BookTok’s Rising Stars: Hot New Book Releases and Literary Trends

Discover the most anticipated book releases making waves on BookTok, from feminist horror to literary fiction and Gothic romance, featuring debut authors and trending themes.

Hannah picked the debut brief story collection, The Age of Tragedies (Pushkin Press), by Senaa Ahmad. For Evie, Ahana Virdi’s Sour Fruit (HarperCollins) is “going to be almost everywhere on weird-girl BookTok”, assisted by a “spectacular review from viral BookTok scary writer Lucy Rose”.

Speculative Fiction and Feminist Dystopian Trends

Caro Claire Burke’s speculative debut Days gone by– obtained by 4th Estate in an 11-way public auction– was likewise chosen by Evie, that said that it has actually been recommended for “followers” of Ira Levin’s The Stepford Other halves (Little, Brownish) and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (Vintage)– “2 staples of feminist dystopian and SF literary works”. She included: “The cover is incredibly one-of-a-kind and evaluation duplicates of the story are very searched for online.”

Gothic Romantasy: A Standout Debut

Released yesterday (20th November) Suraka (@surakajanebooks; 17,300 followers) chose Kalie Reid’s Gothic romantasy launching The Sacred Space In Between (HarperCollins). “It is already looking like the standout launching of this year,” she claimed.

Asha (@ashaslife; 1,929 fans) highlighted Ann Adams’ Racing Hearts (Random House US) about Olympic rower Katherine Parker and her new “very appealing” coach. “I anticipate steamy training sessions,” stated Asha, who also selected the time-travelling love All We Have Is Time (Penguin) by launching writer Amy Tordoff.

Literary Fiction Highlights and Buzzworthy Novels

In literary fiction, Evie (@evieschapters; 4,597 fans) highlighted Jennette McCurdy’s debut novel Half His Age (HarperCollins), the tale of a 17-year-old trainee attracted to her older innovative writing instructor. One more shout-out went to Jem Calder’s I Want You to Be Happy (Faber), posting in May 2026: “With a headline testimonial from the queen of literary fiction, Sally Rooney, Calder’s debut already has a substantial amount of buzz online,” proceeded Evie, who defined the book “as negative yet amusing”.

Feminist Horror’s Ascent on BookTok

As horror sales climb towards another record year, a swathe of launchings in this genre are set to make their mark on BookTok, according to Nate (@nateblackbooks; 2,115 followers), who attributes the expanding scary space on the system to the “climbing appeal of feminist scary and femgore”. He chose Christina Ferko’s launching The Darkness Welcomed Her (Sourcebooks) and Amy Jane Stewart’s Hex Residence (Titan Books) as scary debuts to see. “These books explore prominent [style] components such as folklore, Gothic settings and sapphic love. They additionally tap into prominent tropes, such as vengeance and female rage … I can see these debuts obtaining a great deal of grip from readers within and outside the horror particular niche.” Evie additionally provided a scary launching– Bar Fridman-Tell’s Honeysuckle (Pan Macmillan), which she described as a “dark and twisted retelling of Frankenstein”, releasing in April 2026, that will take advantage of the release of the Guillermo del Toro movie starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.

As horror sales climb towards one more record year, a swathe of launchings in this genre are set to make their mark on BookTok, according to Nate (@nateblackbooks; 2,115 fans), that associates the growing horror area on the platform to the “rising popularity of feminist scary and femgore”. He selected Christina Ferko’s launching The Darkness Welcomed Her (Sourcebooks) and Amy Jane Stewart’s Hex Home (Titan Books) as scary debuts to view. Evie additionally supplied a horror debut– Bar Fridman-Tell’s Honeysuckle (Frying pan Macmillan), which she explained as a “dark and twisted retelling of Monster”, publishing in April 2026, that will certainly benefit from the release of the Guillermo del Toro movie starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.

In literary fiction, Evie (@evieschapters; 4,597 followers) highlighted Jennette McCurdy’s debut unique Half His Age (HarperCollins), the story of a 17-year-old trainee drawn to her older innovative writing teacher. “McCurdy accomplished massive success with her narrative [I’m Glad My Mama Passed Away] and I believe the present popularity of her work, combined with the story’s compelling styles of fascination and women need, will make Fifty percent His Age a bestseller,” said Evie. An additional shout-out mosted likely to Jem Calder’s I Want You to Be Pleased (Faber), posting in May 2026: “With a heading evaluation from the queen of literary fiction, Sally Rooney, Calder’s launching currently has a big amount of buzz online,” proceeded Evie, that explained guide “as cynical yet amusing”.

Defined by the developer as a “unpleasant coming-of-age story concerning fixation, need and ending up being knotted in your very own lies”, Space Canvas follows art pupil Charlotte, that tells her fellow students her daddy passed away when he is extremely much active. “Publications established on university universities are still actually popular on BookTok,” added Hannah, making Space Canvas one to enjoy.