Wondering what to read now? Here are all the hot new September 2026 book releases for you. I’ll let you know what I’ve read, what I can’t wait to read, and what’s getting all the attention this month.
In case you’re new to Booklist Queen, every month I cover all the hottest new book releases. I try to read as many new book releases as I can to give you an honest perspective on what to read and what to skip.
However, I realize that my to-read list might not exactly match yours. That’s why I’ve also included some of the most popular September 2026 book releases from your favorite authors.
Enough from me, let’s get on to the September 2026 book releases so you can fill up your to-read list.
Top September 2026 Book Releases
Threshing Day
Rebecca Yarros
While you wait for the next book in the bestselling Empyrean series that has taken the book world by storm, Rebecca Yarros presents a collection of thirteen stories. Starring your favorite characters and their dragons, Threshing Day captures thirteen unforgettable stories that take place on one memorable day – Threshing Day, the entrance by first year students to Basgiath War College.
American Hagwon
Min Jin Lee
After a shocking betrayal and the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the John and Helen Koh and their three children leave their middle class life in Korea for Sydney, Australia and eventually Southern California. Strangers in a strange land where their education means little, John and Helen do anything they can to open opportunities for their children. Over the ensuing years, they manage their lives always believing that education will lead the next generation to success and security.
The American Way of Killing
Malcolm Gladwell
Despite being the wealthiest country in the world, the United States is plagued by an epidemic that usually only afflicts the poorest countries: gun violence. As is his signature style, acclaimed social scientist Malcolm Gladwell discusses this American paradox in a series of fascinating stories. Criss-crossing the country, Gladwell presents the image of a country that doesn’t understand its biggest social problem and, thus, has no clue how to fix it.
The Pirate Queen
Ariel Lawhon
Based on an Irish legend, in Sixteenth Century Ireland, Grace O’Malley was born to be a sea captain but her noble family her to marry for a strong alliance and bear children. Forced into a marriage to a brutal warrior, Grace bides her time, gathering loyal followers and consolidating power. Ousted from his lands, Grace finally ends up at sea where she builds a mighty fleet to fight against Queen Elizabeth’s incursions into Ireland.
Exit Party
Emily St. John Mandel
In 2031, peacekeepers have finally withdrawn from the collapsed United States and Ari Waker attends a Los Angeles party with her roommate. The joyful mood of the party suddenly shifts when a bewildered twin arrives and the party’s host disappears. As Ari uncovers the mystery of the disappearance, Exit Party takes you into a fractured America ruined by Civil War that demonstrates the price of safety, the terrors of a surveillance state and human resilience in the face of catastrophe.
Hollow Bones
Jodi Picoult
When she was a baby, Molly Fitzgerald’s mother was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Although raised by a loving father and stepmother, Molly has always worried about disaster around the corner. Now an adult, Molly runs the Rhode Island Department for Emergency Preparedness preparing the state for all kinds of crises. Molly believes she has found solace with her husband, a police polygraph expert, until her world is upended yet again and she begins questioning everything she thought she knew.
The Strangers
Naomi Alderman
In a combination of memoir and speculative fiction, a few months after her mother dies, author Naomi Alderman places a wildlife camera in her backyard and captures the appearance of a new species. Suddenly the mimmoths are everywhere, spreading throughout the world. They seem oddly intelligent, cannot be captured, and refuse to take food from humans. As Alderman struggles with her grief, she feels a strange connection to the mimmoths and is pulled into a world of conspiracy theories and international power struggles.
Taipei Story
R. F. Kuang
Spending the summer in an intensive language program, Chinese American college freshman Lily Chen hopes to reconnect with roots in Taipei. Yet, Lily is not sure she’ll survive the annoying roommates, heavy workload and gossiping students. When her grandfather dies, Lily searches for answers to her family history and is forced on a journey of self-discovery.
Situated
Angela Duckworth
The bestselling author of Grit, Angela Duckworth returns with a follow-up book. Although grit is one of the most important characteristics a person can develop, sometimes its not enough. How you situate yourself to meet a challenge can be crucial. Instead of making best of your situation, Duckworth describes how you can situate yourself to better excel in life using real-life examples backed up by studies.
The Emperor’s Enemy
Jasmine Mas
In a new enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy, Zora Ravenal has hones herself into an elite hunter to destroy the empire. A Knight Mage of the Commonwealth, Zora is a last defense against the empire’s storm magic. Shoved into close proximity with the Royal Mage, Zora must train and partner with him and somehow manage to not kill each other or reveal the secrets she’s been hiding.
The French Illusion
John Grisham
After their fairytale wedding, Paul and Chelsea Tanner head to Paris on their dream honeymoon that quickly turns into a nightmare when they are kidnapped in the French countryside. With similar cases stacking up, law enforcement in American and France scramble to figure out why the Tanners were targeted. Their only hope is to use a young hotshot lawyer as bait in an elaborate CIA operation.
Book of the Month – September 2026
Receiving my blue box from Book of the Month Club is a highlight of every month.
Here’s how it works – each month, they pick 5-7 books and you get to choose one book or skip until the next month. If you want to add any extra books, then you get them at a discounted price.
