101 Books Coming Out in 2018 That You Should Mark Down Now

A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee:  Five characters deal with dislocation, whether voluntary or enforced, from the author of The Lives of Others. (Jan. 2)

Heart Spring Mountain by Robin MacArthur: The first novel from the author of Half Wild, about a woman searching for her missing mother. (Jan. 9)

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey: A mystery set in India in the 1920s about the first female lawyer in Bombay, who fights for women’s rights. (Jan. 9)

Gnomon by Nick Harkaway: A new novel about a near-future, high-tech surveillance state, from the author of The Gone-Away World. (Jan. 9)

The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith: A multilayered novel following several stories set in Newport, Rhode Island, that take place throughout time. (Jan. 9)

Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro: The author of I Want to Show You More is back with her debut novel, about a married woman in the grip of a passionate affair. (Jan. 9)

Robots vs. Fairies edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe: These stories are exactly as advertised. Do I even need to describe this one? It’s robots vs. fairies, aka an epic nerdpurr. (Jan. 9) 

This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff: This novel is an examination of the inner workings of an American company and five HR colleagues as they work and worry about their futures.  (Jan. 9)

Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates: A twisted thriller about a childhood crime and the resulting consequences and relationships, from the author of Black Chalk. (Jan. 9)

Neon in Daylight by Hermione Hoby: A young woman visiting NYC from England right before Hurricane Sandy meets two strangers who will transform her stay. (Jan. 9)

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke: Spunky young adult novel about a 17-year-old who has the chance to finish her high school education while appearing on a local reality show set at her town’s college. (Jan. 9)

The Job of the Wasp by Colin Winette: A gothic murder mystery about a boy sent to live at an isolated home for orphans who quickly discovers his new dwellings are sinister. (Jan. 9)

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink: Pink uses the science of time to discuss how best to make schedules, why you shouldn’t go to the hospital in the afternoon, ideal times to make life decisions, and more. (Jan. 9)

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin:  The story of the four Gold children, who are told the dates of their deaths by a fortune teller, and how that knowledge informs the decisions they make in their lives. (Jan. 9)

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee: A debut novel about the bond between two sisters after the death of their mother and the test of loyalties. (Jan. 16)

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed: American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz deals with cultural divides in Chicago as she prepares for college. (Jan. 16)

Red Clocks by Leni Zuma: Novel set in a dystopian future where five women from different backgrounds must cope after women’s reproductive rights are once again not in their control. (Jan. 16)

Heartland by Ana Simo: A writer decides the best revenge against the rival who stole her lover is murder. (Jan. 16)

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories by Denis Johnson: *SOB* The first book of Johnson’s fiction to be published since his death in May 2017.  (Jan. 16)

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele: The story of one of the cofounders of the Black Lives Matter and how her life experiences led to starting the organization. (Jan. 16)

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann: Alice’s plans for the perfect summer (which includes getting over her girlfriend) are thwarted when she discovers she has romantic feelings for her friend Tamuki. (Jan. 23)

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn:  Finn tries his hand at Hitchcock in this debut thriller about a woman with agoraphobia who thinks she has witnessed a murder in the house across the street. (Jan. 23)

The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith: A dystopian epic about a future city plagued by dragons, violence, and chaos. (Jan. 23)

Our Lady of the Prairie by Thisbe Nissen: A funny novel about a college professor whose normally calm life is upended all at once, and how the tornado set to touch down at her daughter’s wedding turns out to be the least of her problems. (Jan. 23)

Eternal Life by Dara Horn: A novel from the author of The World to Come about an immortal woman’s 2000-year journey through time and her many lives along the way. (Jan. 23)

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi: A scavenger in US-occupied Baghdad stitches together the body parts of corpses in an effort to get citizens a proper burial. But when the corpse goes missing, a series of murders begin plaguing the city, leading to an undead killer who must be stopped. (Jan. 23)

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan: A suspenseful thriller about a young woman whose father is accused of a terrible crime, and the prosecutor determined to put him in jail. (Jan. 23)

