It’s a big year for Chicago Review of Books. We turn 10 in February and will spend the year celebrating a decade of dedication to literary excellence. In March, our Editor-in-Chief, Michael Welch, will publish an anthology he edited, On an Inland Sea. In May, our Managing Director, Rachel León, will publish her debut novel, How We See the Gray. And then in August, one of our Daily Editors, Victor Ladis Schultz, will publish his debut novel, The Book of the Jaguar. (It’s not yet available for preorder, but everyone around here can’t wait to do so!)
On top of all that, there are dozens of books we’re highly anticipating! 2026 looks to be a great year for books. Here are our picks for the books we’re most excited about this year.
The Last Quarter of the Moon
Written by Chi Zijian, Translated by Bruce Humes
Milkweed Editions
January 13, 2026
I’m committed to reading more work in translation this year, and one on my TBR is The Last Quarter of the Moon, which won the Mao Dun Literature Prize, China’s most prestigious literary award. That, combined with it coming out with Milkweed Editions, makes me excited to check it out. — Rachel León, Managing Director
A Black Queer History of the United States
By C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost
Beacon Press
January 20, 2026
Knowing our history is always important, but especially at a time when the lives of people with certain identities are under attack. This book weaves narratives of historical queer and trans figures, and to borrow the press copy: “Snorton and Bost show how the Black queer community has always existed, regardless of the attempts to stamp it out, and how those in it continue to fight for their rightful place in the world.” — Rachel León, Managing Director
Vigil
By George Saunders
Random House
January 27, 2026
New George Saunders is the perfect way to kick off 2026. The bard of the afterlife returns with another novel about the liminal space between life and death. Vigil takes place at the bedside of an oil company CEO in the twilight hours of his life as he is ferried from this world into the next. While I don’t often like to point to a book’s length, at a slim 192 pages, I’m ready for an absolute firecracker of a story that wastes no time in pulling at your heartstrings.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Mass Mothering
By Sarah Bruni
Henry Holt and Co.
February 3, 2026
Mass Mothering is such a fascinating and unique novel about the power of witness and the power of and questions around telling someone else’s story. The novel is composed of two sections—one about an amateur translator living in a surreal, late-capitalist city and the other is the book she is trying to translate, which documents the stories of a community of mothers who assemble to mourn their missing sons together. I yearn for books that are structured and move in ways that surprise me, and from start to finish Mass Mothering completely dazzled me in its ambition and skill.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
With the Heart of a Ghost
By Lim Sunwoo, translated by Chi-Young Kim
Unnamed Press
February 10, 2026
Another book in translation I have my eye on is With the Heart of a Ghost, a story collection by Lim Sunwoo and translated by Chi-Young Kim. It’s a debut collection with stories that are described as “fantastical” and explore unseen, unconveyed, and unexplainable feelings. Plus, the cover with a floating jellyfish makes it look pretty delightful. — Rachel León, Managing Director
You Know Nothing
by Yasmina Din Madden
Curbstone Books
February 15, 2026
Another debut story collection— this one focuses on girls and women’s bodies and emotions. I haven’t read Yasmina Din Madden’s work before, but between the cover, the description, the publisher, and the advance praise, I’m sold.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth
By Daisy Hernández
Hogarth
February 17, 2026
This book sounds so timely and important. Daisy Hernández combines her vantage point as the daughter of Colombian and Cuban immigrants with research to “unpack citizenship not as a fixed legal status but as a living, breathing story shaped by race, gender, immigration, and power, and expose the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a people.”
— Rachel León, Managing Director
A Good Animal
By Sara Maurer
St. Martin’s Press
February 24, 2026
Sara Maurer’s debut is a beautiful story about young love in farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. A Good Animal is at turns deeply tender and startlingly clear-eyed about the brutalities of rural life, but what really sets this novel apart is the way Maurer is able to perfectly capture the perspective of her young narrator Everett. Through his eyes we see a boy trying to chart his path toward becoming a man. Will he leave home for love or stay in the home he feels deeply called to? Will he be guided by tenderness or toxicity as a man? A Good Animal is such a breath of fresh air. — Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Brawler: Stories
By Lauren Groff
Riverhead Books
February 24, 2026
Even if you’re not a Lauren Groff completist as I am (humblebrag), a new collection of stories from one of our best working writers is cause for huge celebration! Brawler is Groff’s first collection since 2018’s Florida, and includes nine stories, the connective tissue of which, according to Groff, is “the violence that lurks within familial spaces.” — Greg Zimmerman, Daily Editor
Now I Surrender
By Álvaro Enrigue
Riverhead Books
March 3, 2026
Álvaro Enrigue’s last novel, You Dreamed of Empires, was one of my favorite books I read that year. His latest follows a woman on a desperate flight from an Apache raid amid the Mexico-US border wars. Enrigue’s writing is such a fascinating blend of history, fiction, and social analysis, and Now I Surrender looks as if it will directly take on the myth of how the West was “won.”
