There are plenty of ways to welcome in the new year, but after the parties end and the champagne loses its fizz, books will still be there for you – especially if you’re looking for ways to read more. While 2024 was a banner year for literature, bringing us prize-winning books from local writers like “James” by Percival Everett and “Soldiers and Kings” by Jason De León, there’s plenty more to look forward to in 2025 as well.
And while there are lists featuring new books from best-selling authors you know such as Stephen King, R.F. Kuang, Suzanne Collins, Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins Reid and more, we’re excited to talk about a host of novels and nonfiction coming out in the early part of the year that you might not be hearing as much about. These include works of memoir, mystery, horror, history, translation and fiction from a range of publishers including the largest to the independents.
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If you’ve got a gift card at a local independent bookstore or are already planning what to request at your local library, we’re here to help. From debut authors to returning masters, and lighthearted reads to ones tackling serious issues, here are 36 books coming over the next three months that we have our eyes on.
“The Life of Herod the Great”
Author: Zora Neale Hurston
What It’s About: A never-before-published book by the late, legendary author and anthropologist Hurston (“Their Eyes Were Watching God”) is always going to be a significant literary event. This historical novel, written in the 1950s and previously seen only by a few scholars, is her take on the Roman Jewish king.
Publication Date: Jan. 7
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“Mothers and Sons”
Author: Adam Haslett
What It’s About: Haslett’s Pulitzer Prize finalist “Imagine Me Gone” is one of the most stunningly powerful novels in recent years. His new book follows a New York asylum attorney who takes on the case of a young gay man, which forces him to confront his longtime estrangement from his mother.
Publication Date: Jan. 7
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“The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story”
Author: Pagan Kennedy
What It’s About: This book gives long overdue credit to Martha “Marty” Goddard, the inventor of the rape kit, used to help identify perpetrators of sexual assault. Goddard is one of the most important people in forensics history, but never got her due: The kit she created, which would become an even more powerful tool in later years as DNA testing became possible, was named after a male police sergeant. Kennedy’s powerful book, which explores Goddard’s life as well as the author’s own, sets the record straight.
Publication Date: Jan. 14
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“The Gloomy Girl Variety Show: A Memoir”
Author: Freda Epum
What It’s About: Writer and artist Epum blends memoir, criticism and poetry to tell the story of her life as an American-born daughter of Nigerian parents. Epum writes about popular culture as a way of examining her own identity and her struggle with severe mental illness, which led to several psychiatric hospital stays.
Publication Date: Jan. 14
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“Death of the Author”
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
What It’s About: Okorafor (“Binti,” “Akata Warrior”) has won just about every science fiction and fantasy award there is. She goes meta in her latest novel, which tells the story of a Nigerian American woman who finds unexpected success with a science fiction novel but isn’t prepared for the effect it has on the world.
Publication Date: Jan. 14
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“I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free”
Author: Lee Hawkins
What It’s About: Former Wall Street Journal reporter Hawkins makes his literary debut with a chronicle of the racial trauma that his family underwent for generations as survivors of slavery and victims of racial violence.
Publication Date: Jan. 14
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“We Do Not Part”
Author: Han Kang, translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris
What It’s About: The timing couldn’t be better for a new book in English translation from South Korean writer Han, who in October won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In this one, the author of “The Vegetarian” spins a tale about a woman who pledges to rescue her injured friend’s beloved bird, but is waylaid by a snowstorm.
Publication Date: Jan. 21
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“Good Dirt”
Author: Charmaine Wilkerson
What It’s About: Wilkerson charmed readers with her 2022 novel “Black Cake,” which was praised by Barack Obama and Jenna Bush Hager, and adapted into a Hulu series. Her new one follows Ebby, the scion of a wealthy Black family who is reckoning with the long-ago death of her brother.
Publication Date: Jan. 28
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“The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir”
Author: Neko Case
What It’s About: Known both for her work in the indie rock band the New Pornographers and her genre-spanning solo career, Case has been delighting music fans since her first solo album, “The Virginian,” was released in 1997. This book tells the story of her life growing up poor and lonely, and her experiences becoming one of the country’s most original, and beloved, musicians.
Publication Date: Jan. 28
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“Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People”
Author: Imani Perry
What It’s About: Harvard professor Perry is one of America’s most notable public intellectuals; she won a National Book Award for her 2022 book “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation.” Her new book is a meditation on the significance of the color blue in Black culture and history.
