Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy Wins Indie Book Awards 2026 Book of the Year
Charlotte McConaghy’s novel *Wild Dark Shore* has been named the Indie Book Awards 2026 Book of the Year, a title voted on by independent booksellers across Australia. Judges highlighted its seamless blend of literary fiction and thriller, as well as its philosophical reflections on humanity’s future. Penguin Australia praised the win as a testament to the vital role indie retailers play in championing Australian authors. Historically, Indie Book Awards winners have gone on to become best‑sellers and secure further literary honors.
Beings by Ilana Masad
Ilana Masad’s debut novel *Beings* weaves three interlocking narratives—a modern archivist, the 1960s Betty and Barney Hill UFO abduction case, and a semi‑epistolary queer coming‑of‑age story of writer Phyllis Egerton—into a single triptych. Each chapter shifts perspective, linking characters through...
This Week in Literary History: Hugo Grotius Escapes Prison in a Book Chest
Hugo Grotius, the 17th‑century Dutch jurist and prodigy, escaped life imprisonment at Loevestein Castle by hiding in a chest of books his wife regularly sent. The daring escape took place on March 22, 1621 after guards grew lax in inspecting...
Andrea Mara on Building Suspense
Andrea Mara explains the suspense technique behind her new thriller *It Should Have Been You*, which opens with a climactic scene before rewinding to reveal the events leading up to it. She argues that this “future‑prologue” grabs readers instantly, especially...
Rachel Eliza Griffiths on Finding the Poetry in Grief
Rachel Eliza Griffiths, acclaimed poet and novelist, debuted her memoir *The Flower Bearers* on the Memoir Nation podcast. The book intertwines two traumatic events—the death of poet Kamilah Aisha Moon and the stabbing of husband Salman Rushdie—to examine layered grief....
How the Idea of Human Superiority over Nature Was Invented
Michael Bond’s new book *Animate* argues that the belief in human superiority over nature is a relatively recent cultural invention, rooted in classical philosophy, Christian theology and Enlightenment rationalism. The narrative traces how this notion justified the exploitation of animals for...
Booksellers Predict Upbeat Market
The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand projects a 5‑8% growth for the domestic book market this year, modestly lower than the pre‑conflict 5‑10% range. Despite rising energy and logistics costs from the Middle East war, fixed production expenses and...
Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams
Taylor Adams’ new thriller *Her Last Breath* follows two friends, cautious Tess and adrenaline‑junkie Allie, on a perilous caving expedition in Washington’s Devil’s Staircase. A hostile stranger forces them deeper into the maze, resulting in a deadly shootout and one...
Sparkling, Stunning New Romance Books
Olivia Waite reviews Cat Sebastian’s new paperback *Star Shipped*, a contemporary romance that pairs a TV actor with an emotional‑support dachshund amid a sci‑fi backdrop. The novel explores the protagonists’ hidden mental‑illness struggles and a reluctant attraction that evolves during a...
SBTB Bestsellers: March 7 – March 20
From March 7‑20, SBTB’s bestseller list highlights a mix of romance, fantasy, and speculative fiction, compiled using affiliate sales data from major retailers. R.F. Kuang’s “Katabasis” leads, followed by Sherry Thomas’s “The Librarians” and Olivia Dade’s “Second Chance Romance.” The list features...
Book Review: ‘Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America,’ by Michael Kimmel
Playmakers by Michael Kimmel chronicles how Jewish immigrants founded and shaped the American toy industry throughout the 20th century. It follows Morris Michtom, a Minsk‑born refugee who created the first American teddy bear and launched Ideal Toy Company, alongside other...
Dorian Rhea Debussy on Women, Queer People, and the National Security State
Author Dorian Rhea Debussy’s new book, The Lavender Bans, chronicles a century of anti‑LGBTQ+ policies in the U.S. military and intelligence community, weaving personal anecdotes with archival research. The narrative spotlights figures such as fashion executive Dorothy Shaver, CIA‑denied contractor...
