) outlines his proposal.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Following on her acclaimed 2018 novel, The Immortalists, Bay Area author Chloe Benjamin writes about a mysterious phenomenon—the Arc—that brings a team of scientists to a remote Antarctica research station. Billed as a love letter to the planet, Benjamin’s book explores matters of science, ecology, family, and consciousness itself. (Should pair well with Richard Powers’ The Overstory.)
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) specializes in twisty and engaging science fiction with foreground character portraits. Her new novel ponders the event horizon of America’s current trajectory and splices in some time-space weirdness circa 2031. Like so much good sci-fi, Exit Party is set in the future, but it’s really about right now.
Publication date: September 15
Publication date: September 15
Hernan Diaz, who was born in Argentina, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for Trust, his devastating parable about America’s past. His new novel pivots to consider the future in an America where the nation-state has evolved, or perhaps devolved, into something else entirely. Is it a tech thriller? A family drama? A novel of ideas? That’s right.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
From the author of the adored Monk & Robot books comes a new sci-fi vision with a love story at the core. Signy is a botanist and healer. Cora is a pilot bonded to one of the giant living ships that roam the solar system. If life is precious on the resource-strained planet of Fortune, love is even more so. The first installment in a new duology, Becky Chambers’ latest is being described as harrowing, haunting, and hopeful.
Publication date: October 13
Publication date: October 13
A sequel of sorts to 2003’s sci-fi blockbuster The Time Traveler’s Wife, the 560-page Life Out of Order radically expands author Audrey Niffenegger’s original vision. While the first book was a kind of extended metaphor on romance, the new book introduces an expanded world, densely populated with new characters and ideas. Look for multiple POVs and further details on the troublesome Chrono-Displacement Disorder.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Romance & Romantasy
Sequel to last year’s stylish and moody The Knight and the Moth, this second book in Rachel Gillig’s Stonewater Kingdom series should appeal to readers who like their romantasy all gothic and dreamlike. The new book reveals our heroine Sybil trapped in marriage to the king, until an unexpected contender emerges—a man with no memories.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Contemporary romance author B.K. Borison (the Heartstrings series) goes from cozy to metaphysical in this latest love story concerning a reluctant Grim Reaper and her new assignment. Darcy Moore is kind of done with her job, which is hugely depressing, after all. But she can’t just quit. There are Rules. Help comes from an unexpected direction in the form of guardian angel Gabriel Aetos.
Publication date: September 15
Publication date: September 15
Author Adalyn Grace (the Belladonna series) anchors her new romantasy series with a cosmic love triangle of extremes. Aurelie Chantelune is a knight sworn to protect humans amid the ongoing war between heaven and hell. But with her angelic soulbond in peril, Aurelie makes a pact with the demon Severin. Can this unlikely threesome—angel, demon, and mortal—end the war entirely? Let’s find out!
Publication date: September 22
Publication date: September 22
Parker Navarro, aspiring novelist, is devastated when influential book critic Selina Chan savages his debut novel. Four years later, author and critic tangle again, this time in the viral court of public opinion. But soon a back-channel communication leads to a different kind of connection. Author Rioghnach Robinson explores art, ambition, and the upside of vulnerability.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Recommended for readers of Rachel Gillig and Hannah Whitten, this debut dark romantasy from U.K. author Charlotte B. Plumb is another option for the infernally inclined. Set in a world where desperate mortals must make pacts with dark forces, Reap & Sow centers on an uneasy alliance between Eda—a resourceful young soul broker—and a flirtatious demon known as Kit’rath. Early readers are saying nice things.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Not much is known about this upcoming sixth book in the popular Court of Thorns and Roses romantasy series from pioneering genre empress Sarah J. Maas. But that hasn’t stopped Maas’ army of fans from indulging in rather thorough speculation. Check the very busy community discussion on the Goodreads book page.