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts
By Kim Fu
Tin House
March 3, 2026
Kim Fu is back after their captivating collection Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, and I can’t wait. The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts is a horror story about home ownership and the haunts of the past. This is a propulsive novel that perfectly weaves together deep explorations of grief, loneliness, and the desire to find your home.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
The Complex
By Karan Mahajan
Viking
March 10, 2026
I loved Karan Mahajan’s debut National Book Award finalist novel, The Association of Small Bombs, and can’t wait to check out his new novel. The Complex moves between the US and India and is described as both a family saga and political drama, dealing with revenge and redemption, ambition and undoing, loyalty and love. — Rachel León, Managing Director
Whidbey
By T Kira Madden
Mariner Books
March 10, 2026
I heard T Kira Madden talk years ago about how she was working on a novel and as fan of her memoir, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, I was interested in checking it out, but the blurbs make me even more eager to get my hands on it. Carmen Maria Machado’s blurb begins, “It is not enough to say that Whidbey is a masterpiece or T Kira Madden is a genius—it is, she is…” I can’t wait.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Everybody Needs Something
By Melanie Pappadis Faranello
Columbus State University Press
March 15, 2026
I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but come on: Look at this cover! I got a sneak peek at this beautiful story collection and Melanie Pappadis Faranello brings a level of thoughtfulness to her work that I admire and appreciate.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Hard Times
By Jeff Boyd
Flatiron Books
March 17, 2026
Jeff Boyd’s Hard Times follows the aftermath of a Chicago shooting through the eyes of Buddy, a literature-loving South Side teacher who ends up needing to stand up for what he believes in. It’s sure to be a gripping and masterful second novel from the teacher-turned-author who dazzled readers with his debut The Weight in 2023. — Ruby Rosenthal, Social Media Manager
Replica
By Lisa Low
University of Wisconsin Press
Published March 24, 2026
Stand-up comedy, a celebrity non-apology, observations of racism, and the slipperiness of nostalgia underpin Replica, Lisa Low’s debut poetry collection. Low is StoryStudio Chicago’s Curriculum Coordinator, and Replica follows her chapbook, Crown for the Girl Inside, which is truly fantastic. — Greg Zimmerman, Daily Editor
Python’s Kiss: Stories
By Louise Erdrich
Harper
Published March 24, 2026
Louise Erdrich is one of our greatest living writers, so each new book she publishes feels like an event. Her latest is a short story collection, which thrills me, particularly because she’s written these stories over the past two decades so it’s a while in the making. — Rachel León, Managing Director
Day Care
By Nora Lange
Two Dollar Radio
April 7, 2026
Nora Lange’s debut Us Fools was an undeniable announcement of an exciting new voice in literature. In this new collection, she takes direct aim at motherhood and matrimony, creating short stories that are at turns brutal, chaotic, and laugh-out-loud funny. — Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
My Dear You
By Rachel Khong
Knopf
April 7, 2026
I always appreciate Rachel Khong’s writing, so was quick to request her forthcoming short story collection. I’m only a few stories in, but can tell you this collection is wonderful. The stories are a little quirky and comic, but also sharp and insightful.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Wife Shaped Bodies
By Laura Cranehill
S&S/Saga Press
April 14, 2026
In this electric debut, a newlywed covered in mushroom growths like all the other wives in her community must navigate her husband’s strict rules while pursuing an intense connection with a woman who makes her question everything. Laura Cranehill is a can’t-miss new talent in literary horror. Her writing is haunting and always deadly precise, crafting worlds that will leave you entranced, disgusted, and delighted. Part eco-horror and part psychological thriller with a message, Wife Shaped Bodies is an unforgettable novel.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Chrissy Martin
Whole, Holy, Hot
Write Bloody Publishing
April 17, 2026
Poetry collections don’t make it on Most Anticipated lists nearly enough, but here’s one I’ve been eagerly anticipating for a while. Chrissy Martin is a founding editor and current Poetry Director of Arcturus, our sister publication. Her work combines grace and elegance with ferocity—I can’t wait to read her collection.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