Seeds of Something Different
MIT historian Kate Brown’s new book “Tiny Gardens Everywhere” traces the rise of urban gardening from 19th‑century Berlin allotments to contemporary community farms worldwide. The work links historic commons‑based cultivation to the 18th‑century enclosure movement that reshaped labor and property...
What to Read This Weekend: Revisiting Project Hail Mary and The Thing on the Doorstep
The weekend roundup spotlights two high‑profile adaptations: Andy Weir’s science‑fiction novel *Project Hail Mary* arrives on the big screen, while Image Comics launches a new miniseries adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s short story *The Thing on the Doorstep*. The article urges readers to revisit the original book for its richer scientific...
Open-Ended Debate
Generative AI is rapidly entering core business functions, promising massive economic gains. Analysts estimate it could add almost $7 trillion to global GDP and boost productivity by 1.5 percentage points over ten years. Adoption is soaring, with over one‑third of firms already...
What a Century-Old Sex Manual Got Right
In 1926 Dutch gynecologist Theodoor van de Velde released *Ideal Marriage*, a 300‑page manual that framed sexual pleasure as essential to a healthy marriage and urged men to ensure their wives’ orgasm. The book became a bestseller, selling at least half a...
The Best Way to Keep Track of New Horror Books
Book Riot’s New Release Index consolidates upcoming horror titles into a searchable, date‑ordered database, letting readers filter by genre and save favorites. The tool replaces manual tracking with an intuitive cover‑scroll interface and detailed synopses. It is bundled with the...
The Best Way to Keep Track of New Romance Books
Book Riot’s New Release Index offers a curated database of upcoming romance titles, organized by release date and filterable by genre. Readers can browse cover images, read descriptions, and add favorites to a personal Watchlist, eliminating the need for manual...
Book Review: ‘Everybody’s Fly,’ by Fab 5 Freddy
Fab 5 Freddy’s memoir *Everybody’s Fly* chronicles his evolution from a Lower East Side scenester to a pivotal visual artist, filmmaker, and hip‑hop tastemaker. The book highlights his early immersion in iconic clubs like CBGB and Paradise Garage and his role in...
Book Review: ‘The Feather Wars,’ by James H. McCommons
James H. McCommons’s new book *The Feather Wars* chronicles the late‑19th‑century American craze for collecting bird eggs and skins, a hobby that drove several species toward extinction. The work details how a rag‑tag coalition of naturalists, sportsmen, artists and politicians...
‘I’ve Learned First-Hand How Evil Is Tolerated’: Colm Tóibín on Living in the US Under Trump
Colm Tóibín reflects on how a fleeting image sparked a series of stories, from an imagined illegal Irish plumber in San Francisco to his longer work “The Catalan Girls.” He ties his fictional narrative to real‑world immigration anxieties amplified by Donald...
The Month’s Best New Mystery Books
Frances Crawford’s debut mystery, A Bad, Bad Place, is highlighted as a standout in the month’s new‑book roundup. Set in 1979 working‑class Glasgow, the story follows twelve‑year‑old Janey Devine who discovers a corpse and struggles with fragmented memories. The novel...
Exiled Iranian Writer Shahrnush Parsipur on Her International Booker Prize-Nominated Novella
Iranian novelist Shahrnush Parsipur’s 1989 novella Women Without Men, a magic‑realist critique of gender and political repression, has been longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize. The work, banned and censored in Iran, circulated underground and later gained worldwide attention after...
10 Unsettling Sci-Fi Books About Humanity Existing in a Simulation
The article lists ten science‑fiction titles that dramatize humanity’s possible existence inside a simulation, from Daniel F. Galouye’s early classic *Simulacron‑3* to John Scalzi’s meta‑narrative *Redshirts*. Each work examines how simulated environments can erode identity, agency, and reality, often portraying corporate...
