6 of the Best New Book Releases Out September 29, 2026

I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but it’s true: readers are really and truly eating well right now. The most anticipated books, by bestselling and award-winning authors, are continuing to pour out this month, as are some delightfully season-friendly reads. Among the spooky books are Trad Wife by Sarah Langan, The Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler, and Nightjars by Michael Wehunt. Shifting gears a bit, we also have some fantasy coming out by a couple of heavy hitters—Mestra: A Short Story by Madeline Miller and Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros—while we have Dodge City, new historical fiction from Patrick deWitt (The Sisters Brothers). For a dose of reality, there are the nonfiction releases, All the Love You Can Use by Carson McCullers, The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell, and How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Marcia Chatelain. And then there are the books below: get ready for the secret, scandalous life of a pastor’s wife, a Korean American family’s saga, an unusual haunting, and more, all by award-winning and mega-bestselling authors. Mentioned in Our Monthly Round-Up The True Confessions...