Brass by Xhenet Aliu: Wonderful debut novel about a young woman going through a rough patch in life who decides to learn about the father she never knew. (Jan. 23)

BRAVE by Rose McGowan: A memoir/manifesto about living life in the Hollywood spotlight and her rebellion against the inherently sexist industry and its treatment of women. (Jan. 30)

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert: A debut young adult novel about Alice, a cult-classic book of fairy tales authored by her grandmother, and Alice’s missing mother—who has supposedly been stolen away to the land from her grandmother’s book. (Jan. 30)

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory: A sexy, charming novel about a fake wedding date that turns into real sparks. (Jan. 30)

Mothers of Sparta: A Memoir in Pieces by Dawn Davies: Davies examines the difficult, sometimes devastating moments in her life with humor and sharp insight. (Jan. 30)

This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins: Jerkins is one of the smartest young writers of her generation, and this is an insightful, revelatory collection of personal essays about a variety of today’s important issues. So fantastic. (Jan. 30)

Books Coming Out In February, 2018

The Tiger and the Acrobat by Susanna Tamaro,‎ Nicoleugenia Prezzavento and Vicki Satlow (translators): An allegory about a young tiger not content to live her life like the rest of the tigers in Siberia, who embarks on a journey to meet man. (Feb. 1)

Back Talk: Stories by Danielle Lazarin: A collection of stories about women’s unexpressed needs, the boundaries of selfishness, and what it means to be alive. (Feb. 6)

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: Young newlyweds are ripped apart when the husband is arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit; his five years away take a toll on their marriage. (Feb. 6)

Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi: Book lovers, take note: This novel follows a book-loving young woman as she searches for answers on a quixotic journey. (Feb. 6)

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez: A woman inherits a Great Dane after her best friend dies unexpectedly. Together they will help each other deal with the loss of friend and master. (Feb. 6)

Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith: The author of White Teeth and Swing Time returns with with brilliant essays on a range of subjects (which are just the thing to hold us over until her new historical novel, due in 2019). (Feb. 6)

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell:  A recounting of the author’s true near-brushes with death, written in support of her daughter, who lives with an autoimmune disease. (Feb. 6)

Jagannath: Stories by Karin Tidbeck: Strange and beautiful tales receiving heaps of praise from such writers as Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Hand, Karen Joy Fowler, and China Mieville. (Feb. 6)

Force of Nature by Jane Harper: The author of The Dry returns with a new Aaron Falk mystery about a woman who goes missing during a company hiking expedition. (Feb. 6)

Empty Set by Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Christina MacSweeney (Translator): The author, a visual artist, brings her novel to life by using a young narrator who attempts to make sense of the world using patterns and shapes. (Feb. 6)

Madness is Better Than Defeat by Ned Beuman: A literary thriller about 1930s Hollywood and NYC, the CIA, and Mayan gods, from the Man Booker–nominated author of The Teleportation Accident. (Feb. 13)

Sadness Is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher: A powerful debut about a young man trying to reconcile with his two Palestinian siblings before he goes off to serve in the Israeli army. (Feb. 13)

Vengeance by Zachary Lazar: Inspired by the play The Life of Jesus Christ, Lazar’s novel is about a man who attempts to learn the real truth behind the crime committed by an inmate he has befriended in Angola prison. (Feb. 13)

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi:  A young Nigerian deals with the appearance of several selves as she grows from a troubled child to a troubled young woman. (Feb. 13)

White Houses by Amy Bloom: The new novel from the author of Away and Lucky Us, about a young woman who falls in love with Eleanor Roosevelt while reporting on FDR’s presidential campaign. (Feb. 13)

The Château by Paul Goldberg: A cast of colorful characters populate this contemporary novel set in Trump’s America, featuring condo boards, crime, and kleptomancy. (Feb. 13)

The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois: An oral history on the play Angels in America, from the cast and crew on Broadway to the people behind its adaptation for the screen. (Feb. 13)

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton: Camellia is a Belle in Orleans, where beauty is a commodity. But Camellia wants more: She wants to be the Queen’s favorite Belle. But, as she will learn, dreams have a price. (Feb. 20)

