27 independent press books to add to your 2026 TBR list
If you keep up with chain bookstore displays, bestseller lists, and celebrity book clubs, you might notice that you start to see the same books and authors over and over again.
There’s nothing wrong with that — there’s no shortage of great books backed by huge publicity campaigns and big-budget publishers — but it’s well worth seeking out books you might not have heard of as well.
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Some of the most exciting releases coming to shelves this winter are from independent presses: ones that might not have the money as their Big Five publishing counterparts, but still make it their mission to bring diverse and exciting voices to readers who prefer to go off the beaten path.
Here are 27 new or forthcoming books from some of the best indie presses operating today.
“What Boys Learn”
Author: Andromeda Romano-Lax
What It’s About: This thriller from the New York press Soho follows Abby Rosso, a high school counselor who starts to suspect that her son is responsible for the slaying of two of her students.
Publication Date: out now
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“Oromay”
Author: Baalu Girma, translated by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu
What It’s About: This magnum opus from Ethiopian author Girma is getting its first full-length English translation ever. The novel, about a journalist caught up in a government propaganda campaign, was banned in Ethiopia a day after its release, because it was seen as critical of the government. Girma disappeared not long after, likely the victim of an assassination.
Publication Date: out now
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“Hyper”
Author: Agri Ismaïl
What It’s About: The debut novel from Kurdish author Ismaïl follows the three children of Kurdish communist leader Rafiq Hardi Kermanj: Mohammad, a London financier; Siver, a sales associate in Dubai; and Laika, a hacker in New York. The book is published by Minnesota indie press Coffee House.
Publication Date: out now
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“Mega Milk: Essays on Family, Fluidity, Whiteness, and Cows”
Author: Megan Milks
What It’s About: New York’s Feminist Press has been putting out quality books for more than 50 years. One of its latest offerings is this offbeat essay collection from Milks, inspired by their surname, that covers topics ranging from human lactation to transmasculinity.
Publication Date: out now
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“As if by Magic”
Author: Edgard Telles Ribeiro, translated by Kim M. Hastings and Margaret A. Neves
What It’s About: The latest book from the Brazilian author (“His Own Man” and “The Impostor”) to be translated into English, this volume features a novella and three stories, all featuring intricate, labyrinthine plots. It comes from Bellevue Literary Press, which publishes fiction and nonfiction with a scientific bent.
Publication Date: out now
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“When the Museum Is Closed”
Author: Emi Yagi, translated by Yuki Tejima
What It’s About: Indie press Soft Skull has gained a reputation for publishing quality, sometimes offbeat literature from around the world. They’re bringing Japanese author Yagi’s novel about a museum worker who falls in love with a statue of Venus to U.S. readers.
Publication Date: Jan. 27
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“Salvation”
Author: C. William Langsfeld
What It’s About: From the always reliable Counterpoint Press comes this debut novel that follows the residents of a small, rural Colorado town thrown into disarray after a man murders his best friend.
Publication Date: Feb. 3
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“The Roof Beneath Their Feet”
Author: Geetanjali Shree, translated by Rahul Soni
What It’s About: The British press And Other Stories, with its distinctive book covers and eclectic lineup, is an essential one. One of their latest books is this novel about two friends who connect over their roofs; Indian author Shree’s novel “Tomb of Sand,” translated by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize in 2022.
Publication Date: Feb. 3
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“A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond, as Told to Percival Everett & James Kincaid”
Authors: Percival Everett and James Kincaid
What It’s About: This 2004 political and publishing satire by the acclaimed Los Angeles-based author Everett (“Erasure,” “James”) and English professor Kincaid takes on the late South Carolina senator, an ardent opponent of civil rights and one of the longest-serving senators in our history. The novel, one of the funniest of the century, is being reissued by the punkish indie press Akashic.
Publication Date: Feb. 3
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“Clutch”
Author: Emily Nemens
What It’s About: From the acclaimed Portland, Oregon, indie publisher Tin House, this novel by the author of “The Cactus League” follows a group of five college friends who meet up again for a reunion in Palm Springs.
Publication Date: Feb. 3
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“The Company of Owls”
Author: Polly Atkin
What It’s About: English poet Atkin’s memoir is part love letter to the owls that live near her Lake District home and part reflection on illness, community, and the natural world in an age dominated by the internet. It comes from Minneapolis-based Milkweed Editions, which publishes literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Publication Date: Feb. 3
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“they”
Author: Helle Helle
What It’s About: New Directions has been publishing high-quality literature for 90 years now. One of their latest releases is this novel about a mother and daughter in 1980s Denmark living in an apartment above a hair salon; the mother is struggling with illness, and the daughter with teenage loneliness and angst.
Publication Date: Feb. 10
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“White Nights”
Author: Urszula Honek, translated by Kate Webster
What It’s About: Coming with praise from John Darnielle and an introduction by translator and novelist Jennifer Croft, these interlinked stories by Polish poet and author Honek weave together the lives of the inhabitants of a small town through good times and, often, bad.