American Spirits
By Anna Dorn
Simon & Schuster
April 17, 2026
An Anna Dorn novel is always going to make it on my personal most anticipated list. Her work is fun and the perfect palate cleanser after a difficult or draining novel—and the right remedy after a hard or taxing day. American Spirits is about a pop icon’s fall, and I’m guessing will be delicious fun. — Rachel León, Managing Director
Magdalena Is Brighter Than You Think
By Grace Spulak
Autumn House Press
April 21, 2026
I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of this debut story collection and it’s stunning. Winner of the 2025 Rising Writer Prize, selected by K-Ming Chang, Magdalena Is Brighter Than You Think (what a title, right?), is full of emotionally intelligent stories dealing with trauma, queerness, parenthood, gender, and resilience. — Rachel León, Managing Director
The Dead Ringer
By Dane Bahr
Counterpoint
April 21, 2026
In 1935, a man is buried alive by his bank-robbing partner and half brother. But after being brought back from the dead, Benjamin Kilt sets out on a revenge tour against the man who wronged him. Dane Bahr always delivers explosive and thrilling novels, and The Dead Ringer looks to be no different.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Song for a Hard-Hit People: A Memoir of Antiracist Solidarity from a Coal Miner’s Daughter
By Beth Howard
Haymarket Books
April 21, 2026
In Song for a Hard-Hit People, Beth Howard tells her story about growing up in Appalachian Kentucky and the economic struggles, trauma, and ever-present sexism that existed in her close-knit rural community. Howard calls upon the long history of cross-racial, worker-led solidarity movements to highlight the ways in which we can come together to fight for dignity and a better life for all if we organize.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Fire and Clay
Will Quam
University of Chicago Press
April 30, 2026
Some people look at their built environments and see all sorts of history invisible to my unknowing eyes. In this case, that’s the bricks that made up Chicago buildings after the Great Fire and what stories they tell about the people who designed and lived in them. Fire and Clay‘s author, Will Quam, is well-known for his Brick of Chicago walking tours across the city, which often unfold into tales of how neighborhoods first began and have transformed over the decades.
— Reema Saleh, Daily Editor
John of John
By Douglas Stuart
Grove Press
May 5, 2026
Douglas Stuart has already proven to be one of my favorite writers on the rise, so I’m thrilled to see he has a new release coming in 2026. John of John follows a young artist who returns to his Heridean island home. Like all of his work, it’s sure to be a moving and unforgettable read. — Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Hidden River
By Sara Lippmann
Tortoise Books
May 5, 2026
A new Sara Lippmann book is cause for celebration. This novel is described as blending tragedy and dark comedy, and goes between 2008 and the late 80s/early 90s to look at grooming in the era before #metoo. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one. — Rachel León, Managing Director
Chitra Demands to Go Home
By Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay
Modern Artist Press
May 12, 2025
I’m at the age where I’m facing the reality of what it means to having aging parents, so I’m intrigued by this novel told from the perspective of an aging person. Chitra is a 75-year-old Bengali woman in an assisted living facility, feeling trapped and wanting to, as the title says, go home. I got to hear Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay read the novel’s opening and I’m excited to read this book.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
On Witness and Respair
By Jesmyn Ward
Scribner
May 19, 2026
Jesmyn Ward always has my full attention when she has a new book coming out. Featuring some of her most iconic work, three never-before-published speeches, and more, Ward shows us how art helps us survive when life seems impossible in modern day America. Jesmyn Ward is one of the best living writers, full stop. A new book from her is a blessing to readers everywhere.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Library of Brothel
By Anakana Schofield
Knopf Canada
May 26, 2026
Library of Brothel, the new novel from Anakana Schofield, is populated by characters with names like Giraffe Room, John Keats Room, and Scrabble Room. I don’t quite know what that means, but I do know that Schofield is one of the most adventurous writers in the English language today, and I’m excited to go wherever she takes me. New York Review Books will release Library of Brothel in the US in 2027, but for readers like me who can’t wait that long, it comes out from Knopf Canada this May.