Publication date: October 27
Publication date: October 27
Book number three in author Ana Huang’s Gods of the Game series, The Keeper brings readers yet another story of unlikely romance set in the world of English Premier League football. This time around, it’s goalkeeper Noah Wilson, a single dad in need of a nanny. As it happens, team executive assistant Carina Vu is in need of a job. Wait, was that a smoldering glance? That was a smoldering glance!
Publication date: October 27
Publication date: October 27
Fourth Wing fans can revisit Basgiath College with the short story collection Threshing Day, out September 29, while they await the next full-length installment of the Empyrean series. Meanwhile, author Rebecca Yarros has teed up a contemporary romance for fall, featuring a woman whose plans get literally blown off course when she finds herself stranded on an island for 18 months with her fiancé’s cousin.
Publication date: November 17
Publication date: November 17
Fantasy
Finally! Blacktail is the long-anticipated second book from author Scott Hawkins, who made a splash in 2015 with his wildly inventive fantasy debut, The Library at Mount Char. Hawkins’ new story puts readers behind the lupine eyes of a lone wolf on a quest—to put an end to the plague known as mankind. Here’s a cathartic dark fantasy option for those who enjoy nonhuman POV stories. And nature fighting back.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Alice Hoffman, author of the beloved Practical Magic series, is back with more witchy goodness. Her new book begins in 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, where incoming Radcliffe students Ava and Lauren have just arrived on campus. Soon, the two are being recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret coven of powerful witches. Early reader reviews are pretty giddy about Hoffman’s blend of fantasy, intrigue, and McCarthy-era historical fiction.
Publication date: September 8
Publication date: September 8
Recovering aristocrat Cat Rose is now known as the Widow Rose, pirate tavern queen and nemesis of the dastardly Meridian Empire. With cruel navy ships bearing down on the pirate republic, Cat must turn to the legendary ship captain Valerian Kane. Victoria Aveyard (the Red Queen series) launches a new adult fantasy duology.
Publication date: September 8
Publication date: September 8
Somewhere in the shadows between murder mystery and dark academia lurks Bodies of Magic, the new fantasy from Australian author Freya Marske (The Last Binding series). The setup: Five students at a school for magical healing have five days to pass five brutal exams. That’s when the dead body is found. Marske also folds in elements of queer romance and medical procedural.
Publication date: September 15
Publication date: September 15
The long-awaited series conclusion to Leigh Bardugo’s groundbreaking Ninth House books, Dead Beat finds our heroine Alex Stern holding the line as all hell breaks loose. That’s quite literal, alas—demons are running amok through the streets of New Haven as Alex gathers her allies for one last desperate gambit.
Publication date: September 15
Publication date: September 15
Meanwhile, author V.E. Schwab (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) wraps up her Villains series with Victorious, the concluding chapter in her gritty saga of flawed humans with incredible superpowers. Schwab does interesting things with the superhero story and the concept of near-death experiences. Bonus tip: Compare the cover art of the three books. See what they did there?
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Horror
Worst. Wedding. Ever. In this latest scary story from Rachel Harrison (Play Nice), wedding guest Willa Sullivan gets stuck in a time loop where a masked killer slaughters everyone at the reception, over and over and over. Ever been to one of those weddings that seems like it will never end? Like that, but bloodier.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Writer and film historian Tananarive Due (The Reformatory) returns with the story of a young Black filmmaker, a family retreat, and a creepy old cabin in the mountains. By way of flashbacks to Golden Age Hollywood, we also learn about the filmmaker’s grandmother Mazelle, a famous actress with some terrible stories to tell. Early reviews are extolling the book’s balance of horrors, supernatural and historical.
