A bumper crop of books First half of 2026 offers tantalizing fiction, non-fiction offerings
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/01/2026 (248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
With the year-end best-of lists in the rearview mirror, 2026 brings a literary reset of sorts, with a new crop of forthcoming reads to look forward to this year.
Memorable memoirs, fantastical fiction, climate chronicles, noteworthy narratives and more — here are 10 fiction, 10 non-fiction and a handful of children’s titles to watch for in the first half of 2026 from local, national and international authors.
— Ben Sigurdson, literary editor
FICTION
Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies
By Lindsay Wong (Penguin Canada, Jan. 13)
The Winnipeg-based author of Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality delves into the ancient Chinese tradition of corpse brides when a down-on-her-luck Vancouver woman signs up to become one — and her past gets tangled up with that of her grandmother, a powerful witch.
Good Guys
By Sharon Bala (McClelland & Stewart, Jan. 20)
The new novel by the Newfoundland author of The Boat People chronicles a children’s aid charity that enlists an A-list actress to volunteer at an overseas orphanage — who then agrees to adopt a child.
When a crime in the organization is uncovered by a journalist, ways in which the group’s work has harmed those meant to be helped is revealed.
Vigil
By George Saunders (Random House, Jan. 27)
An oil magnate on his death bed is visited by a cast of characters — from past, present and future, coming from the real world and beyond — as Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo) explores themes of corporate greed, the environmental toll of fossil fuels, good and evil and more.
Kin
By Tayari Jones (Viking, Feb. 24)
The Atlanta author of An American Marriage follows two lifelong, motherless friends from Louisiana whose lives followed different paths — one who spiraled downward and the other who rose above — who reconvene as the result of a terrible tragedy.
Night Birds
By Margaret Sweatman (Goose Lane, Feb. 24)
In the latest novel by the Winnipeg author (Fox, The Gunsmith’s Daughter), a mining breach sends toxic cyanide throught Transylvanian waters, with a couple on another continent who have business interests in the area fearing the wrath of a local criminal.
Son of Nobody
By Yann Martel (Knopf Canada, March 31)
The Life of Pi author, based in Saskatoon, brings a story of a modern-day scholar who unearths a previously unseen account of the Trojan War and proceeds to translate it.
The text reveals parallels between ancient Greece and modern times — and a personal note to his beloved daughter.
The Keeper
By Tana French (Viking, March 31)
The wildly popular, Dublin-based thriller writer returns with the final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy (following (The Searcher and The Hunter), which finds the retired Chicago detective in a remote Irish village sleuthing the death of a woman — and the accompanying secrets that threaten to tear the village apart.
The Novice of Holloway Hall
By Wayne Johnston (Knopf Canada, April 14)
The latest by the Newfoundland novelist (The Navigator of New York) takes place over the course of a week in the late 1930s and sees the veiled Vivvy Holloway, a failed nun, return to the family home — where things, run by her sister Freda, seem dangerously amiss.
Cherry Beach
By Don Gillmor (Biblioasis, April 14)
The Toronto-based author (To the River, Mount Pleasant) offers a literary thriller that follows an officer and a detective as they try to piece together the murder of two girls in a run-down Toronto highrise — and the ways race, class and dicey real-estate deals factor into the deaths.
Whistler
By Ann Patchett (HarperCollins, June 2)
Patchett, the Nashville-based author of Tom Lake, The Dutch House and more, tells the story of a woman who reconnects with her stepfather after many years, looking back at a fateful event that altered the course of their lives and the choices they made.
NON-FICTION
Winter: The Story of a Season
By Val McDermid (Grove/Atlantic, Jan. 23)
The bestselling Scottish thriller writer offers cozy reflections on the beauty of the coldest season, recalling childhood memories and family traditions while reminding readers that winter is a season for rest, comfy clothes and snowy walks.
