This is probably the longest “Most Anticipated” list I have put together. May is a heavy hitting month with a ton of releases, as publishing slows down during the summer months.
Contemporary & Literary Fiction
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own in this explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Pantheon
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Paper Names
Susie Luo
An unexpected act of violence brings together a Chinese-American family and a wealthy white lawyer in this propulsive and sweeping story of family, identity and the American experience—for fans of Jean Kwok, Mary Beth Keane and Naima Coster.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
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The Half Moon
Mary Beth Keane
What happens when your current life doesn’t match your expectations? That’s what is happening with Malcom and Jess. The married couple thought things would be easier, but life keeps throwing curveballs at them. Over the course of a blizzard, they are forced to reckon with their decisions and determine if they can move forward on a different path.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Scribner
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Lucky Girl
Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu
Longing for independence, a young sheltered Kenyan woman flees the expectations of her mother for a life in New York City that challenges all her beliefs about race, love, and family.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Dial Press
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The Daydreams
Laura Hankin
A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Berkley
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Homebodies
Tembe Denton-Hurst
Urgent, propulsive, and strikingly insightful, Homebodies is a thrilling debut novel about a young Black writer whose world is turned upside down when she loses her coveted job in media and her searing manifesto about racism in the industry goes viral.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Harper
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Late Bloomers
Deepa Varadarajan
An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage in this witty, big-hearted debut.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Random House
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Swamp Story
Dave Barry
Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
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The Collected Regrets of Clover
Mikki Brammer
The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
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Retrospective
Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Equal parts family saga and epic historical novel, Retrospective reveals the story of one man and his family — based on real people and events — and a devastating portrait of the forces that shaped their lives, and for half a century turned the world upside down.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Riverhead Books
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The God of Good Looks
Breanne McIvor
Combining the honesty, warmth, and humor of Queenie and a modern-day Bridget Jones’s Diary, this entertaining, transportive, and luminous debut novel from award-winning writer Breanne Mc Ivor follows a young Trinidadian woman finding her voice and a new kind of happy ending.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: William Morrow
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The Time Has Come
Will Leitch
The author of How Lucky blends suspense, humor, and compassion in a new novel about seven strangers and one very intense evening at a small-town Georgia pharmacy.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Harper
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Yellowface
R.F. Kuang
White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author R. F. Kuang.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: William Morrow
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The Late Americans
Brandon Taylor
The widely acclaimed author of Real Life and Filthy Animals returns with a deeply involving new novel of young men and women at a crossroads. In the shared and private spaces of Iowa City, a loose circle of lovers and friends encounter, confront, and provoke one another in a volatile year of self-discovery.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Riverhead Books
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Social Engagement
Avery Carpenter Forrey
A bitingly sharp and darkly humorous debut novel exploring millennial wedding culture, class, and relationships, all filtered through the ever-present lens of social media.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Mariner
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Big Gay Wedding
Byron Lane
An unashamedly proud, loud, and hilarious novel about a small town that’s forever changed by a big gay wedding, perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Guncle.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
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The Celebrants
Steven Rowley
A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
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Graceland
Nancy Crochiere
A sparkling, warm-hearted, witty debut about three generations of women that set out on a road trip to Memphis. Along the road to Memphis, as the women encounter former soap actors, free-range ferrets, and a trio of Elvis-impersonating frat boys, everyone’s long-held secrets begin to unravel. In order to become the family they long to be, Hope, Olivia, and Dylan must face hard truths about themselves and one another on the bumpy road to acceptance, forgiveness, and ultimately, grace.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Avon
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The Second Ending
Michelle Hoffman
A former prodigy who refuses to believe her best years are behind her and a young virtuoso searching for his passion both get an unlikely shot at their dreams in this sparkling debut about second chances, unexpected joys, and the miraculous power of music.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Ballantine
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The Museum of Ordinary People
Mike Gayle
Inspired by an abandoned box of mementos, The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant and uplifting story that celebrates everyday lives and encourages us to cherish those around us and appreciate ordinary moments.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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Historical Fiction
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Patti Callahan Henry
When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Atria Books
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Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Megan Tady
When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions. A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
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The East Indian
Brinda Charry