What Are We Doing Here: Essays by Marilynne Robinson: New essays by the Pulitzer Prize winner on theological, political, and contemporary themes, based around the modern political climate and the mysteries of faith. (Feb. 20)

Sunburn by Laura Lippman: Lippman’s latest is racking up starred reviews left and right. It’s about two strangers who meet at a bar and become dangerously ensnared in each others lives. But who is the cat and who is the mouse?  (Feb. 20)

The Armored Saint (The Sacred Throne) by Myke Cole: The first in Cole’s new Sacred Throne series, about an Order that kills wizards (and innocents) to ensure the portals to Hell remain closed. (Feb. 20)

All the Names They Used for God: Stories by Anjali Sachdeva: Unusual and entrancing speculative fiction stories about fate, for fans of Dave Eggers and Kelly Link. (Feb. 20)

Some Hell by Patrick Nathan: A gay teen deals with his guilt over his father’s suicide in this heart-wrenching debut novel. (Feb. 20)

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena: A stark, beautiful story about teenage angst, race, identity, and class, centered around two teenage lovers killed in a car accident. (Feb. 27)

Books Coming Out In March, 2018

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea: The ailing patriarch of the De La Cruz family summons his relatives together for one last legendary birthday party. (March 6)

Awayland: Stories by Ramona Ausubel:  The author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty returns with eleven new stories steeped in mythology and full of love, loss, and longing. (March 6)

Happiness by Aminatta Forna: A fox on Waterloo bridge distracts two strangers whose lives collide and will be changed by the encounter, in a tender story of loss and kindness. (March 6)

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: A wildly fantastical (and fantastic) tale of magic, royalty, and vengeance that tackles real issues, like racism and prejudice. Be prepared to see it everywhere. (Seriously, you can’t miss it—it’s 600 pages long.) (March 6)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: A young poet learns to channel her fears and frustrations into poetry in her notebooks. But when she is invited to join a poetry slam club at her school, she must decide whether she will go against her mother’s strict rules or pass on the opportunity. (March 6)

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao: A devastating novel about hope and loss, following the lives of two girls with an extraordinary bond who are cruelly separated, and their drive to be together again. (March 6)

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by Mallory Ortberg: The author of Texts from Jane Eyre returns with delightfully dark stories based on fairy tales. (March 13)

The Red Word by Sarah Henstra: A contemporary college novel with a sharp take on rape culture, college life, and campus politics. (March 13)

The Parking Lot Attendant by Nafkote Tamirat:  A searing novel about identity in America today, in which a young girl falls for a hustler from Boston’s Ethiopian community. (March 13)

Men and Apparitions by Lynne Tillman: Tillman examines humankinds need to preserve everything in images in this story of Ezekiel Hooper Stark, cultural anthropologist, ethnographer, and specialist in family photographs. (March 13)

The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman: Mikey Callahan struggles to make human connections as he loses his sight to macular degeneration, starting with his reunited group of childhood friends, “The Gunners.” (March 20)

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan: Debut young adult novel about a teen girl who visits her maternal grandparents in Taiwan after her mother’s suicide. (March 20)

Tangerine by Christine Mangan: A woman is dismayed when an old friend turns up after an accident that caused a rift between them a year earlier. Then her husband goes missing… (March 20)

Stray City by Chelsey Johnson: A warm and funny debut novel about a young lesbian who becomes pregnant after a drunken one-night stand with a man, and her daughter’s later curiosity about her father. (March 20)

Books Coming Out In April, 2018

Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek: Essays about the Rust Belt cities, like Detroit, Cleveland, Flint, and Buffalo, whose economic struggles and declining manufacturing companies helped pave the way for a Trump victory. (April 3)

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer: The author of The Interestings returns with a multilayered novel about ambition, power, friendship, and romantic ideals. (April 3)

Look Alive Out There: Essays by Sloane Crosley: Crosley, author of I Was Told There’d Be Cake, is full of pithy one-liners and sharp insights, and her essays are a delight to read, whether it’s on the subject of obnoxious neighbors, fertility, or playing herself on Gossip Girl. (April 3)

