The government-backed National Year of Reading 2026 is looking to help us all discover – or rediscover – our joy of reading this year.
Led by the National Literacy Trust, the campaign hopes to slow, halt, and then reverse a UK-wide decline in reading across all age groups.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most highly anticipated books due for release throughout the rest of the year. Whether you’re looking for a thrilling beach read or a slow burner for the long summer evenings, you’ll find something to suit your mood.
1. Country People by Daniel Mason (July)
Mason’s short story collection, A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth, was a Pulitzer finalist in 2021. He is also the author of the 2023 North Woods, which tells the story of a single house from the days of the American War of Independence to the present day.
And now comes Country People (July 2026), a novel following the Krzelewski family as they leave their home and their former lives behind to set out into the mountainous unknowns of Vermont.
Miles is a devoted family man who weaves incredible bedtime stories but harbours secret fears about his own failings. His wife Kate’s lucrative job offer is the catalyst for the family’s move and a journey that will see Miles meet a bewildering cast of characters straight from one of his own bedtime stories.
Ultimately, they will lead him to a local legend and ruminations on family, connections, and his family’s place in the world.
2. Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead (July)
Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2016 (The Underground Railroad) and again for his very next release, The Nickel Boys (2019). In doing so, he became one of only a select few authors to win with consecutive works.
In 2021, Whitehead returned with Harlem Shuffle and introduced the world to second-hand furniture salesman Ray Carney. Set in 1960s Harlem, Carney was a former small-time criminal looking to go straight.
Crook Manifesto followed in July 2023, pushing the action forward to a 1970s Harlem beset by increasing unrest. The search for some elusive Jackson 5 tickets proved the catalyst for further flirtations with the criminal underworld.
And now, in July 2026, Whitehead rounds off his trilogy with Cool Machine. Expect criminal hijinks, tough decisions, and one last chance for redemption.
3. Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty (August)
Several of Liane Moriarty’s previous books have been adapted for television (Nine Perfect Strangers, Apples Never Fall, The Last Anniversary). But Moriarty’s best-loved book (and TV adaptation) is arguably Big Little Lies.
That story begins with a murder at a Monterey school fundraiser and then follows a group of mothers (with a cast including Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman) as their seemingly perfect lives begin to unravel.
In August, Moriarty returns to Monterey as we revisit these much-loved characters a decade on.
The plot promises family secrets, unhappy marriages, and intrigue, beginning when a package arrives at the school containing a severed finger.
4. A Tender Age by Chang-rae Lee (August)
Another Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted novelist, Lee’s latest is a coming-of-age story following a Korean immigrant family and their 11-year-old boy.
As the family is on the cusp of finding a home and attaining the American Dream, so too is their young son on the cusp of adolescence.
Korean-American Jeon-Gi is torn between his working-class parents and the neighbour kids he begins to call friends. No strangers to trouble, the group experiences a string of events beginning in the summer in which Jeon-Gi turns 11, events that will have consequences for decades to come.
This promises to be a captivating story of guilt, innocence, masculinity, and family dynamics.
5. Untitled Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros (September)
Fourth Wing, the first in Rebecca Yarros’s projected Empyrean pentology, became something of a publishing phenomenon on release back in 2023. The book shot its author to the top of bestseller lists worldwide. A sequel, Iron Flame, arrived in the same year, followed by Book 3, Onyx Storm, in 2025.
The “romantasy” series combines romance and familiar tropes from fantasy, including dragons, other mythical creatures, and magic.
Book 4 is not due out until 2027, but there’s good news for fans of the series, too. Yarros has returned to the world of Empyrean for a new book due for release in September.
Untitled Empyrean is a standalone mystery novel set in the world of Fourth Wing and its successors, but beyond that, little is known.
Get in touch
Financial planning can help you avoid turning your money into a page-turning thriller, ensuring you see the twists coming. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your long-term financial plans this Year of Reading, please email enquiries@futureplanningwm.co.uk or call 01793 575553.
