“I want it to be joyous,” said Gail Rebuck, describing how the 2026 National Year of Reading aimed to reframe reading as a playground pleasure rather than a classroom chore. A HarperCollins study found that schools’ “relentless” focus on literacy has “pushed reading for pleasure to the margins”. Yet simultaneously we have fashion magazines proclaiming the cool factor of bookshops, Dua Lipa programming literary festivals and designers shooting models looking distinctly more glamorous while reading than I do. So, is reading hip, or in crisis? Paradoxically, both are true, but it is a matter of who is reading what and when, and the worry that younger readers’ attention is being dominated by digital content that does not necessarily nourish or make them happy.

In my early teens I had an Agatha Christie phase, devouring her 80-strong oeuvre with adolescent intensity. In my view, her books are brilliant for young adults, being elegantly plotted, clearly written and far more character-driven than gory or gritty. I do, however, recall my English teacher turning up her nose at my reading list. To her I would say: surely better that a child read with such hunger than that she plods through one classic a year.

Speaking of the Queen of Crime, I enjoyed Lucy Foley’s faithful reimagining of Miss Marple, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel (HarperFiction) . This is just one of many blockbusters to look forward to this September – a mammoth month in both quality and quantity. Booksellers have reason to feel optimistic about a bumper Christmas for fiction this year. Other crime highlights include Richard Osman’s second We Solve Murders mystery, We Chase Shadows (Viking), William Boyd’s new Gabriel Dax thriller, Cold Sunset (Viking), Janice Hallett’s The Silent Appeal (Viper) and T Geronimo Johnson’s The Occidental Book of the Dead (Abacus).

In literary fiction, a host of heavyweights are emerging from writing hibernation with new work, including Hernan Diaz with Ply, Emily St John Mandel with Exit Party, Colm Tóibín with The Bridge – all Picador, spare a thought for the publicists – Sebastian Barry with The Newer World (Faber); Chloe Benjamin with Under Story (Tinder); Naomi Alderman with The Strangers (Fig Tree); and the unstoppable Rebecca F Kuang with literary coming-of-age tale Taipei Story (Borough Press; alas, my proof did not land on time.)

Such was the deluge of fictional gold that there are multiple noteworthy titles I could not squeeze into my Top 10. I needed a top 30 for this September! Among them, John Green’s first adult novel, Hollywood, Ending (Penguin); Virago Modern Classics’ rediscovery, The Well by Elizabeth Jolley; Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo); The Wreckers by George Makana Clark (Europa); and Range by Dorthe Nors, author of Mirror, Shoulder, Signal, a Man Booker International Prize finalist (Pushkin, translated by Caroline Waight).

In SFF, be alert for an “illustrated Empyrean companion volume” from Rebecca Yarros, whatever that means, and a stonking month from Gollancz, featuring the final Ninth House instalment, Dead Beat, from Leigh Bardugo; Adalyn Grace’s romantasy The Wretched Divine; James Islington’s SF thriller, Scion; Garth Nix’s first adult SF, Massif; and Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson’s new series Blightfall. China Miéville fans will be champing at the bit for his magnum opus, The Rouse – also from busy Picador.

Pirates are having a moment, as exemplified by Victoria Aveyard’s Tempest (also Gollancz); Ariel Lawhon’s maritime adventure The Pirate Queen (Swift); and HarperVoyager’s LitRPG sensation Pirateaba. Historical highlights include Kate Atkinson’s Our Noble Selves (Doubleday), Victoria Hislop’s The Wine-Dark Sea (Headline Review); Rose Tremain’s The Housekeeper (Chatto & Windus) and Louisa Young’s new Cazalet Chronicles title, The Golden Hours (Mantle).

In romance, I am relishing the vogue for paranormal romcoms – and their pun-tastic titles – including Katie Jung’s You’re The One That I Haunt (Penguin), Kath Richards’ Fangs With Benefits (Sphere), Mackenzie Reed’s I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell (Headline Eternal) and Josh Winning’s Be Still My Unbeating Heart (Michael Joseph).

My top tip for September? Start reading now.

September 2026: Fiction Previews