Don DeLillo’s Hockey Novel, ‘Amazons,’ Will Return to Stores
Don DeLillo’s long‑forgotten 1980 novel “Amazons,” a satirical memoir about the first woman to play in the NHL, will be reissued on Nov. 17, 2026, just before his 90th birthday. The book, originally published under the pseudonym Cleo Birdwell, was omitted...
Hachette Yanks Horror Novel Shy Girl From Shelves After Accusations of AI Use
Hachette Book Group has pulled the horror novel *Shy Girl* from UK shelves and cancelled its US release after an internal probe concluded large sections were generated by artificial intelligence. The book, originally self‑published by Mia Ballard and later picked up...
The Burton Book Review: ‘Lawless’ by Leah Litman
Leah Litman’s 2025 book *Lawless* argues that the current U.S. Supreme Court is weaponizing originalist and fringe legal theories to advance a Republican‑driven conservative agenda. She details how the Court has dismantled abortion rights, chipped away at LGBT protections, restricted...
Kafka’s Misdiagnosis
In a 1922 diary entry Kafka describes a self‑imposed failing that shields him from madness while also stalling any progress, framing his creative paralysis as a bargain with insanity. The essay argues that Kafka’s oeuvre reflects a neurotic rather than...
Your Complete Guide to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series blends classic cosy crime with humor and deep character work, following four retired professionals who solve real murders in a Kent retirement village. The books have sold millions worldwide, been translated into dozens of...
Remembering Calvin Tomkins, a Master of the Profile
Calvin Tomkins, the legendary New Yorker staff writer who pioneered the modern artist profile, died at 100 on March 20, 2026. Over nearly seven decades he produced more than 80 in‑depth profiles, from Marcel Duchamp to contemporary figures like Tala Madani, many of which...
Reem Bassiouney on the Importance of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, ‘It Is Literature that Bridges Differences and Times.’
Reem Bassiouney, a linguistics professor and prolific novelist, won the 2024 Sheikh Zayed Book Award for her historical novel al‑Halwani. The prize facilitated an English translation, a Frankfurt Book Fair appearance, and broader exposure beyond the Arab world. Bassiouney highlights...
A Network of Networks to Empower the Younger Generation
The Young Voices Network was launched at the London Book Fair, uniting the International Publishers Association, PEN International, and the World Expression Forum to connect fragmented youth initiatives in publishing. Created by John Steinmark and activist Ege Dündar, the network...
Whose Stories Shape Tomorrow? Introducing the Young Voices Network
At the London Book Fair, PEN International’s youngest board member, Ege Dündar, unveiled the Young Voices Network, an umbrella initiative linking the Tomorrow Club and Young Writers Committee. The network already unites 62 writers under 35 from more than 60...
When Among Crows and To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth
Veronica Roth’s first two Curse Bearer novellas, *When Among Crows* (2024) and *To Clutch a Razor* (2025), reimagine Polish folklore within a contemporary urban‑fantasy framework. The books follow Dymitr, a Polish‑American Knight of the Holy Order, as he confronts monsters...
Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity Reviewed
The review of Aimee Donnellan’s book Off the Scales examines how Ozempic, a GLP‑1 drug originally for type‑2 diabetes, has become a blockbuster obesity treatment. It details the drug’s ability to deliver rapid 20%‑plus weight loss, its side‑effect profile, and...
Life in the Himalaya | Review of Anuradha Roy’s Called by the Hills
Anuradha Roy’s debut memoir *Called by the Hills* chronicles her everyday life in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand, blending garden observations with the stark realities of a warming Himalaya. The 200‑page book eschews sentimental escape narratives, opting for understated humor and vivid metaphors...
10 Love Lessons From Luca Maggiora’s New Book Before You Go
Luca Maggiora, owner of London’s iconic Tramp club, has released *Before You Go: What I Learned About Love – Ten Lessons That Change Everything*. Drawing on personal experience and years of therapy, the book distills ten practical lessons for sustaining...
