Barnes & Noble announces the most anticipated books of the fall, an IMAX release for Greta Gerwig’s NARNIA, and more. Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The Biggest Books of Fall, According to Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble has released its lists of the most anticipated books of fall in Fiction, Nonfiction, Fantasy & YA, and Kids‘. Fiction is packed with big names in books like Colson Whitehead (Cool Machine), Barbara Kingsolver (Partitia), R.F. Kuang (Taipei Story), Emily St. John Mandel (Exit Party), and Min Jin Lee (American Hagwon). That’s just the tip of the iceberg that is a season of literary overwhelm. In the Nonfiction, Fantasy & YA, and Kids’ editions, you can find new books from Adam Grant (Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World – Nonfiction), Sabaa Tahir (Empire – YA & Fantasy), Jon Klassen adapting Raffi (I Wonder If I’m Growing – Kids’), and Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh (The Wild Zone – Kids’).
Granta Won’t Publish Winning Lit Prize Entries Due to AI Speculation
Granta announced that the literary magazine is halting external publishing partnerships amid AI controversy around the 2026 Commonwealth prize-winning stories. Granta published the entries of this year’s regional winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and accusations of AI use, including heightened discourse around “The Serpent in the Grove” by Jamir Nazir, abounded across platforms like X and Bluesky. Meanwhile, the shortlisted writers most of the writers quickly rejected these claims, with Nazir later emailing The Observer’s Erica Wagner about his “unusual” writing process. Whoof. AI stays messy.
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Greta Gerwig’s NARNIA Reboot Gets IMAX Sneak Previews
Greta Gerwig has been making a name for herself in the world of nostalgic reboots. She brought us the latest Little Women adaptation and the sensation that was the Barbie movie, so her Narnia adaptation was already a big deal before making even bigger news as a Netflix theatrical release. Now, a full 45-day theatrical window has been announced with IMAX sneak previews for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew slated to begin on February 10, 2027 ahead of the February 12, theatrical premiere. Because if it’s not on IMAX is it even a major fantasy franchise?
Compelling and Engaging Nonfiction Comics
If you’ve ever wanted to explore the wider world of comics, we’ve got a nonfiction comics reading challenge and recommendations for you:
The 13th task for the 2026 Read Harder Challenge will challenge some readers with a new format and/or a new category of reading, and it’s also one that will absolutely delight newcomers and old-heads: read a nonfiction comic. Find below an array of nonfiction comics across categories, topics, and themes. They include nonfiction comics published for younger readers–and totally appropriate for adult readers–as well as a selection of memoirs, history, and more. This list is far from comprehensive. It’s meant to be a sampling platter, with both backlist picks and newer releases.
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