The Most Anticipated Books of 2024

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We don’t know much about what 2024 will bring, but we do know this: It’ll be a good year to be a bookworm. Some of our favorite writers are switching genres (hello, Leila Mottley, Lydia Millet, and Phillip B. Williams), and others are returning after many years with books that are well worth the wait. While you might recognize many of the names on this list—Kiley Reid and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., to name just a few—we’re excited to also introduce you to new authors whose works astonish. Get ready to put in some preorders; your TBR list is about to get a whole lot longer.

Ours, by Phillip B. Williams

In his debut novel, award-winning poet Phillip B. Williams transports us back to the antebellum South—but with a liberatory, supernatural twist. A woman named Saint has the power to “conjure” the destruction of plantations, rescue the enslaved laborers, and transport them to a magically shrouded haven: an all-Black town called “Ours.” The formerly enslaved inhabitants of Ours are free, but “freedom didn’t mean safety.” Fans of The Underground Railroad, The Water Dancer, and Let Us Descend will devour this lyrical and surreal saga.

The Tree Doctor, by Marie Mutsuki Mockett

Stranded by disease and separated from her family in Hong Kong, Mockett’s unnamed narrator returns home to care for her ailing mother. There, she becomes fixated on her mother’s garden; specifically, her cherry tree. Juggling the demands of caregiving, teaching, and a budding affair with an arborist, this sensual and profound novel is an exploration of the national cycle of life and death, echoing themes of The Tale of Genji.

Bear, by Julia Phillips

The critically acclaimed author of Disappearing Earth returns with this modern-day fable of two sisters and the mysterious animal that arrives on their shores. Sam and Elena, living an impoverished and isolated life off the coast of Washington, dream of escape—until the appearance of a strange bear upends their plans. Mythical and enchanting, Philips’s second novel delves into sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among—and within—us all.

Leaving, by Roxana Robinson

College sweethearts Sarah and Warren were never meant to see each other again. But decades later, when a chance encounter brings them together, their ensuing affair threatens the lives they have built. Robinson’s upcoming novel is an impassioned portrayal of desire and loyalty, of romantic love and family duty, and an exploration into what we owe to each other—and to ourselves.

Woke Up No Light, by Leila Mottley

The debut poetry collection from the author of Oprah’s 96th Book Club pick, Nightcrawling , takes readers on a journey from Black girlhood to womanhood with love, pain, and resounding beauty. Though Mottley’s own adolescence was exceptional (by 17, she had been named the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate and written her first novel), these poems capture the exhilaration—and the vulnerability—of youth with a clarity anyone can connect to.

The Fetishist, by Katherine Min

In the introduction, Cathy Park Hong describes this novel as “a reframing of Lolita from the perspective of an Asian fetishist.” Min’s debut novel, Secondhand World, was widely acclaimed when it was published in 2006; tragically, the author died of cancer before this, her second novel, could be published. The book, which tells the story of a white man’s infatuation, an Asian woman’s death, and a grieving, punk rocker daughter’s quest for revenge features an afterword by Min’s own daughter, who helped bring this posthumous final work to readers.

Did I Ever Tell You?, by Genevieve Kingston

Based on Kingston’s viral “Modern Love” essay, this debut memoir tells a daughter’s story of grief and a mother’s devotion. In the eight years between her terminal cancer diagnosis and her death, Kingston’s mother prepared boxes for her children to mark the milestones she would not live to see: a gift for each of them when they got their driver’s licenses, for graduation, and for each birthday through the age of 30. Two decades after her mother’s passing, Kingston is left with three remaining boxes—engagement, marriage, and first baby—and a lifetime of memories to unpack.

Wandering Stars, by Tommy Orange

The second novel from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of There, There captures three years of Native American history through the intimate lens of a single family whose intergenerational experience—and trauma—links Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre of 1862 to Oakland’s gun violence in 2018. Full of lyricism and resounding rage, this tale exposes the indisputable connection between a family’s past and a nation’s future.

