Books to Look Out For in October 2026: Part One

October’s often the month when publishers start getting their ducks in a line for Christmas, including my first title from an author familiar to many.

It’s been a while since I read anything by Barbara Kingsolver but I like the sound of Partita which follows Livia whose brother took his own life when she was a child. Music is her comfort, offering a way out of the silence that’s enveloped the family farm. She wins a scholarship to a prestigious college, struggling to fit in before the distractions of love threaten to derail her dreams. ‘Partita is Livia’s story: It is a tale of thwarted ambitions, accumulated pain, of newfound hope, unexpected love, and endless resilience. It is as compelling and profound as the pieces Livia has mastered, and as heart-rending and engrossing as the music that makes, breaks and mends her’ according to the slightly overwrought blurb

Ben Eastham’s The Floating World sees a widowed journalist offered the opportunity to collaborate with a reclusive artist in the inaugural exhibition of a billionaire’s climate change refuge housed beneath a huge geodesic dome on a remote island. What he discovers is a world of art and power underpinned by violence. ‘The Floating World is a dystopia, satire and Bildungsroman, steeped in ancient mythology and contemporary politics, a deeply moving, often hilarious and beautifully written debut novel that heralds the arrival of a major new talent in contemporary fiction’ says the blurb ambitiously which sounds worth investigating.

I’m in two minds about Divya Maniar’s After Care which explores the fallout from reality TV fame. The same night a man breaks into Gracie’s apartment, her onscreen rival takes her own life. Back in the spotlight, Gracie soaks up the attention she craves, bolstering her faltering influencer income, seemingly oblivious to the tragedy. When the fans turn on her, she takes refuge with her on-again, off-again boyfriend in an isolated cabin hoping to put her life back together. ‘A piercing debut exposing the toxicities of reality TV and influencer culture, After Care is a disconcertingly recognisable portrait of reckless consumerism, spectatorship and the attention economy’ says the blurb. We’ll see…

Set in Detroit, Angela Flournoy’s The Turner House tells the story of a sprawling, vibrant family who’ve lived in the same house on the city’s East Side for over five decades. Despite the dilapidation surrounding it, the house continues to stand, still lived in by Viola until her decline forces her to move in with her eldest son when the family discovers the house is worth just one tenth of its mortgage. ‘The Turner House brings us a colourful, complicated brood full of love and pride, sacrifice and unlikely inheritances. It’s a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams and futures, and the ways in which our families bring us home’ says the blurb promisingly.

Not much to go on for October’s short story collection but I like the sound of acclaimed Danish writer Caroline Albertine Minor’s Blessings and it’s translated by Caroline Waight, a name I’ve learnt to look out for. Comprising seven stories, it explores how life goes on in the wake of loss. Minor is also a poet which is part of the attraction with this one.

That’s it for October’s first batch of new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis for any that take you fancy. Part two soon…