Publication date: September 22
Publication date: September 22
Drenched in paranoia and the most sinister of vibes, Michael Wehunt’s Nightjars is a psychological thriller wrapped in supernatural horror. Luke Oshel, son of a notorious serial killer, is haunted by shards of repressed memories. Things get worse when someone starts taunting him with a series of disturbing photos. Be careful with this one—there’s a twist. Early readers are advising newcomers to dodge all spoilers.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
After a highly suspect series of car wrecks, five strangers find themselves in a backwoods dive bar. The questions soon pile up. What was that thing they all swerved to avoid? Who’s out in those woods, anyway? And what’s wrong with the clocks in the place? This multi-POV thriller from Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning) has twists inside its twists.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
The tireless Stephen Graham Jones returns in October with this sequel story to his 2020 breakthrough, The Only Good Indians. Set five years after the events of the first book, the new novel finds our hero Nate Yellow Tail joining the vision quest of four older Blackfeet, tasked with digging up some very specific bones.
Publication date: October 13
Publication date: October 13
Here’s one for the weird fiction fans: In 1992, several broke college students take work cleaning out an old Victorian house. After a series of unsettling discoveries, the students learn that the previous tenant was on the verge of accessing a parallel dimension. And he left instructions. Author Will Maclean delivers a supernatural mystery that should resonate with readers of Shirley Jackson, M.R. James, and the weird fiction classic House of Leaves.
Publication date: October 13
Publication date: October 13
Young Adult
Set in a kind of alternate Gilded Age where magic is restricted to the elite, Ayana Gray’s Hawk & Sparrow offers a stylish new flavor of YA urban fantasy. Vesper Evans, 19-year-old streetwise reporter, finds intrigue and romance when she infiltrates high society to investigate a shocking murder. Hanging with sorcerous One Percenters can be deadly.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
When an elderly neighbor leaves her a surprise inheritance, small-town Nebraska girl Julia finds herself at an elite school in New York City. It’s a tricky transition, so Julia is happy when her handsome new tutor, Damion, offers to help. That’s when things get complicated. Lynn Painter (Better Than the Movies) brings some new ideas to the rags-to-riches rom-com.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
Superstar author Veronica Roth returns to shelves in October with a brand-new Divergent series. As the title suggests, the incoming story opens up new narrative options in Roth’s dystopian five-faction society. Official advance word confirms that Beatrice Prior is back. Zig. Rumors suggest alternate-universe mischief. Zag.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
In 1965, Miki Kawamura’s grandparents fell in love after they were accidentally locked inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art overnight. Miki plans to re-create this magical circumstance with her best friend, Auden. And to finally declare her love. It’s destiny! It can’t miss! But destiny, it appears, has other plans. Mariko Turk (The Other Side of Perfect) returns with another sophisticated YA romance.
Publication date: October 13
Publication date: October 13
Australian author C.G. Drews specializes in YA horror stories that capture those deeper fears that surface around adolescence. Their latest dark parable concerns a lonely boy stuck on a briny island, an eldritch ocean god, and a pact gone wrong. Readers of early-access editions are responding with the usual enthusiasm. Drews writes the kind of scary stories that can make you shiver and cry.
Publication date: October 27
Publication date: October 27
In a dangerous world of gods and mortals, Rose Lin Fairchild is a harbinger of death. Quite literally. She is the Harbinger of Raven, the god of Death, and she’s in trouble. A murder among the gods leaves Rose as Raven’s heir, but to ascend she must resolve her very complicated feelings for Étienne Beauchard, the Regent of Lies. Author Marie Lu, author of the acclaimed Legend YA sci-fi series, pivots to mythological romantasy, with a murder mystery center.
Publication date: October 27
Publication date: October 27
Deep breath now: The Last King of Faerie is the first installment of the concluding trilogy of the sprawling Shadowhunter Chronicles, author Cassandra Clare’s mighty, multimedia YA fantasy franchise. Returning readers: Clare’s new story starts out with Drusilla Blackthorn’s third year at Shadowhunter Academy. New readers: Hmm. Better start with City of Bones.
Publication date: November 3
Publication date: November 3
Nonfiction
Due to mandatory drug sentencing laws, Chris Young was sentenced to life in a maximum-security federal prison—at the age of 22. But Young refused to despair. Educating himself by way of the prison library system, Young embarked on an improbable, really quite incredible, journey to freedom. Among other things, Young’s book celebrates the power of education and knowledge. Bonus trivia: The title of Young’s book is based on a quote from the Sufi mystic Rumi.
