As we start 2026 we have picked some exciting books that will be published this year which should keep you occupied during the chilly winter months, or during the long awaited summer when you can enjoy reading in the garden or on an exotic holiday. Whatever you do we have books that will fill up the next 12 months of your life.
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
Set in a near-future India over the course of one week, the Kolkata of A Guardian and a Thief is ravaged by climate change and food scarcity. As Ma, her toddler daughter and her elderly father prepare to leave the collapsing city to join Ma’s husband in America, their immigration documents are stolen.
Megha Majumdar’s tense and propulsive novel tells the stories of Ma, who hunts for the thief, and the thief, Boomba, whose desperation to keep his family safe leads him to commit a series of escalating crimes.
Good People by Patmeena Sabit
Zorah Sharaf’s family arrived in America as refugees from Afghanistan, and is the picture of success.
But when Zorah, the apple of he\r father’s eye, dies in an unthinkable tragedy, the family becomes the subject of public gossip, and the veneer of a perfect immigrant family and a perfect daughter begins to crumble.
Land by Maggie O’Farrell
The bestselling author returns with Land, another ambitious and compelling work, this time inspired by O’Farrell’s own family history.
Set in Ireland in 1865 in the aftermath of the devastating Great Hunger, O’Farrell again explores themes of loss, survival and migration in this multi-generational epic.
The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara
Keralan-born author and former journalist Anappara is back following the huge success of her debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, which was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time.
This time around, Anappara moves the setting from India to Tibet in an epic historical tale of adventure, as two unlikely adventurers – an Indian teacher spying for the British Empire and an English female explorer who has been rejected by the all-male Royal Geographical Society – battle to survive storms, frostbite, fevers, snow leopards, soldiers and bandits.
Set in 1869, it’s a thrilling and profound tale of secret personal ambition set against the backdrop of colonialist expansion.
Hooked by Asako Yuzuki
Yuzuki is an established Japanese writer with more than 20 novels under her belt but her word-of-mouth hit, Butter, brought her to a global audience last year when it became her first book to be translated into English.
Yuzuki’s new novel, Hooked, again translated by Polly Barton, returns to the theme of food as we’re introduced to lonely protagonist Eriko, who works in the seafood industry and is aiming to reintroduce a controversial fish into the Japanese market.
The real drama comes as Eriko befriends a blogger she follows on social media, but things soon become sour as her longing for companionship turns to obsession.
Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam
Three friends drive along Manchester’s Curry Mile (Wilmslow Road – aka Wimmy Road) for what ends up being the most epic and chaotic of nights out. This inventive and highly enjoyable debut novel spans that single, eventful evening.
It won the new writing prize from Stormzy’s publishing imprint in 2024, and Merky has turned up an exciting and original new voice. Salam turns this stretch of tarmac, restaurants and bars into a dizzying fairground with neon thrills and a seedy, menacing underbelly.
Kids Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli
The legendary stage and screen star told People earlier this year that she had always been against the idea of writing her memoir: “‘Absolutely not! ‘Tell it when I’m gone!’ was my philosophy,” she explained.
But the Oscar-winning Cabaret actress changed her mind and felt “mad as hell” after seeing others tell her story on film and TV, “all made by people who didn’t know my family, and don’t really know me.”
Expect nuggets from her younger days growing up in the shadow of her famous mum, Judy Garland, before she reveals all on her meteoric rise to fame, struggles with addiction, high-profile marriages and friendships, and heartbreaking miscarriages.
The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke
This crime thriller sees six authors on a private island with 72 hours to write the ending of a book by the late bestselling writer, Arthur Fletch.
Mr Sidhu’s Post Office by Amman Brar
This moving family drama set against the backdrop of the Horizon Post Office scandal is the debut novel from the west Londoner, who won praise for his play Punjabi Boy back in 2016.
In this book set in 2007, Mr Sidhu is the sub-postmaster of the local post office in London’s Richmond (where Brar now resides). Immersed in grief after the death of his wife while supporting his adult children, our delightful hero is later surprised to find himself falling for co-worker, Rose.
