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The longlists for the National Book Award trickled in one by one last week, and now we have a complete list. If you follow the awards, we’ve rounded the lists up here.
And, to get you fully, absolutely in an autumnal spirit, there are must-read new books coming out this fall that you can preorder, and some recent slashers. Keeping in that same horror vein, the YA category is doing some damage—there are demon deals and biting social commentary in Lamar Giles’ Ruin Road; and Tatiana Schlote-Bonne’s Such Lovely Skin also has a demon, this time a guilt-eating shape-shifting one from a video game.
Switching to adult horror, Book Riot writer Lyndsie Manusos has released her first book: From These Dark Abodes, in which two women are prisoners to frightening immortal creatures. There’s more devilish revelry to be had in Brom’s rock-n-roll and possession-filled Evil in Me.
Now, there are technically vampires in My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine, but they’re the romantic, fake dating, and cutesy kind. But if witches running small-town bakeries are more your speed, there’s Adrianna Schuh’s Magic in the Air.
Mystery and thriller lovers, y’all have some heat, too—the mega-bestselling Richard Osman is starting off a brand new series with We Solve Murders, which features “an iconic new detective duo”; while Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and Sara Shepard have the cult-focused thriller Gaslight.
Under contemporary fiction, there’s the National Book Award finalist Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte and Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton. The former is a collection of short stories that show what happens to certain characters after rejection results in chaos, while the latter is a fantastical, award-winning story set in Australia.
Finally, the books below have mind-bending dark academia set on a secret campus, the memoir of an Indigenous climate activist, drag queen romance, and more.
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
A new Alexis Henderson for fall always bodes well, and An Academy for Liars is an especially fall-friendly dark academia novel that has a synopsis that kind of reminds me of Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko and Sergey Dyachenko (which I loved). In it, Lennon Carter is invited to take the entrance exam for the mysterious Drayton College because of her innate gift of persuasion—which can be used on people and matter alike. Once she passes the test and gains entry to the school, she finds that she loves her studies and the moss-covered campus. Her alluring adviser, Dante, is kind of enjoyable, too. The history of the college itself, though? Unnerving. As is her mentor’s connection to it.
We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People by Nemonte Nenquimo, Mitch Anderson
Nemonte Nenquimo had a traditional Waorani tribe childhood in Ecuador—she foraged and was taught about plant medicine and shamanism. After she goes to study with an evangelical missionary group, dreams of her ancestors send her back to the forest, and she becomes one of the foremost voices in climate change activism in the world. With We Will Be Jaguars, she tells the true story of her people.
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
Novik is a fantasy writer I keep meaning to get into, but just haven’t yet. If you’ve been curious about the bestselling author too, these 13 stories set in the worlds of her novels could give you a good sample of her writing before you commit to an entire book. Through them, we encounter dragon-filled worlds and gothic halls, and go from ancient Greece to Rome, Medieval times through to the Black Death and into the modern era. Characters turn pirate, captain magical beasts, and even leave marriages to pick up swords. There are also some familiar names that make appearances, like Mark Anthony, Elizabeth Bennet, and Sherlock Holmes. Suffice to say, there is a lot going on. Novik, I was not aware of your game.
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
For Brooke, a 33-year-old Black woman fed up with her Bronx teaching job, working in the proximity of wealth proves to be life-altering. When she takes on a new job working for an 80-something-year-old billionaire, it starts to inspire new ideas in her. Mainly that maybe she should have some of the money he’s trying to give away. She wants it for herself, yes, a little—who wouldn’t want designer clothes and bougie meals—but she also has helping others in mind. Except that her decision-making starts to go a little off the rails. Roxane Gay said, “The way I read the last two thirds of this novel through my fingers, cringing!!!!”
I love a good, messy tale of an unraveling woman.
Everything to Play For: An Insider’s Guide to How Videogames are Changing The World by Marijam Did
My older brother got me into gaming years and years ago, back when me telling people I played a PS2 had them doing bombastic double backs. Thing is, even with how far gaming has come since then—Did talks about how it will be a $0.5 trillion industry come 2027—some people are still getting whiplash when they encounter female gamers (and other marginalized gamers, as Gamergate revealed). Here, she gets into everything Gamer World—from how video game events are watched by more people than NBA games, to how the US military uses gaming to train soldiers, to how games can change the world for the better if we let them.
Karaoke Queen by Dominic Lim
Looking at this cover, you already know it’s going to be a kii. In it, Rex Araneta hears about Aaron Berry’s failing karaoke bar and decides to step in. Now, Aaron was Rex’s college boo thang back in the day, and Rex always felt like he was the one that got away. But Rex’s methods of helping are a little secretive—he decides to whip out the mega wigs and contour and become his internet-famous drag queen alter ego, Regina. Regina is That Girl at the bar, and the ruse seems to be helping, but no one knows it’s Rex underneath it all. And him revealing the truth—to himself and to Aaron—may be what he needs for a happily ever after.
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
