In this psychological descent into ancient witchcraft, power, and seduction, two investigators unlock dark secrets after questioning a mysterious professor about a missing student. Watch trailer
Ryu Murakami, Cult Japanese Author, Dies Aged 74
The bestselling writer, known as Japan’s enfant terrible, explored the dark underbelly of Japanese society in more than 40 works of subversive fiction including Audition, later made into a landmark indie horror movie. Read more
New Prize Launches for Books Co-Written With AI
The Prix Pascal is named after Blaise Pascal, a French polymath who helped invent one of the first mechanical calculators and also wrote theological texts, including Pensées, which Pope Francis praised for its “philosophical depth and literary charm”. Read more
A History of Bookselling from the Dawn of Print to the Twenty-First Century
Award-winning Scottish historian Pettegree offers an abundantly detailed history of bookselling, spanning the past 600 years. As far back as Greek and Roman times, there was a market for handwritten texts, and, even before the invention of printing, doctors, lawyers, and clergymen collected relevant tomes. Gutenberg’s invention, though, fueled the start of a book industry that involved printers, typefounders, binders, publishers, and sellers. Read more
The First Major Biography of Cormac McCarthy Is Published
Daughterty…approaches Cormac McCarthy with the patience of a historian and the instincts of a novelist. Rather than reducing McCarthy to the familiar mythology of the reclusive genius wandering the American Southwest, Daugherty reveals the complicated, contradictory man behind the legend … Daugherty illuminates this enigmatic figure, navigating the tension between the ‘hermit of Santa Fe’ and the reality of a man drawn to the theoretical research at the Sante Fe Institute, all while exploring the cost of genius and the enduring, stark brilliance of a singular American voice. Read more
Love Noir? Try Iyamisu and Dark Japanese Crime Novels
If you’re looking for a crime novel on the darker side of the spectrum, translated from Japanese, here are four criminally good reads. Read more
Why Audiobook Walking Clubs Are Taking Off
Audiobook walking clubs are now emerging around the country, turning an activity typically enjoyed solo into a low-pressure social event. For about an hour, everyone listens to a book of their choosing as they walk, then gathers afterward to compare notes, trade recommendations, and—in many cases—make plans to see each other again. It’s a book club without assigned reading, a walking group without racing, and a social activity that allows you to stop socializing whenever you’d like. Read more
Winners of the 2026 Kirkus Prize Revealed
Tayari Jones, Pamela Colloff, and Elizabeth Acevedo are the winners of this year’s Kirkus Prizes, given annually by Kirkus Reviews to works of exceptional merit in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature. Read more
Canadian Poet Anne Carson Wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
Canadian poet and writer Anne Carson, whose work often blends verse, prose, dialogue and translation in a genre-defying mix, won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for what the Swedish Academy called her “bold and inventive oeuvre”. “Crazy, I think they’re all crazy,” Carson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV when asked how she was feeling after learning she had won while on the Arctic island. Read more
Jeffrey Archer, Novelist Whose Real Life Rivaled His Thrillers, Dies at 86
Jeffrey Archer, a best-selling British author, politician, philanthropist, athlete and one-time jailbird whose résumé seesawed between achievement and disgrace, and who inspired abiding public fascination with headline-grabbing accounts, both fictional and personal, of ambition, self-promotion, misbehavior and scandal, died on Monday at his home in London. Read more