While that brings its own difficulties, not least with his offspring, Mr Sidhu’s weekly accounts start reporting mysterious losses and his faith in community – and theirs in him.
How to Talk to AI (And How Not To) by Jamie Bartlett (Penguin RandomHouse)
Jamie Bartlett’s book cover (not the final version) next to a head and shoulders shot of the author wearing a light blue shirt, he has dark brown hair and bear
Good People by Patmeena Sabit
Zorah Sharaf’s family arrived in America as refugees from Afghanistan, and is the picture of success.
But when Zorah, the apple of her father’s eye, dies in an unthinkable tragedy, the family becomes the subject of public gossip, and the veneer of a perfect immigrant family and a perfect daughter begins to crumble.
Told through a chorus of voices surrounding the Sharaf family, Good People is a story of family, community and identity.
Rebel English Academy by Mohammed Hanif
Rebel English Academy is set in OK Town, which erupts in protest after a major Pakistani political figure is hanged. A few miles away, a woman knocks on the door of the Rebel English Academy; Sabiha seeks refuge, but she has a gun, her parents are political prisoners, and her husband just died in a suspicious fire.
Meanwhile, disgraced intelligence officer Captain Gul, banished to OK Town, aims to silence protestors by any means necessary, but finds his duties and romantic desires begin to overlap.
Turbulence by Hafsa Lodi
Hafsa Lodi’s Turbulence follows aspiring documentary-maker Dunya Dawood. As she takes a 14-hour flight from the Middle East to the United States – sitting in business class away from her husband and son – Dunya, who is pregnant, is given the space and time to reflect on the choices she’s made in her life.
As she unravels the relationships, decisions and difficulties she has experienced, a shocking discovery sends Dunya into early labour in mid-air.
Turbulence takes a look at the many things women have to juggle, including culture, faith, family obligations, and feminism, and asks what happens when we encounter turbulence in our lives.
The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad
Senaa Ahmad’s collection of playful and inventive short stories lives on the boundaries of historical events. In one, Henry VIII wants Anne Boleyn dead, but she’s alive again by morning, having tea at breakfast.
In another, a woman on the run strikes a sinister bargain with Joan of Arc, but might not be able to claim her body back by sunrise. Interrogating the past and its effect on the present, The Age of Calamities is a look at the tragicomic and surreal act of living.
Floodlines by Saleem Haddad
In the summer of 2014, three estranged sisters — Mediha, Zainab and Ishtar — are drawn back into each other’s orbits by the discovery of their late father’s lost paintings.
As the trio each lay claim to their father’s legacy, Zainab’s son Nizar, a traumatised war correspondent, returns to the family fold.
Floodlines, inspired by the author’s own family history, grapples with legacy, memory and family secrets, and charts the emotional and political aftershocks of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Suckerfish by Ashani Lewis
Suckerfish follows Koila, who is in her 20s, caring for other people’s children and looking for a way out of London’s dead-end days.
But when she is pulled back into the orbit of her fiery, vulnerable mother, who wants to repair relations with her estranged daughter, Koila finds herself reckoning with her childhood and her present. This is perfect for fans of mother-daughter stories, such as Avni Doshi’s Burnt Sugar.
Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi
Fantasy writer Saara El-Arifi turns her hand to ancient history, and one of its best-known figures, in her new standalone novel.
Told from Cleopatra’s perspective, El-Arifi’s novel is full of drama and tense moments, even if the ending is set in stone.
With a distinctive voice, Cleopatra is the emotional and awe-inspiring story of a woman who has long been misunderstood by history.
Strange Girls by Sarvat Hasin
Aliya and Ava haven’t spoken in a decade. Aliya has everything Ava wants: a publishing deal, a room of her own, and a sensible doctor husband. When the pair meet again at a mutual friend’s hen party, Ava wants to unpack their shared history and what they meant to each other.
Moving between the past and the present, from a university campus to the city, Strange Girls is a relatable novel about the intense ties we form in our youth, and what happens when they break.