The Names Author Florence Knapp: ‘I’d Love to Write with Maya Angelou’s Warmth’
Florence Knapp, debut author of "The Names," reflects on the books and writers that shaped her literary sensibility, from childhood favorites like Shirley Hughes to teenage revelations such as Charlotte Brontë. She admires Maya Angelou’s warmth and Claire Keegan’s relational nuance,...
Benjamin Stevenson on the “Gamification” Of Crime Fiction
Author Benjamin Stevenson argues that crime fiction is entering a “gamified” phase, where fair‑play mysteries invite readers to solve the puzzle like a game. He traces the history of genre rebranding—from Nordic Noir to cosy mysteries—and explains how fair‑play has...
10 Kids’ Books for Fans of The Baby-Sitters Club
The article lists ten contemporary children’s books that capture the spirit of Ann M. Martin’s beloved *The Baby‑Sitters Club*. It highlights titles such as *A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting* and *Best Babysitters Ever*, which blend friendship drama with entrepreneurial or supernatural...
Paperback Vs. Hardcover: Which Is Better For Readers (and For Writers)?
The article compares paperback and hardcover formats, noting readers favor paperbacks for price and portability. It argues hardcovers convey publisher commitment, attract more serious reviews, and offer higher royalty rates. Recent industry shifts—mass‑market paperback retirement, Barnes & Noble’s push for...
Chain of Ideas by Ibram X Kendi Review – Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory
Ibram X Kendi’s new 500‑page book *Chain of Ideas* maps the ideological scaffolding of the so‑called great replacement theory, arguing it is a chain of interlocking ideas that fuels today’s authoritarian surge. He traces the concept from its French origin with...
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[Comment] Offline: Intelligence Does Not Prevent Stupidity
Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 novel *The Wizard of the Kremlin* imagines a former Putin aide recounting the leader’s evolution from intelligence officer to autocrat. Through the fictional advisor Vadim Baranov, the book draws a stark contrast between a West driven...
Shotgun Ornithology
James H. McCommons’s new book *The Feather Wars* chronicles the 19th‑century battle to save America’s songbirds. It reveals how logging, agriculture, fashion, and even scientific collecting decimated bird populations. The narrative highlights the emergence of the first organized conservation movement...
Horror Novel ‘Shy Girl’ Canceled Over Suspected A.I. Use
Hachette Book Group withdrew the upcoming horror novel “Shy Girl” after The New York Times alleged the manuscript was largely AI‑generated. The Orbit imprint halted the U.S. spring release and removed the title from its UK catalog, where only 1,800 print copies...
TikTok Expands #BookTok Bestseller Lists Across Europe and the UK
TikTok is extending its #BookTok bestseller rankings to six additional European markets, including Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. The new lists will combine TikTok’s engagement data with NielsenIQ BookData sales figures to produce monthly trend reports. The...
Jacinda Ardern to Headline 40th Melbourne Writers Festival
The Melbourne Writers Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary with a four‑day program from 7‑10 May 2026, featuring more than 150 artists across the city. The festival’s theme, Visions & Revisions, invites writers and thinkers to explore imagined futures, personal narratives,...
The United Kingdom Opportunity: Print, Distribute, & Grow with IngramSpark
The United Kingdom remains a powerhouse publishing market, with roughly 195 million print books sold in 2024 and a £1.82 bn retail value. Success in the UK often serves as a springboard to the U.S. library system and broader North American retail...
Collective of Tamil Creators, Readers, and Social Activists Demands Withdrawal of Jnanpith Award to Vairamuthu
A coalition of 230 Tamil writers, readers, and activists has called for the immediate withdrawal of the Jnanpith Award granted to poet‑lyricist Vairamuthu. The petition argues his work fails to reflect core Tamil cultural values and cites 18 women’s #MeToo...
New Biography of Ethel Kennedy, Written by Her Daughter Kerry, to Debut This Fall
Author Kerry Kennedy announced a new biography of her mother, Ethel Kennedy, titled *Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy*, slated for release on October 13, 2026. The book draws on Kerry’s firsthand memories and exclusive access to Ethel’s...