Dead Weight, by Emmeline Clein

In this debut essay collection, Clein puts her own experience of disordered eating in direct conversation with other women and the wider culture: from Jennifer’s Body to Tumblr rabbit holes, anorexic medieval saints, and rail-thin pop culture icons, the girls Clein grew up with and the women they—and she—grew into.

A Kind of Madness, by Uche Okonkwo

This debut short-story collection features 10 stories set in present-day Nigeria, all concerned with madness—both the literal madness of mental illness as well as the unruliness of outsize emotions like envy, shame, and desire.

Splinters, by Leslie Jamison

The bestselling author of The Empathy Exams and The Recovering is back with her most personal work yet: a memoir exploring the dissolution of her own marriage, the legacy of her parents’ fraught relationship, and the terrifying, joyous promise of her young daughter’s future. You’ll need tissues and a highlighter for this one.

Women and Children First, by Alina Grabowski

A young woman dies at a house party, sending ripples out through her community. Each of the 10 chapters in this debut novel is told from the perspective of a different woman in a small coastal town as they reckon with the complexities of their grief, responsibility, and interconnectedness.

Come & Get It, by Kiley Reid

The follow-up to Reid’s bestselling debut, Such a Fun Age, this is a story of collegiate ambition, jealousy, and exploitation—with a few nasty dorm pranks thrown in for good measure. A senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas accepts an unusual opportunity from a visiting professor, throwing her meticulously planned life into a tailspin.

There’s Going to Be Trouble, by Jen Silverman

From the acclaimed author of We Play Ourselves, we have the interwoven stories of a father and a daughter as they each try to find a place in the political upheavals of their times. Spanning from the late ’60s to the present day, from the chemistry labs of Harvard to the streets of Paris, this novel asks prescient questions about personal sacrifice, political responsibility, generational secrets, and the space for love in times of revolution.

Dead in Long Beach, California, by Venita Blackburn

In this debut novel from the acclaimed short-story author of How to Wrestle a Girl, a dystopian writer discovers her brother’s body—and his cellphone. Blinded by grief, she begins responding to his texts as him, blurring the boundaries between the world she is living in and the one she is inventing on the page.

Hard by a Great Forest, by Leo Vardiashvili

Twenty years after seeking asylum with his two young sons in England, Irakli returns to Georgia and mysteriously disappears, leaving his children to grapple with the cryptic message he left behind and each of their memories of their war-torn past. This debut novel captures both the long scars of collective trauma and the indomitable spirit of those determined to remember and survive.

The Black Box, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

As a renowned professor, activist, director, journalist, and author of more than a half-dozen books (including Finding Oprah’s Roots), Gates has established himself as one of the preeminent voices on race in America. In his latest nonfiction work, he explores how writing has shaped and reshaped Black American identity, from the narratives of the enslaved to the earth-shattering works of authors like Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and James Baldwin.

Real Americans, by Rachel Khong

The award-winning author of Goodbye Vitamin returns with a novel that follows two generations of a Chinese American family as they reckon with the pressures of assimilation and belonging. Lily, the child of immigrants who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution, falls for Matthew, an East Coast pharmaceutical heir, while working as an unpaid intern for a glossy media company. Years later, Lily is a single mother, and, Nick, her 15-year-old son, embarks on a quest to find his father.

James, by Percival Everett

From the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of two dozen acclaimed novels comes a radical retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of one of American literature’s most fraught characters: the formerly enslaved (and arguably stereotypical) Jim.

Private Equity, by Carrie Sun

Sun’s beginnings as an early graduate from MIT eventually led her to a role at a top Wall Street hedge fund, assisting its billionaire founder. But this soon leaves her struggling for stability in a polarizing world. Her debut memoir offers a penetrating but all the more necessary critique of extreme wealth and toxic work culture as she questions what it really means to waste one’s life.