— Victor Ladis Schultz, Daily Editor
American Triage
By Adam Axler
Whisk(e)y Tit
Spring 2026
I can’t find a publication date for American Triage, but it’s supposed to drop this spring and looks super interesting. It’s described as a hybrid memoir that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking, written by a bookseller who was formerly a Ground Zero paramedic and physician assistant. It sounds like a fascinating and entertaining look at the decline of Western medicine—I’m looking forward to checking it out.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Where You’ll Find Us
By Jen St. Jude
Bloomsbury
June 2, 2026
I admittedly don’t read much YA, but Jen St. Jude’s debut novel, If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come was a definite favorite. They put such love and care into their annual list of notable debuts by trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming authors, and do the same with their characters. This story about a trans teen who finds a home where queer kids from all different decades have found refuge from hatred is sure to be beautifully written and deeply felt.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Brown Girls, Grown Up
By Sima Qadeer
Curbstone Books
Published June 15, 2025
I realize I have many highly anticipated books that are story collections—2026 promises to be an excellent year for short story collections. Here’s another debut collection that looks phenomenal: Brown Girls, Grown Up “delve into the subtleties and blatant struggles of navigating shifting identities as one matures, into the joys and challenges of intimacy and aging, and into the changing tides of motherhood.” — Rachel León, Managing Director
Sourland
By Ariel Delgado Dixon
Random House
June 23, 2026
This novel about a weed farm that deals with desire, reinvention, and betrayal sounds like such a fun read. That the author herself works in farming (as well as teaching writing) makes me super intrigued. It looks like a great summer read.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
The Great Wherever
By Shannon Sanders
Henry Holt and Co.
July 7, 2025
One of my favorite books of 2023 was Shannon Sanders’s debut story collection, Company, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, so I’ve been eagerly anticipating her debut novel since the book deal was announced. The Great Wherever is a family saga dealing with family secrets, and combined with Sanders’s unique voice and skill as a writer, it promises to be a book you won’t want to miss. — Rachel León, Managing Director
Man Overboard!
By Kathleen Rooney
Gallery Books
July 7, 2026
Funny, heartfelt, and always charming, Kathleen Rooney’s writing is like a warm hug. Her new novel follows a former college swimmer who falls off a cruise ship and must keep treading water as memories and regrets wash over him. Man Overboard! is pure existential fun. The perfect summer read!
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Perverts
By Mac Crane
The Dial Press
July 7, 2026
Mac Crane wrote two of my favorite novels from the past three years (I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself and A Sharp Endless Need) and I’m super excited to check out their story collection. They exhibit such a dexterity as a writer that these two novels are so different, so I anticipate their collection will feature quite a range in stories. I guarantee this book will be one worth reading and should be on everyone’s radar.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Please Don’t Touch the Body
By Emily Doyle
Bloomsbury Publishing
July 14, 2026
Two years ago I read Emily Doyle’s short story, “Thursdays For Haru,” in The Sun, and I’ve been interested in reading more of her work ever since. If that story is any indication, her debut collection will be worth checking out. (It’s also received glowing blurbs.) — Rachel León, Managing Director
Tenderness
By Rowan Beaird
Flatiron Books
July 21, 2026
I’m thrilled that we’re getting another book from Rowan Beaird so soon after her debut, The Divorcées. Tenderness is a thoughtful mystery about a 1970s island wedding, where the bride has recently left a sinister cult that might still be trailing her. Beaird is incredibly deft at creating complex and captivating characters as well as moments that leave you holding your breath, and in this story she gets to let both skills shine. — Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Carousel: An Essay on Seeing
By Sarah Minor
Yale University Press
July 21, 2026
If you’re not familiar with Sarah Minor’s work, please do yourself a favor and fix that! Minor is both a writer and artist, and her book’s blend sharp prose with inventive visual effects. (To see what I mean, check out Bright Archive.) Her work is not only super smart, it cracks open my mind to what is possible on the page. I’ve been anticipating her new book since I saw the Publishers Marketplace announcement.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Cool Machine
By Colson Whitehead
Doubleday
July 21, 2026
2026 brings us the conclusion of Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy, which I believe is one of the most impressive projects we’ve seen in literature in some time. Cool Machine continues the story of hustler Ray Carney and the ever-changing New York City, leading us all the way to 1986. Whitehead is one of my favorite authors working today, so I’m fully tuned in for his latest release.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
The Night Parade and Other Stories
By Stephanie Feldman
Fairwood Press
October 2026
Stephanie Feldman fascinated us in 2022 with Saturnalia, her dark portrayal of a near-future alternate Philadelphia. Now she returns with The Night Parade and Other Stories, a collection of literary feminist horror stories drawing comparisons to Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties and Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch. I’m geeked for this one. — Victor Ladis Schultz, Daily Editor
The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford
By Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Publication date TBD (fall 2026)
Nafissa Thompson-Spires blew me away with her stunning multiple award-winning collection, Heads of the Colored People, and the wait for her debut novel will soon be over. No listings yet with a publication date or much details, but this novel is sure to be one of the biggest and best fall books. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
