Fiction to watch out for this year from an array of fan favourites

With a plethora of eagerly anticipated titles to come from local literary stars and and global publishing heavyweights, 2026 looks set to be an exciting year for readers, writes Marjorie Brennan

George Saunders latest novel, 'Vigil', explores the final hours of life.

January

Vigil by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)

The author of the masterful Lincoln in the Bardo explores a similarly liminal milieu in his latest novel. Jill “Doll” Blaine is an otherworldly emissary tasked with helping souls transition into the next life but she finds her patience tested by an unrepentant oil executive.

The Nowhere Girls by Carmel Harrington (Headline)

Investigative journalist Vega puts her whole life on the line to discover the fate of two girls found abandoned at a train station in Dublin three decades previously.

February

Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise (Eriu)

The Dublin-based American impressed with her debut novel The Polite Act of Drowning, published in 2023. Michigan native Sarah becomes Saoirse, finding the freedom reflected in her Irish name when she forges a new life as an artist in Donegal, but success and fame threaten to bring her secrets to the surface.

Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate)

Translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton, this new novel from the author of the hugely successful Butter follows trader Eriko whose seemingly perfect life belies a gnawing loneliness. When she befriends Shoko, a happily married lifestyle blogger, things take an obsessive turn.

Banshee: Mythological Irish Women Retold by Ailbhe Malone (John Murray)

This anthology features a selection of Irish writers revisiting ancient Irish myths through a female lens, upgrading women from supporting roles and casting them in a new light.

Prolific Wexford writer Colm Tóibín will publish a collection of short stories in March. Picture: Karlis Dzjamko

March

The Keeper by Tana French (Viking)

The American writer has called Ireland her home for more than three decades, and has amassed a large and admiring following for her accomplished crime fiction. She returns with the third and final volume of the Cal Hooper series, following The Searcher and The Hunter. In the latest instalment, the retired Chicago detective gets caught up in the aftershock of a young woman’s murder in an Irish village.

The Woman in the Water by Henrietta McKervey (Hachette)

This Gothic thriller from the Irish author takes its inspiration from the identity of the mysterious woman in Daphne Du Maurier’s iconic novel Rebecca. Pearl Day becomes embroiled in a scandalous murder trial when she witnesses Lady Eleanor Nicholson shoot her lover. With her friend behind bars, she sees a change to escape their warped entanglement but it’s not that easy.

The Visit by Neil Tully (Eriu)

A real-life event is the background for this intriguing novel from the Cork-based debut author. Sergeant Jim Field is on duty in New Ross as the town prepares to welcome US president John F Kennedy to his ancestral home. However, he is preoccupied with his feelings of guilt and obligation towards Patrick Hatten, a young man struggling to find his place in the world.

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent (Penguin)

Nugent has the magic touch when it comes to dark and gripping psychological thrillers and her latest looks like another triumphant addition to her impressive catalogue. Sisters Ruby and Erin Cooper deal with the reverberations of one shocking incident in their youth. Nugent, as ever, keeps the reader guessing to the end.

The News From Dublin by Colm Tóibín (Picador)

The prolific Wexford writer can turn his hand to any genre and here he showcases his short story chops. The collection explores the lives of ordinary people navigating extraordinary moments in history, from a Galway woman learning of her son’s death in the First World War to an undocumented worker preparing to leave the US.

April

Whatever Happened to Madeline Stone by Louise O’Neill (Bantam)

The Clonakilty native has been busy since the publication of her last book Idol in 2022, returning with this novel ahead of the publication of her eagerly awaited memoir later this year. Twins Chelsea and Madeline Stone share the spotlight as stars of a sitcom until Chelsea nabs a coveted role and Madeline goes missing. Almost two decades later, Chelsea must face up to her past and the truth of what happened to her sister.

Go Gentle by Maria Semple (Orion)

Fans of the wonderfully sharp and witty Where’d You Go, Bernadette will be hoping for more of the same from Semple’s latest. It follows Adora Hazzard, a divorcee on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, who works as a tutor to a wealthy family and is pulled into a world of intrigue when she meets a handsome man at the ballet.

A River Red with Blood by John Connolly (Hodder and Stoughton)

Another great premise from the Irish author, with his detective Charlie Parker confronting a new level of amorality amid a twisted game where players must abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s novel ‘Said the Dead’ is one of the most eagerly awaited books of the year.

May

Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (Faber)

One of the most eagerly awaited books of the year and justifiably so. The Cork-based writer wowed readers and critics alike with her previous book, A Ghost in the Throat, a brilliant blend of memoir, essay, history, and poetry inspired by the famous 18th century lament Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire. In her own distinct and indefinable style, Ní Ghríofa marshals a chorus of ghostly voices awoken by the redevelopment of a former asylum in Cork city.

John of John by Douglas Stuart (Picador)

Expectations are also high for the third novel from the Scottish author, who won the Booker Prize with his debut Shuggie Bain. An art school graduate returns to his family home in the Hebrides to help care for his grandmother, facing the judgment of his sheep farmer father and the close-knit community.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Viking)

An apt title for a book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who excels in excavating the inner lives of her brilliantly realised characters. A chance incident prompts Artie Dam, a beloved high school teacher, to completely reappraise his life.

June

Land by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press)

The author is riding high on the success of her novel Hamnet as it reaches a whole new audience on screen. In her latest novel, O’Farrell turns her attention to her native Ireland and a story inspired by her own family history. 

Tomás and his son Liam are working on the Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland, just a few years after the country has been ravaged by the Great Hunger. She describes it as the novel she has always wanted to write, and given her gift for storytelling, there is sure to be no shortage of people who want to read it.

July

The Nun of Ravensbrück by Cathi Fleming (Hachette)

This novel is inspired by the remarkable true story of the Cork-born Franciscan nun Sister Kate McCarthy, who saved hundreds of lives as a member of the French Resistance and was later imprisoned by the Nazis. The retelling is the result of many years of research by Fleming, a retired primary school teacher from Kildare.