A Mask the Colour of the Sky by Bassem Khanaqji, translated by Addie Leak
The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2024, A Mask the Colour of the Sky, has been translated into English. The book tells the story of Nur, a young Palestinian refugee from a camp near Ramallah, who dreams of freedom.
When he discovers an Israeli ID card in the pocket of a secondhand coat, he assumes a false identity, but soon finds his borrowed identity deepening the rift within him. Basim Khandaqji was arrested by Israeli forces in 2004 and sentenced to three life sentences in prison. He was freed from jail in November this year.
Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui
Aicha, set after the Portuguese have invaded Morocco, is the story of the daughter of a Moroccan freedom fighter. But this is no ordinary historical novel… Witnessing the death of her people, and their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, has awakened an anger within Aicha, and only her secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her.
But as the fight for Morocco’s freedom reaches its violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha’s skin begs to be unleashed, and to help her punish those who have caused her pain.
Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi
Weaving in and out of time and space, and from Palestine on the precipice of 1948’s Nakba to the oil-rich desert of Kuwait, the grittiness of New York and the desert of Arizona, Paradiso 17 is the tale of Sufien, told by him after his death.
When he’s forced to leave the only home he’s ever known, time stops making sense to Sufien, and he spends the rest of his life propelled forward, searching for a life well lived and a home to call his own.
The Palestinian Wedding edited by A. M Elmessiri
The Palestinian Wedding is a bilingual anthology of poetry capturing works of celebration and struggle.
Among the 21 poets included are Tawfiq Zayyad, Walid al-Halis, Salma al-Jayyusi and Mahmoud Darwish.
Arranged around six themes — revolution, war, elegy, belonging, resistance and steadfastness — the collection is a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who once all called Palestine home.
Notes from a Lost Country by Sinan Antoon
In novelist and poet Sinan Antoon’s Notes from a Lost Country, retired doctor Sami sinks deeper into dementia every day, haunted by old memories of life in Iraq before the war.
Omar arrives in the US with a fake identity, having run away from the Iraqi army, his ear cut off in punishment for being a deserter. When Sami and Omar’s paths cross, they know they have met before, but neither can remember where.
Exploring the aftermath of war and how the past haunts new beginnings, Notes from a Lost Country is a portrait of a life in exile from the author who translated Ibtisam Azem’s International Booker Prize-longlisted The Book of Disappearance.
The Jewel of Cairo by Muna Shehadi
The second book in Muna Shehadi’s Women of Consequence series (following The Paris Affair) spans the 1900s, moving between Cairo, Paris, and Connecticut.
In 1915, an Egyptian jeweller commissions a Fabergé egg as a wedding anniversary gift to his “queen”. In 1976, Lilianne is recruited by the CIA to keep tabs on a charming, corrupt jeweller in Cairo, but must leave for the US after a betrayal.
And in present-day Connecticut, Sophie has lost her husband, her house, and her picture-perfect life.
Dreams of Ayn Ara by Sara Abou Ghazal, translated by Katherine Halls
Dreams of Ayn Ara is about the Abu Sukkar family, refugees from a fictional village in the Galilee who end up in Shatila, Lebanon.
With each chapter told from the perspective of a different family member as they grapple with the existential inescapability of their Palestinian identity, the book explores the rupture experienced by victims of the Nakba.
The Sleep Thief by Ibitisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon
This English translation of Ibtisam Azem’s first novel, The Sleep Thief, is the story of Gharib (“the Stranger”) Haifawi.
The book follows his coming-of-age and his relationships and political involvement as he dreams of a Palestinian identity that will transcend sorrow.
The One Who Broke You Can’t Heal You by Najwa Zebian
Lebanese-Canadian activist Najwa Zebian began writing to connect with her first students, a group of refugees, and discovered she was also writing to heal herself.
In The One Who Broke You Can’t Heal You, Zebian looks at the healthy bonds we deserve in all of our relationships — familial, romantic, and friendship — and how to break bonds that hurt and strengthen those that heal.