Publication Date: Jan. 28
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“Lion”
Author: Sonya Walger
What It’s About: Television fans might know Alger for her roles as Penny Widmore on “Lost” and Molly Cobb on “For All Mankind.” Now she’s adding author to her résumé with this novel about an actress who looks back on her childhood as the daughter of a larger-than-life, adrenaline-addicted father.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“Origin Stories”
Author: Corinna Vallianatos
What It’s About: The third book from Claremont McKenna visiting professor Vallianatos, set in both Southern California and Virginia, is a short story collection that touches on several themes, including love, anxiety, motherhood, art, and friendship.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“How Good It Is I Have No Fear Of Dying: Lieutenant Yulia Mykytenko’s Fight for Ukraine”
Author: Lara Marlowe
What It’s About: Mykytenko has emerged as one of the heroic figures in the war between Ukraine and Russia; her father self-immolated to protest Russia’s invasion, and not long after, her husband was killed in the war. This book, told in Mykytenko’s voice, is a look at what’s happening on the front lines of the bitter conflict.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“Dead in the Frame”
Author: Stephen Spotswood
What It’s About: Spotswood debuted his detective duo Lillian Pentecost and Willowjean Parker in the 2020 novel “Fortune Favors the Dead.” In his fifth installment in the series, set in 1947 New York, Pentecost is jailed in connection with the slaying of a financier, and Parker must work around the clock to prove that her partner is innocent.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“The Department”
Author: Jacqueline Faber
What It’s About: The debut novel from L.A. author Faber follows a philosophy professor with a crumbling family and fading career who becomes obsessed with finding a student at his university who has gone missing. Psychological thriller fans will likely want to check this one out.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“The Edge of Water”
Author: Olufunke Grace Bankole
What It’s About: Portland, Oregon-based author Bankole’s writing has appeared in some of the country’s most prestigious literary journals. Her first novel tells the story of Amina, a woman who moves from Nigeria to New Orleans; not long after she arrives, a hurricane hurtles toward the city, putting the lives of its residents at risk.
Publication Date: Feb. 4
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“Little Mysteries: Nine Miniature Puzzles to Confuse, Enthrall, and Delight”
Author: Sara Gran
What It’s About: Gran is beloved among mystery readers for her series of books featuring private investigator Claire DeWitt (most recently “The Infinite Blacktop”). Her latest is a short story collection that promises plenty of twists — and brings back Claire for some new adventures.
Publication Date: Feb. 9
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“Loca”
Author: Alejandro Heredia
What It’s About: Heredia’s debut novel is set in 1999 and follows two best friends: Sal, a nerdy guy who has moved to New York from Santo Domingo, and Charo, a woman stuck in a loveless marriage with a controlling man. Their lives change after Sal falls in love with someone he meets at a gay club.
Publication Date: Feb. 11
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“Marginlands: A Journey into India’s Vanishing Landscapes”
Author: Arati Kumar-Rao
What It’s About: The first book from National Geographic journalist Kumar-Rao chronicles her journey into some of India’s most remarkable — and threatened — terrains, including the Thar Desert and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river delta.
Publication Date: Feb. 11
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“Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories”
Author: Amanda Peters
What It’s About: Peters’ debut novel, “The Berry Pickers,” was a hit for California publisher Counterpoint; the book won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Her first collection of short stories explores the lives of Indigenous people across various timelines and locations.
Publication Date: Feb. 11
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“A Perfect Day to Be Alone”
Author: Nanae Aoyama, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
What It’s About: Aoyama is one of Japan’s best-known, and most decorated, authors of fiction. Her first book to be published in English follows Chizu, a 20-year-old woman who moves in with an elderly, eccentric family member in Tokyo and her cats, and eventually learns what it means to become an adult.
Publication Date: Feb. 11
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“Snowy Day and Other Stories”
Author: Lee Chang-dong, translated by Yoosup Chang and Heinz Insu Fenkl
What It’s About: South Korean filmmaker Lee is best known to American cinephiles for his films including “Secret Sunshine” and “Poetry,” but readers in his home country have long had an appreciation for his fiction as well. This collection of his short stories, originally published in the 1980s, is the first time English-language readers will get to wade into his disquieting fiction.
Publication Date: Feb. 18
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“True Failure”
Author: Alex Higley
What It’s About: PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize nominee Higley’s new novel is all about deception. It tells the story of a man who loses his job, doesn’t tell his wife, and instead dedicates his time to auditioning for a “Shark Tank”-type reality TV show. He doesn’t know that she’s harboring a work-related secret of her own. Higley’s work is always a joy to read, and this funny and deeply intelligent book is no exception.