Inspired by a historical figure, an exhilarating debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to arrive in Colonial America—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi. Set before servitude calcified into racialized slavery, The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historic figure and brings the world he would have encountered to vivid life. In this coming-of-age tale, narrated by a most memorable literary rascal, Charry conjures a young character sure to be beloved by readers for years to come.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Scribner
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Can’t I Go Instead
Lee Geum-yi
Two women’s lives and identities are intertwined―through World War II and the Korean War―revealing the harsh realities of class division in the early part of the 20th century.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Forge Books
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To Die Beautiful
Buzzy Jackson
It’s 1940 and Hannie Schaft is a shy nineteen-year-old law student living in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands with ambitious goals for her future. But dreams die in wartime, and Hannie’s closest friends are no longer safe as fascism insidiously rises in her country. Hiding them is not enough. Hannie may be young but she can’t stand aside as the menace of Nazi evil tightens its grip. Driven by love and moral outrage, Hannie soon becomes an armed member of the Dutch Resistance movement.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Dutton
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A History of Burning
Janika Oza
This epic, sweeping historical novel full of “wondrous complexity” spans continents and a century, and reveals how one act of survival can reverberate through generations (Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin).
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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Hula
Jasmin Iolani Hakes
Set in Hilo, Hawai’i, a sweeping saga of tradition, culture, family, history, and connection that unfolds through the lives of three generations of women—a brilliant blend of There, There and Sharks in the Time of Saviors that isa tale of mothers and daughters, dance and destiny.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: HarperVia
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The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece
Tom Hanks
A novel about the making of a star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film…and the humble comic books that inspired it. Funny, touching, and wonderfully thought-provoking, while also capturing the changes in America and American culture since World War II.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Knopf
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The Tiffany Girls
Shelley Noble
New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble wows with a gripping historical novel about the real-life “Tiffany Girls,” a fascinating and largely unknown group of women artists behind Tiffany’s most legendary glassworks.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: William Morrow
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Glassworks
Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
A gorgeously written and irresistibly intimate queer novel that follows one family across four generations to explore legacy and identity in all its forms.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Bloomsbury
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The Garden of Lost Secrets
Kelly Bowen
Two sisters discover the fairy tales written by their great-grandmother during WWII in this riveting tale of one woman’s secrets lost in the chaos of war—perfect for fans of Julia Kelly and Natasha Lester.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Forever
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Good Night, Irene
Luis Alberto Urrea
In the tradition of The Nightingale and Transcription, this is a searing epic based on the magnificent and true story of courageous Red Cross women. Taking as inspiration his mother’s own Red Cross service, Luis Alberto Urrea has delivered an overlooked story of women’s heroism in World War II.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
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Romance
Love Buzz
Neely Tubati-Alexander
In this spectacularly enjoyable and serendipitous adventure, a chance romantic encounter during a wild night at a Mardi Gras bachelorette party sends strait-laced Serena Khan’s carefully constructed life into chaos.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Harper Perennial
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The Last Word
Katy Birchall
The Hating Game meets Beach Read in Katy Birchall’s enemies-to-lovers romcom The Last Word, about a young journalist who puts her career (and her heart) on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
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Practice Makes Perfect
Sarah Adams
A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Dell
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The Boyfriend Candidate
Ashley Winstead
As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—she decides she needs to change. And what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Graydon House
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The Comeback Summer
Ali Brady
Two sisters have one summer to crush their comfort zones and save their grandmother’s legacy in this sweet, sexy, and heartfelt novel by Ali Brady, author of The Beach Trap.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Berkley
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Famous for a Living
Melissa Ferguson
When her business partner is accused of serious financial crimes, superstar influencer Cat Cranwell—an engineered marvel of beauty, energy, and fun—falls from her penthouse perch. Desperate to get away from the online trolls, Cat accepts her uncle’s offer to work with him in Kannery National Park, Montana. But something curious is also happening in this overwhelming breath of fresh air as she reacquaints with the most honest parts of herself and begins to ask the hard questions.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
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Summer Reading
Jen McKinlay
When a woman who’d rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay’s new rom-com.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Berkley
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The True Love Experiment
Christina Lauren
Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Gallery Books
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Mrs. Nash’s Ashes
Sarah Adler
A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Berkley
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Once More with Feeling
Elissa Sussman
A former pop star finds herself back in the spotlight—along with an old flame from her past—in this friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers story from the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask, the sensational TikTok romance!
