6 of the Best New Book Releases Out March 24, 2026

If you’ve never read Louise Erdrich, I envy you the joy of discovery wherever you start in her extensive catalog. If you have read Louise Erdrich, you know that her signature blend of the sacred, the mundane, and the mythic is unlike anything else in contemporary fiction. Erdrich’s stories are deeply human and real. Her writing is somehow both spare and lyrical. She’s a master of her craft with a Pulitzer and National Book Award under her belt, and she routinely shows up as someday-contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Wherever she wants to take me, I’m ready to go. —Rebecca Joines Schinsky

In 1986, as the Challenger shuttle falls into the sea, Oliver Ines is born. From a young age he develops a fascination with the planets and stars, and eventually, his English village-set childhood turns into an adult life where he is recognized as one of the preeminent astronauts of his time. Then a billionaire hires him to make a trip to the distant moon Europa, and Ollie finds himself contemplating his relationships and whether his world will wait on him to get back. —Erica Ezeifedi

What if Anne Boleyn woke up in her coffin the day after her beheading and plotted her revenge? (And also, what if she was bisexual?) In this take on her story, Anne sews her head back on and teams up with a sex worker, Alice, to kill Henry VIII. It’s not just out of spite: Anne is also ensuring that her daughter, Elizabeth, remains the heir to the throne. As Anne and Alice work together, they grow closer, and Anne gets a glimpse of life outside of the golden cage of being a royal. —Danika Ellis

From an Eisner Award-winning author comes an illustrated account of the history of Black actors, film makers, and films. Through it, we see the portayal of Black people in film, starting with the silent era and continuing to today. —Erica Ezeifedi

Related: Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ’90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett.

When Erica and Laure meet in Paris in 1978, Erica is a student abroad and Laure is a PhD candidate at the Sorbonne who’s sleeping with a married woman. Despite that, the two young women hit it off. Their summer of Parisian love turns into decades of intimacy that crosses over children, marriages, and other entanglements. But when they seemingly have another chance at things, it’s not clear if they’ll make it. —Erica Ezeifedi

The author of Brewed With Love is back with another sapphic YA fantasy romance. Monroe is a junior recruit for the Bureau of Mystical Affairs, tracking down the source of a love spell gone wrong. She’s totally focused on her first assignment and has no time for distractions—except that Iris, the daughter of the Bureau’s director, just asked her to fake date to make her ex jealous. As you can imagine, sparks fly between them, but can she solve the case and get the girl? —Danika Ellis