A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides
By Gisèle Pelicot (Knopf Canada, Feb. 17)
The French victim of sexual assault by 50 men, facilitated by her husband, waived her right to anonymity in 2024. In her book she advocates for the shifting of shame away from victims, offering words of hope and encouragement.
Oblivious: Residential Schools, Segregated Hospitals, and the use of Indigenous Peoples as Slaves of Race Science
By Elaine Dewar (Biblioasis, March 10)
Dewar, who died in Sept. 2025, explores her own family’s history in Saskatchewan while detailing the myriad of ways Indigenous communities have been exploited by the Canadian government therough policy, segregation, poverty coerced labour and more.
Kids, Wait Til You Hear This!: My Memoir
By Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein (Grand Central, March 10)
The iconic star of stage and screen dives deep into her storied life and career, sharing her struggles to emerge from the shadows of her famous parents (Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli), her rise to stardom, struggles with addiction and more.
Lessons From a Lifetime: Ninety Years of Inspiration and Activism
By David Suzuki with Ian Hanington (Greystone Books, March 17)
The longtime environmental and social activist offers lessons learned in his decades on the frontlines (and as host of CBC’s The Nature of Things), with contributions from friends and foes including Margaret Atwood, Neil Young, Justin Trudeau and others.
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth
By Patrick Radden Keefe (Doubleday Canada, April 7)
The New Yorker staff writer and author of Say Nothing explores the death of a 19-year-old Londoner who, unbeknownst to his perplexed parents, had created a fictional alter-ego of the son of a Russian oligarch — and then fell in with a very dangerous crowd.
Famesick: A Memoir
By Lena Dunham (Doubleday Canada, April 14)
The Girls creator and author of Not That Kind of Girl returns with reflections on her rise to fame, her longtime struggles with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (for which she self-medicated) and learning to live with what she can’t change in her life.
Wild Fire: Dispatches from a Country Ablaze
By Jesse Winter (HarperCollins, May 5)
Winter, an award-winning Vancouver-based writer and photojournalist, looks at the seemingly relentless string of recent blazes that have impacted Canada — throughout B.C., in Canada’s north and beyond — and weighs in on what we’re getting right and wrong.
Out on a Limb: Saving the Urban Tree Canopy
By Erna Buffie (Great Plains Press, May 19)
The Winnipeg writer, documentarian and environmentalist examines the role of trees in urban settings, how urban forests can help with climate resiliency and the role grassroots groups can play in encouraging local government to invest in trees.
Cut to Black: A Legendary Life in Sports (and Maybe a Few Beers)
By Rod Black with Jim Lang (Simon & Schuster, May 19)
From his humble beginnings as a DJ at a Winnipeg roller rink to his decades in front of the camera at CTV and TSN making play-by-play calls for every sport imaginable, the veteran broadcaster offers a look behind the scenes of his legendary career.
BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story
By Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn (Second Story Press, Feb. 10)
In picture book format, Robertson tells Horn’s story of being taken from her home and sent to a residential school at age five.
We Are Who We Are: An Ode to Indigenous Heroes Past and Present
By Wab Kinew, illustrated by Janine Gibbons (Tundra, Feb. 17)
Kinew’s latest book for young readers follows his Go Show the World in offering the stories of real-life Indigenous heroes.
The Case of the Movie Mayhem: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery
By Michael Hutchinson (Second Story Press, March 3)
The sixth book in Hutchinson’s middle-grade series sees the gang investigate a missing truck filled with props that vanished from a local film set.
Canada: We Are the Story
By Richard Wagamese, illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Tundra, March 17)
In this picture book, the Ojibway author offers a poem about an Indigenous child grappling with a school assignment asking what makes them proud to be Canadian.
I Built a Rocket Ship
By Anna Lazowski, illustrated by Jennica Lounsbury (Kids Can Press, June 2)
The Winnipeg author (T. Rexes Can’t Tie Their Shoes) brings a picture book about a grieving child who builds a backyard rocket ship and ponders what to pack.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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