Publication Date: Feb. 25
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“The Talent”
Author: Daniel D’Addario
What It’s About: Variety chief correspondent D’Addario makes his fiction debut with a subject matter he knows well: Hollywood awards season. His witty but sweet novel follows five actresses all vying for a prestigious prize, each of whom has a reason for wanting to take home the trophy.
Publication Date: Feb. 25
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“Optional Practical Training”
Author: Shubha Sunder
What It’s About: Massachusetts-based author Sunder won praise for her 2023 short story collection “Boomtown Girl.” Her new novel is the story of a young Indian woman working for a year in the U.S. after graduating from an American college with a physics degree; she takes a job as a teacher, but wants nothing more than to finish a novel she’s writing.
Publication Date: March 4
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“No Less Strange or Wonderful: Essays”
Author: A. Kendra Greene
What It’s About: Author and artist Greene’s follow-up to the offbeat and delightful “The Museum of Whales You Will Never See” is an illustrated essay collection on a variety of topics, including a dress made out of balloons, giant sloths, and exploding woodpeckers. Greene has a way of finding meaning in the unlikeliest of subjects.
Publication Date: March 4
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“The Dream Hotel”
Author: Laila Lalami
What It’s About: L.A. author Lalami wrote two of the best novels in recent years: “The Moor’s Account,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and “The Other Americans,” shortlisted for the National Book Award. Her new novel tells the story of Sara, who is arrested at LAX because law enforcement believes she will commit a crime based on her dreams, which they have been monitoring.
Publication Date: March 4
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“Liquid: A Love Story”
Author: Mariam Rahmani
What It’s About: The debut novel from Rahmani follows an Iranian-Indian American academic in Los Angeles who decides to ditch the ivory-tower life and find a rich person to marry. The book promises to blend romantic comedy with oddball satire.
Publication Date: March 11
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“On Breathing: Care in a Time of Catastrophe”
Author: Jamieson Webster
What It’s About: The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t gone away, and neither has air pollution. In her latest book, psychoanalyst Webster takes a look at what it means to breathe, relating her own experiences as a deep-sea diver who suffered from asthma as a teenager.
Publication Date: March 11
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“The Trouble Up North”
Author: Travis Mulhauser
What It’s About: Mulhauser explored the wilds of northern Michigan in his electrifying debut novel, “Sweetgirl,” and he returns there again with his latest novel, which follows a family of bootleggers who have seen better days. The clan is torn apart after one of their members commits an arson that goes terribly wrong.
Publication Date: March 11
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“The Antidote”
Author: Karen Russell
What It’s About: Pulitzer Prize finalist Russell returns with her first novel in 14 years. This one tells the story of a group of people in the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, during the Dust Bowl, whose lives become intertwined after a storm hits on Black Sunday.
Publication Date: March 11
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“Funny Because It’s True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire”
Author: Christine Wenc
What It’s About: The satirical publication The Onion made headlines this year, first after its print edition was revived after 11 years, and then after it made a bid — later halted by a judge — to buy the right-wing conspiracy website Infowars. Wenc, one of The Onion’s original staffers, tells the story of how the publication went from a local paper in Madison, Wisconsin, to one of America’s most famous humor sites.
Publication Date: March 18
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“Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine”
Author: Callie Collins
What It’s About: Austin, Texas during the 1970s has developed a mythical status among music fans and counterculture aficionados. Debut novelist Collins revisits the Bat City of yore with the story of three people involved with a honky-tonk that turns into a blues bar beloved by hipsters.
Publication Date: March 18
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“Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One”
Author: Kristen Arnett
What It’s About: Florida author Arnett scored a bestseller in 2019 with her hilarious and touching debut novel, “Mostly Dead Things,” which she followed up three years later with “With Teeth.” Her latest, which follows Cherry, an Orlando clown who is mentored by an older lesbian magician, promises to bring her trademark humor and heart once again.
Publication Date: March 18
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“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
What It’s About: Nobody does horror quite like Jones, who has regularly frightened readers with novels like “The Only Good Indians” and “My Heart Is a Chainsaw.” His latest book tells the story of a Lutheran priest in the early-20th-century American West who has transcribed the life of a vampire.
Publication Date: March 18
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“What Is Wrong With You?”
Author: Paul Rudnick
What It’s About: You might know Rudnick from his influential, AIDS-themed stage comedy “Jeffrey,” or for writing the screenplays for “Sister Act” and “In & Out,” but he’s also a well-regarded novelist. His latest follows a motley crew of rich — and wannabe-rich — people gathering on a billionaire’s private island for a wedding.
Publication Date: March 25