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: The Civil War is derailed by a zombie infestation that changes the course of history in this fantastic novel about America, racism, and the undead. (April 3)

See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary by Lorrie Moore: More than fifty prose pieces by one of America’s most revered writers, gathered together in one place for the first time. (April 3)

How to Be Safe by Tom McAllister: About a devastating small town tragedy. I cannot resist a blurb that promises “We Need to Talk About Kevin meets Dept. of Speculation.” (April 3)

Macbeth by Jo Nesbo: A thriller based on the Shakespeare classic, set in a 1970s industrial town, from the author of The Snowman. (April 10)

Circe by Madeline Miller: Miller follows up The Song of Achilles with a new story of mythology, about Circe, a young witch banished by Zeus who must choose between the gods or the mortals. (April 10)

Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean: A look at brilliant and outspoken women of the 20th century, such as Nora Ephron, Dorothy Parker, and Joan Didion. (April 10)

Heads of the Colored People: Stories by Nafissa Thompson-Spires: Timely and darkly funny stories examining black identity in a supposedly post-racial era. (April 10)

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman: Carol has a condition that makes her fall into comas that give the appearance of her having died. She always recovers, until the day her greedy husband decides to have her declared dead. (April 10)

And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O’Connell: O’Connell’s funny and fiercely honest account of what it means to become a parent before she even really felt like a grown up. (April 10)

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein: A compelling biography of Sandra Parkhurst, who was raised as a little boy in a violent home and is now a compassionate woman who helps people deal with the devastation and debris of their lives. (April 10)

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee: If nothing else about the coming year excites you, at least be happy we have a new Alexander Chee book! And it’s nonfiction! I love his novels, but he is also wicked smart, and has many insightful, thoughtful things to say about the world. (April 24)

You Think It, I’ll Say It: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld: The author of Eligible and Prep returns with a collection of stories about class, gender roles, and relationships in America today. (April 24)

West by Carys Davies: The debut novel from the author of The Redemption of Galen Pike, about a restless widower on the American frontier who abandons his daughter in search of undiscovered animals. (April 24)

Books Coming Out In May, 2018

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel: The third book of the Themis Files, continuing the story of the giant silver hand and the woman who discovered it as a young girl. (May 1)

The Pisces by Melissa Broder: The author of So Sad Today returns with a novel about a young woman who strikes up a relationship with a mysterious midnight swimmer. (May 1)

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture edited by Roxane Gay: A provocative collection of essays that address the harassment, aggression, and violence that women face daily. Contributors include Ally Sheedy, Gabrielle Union, and Amy Jo Burns. (May 1)

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam: A new novel from the author of Rich and Pretty, about a woman struggling with new motherhood who feels a connection to her new nanny, a relationship that forces her to confront her privilege. (May 8)

The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard Russo: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s first collection of personal essays on a broad range of subjects, from a commencement speech, to Mark Twain, to a friend’s gender affirmation surgery. (May 8)

Tin Man by Sarah Winman: A moving novel about the friendship and love between two boys and the woman who comes between them when they are men. (May 15)

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro: Since his father’s death at the hands of the Oakland police, Moss Jeffries has suffered panic attacks. Six years later, he finds himself and other students to be the subject of racially motivated harassment and discrimination at his high school. (May 22)

I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain by Will Walton: The author of Anything Could Happen returns with a touching young adult novel about dealing with grief and navigating life. (May 29)

Books Coming Out In June, 2018

Florida by Lauren Groff: In the follow-up to her bestselling novel, Fates and Furies, Groff discusses the mysteries, marvels, and dangers of everyday life, spanning several centuries in Florida. (June 5)

Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt: The new novel from the author of The Daughters is a psychological mystery about a dangerous love triangle, inspired by the Nabokov marriage. (June 5)

Who is Vera Kelly? By Rosalie Knecht: A witty young woman in Greenwich Village in the 1960s is recruited to work for the CIA. By the author of Relief Map. (June 12)

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman: Fifteen authors—including Melissa de la Cruz, Renée Ahdieh, and Julie Kagawa—reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in this anthology. (June 26)

What other books coming out in 2018 are you most excited about?