Publication Date: Feb. 10
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“With the Heart of a Ghost”
Author: Lim Sunwoo, translated by Chi-Young Kim
What It’s About: Lim’s short story collection, with eight otherworldly stories featuring ghosts, jellyfish, and one vengeful cat, was published to acclaim in South Korea in 2022. This translation comes from L.A.’s own Unnamed Press, which has been publishing books since 2014.
Publication Date: Feb. 10
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“Lean Cat, Savage Cat”
Author: Lauren J. Joseph
What It’s About: Catapult Books is one of the most reliable indie presses in the country. This flashy novel follows Charli, a woman working on a research project about the Dutch musical icon Romy Haag, and who falls for an enigmatic, David Bowie-like singer.
Publication Date: Feb. 17
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“Ashland”
Author: Dan Simon
What It’s About: Europa Editions is known for publishing gorgeous editions of books from around the world, but they’re sticking closer to home with this novel by an American author, about a young woman in a declining New Hampshire town. Simon is the founder and editor-in-chief of another indie publisher, Seven Stories Press.
Publication Date: Feb. 17
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“Crown City”
Author: Naomi Hirahara
What It’s About: Coming from Soho Press is the third installment of Pasadena author Hirahara’s Japantown series of crime novels. In this one, set in 1903, two Japanese American roommates go in search of a painting stolen from an art studio.
Publication Date: Feb. 24
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“Daughter of Mother-of-Pearl”
Author: Mandy-Suzanne Wong
What It’s About: The latest from novelist and essayist Wong is a collection of her writing about small invertebrates, including starfish, snails, jellyfish, and squids. It will be published by Minneapolis-based Graywolf Press, one of the country’s most famous indies.
Publication Date: Feb. 17
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“The Invisible Years”
Author: Rodrigo Hasbún, translated by Lily Meyer
What It’s About: Dallas indie press Deep Vellum — the name is a play on the city’s historic Deep Ellum neighborhood — has been putting out English-language translations of high-quality literature since 2013. Among its recent offerings is this novel by Bolivian author Hasbún, about two friends torn apart by a high-school scandal who reunite in Houston 21 years later.
Publication Date: Feb. 24
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“The Disappointment”
Author: Scott Broker
What It’s About: Catapult is publishing this debut novel from L.A. author Broker, which follows married couple Jack and Randy on what is meant to be a romantic trip to the Oregon coast. The trip turns surreal, though, with odd landscapes and people they encounter along the way, and it threatens to end their marriage.
Publication Date: March 3
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“The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts”
Author: Kim Fu
What It’s About: Fu’s debut book, the short story collection “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century,” was one of the weirdest — and best — books of 2022. Her first novel, published by Tin House, follows a therapist who uses her inheritance from her mother to buy a house, but when it starts leaking during a downpour and ghosts begin to appear, she loses her grip on reality.
Publication Date: March 3
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“City Like Water”
Author: Dorothy Tse, translated by Natascha Bruce
What It’s About: Tse’s debut novel, “Owlish,” earned rave reviews when it was published in English translation in the U.S. in 2023. Her new novel, which comes from Graywolf Press, follows a person in a city that has disappeared and where nothing is really what it seems
Publication Date: March 3
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“Medium Rare”
Author: A. Natasha Joukovsky
In this tragicomic novel published by 24-year-old New York indie Melville House, a lobbyist named Phil realizes that he has a chance to accomplish that rarest of feats: a perfect NCAA basketball tournament bracket. (You think you could do the same? The odds are 1 in 9.2 quintillion, unfortunately.)
Publication Date: March 3
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“Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World”
Author: Daniel Kraus
What It’s About: “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” From Counterpoint comes this nonfiction/memoir hybrid about George A. Romero’s classic horror movie, in which Kraus writes about his childhood obsession with the film and its influence on culture.
Publication Date: March 10
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“Black Bag”
Author: Luke Kennard
What It’s About: Indie press Zando has only been publishing books for five years, but they’ve already made their mark on the literary landscape. One of its 2026 books is this novel by English author Kennard, about an actor who takes a job that involves him being zipped into a large bag and seated at a lecture hall during university classes.
Publication Date: March 17
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“The Dog Meows, The Cat Barks”
Author: Eka Kurniawan, translated by Annie Tucker
What It’s About: New Directions continues its commitment to worldwide literature with this novel by Indonesian author Kurniawan, about a boy who chafes against his religious father’s attempts to make him devout.
Publication Date: March 24
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“Yellow”
Author: Amy Pence
What It’s About: Pasadena press Red Hen was established in 1994, and has published over 550 books since then. One of this year’s releases is this novel, set in 1973 Louisiana, about a 12-year-old girl who forms an odd connection with a slime mold growing in her backyard.
Publication Date: March 24