LJ and Goodreads Fall Book Previews 2026

This month Library Journal has their preview of the busiest season for new books-- Fall. Written by Jessica Trotter, this is a preview of all adult books-- fiction and nonfiction-- broken out by larger trends and covering the entire season. 

Whether you order books, help patrons, do one or both, you want to get a snap shot of what is hot and what titles are filling that trend, get in on this now.

It also comes with a spreadsheet of every title, to make ordering easier as well.

And if this huge preview is too much for you to digest right now, click here to read the Editor's Picks for Fall Finds. 

Before I send you to LJ's preview, I also think we need to balance this professional opinion with the readers' most anticipated books lists. We can get that via Goodreads and their MANY access point:

• Readers’ 60 Most Anticipated Fall Books
• New Horror Coming this Fall
• Your Guide to Fall's Top Adult Fiction
• New Romantasy and Paranormal Romance for Fall
• Fall Fantasy and SciFi Preview
• Upcoming Mystery and Thriller 

I am always advocating for looking at professional resources and reader driven resources to make sure we have the 360 degree picture of that is going on in the book world from conversations to anticipated titles to trends. No Fall Preview is Complete without looking at Goodreads or other reader focused resources.

Now back to the LJ article, click here to read it or see the overviews for Fiction and Nonfiction in general, reposted below, to get started. But then you have to click through for all of the details.

Fall Book Preview 2026 | The Seasonal Forecast About Books and Trends To Know

by Jessica Trotter 

Aug 12, 2026 | Filed in Reviews+

FICTION

The fiction forecast sees horror remaining a key trending genre and also growing more varied. Somewhat adjacent, witches are moving even more mainstream and appearing in many genres this season. Romantasy continues to dominate broadly, but there is a notable uptick in dark academia titles nipping at its heels. In romance, second-chance-at-love stories and paranormals are leading the season. Cozy and epic fantasy, representing two ends of the fantasy genre, are both holding strong, while space operas and aliens are key in the smaller science-fiction field. Novels about bookish subjects remain a popular choice and are plentiful across multiple genres. Download a spreadsheet of these titles plus nonfiction here.

NONFICTION

A year focused on commemorating the Declaration of Independence brings a wide breadth of history works and social sciences surveys examining the events that created the modern United States. Politics is heavily represented as well, with political books, partisan histories, and social justice–themed titles. Culinary tomes help make the fall delicious; among them is a new cookbook from Kwame Onwuachi (interviewed on p. 30). Nature writing is still very popular, as are biographies and memoirs, with a large list to pick from, whether readers enjoy music, movie stars, writers, or tales of more ordinary lives. Other subjects sustain interest as well, from Hollywood stories to poetry to self-help.

Click here or on the image below to read the entire article.