Publishers Weekly has announced their 150 Best Books of 2026. In addition to the all-around Top 10, the publishing industry’s enduring magazine brought their editors together once more to determine the books that made the cut in 12 categories.

The Top 10 includes:

• The Disappearers by Marlon James
• Transcription by Ben Lerner (described by PW as its standout pick)
• Two books about AI, including The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore

Category highlights include:

• Dèy by Edwidge Danticat (Fiction)
• Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi (Fiction)
• Furious Violet by Sarai Walker (Mystery/Thriller)
• We by Layli Long Soldier (Poetry)
• As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers (SF/Fantasy/Horror)
• Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenthood by Joseph Osmundson (Nonfiction)
• Queen of Faces by Petra Lord (YA)

You can find the full lists at Publishers Weekly. — SZW

Sixteen books made the finals for Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, an honor the retailer reserves for “the picks our booksellers loved.”

• Always a highly giftable book—this award is a sales tool, after all—the Book of the Year debuted in 2019 with The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.

This year’s finalists include buzzy hits, book club faves, some kids’ books, a cookbook, an investigative journalism blockbuster, and a variety pack of nonfiction. Will a zeitgeisty sensation like Yesteryear or Strangers take home the prize? Perhaps it will go to a compendium of endangered birds or the final entry in a Great American Novelist’s crime trilogy.

Broad appeal is key for becoming a B&N Book of the Year, but the book needs substance, too, as illustrated by winners Lessons in Chemistry, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, and James.

• That means the most popular book isn’t necessarily the best bet.

Listen as we analyze the finalists and forecast the winner on the Book Riot Podcast.

Demons are a perfect addition to a graphic novel: they can be villains or anti-heroes, sexy and/or terrifying, and there’s no limit to what kind of creative character design choices you can make with them.

Here are three hellishly good comics starring demons.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge

Tanjiro lives a quiet life in Taisho-era Japan until his family is slaughtered by demons. His little sister, Nezuko, survives… in some definitions of the word. She’s been turned into a demon, and the only way to restore her humanity is for Tanjiro to hunt down the demon who targeted her—before another demon hunter kills her first.

Excommunicated, Vol. 1 by Jeremy Robinson, Tiago Palma, Manuel Rodriguez, and Jim Campbell*

Sister Josephine is the image of the perfect, pure-of-heart nun. But when she’s involved in an exorcism gone wrong, she’s excommunicated. And so is the demon. Something strange is happening, and with the fate of the world in the balance, she’ll have to team up with the demon Eddimu to get answers.

Lilith, Vol. 1 by Corin Howell

Lilith just wants to get home to her hell dimension, but in the meantime, she’s working as a model and preying on humans. She has tracked down the ancient tome that could be her ticket out, but she’ll need the help of the bubbly bookstore owner Penelope to translate it. While protecting her from other demons, Lilith finds herself inconveniently falling for Penelope.

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The word is (maybe) made up, but the genre and format are not. The “autobiofictionalgraphy” is a fictionalized autobiography, often taking the form of a graphic novel. It’s based in fact and drawn from the creator’s real experiences and scenarios, but the actual story itself, including dialogue, scenes, and characters, is fictionalized.

Huda Fahmy is a queen of “autobiofictionalgraphy.” Having just published the fourth and final installment in her hilarious and engaging coming-of-age “Huda F” series–Huda F Would Love You?–she shares her thoughts on what draws readers, especially teens, into these stories.

• “[R]eaders are getting front row seats to illustrated stories full of drama and, well…mess. And while it’s the fascination that pulls them in, ultimately it’s the authenticity and relatability that makes them come back for more.”
• “There’s something to be said about young readers’ longing to find authenticity and connection in the media they consume. Especially living in a society that constantly pushes a certain *cough* demographic’s hegemony, the message to fit in, assimilate, and conform is loud and often means hiding the pieces of themselves that define them. It’s no wonder readers seek out texts that make them feel seen.”
• “While traditional escapist fantasy comics are still very popular, the rise of the autobiofictionalgraphy graphic novels speaks to readers’ need to relate on a more realistic level.”