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Dell
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Thrillers, Mysteries, & Horror
The Nigerwife
Vanessa Walters
This twisty and electrifying debut novel about a young woman who goes missing in Lagos, Nigeria, and her estranged auntie who will stop at nothing to find the truth is perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Last Thing He Told Me.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Atria Books
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Adrift
Lisa Brideau
For fans of The Last Thing He Told Me comes a page-turning thriller about hidden identities and the terrifying realities of climate change. Ess wakes up alone on a sailboat in the remote Pacific Northwest with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a note, but it’s more warning than comfort: Start over. Don’t make yourself known. Don’t look back. Ess must have answers.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
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No One Needs to Know
Lindsay Cameron
When an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, the darkest secrets of New York’s wealthiest residents come to light—including some worth killing for—in this gripping suspense novel from the author of Just One Look.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Bantam
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Killing Me
Michelle Gagnon
Amber Jamison can’t believe she’s about to become the latest victim of a serial killer. She’s savvy and street smart, so when she gets pushed into, of all things, a white windowless van, she is more angry than afraid. Things get even weirder when she’s miraculously saved by a mysterious woman . . . who promptly disappears. Who was she? You’d think escaping one psychopath would be enough, but Amber’s problems are just beginning.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
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Mothers’ Instinct
Barbara Abel
Soon to be a major US motion picture starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, Mothers’ Instinct is a dark, twisty domestic thriller in which the bond between two couples—best friends and next-door neighbors—mutates in dangerous and deadly ways in the wake of a tragic accident.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: HarperVia
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Rogue Justice
Stacey Abrams
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of While Justice Sleeps returns with another riveting and intricately plotted thriller, in which a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Doubleday Books
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The Chateau
Jaclyn Goldis
A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler
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The Senator’s Wife
Liv Constatine
A D.C. philanthropist suspects that her seemingly perfect employee is secretly plotting to steal her husband, her reputation—even her life—in this seductive novel of psychological suspense.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Bantam
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Sing Her Down
Ivy Pochoda
No Country for Old Men meets Killing Eve in this gritty, feminist Western thriller from the award-winning author of These Women. Gripping and immersive, Sing Her Down is a spellbinding thriller setting two indelible women on a path to certain destruction and an epic, stunning showdown.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: MCD
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Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421
T.J. Newman
Flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman returns for her second book, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean, and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside, and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
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Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Magical Realism
Clytemnestra
Costanza Casati
For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut set in the world of Ancient Greece, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
Publication Date: May 2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
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The Ferryman
Justin Cronin
In a world where people don’t die but are ferried away to be regenerated into a 16-year old with no memories, Proctor is responsible for making sure the “retirees” go without a fuss.” But he is quickly drawn into a mystery at the heart of their society.
Publication Date: May 2
Publisher: Ballantine Books
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Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
Publication Date: May 2
Publisher: Red Tower
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Not Alone
Sarah K. Jackson
An exhilarating debut novel, tracing the harrowing journey of a mother and son fighting for survival and a future in a world ravaged by environmental disaster.
Publication Date: May 2
Publisher: Doubleday
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Atalanta
Jennifer Saint
From the beloved, bestselling author of Elektra and Ariadne, a reimagining of the myth of Atalanta, a fierce huntress raised by bears and the only woman in the world’s most famous band of heroes, the Argonauts.