Each month is usually a mix of new releases and advance copies of unreleased books. If you are interested in joining, right now you can use my Book of the Month Club affiliate link to get your first book for $5!
The September Book of the Month selections are:
See the Complete List of Upcoming Releases!
Reese’s Book Club September 2026 Pick
Big Little Truths
Liane Moriarty
In a sequel to the bestseller Big Little Lies, ten years have passed and Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie are navigating mothering teenagers. Meanwhile, Celeste’s mother-in-law is behaving oddly; Madeline faces a challenge; Jane’s marriage is at a crossroad; Bonnie needs more than yoga; and Renata is living her best life. When the principal receives a threatening package and a stranger starts hanging around the school asking questions, the tight knit group of women must face the consequences of the big little truths they have kept from their children.
GMA’s Book Club September 2026 Pick
Under Story
Chloe Benjamin
Biologist Laurel Salter is hiding from her past, working as a dishwasher at a remote scientific base in Antarctica. When a strange light appears across the ice, a group of physicists arrive with her ex-husband Eli in tow. Laurel is convinced the Arc is a rabbit hole into a world where she they can go back and live their story a second time. Can she convince him to try or will human hubris that will damage the natural world?
Read with Jenna’s September 2026 Book Club Pick
The Witches of Cambridge
Alice Hoffman
In the 1950s, Ava leaves her small Maine town to study at Radcliff College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Soon Ava befriends Lauren, the wild daughter of a wealthy Cambridge family. When the two are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches dating from colonial times, their close friendship is put to the test as they navigate their new power.
The Most Anticipated September 2026 Book Releases
The Thoroughbreds
Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham
In a sequel to The Academy, return to another year at the elite New England boarding school, Tiffin Academy. Rifts seem to abound as Charley and East’s relationship seems rocky and something has come between football star Dub and his best friend Hakeem. Meanwhile, a new day student disrupts the social hierarchy and Headmistress Audre Robinson makes a financial mistake that might cost her job. But what readers really want to know: what was in the email Cinnamon Peters sent to Dub before her death?
Plot Twist
Harlan Coben
Bestselling author Harlan Coben looks behind the curtain to examine his own writing process. Part memoir, Coben details his suburban childhood and his attempts to break into publishing while revealing the real-world inspirations for some of his beloved characters and innovative plots. Coben also gives useful tips and techniques on the creative process to aspiring writers that focuses holistically on the writing process.
Dead Beat
Leigh Bardugo
In the conclusion to the Ninth House trilogy, Alex Stern left the door to Hell open and demons are invading the streets of Yale’s campus. As Alex and her allies try to hunt the demons, they must discover the truth hidden in Alex’s blood to stop the underworld from destroying the world. Meanwhile, Alex must also contend with the machinations of a corrupt Lethe Board and deal with a vampire connected to the societies all while the demons refuse to play by human rules.
Hollywood, Ending
John Green
After a foray into bestselling nonfiction books, John Green returns to his roots with a new novel about the private costs of a public life. Kai Laramie and Juniper Castillo’s dreams come true when they are cast in an Andy Warhol biopic. They success of their movie changes their lives in exciting and terrifying ways. Green uses his behind-the-scenes Hollywood romance to examine the demands on celebrity by the never ending attention economy, juxtaposing the modern story with a look at Warhol’s life.
Mestra
Madeline Miller
In a new short story from the author of Circe, takes on the Greek tale of Mestra. Daughter of the King of Thessaly, Mestra receives from Poseidon the ability to transform herself in to any being. After disrespecting the goddess Demeter, Mestra’s father is cursed with a insatiable hunger. Being a loving daughter, Mestra wants to help her father. But can she survive his unending greed? Should she keep helping him or finally break free?
The Vanishing Family
Robert Kolker
After tackling schizophrenia in his nonfiction bestseller Hidden Valley Road, Robert Kolker reports on a family who’s genetic code could help cure dementia. In Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, a normal family of nine children, mostly grown, slowly watch as their mother becomes unrecognizable: withdrawn, neglectful and uncaring. Yet as the age, the same thing starts happening to each of the siblings – as soon as the reach their forties, their personalities suddenly change with no inhibitions or sense of responsibility. Kolker expertly weaves together the history of the family with the modern-day science of dementia that will speak to most Americans.
Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel
Lucy Foley
In a brand new Mrs. Marple mystery, bestselling author Lucy Foley (The Guest List) pens a new case for Agatha’s Christie’s beloved character to solve. The eclusive Grand Alpine Hotel stands high in the Swiss Alps and is only accessible by a single, winding railway. When a body is discovered during a blizzard, the unassuming Mrs. Marple must sort through old grudges and secrets to discover the killer.
UPCOMING SEPTEMBER 2026 BOOK RELEASES BY DATE
September 1st Book Releases
September 8th Book Releases
September 15th Book Releases
September 22nd Book Releases
September 29th Book Releases
What September 2026 Book Releases are You Most Excited to Read?
What books can you not wait to get your hands on this month? Did I miss any September 2026 book releases that you are anticipating? As always, let me know in the comments!
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