Fictionalized memoirs ultimately deliver hope to readers—and a reminder of how much of life is about navigating mess.

Read more and discover three of Fahmy’s favorite works of comic “autobiofictionalgraphy.” Then make sure you catch up with the “Huda F” series; it’s full of the mess, the hope, and the laughs that make this category of comics so appealing. — KJ

One thing you can count on people having is The Audacity. It’s why true crime can be such an interesting genre of books and podcasts, because how was so-and-so that bold, and how did this one or that one think they could get away with it??

As enjoyable as it can be, though, it can also start to feel icky to consume. There can be a fine line between remembering victims of violent crime and what happened to them, and viewing their story as something to be entertained by one evening.

• Our society is often one that doesn’t keep victims in mind enough, so true crime—its making and its consumption—often veers into the exploitative category. This gets even worse when you think of how many victims of violent crime are of marginalized genders or ethnicities, which is why I had an issue with Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer series.

But still, the lengths people go to be raggedy are intriguing. If you want to get your trifling people fix without the potential exploitation or gruesomeness that comes with violent crime, my colleague Danika Ellis has put together a great list of true crime books for our Read Harder Challenge that spill the tea on all manner of nonviolent crime.

Get ready for jewel thieves, art thieves, dinosaur bone thieves (yes, you read that correctly)—it’s all just a hot ass mess.

• The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth’s Ultimate Trophy by Paige Williams: Florida Man alert! The particular man of Florida this book follows is a fossil hunter who flies a little too close to the metaphorical sun by stealing an entire dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia. Good grief.

• Diamond Doris: True Story of the World’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief by Doris Payne, with Zelda Lockhart: Would you judge me if I said I wasn’t super mad at Auntie Doris, the jewel thief who broke out of prison more than once? I’m not condoning crime, but she did grow up a poor Black girl during the Depression, which I think would mess up anyone’s psyche. She did steal precious gems all over the world for more than 60 years, but also, like, she looks really fab on the cover in her fur coat. Giving real-life Catwoman vibes.
• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett: Y’all can pretty much tell what this one is about. John Charles Gilkey felt a certain type of way about rare books and became one of the biggest book burglars behind it. Then one detective tracked him down to stop him. I really need this adapted into a cozy series.

Read more nonviolent true crime. —EE

There’s plenty of talk about how historical romance is dead, but while the subgenre has shrunk in recent years, there are still historical romance books coming out that deserve a spot on your TBR!

Alison Doherty has highlighted five new historical romance books out in fall 2026 that you should know about, with settings and time periods ranging from Gilded Age New York to Regency London to Ming Dynasty China.

Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas: Reina is an economist in Victorian England trying to open a bank for women. When her boss is investigated for fraud, she has to work with a police chief (who is undercover as a butler) in order to clear his name.

The Gilded Rose by Joanna Shupe: It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in Gilded Age New York City! When Caroline is hired to catalog the library of the reclusive and disfigured billionaire Zane, it’s a temporary escape from her abusive marriage, but both she and Zane are looking for a way to secure her freedom in the long term.

Her Royal Houseguest by Jade Lee: Lady Anna has resigned herself to spinsterdom after the ton decides that she’s cursed. Then Prince Deva of Siam comes to town, who has no such superstition.

Strange Bedfellows by Emma Vail: Ashley is planning his biggest jewel heist yet. Henry is a police officer looking for a wife. As the two men keep crossing paths, they can’t deny the inconvenient attraction blooming between them. Bridgerton meets Heated Rivalry, anyone?

Silk and Sensibility by Mengxi Seeley: This Sense and Sensibility retelling set in Ming Dynasty China follows two sisters with their own romances, but it’s the devoted and supportive relationship between the two sisters that really shines. —DE

Did you know? Markham was the first person to fly non-stop from Europe to North America solo (the east-west route).

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Written by Rebecca Schinsky, S. Zainab Williams, Danika Ellis, Kelly Jensen, and Jeff O’Neal. Thanks to Danika Ellis for copy editing.

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