Publication Date: May 9
Publisher: Flatiron Books
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Our Hideous Progeny
C.E. McGill
Historical fiction with a dark twist in the spirit of Circe, Ariadne, and Mexican Gothic, Our Hideous Progeny is a brilliant revisiting of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein that unfolds with a fresh, provocative, queer twist.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Harper
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To Shape a Dragon’s Breath
Moniquill Blackgoose
A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Del Rey
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The Will of the Many
James Islington
I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus—what they call Will—to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do. But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
Publication Date: May 23
Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press
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Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Emma Törzs
In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection—a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power. In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
Publication Date: May 30
Publisher: William Morrow
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The Wishing Game
Meg Shaffer
Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Ballantine Books
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The Light at the End of the World
Siddhartha Deb
Connecting India’s tumultuous 19th and 20th centuries to its distant past and its potentially apocalyptic future, this sweeping tale of rebellion, courage, and brutality reinvents fiction for our time.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Soho Press
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Young Adult
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Angeline Boulley
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter, Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
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Imogen, Obviously
Becky Albertalli
With humor and insight, #1 New York Times bestseller Becky Albertalli explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship in this timely new novel.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
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Four Found Dead
Natalie D. Richards
Tonight, Riverview Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, a shift that quickly takes a dark turn.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
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Nigeria Jones
Ibi Zoboi
From Ibi Zoboi, bestselling, award-winning author of American Street and co-author of Punching the Air, comes a bold new YA coming-of-age story, which explores race, feminism, and complicated family dynamics. The ideal next read for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jacqueline Woodson, and Roxane Gay.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
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A Shadow Crown (The Hafling Saga #2)
Melissa Blair
To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to kill a tyrant king.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
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Julieta and the Romeos
Maria E. Andreu
You’ve Got Mail meets a YA Beach Read with a bookish mystery at its heart in the newest rom-com from Maria E. Andreu. The ideal next read for fans of Emily Henry, Kasie West, and Jennifer E. Smith.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
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Forever Is Now
Mariama J. Lockington
A poignant and lyrical young adult novel-in-verse about a Black teen coming of age in an anxiety-inducing world, from the author of For Black Girls Like Me and In the Key of Us.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Threads That Bind
Kika Hatzopoulou
In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city, for fans of Song of Achilles.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Razorbill
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Short Stories
The Private Life of Spies and the Exquisite Art of Getting Even: Stories of Espionage and Revenge
Alexander McCall Smith
From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Pantheon
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Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home: Stories
Ana Castillo
Literary legend Ana Castillo explores the secrets that are kept within households and the women they impact the most in this breakout collection that cements her place as a leading voice in feminist fiction.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: HarperVia
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Memoirs & Essays
Tell Me Everything: A Memoir
Minka Kelly
Fans know her as the spoiled, rich cheerleader Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights or as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on the HBO megahit Euphoria. But as revealed for the first time in these pages, Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
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Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets
Burkhard Bilger
A New Yorker staff writer investigates his grandfather, a Nazi Party Chief, in this “unflinching, gorgeously written, and deeply moving exploration of morality, family, and war” (Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain).
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Random House
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We Are Too Many: A Memoir [Kind of]
Hannah Pittard
We Are Too Many is an unexpectedly funny, unflinchingly honest, and genre-bending memoir about a marriage-ending affair between award-winning author Hannah Pittard’s husband and her captivating best friend.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
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Oh My Mother!: A Memoir in Nine Adventures
Connie Wang
A dazzling mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Viking
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An Unspeakable Hope: Brutality, Forgiveness, & Building a Better Future for My Son
Leon Ford with Jeffery Renard Allen
An unforgettable and stirring memoir in the vein of Free Cyntoia, Just Mercy, and The Sum of Us that both inspires and upends our understanding about the future of policing in the United States.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Atria Books
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Quietly Hostile: Essays
Samantha Irby
A hilarious new essay collection from #1 New York Times bestselling unabashed fan-favorite Samantha Irby invites us to share in the gory particulars of her real life, all that festers behind the glitter and glam.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Vintage
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A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir & Manifesto on Reimagining
Rachel E. Cargle
From a highly lauded modern voice in feminism and racial justice comes a deeply personal and insightful testament to the power of reimagining to dismantle the frameworks and systems that no longer serve us while building new ones that do.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Ballantine Books
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When the World Didn’t End: A Memoir
Guinevere Turner
In this immersive, spell-binding memoir, an acclaimed screenwriter tells the story of her childhood growing up with the infamous Lyman Family cult—and the complicated and unexpected pain of leaving the only home she’d ever known.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Crown
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Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir
Rachel Louise Snyder
From the author of the groundbreaking, award-winning No Visible Bruises, a riveting memoir of survival, self-discovery, and forgiveness sure to captivate readers who loved Tara Westover’s Educated and Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
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Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, & Remembrances
Kwame Alexander
This powerful memoir from a #1 New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medalist features poetry, letters, recipes, and other personal artifacts that provide an intimate look into his life and the loved ones he shares it with.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
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Nonfiction
You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula
Hannah Matthews
An eye-opening, transformative, and actionable journey through radical and compassionate community abortion care and support work: what it looks like, how each and every one of us can practice and incorporate it into our daily lives, and what we can imagine and build together in a post-Roe v. Wade United States.