Publication date: August 4
Publication date: August 4
This collection of essays from renowned scholar Emily Wilson aims to introduce readers to the wonders of ancient Greek and Roman literature. In particular, Wilson discusses the colossal challenges of translating ancient tales to modern readers—and proposes some new techniques. Bonus trivia: Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey informed this year’s famous film adaptation—and she has some thoughts about the movie.
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) returns with another ambitious foray into how the world works. Specifically, Diamond’s new book examines the role of individual leaders throughout history. Look for discussions on everyone from Margaret Thatcher to Seretse Khama, Genghis Khan to Bill Belichick. The big question: Do the actions of particular individuals truly influence history?
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
A kind of American bogeyman, attorney and political fixer Roy Cohn made his home in the shadow of powerful men—from Joseph McCarthy to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. This new biography from Pulitzer Prize winner Kai Bird (American Prometheus) traces the arc of a ruthless political operator and offers “one unscrupulous tale after another.”
Publication date: September 1
Publication date: September 1
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
In 2020, author and historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez turned a lot of heads with Jesus and John Wayne, her book on the origins and ascent of Christian nationalism and evangelical masculinity. Her new book turns to the female side of the equation, exploring how the New Thought movement has informed a new generation of white Christian femininity. Also in the mix: some surprising details about those pastel scripted wall art slogans.
Publication date: September 15
Publication date: September 15
It’s a genuine paradox: Why is that the United States—one of the wealthiest and best educated countries in the world—suffers from gun violence so severe that it qualifies as a literal epidemic? Author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell, Canada’s famously relentless investigator, approaches the topic in his traditional fashion by presenting a series of exhaustively researched stories, from America and around the world.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
Billed as a medical detective story, Robert Kolker’s The Vanishing Family follows the fate of a Pennsylvania family with a terrible affliction. Due to a specific gene mutation, family members are prone to a particularly vicious form of dementia that kicks in as early as age 40. Kolker’s book chronicles the heartbreaking details and the ongoing race to find a cure.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
When Houston high school student Katya Suvorova was 17, she made a mind-blowing discovery. She found her mom listed in an Eastern European mail-order bride catalog from the 1990s. It explained a lot. Suvorova’s grim but irreverent memoir tells the story of one undocumented family. With dark humor and hard-won wisdom, she provides ground-level details about the immigrant experience.
Publication date: September 29
Publication date: September 29
Historian Nathaniel Philbrick, winner of the National Book Award for his 2000 book, In the Heart of the Sea, tackles the historical phenomenon we call the California gold rush. Philbrick’s research reveals how the gold rush has echoed down through the years, informing public policy and the very character of modern America.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
British novelist Sarah Perry (The Essex Serpent) switches gears with this heartbreaking memoir and nonfiction reckoning on the topic of dying. Perry’s book chronicles the days spent with her father-in-law, who succumbed to a fast-moving cancer in just three months. From the specifics of one man’s life, Perry builds an extended meditation on mortality, science, history, spirituality, and art.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
The American frontier ostensibly closed up shop in the late 19th century. Geographically, it no longer exists. But psychologically, the frontier mentality remains with us, and it’s driving a violent pathology that must end. That’s the thesis behind the new book from Ojibwe author and scholar David Treuer (The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee), which connects some disturbing dots among Indigenous history, school shootings, American foreign policy, and our country’s current nervous breakdown.
Publication date: October 6
Publication date: October 6
Author and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson earned a curious kind of free-speech honor in 2020, when their memoir/manifesto All Boys Aren’t Blue was named the most banned book of the year by the American Library Association. Expanding on this celebrated essay collection—which covered Johnson’s adolescent and college years—the new book focuses on their adult life as a queer Black man in the wilds of 21st-century America.
Publication date: November 10
Publication date: November 10