Wild Life, by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

This debut memoir from acclaimed wildlife ecologist Rae Wynn-Grant is a poignant exploration of the natural world. As sensitive and touching as it is urgent, the narrative follows her 20-year-long career in the wilderness, examining both our relationship and our responsibility to the world—and, of course, those with whom we share it.

The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt

From the bestselling author of numerous books, including, most recently, The Coddling of the American Mind, comes a reckoning against our smartphone-centered modern life. In The Anxious Generation, Haidt offers in-depth explanations of our youth’s mental health crisis—and why it keeps getting worse. (Hint: A play-based childhood has become almost entirely phone-based.…)

Liquid, Fragile, Perishable, by Carolyn Kuebler

Told through interlocking narratives, this poignant debut novel captures a year in the life of a small Vermont town—but don’t let the pastoral locale fool you; this book is anything but sleepy. Moving effortlessly from the steamy to the heartbreaking, the novel handles themes such as poverty, first love, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, and lust with refreshing nuance.

The Paris Novel, by Ruth Reichl

After Stella’s estranged mother dies, she’s left with an odd inheritance: a one-way ticket to Paris. For the timid and lost young woman, moving there is hardly an easy task—but that soon changes. Set in the 1980s, Reichl’s upcoming novel is a delicious feast for the senses, taking the reader on an enchanting journey through the city of love, and following Stella’s adventure into a bolder, more beautiful life.

Blue Ruin, by Hari Kunzru

Former-artist-turned-struggling-essential-worker Jay has all but resigned himself to an impoverished life. That is, until a chance reunion with his former art school lover, Alice—and her surprising invitation that follows—upends his world. Kunzru’s seventh novel is a triumph of beauty and a true ode to the artist.

The Storm We Made, by Vanessa Chan

Set during World War II, this riveting story depicts a Malayan mother, Cecily, who becomes a spy for Japan—and the painful, if entirely unintended, consequences that follow for her family. Chan’s debut novel intricately intertwines the horrors of war and colonization with the complexities of motherhood and family.

The Waters, by Bonnie Jo Campbell

This compelling rural noir novel centers on a family of women living in the Great Massasauga swamp of Michigan. Herbalist Hermine “Herself” Zook is feared by the locals and estranged from her three daughters, the youngest of which, a wayward Rose Thorn, has left her own daughter (Dorothy “Donkey” Zook) to grow up in the swamp. But when secrets and violence threaten Donkey’s idyllic life, the only one who can close the divide is Rose Thorn herself.

The Morningside, by Téa Obreht

After fleeing their home, Silvia and her mother have relocated to a crumbling luxury tower—the Morningside—in a not-so-distant future where their city is half underwater. This touching and inventive novel follows a young woman searching for meaning and belonging, both through her loving aunt’s stories and the enigmatic resident of the building’s penthouse suite.

All Fours, by Miranda July

From the bestselling author of The First Bad Man comes an irreverent and brilliantly touching story of a woman’s quest for freedom. A 45-year-old, semi-famous artist plans to drive from her home in Los Angeles to New York City—but soon finds herself on an entirely different journey.

We Loved It All, by Lydia Millet

Millet’s debut nonfiction book is an exploration of nature, humanity’s complex role in the animal kingdom, and the challenge of loving what we harm—and harming what we love. Drawing on her experience at the Center for Biological Diversity, her genre-defying book argues passionately for the recognition of humanity’s emotional and spiritual connectedness with “the others”: the nonhuman beings with whom we share this world.

This Strange Eventful History, by Claire Messud

Spanning from 1940 to 2010, This Strange Eventful History follows the pieds-noirs Cassar family, fleeing from WWII and their complex colonial homeland. Deeply intertwined with the sociopolitical upheaval of the 20th century, and inspired by Messud’s own family history, this sweeping narrative is as intimate as it is profound.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

This book follows Cyrus, an orphaned son of Iranian immigrants whose life has been marred by violence. Guided by the voices of different martyrs, he embarks on a journey to uncover his old family secrets. Akbar’s debut novel is a heartfelt reflection on the search for meaning in life—through poetry, through faith, and through ourselves.

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