Publication date: May 2
Publisher: Atria Books
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Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race & the Meanings & Myths of “Latino”
Héctor Tobar
“Latino” is the most open-ended and loosely defined of the major race categories in the United States. Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” assembles the Pulitzer Prize winner Héctor Tobar’s personal experiences as the son of Guatemalan immigrants and the stories told to him by his Latinx students to offer a spirited rebuke to racist ideas about Latino people.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: MCD
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American Breakdown: Our Ailing Nation, My Body’s Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life
Jennifer Lunden
A Silent Spring for the human body, this wide-ranging, genre-crossing literary mystery interweaves the author’s quest to understand the source of her own condition with her telling of the story of the chronically ill 19th-century diarist Alice James—ultimately uncovering the many hidden health hazards of life in America.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Harper Wave
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Walking with Sam: A Father, A Son, & Five Hundred Miles Across Spain
Andrew McCarthy
An intimate, funny, and poignant travel memoir following New York Times bestselling author and actor Andrew McCarthy as he walks the Camino de Santiago with his son Sam.
Publication date: May 9
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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King: A Life
Jonathan Eig
Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.―and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
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Who’s Your Founding Father: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence
David Fleming
A centuries-old secret document might unravel the origin story of America and reveal the intellectual crime of the millennia in this epic dive into our country’s history to discover the first, true Declaration of Independence.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Hachette Books
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Edison’s Ghosts: The Untold Weirdness of History’s Greatest Geniuses
Katie Spalding
Overturn everything you knew about history’s greatest minds in this raucous and hilarious book, where it turns out there’s a finer line between “genius” and “idiot” than we’ve previously known.
Publication date: May 16
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
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On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins & the Price Women Pay to Be Good
Elise Loehnen
A groundbreaking exploration of the ancient rules women unwittingly follow in order to be considered “good,” revealing how the Seven Deadly Sins still control and distort our lives and illuminating a path toward a more balanced, spiritually complete way to live.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Dial Press
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Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street
Victor Luckerson
A multigenerational saga of a family and a community in Tulsa’s Greenwood district, known as “Black Wall Street,” that in one century survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, urban renewal, and gentrification.
Publication date: May 23
Publisher: Random House
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In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army
Charles Barber
The “high-stakes” true story of how an absent-minded inventor and a down-on-his-luck salesman joined forces to create a once‑in‑a‑generation lifesaving product. Using deep reportage and riveting prose, In the Blood recounts this little‑known David‑and‑Goliath story of corruption, greed, and power within the military—and the devastating consequences of unchecked institutional arrogance.
Publication date: May 30
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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3 responses to “May 2023 Most Anticipated New Book Releases”
Great list! I preordered The Secret Book of Flora Lea and it already arrived. I’ll have to peruse this list more later! The one by Steven Rowley sounds good, and I’ll probably listen to the Minka Kelly on audio at some point.
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Nice lost of books! I’m intrigued by ‘The Time Has Come,’ sounds interesting…
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