Hellcon, the 64th Japan Science Fiction Convention, has announced the winners of the 2026 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo Awards), honoring the best original and translated works published last year in Japan.

The post 2026 Seiun Awards Winners appeared first on Locus.

The winners have been announced for the 2026 Prix Imaginales, honoring the best works of fantasy published in France.

The post 2026 Prix Imaginales Winners appeared first on Locus.

Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week’s new books and support your local bookstore. And us!

Albert, Melissa: The Children (HarperCollins 978-0063497856, $32.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy/Horror novel. As an adult, Guinevere Sharpe lived off of the success of her mother who mysteriously died in a fire. When her estranged brother returns with an art piece titled “Mother,” Guinevere starts to piece together what really happened the night of the fire. A first novel.

Archer, Amy: Nemesis Mine (Harper Voyager US 978-0063459403, $19.99, 428pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Historical fantasy novel. Cyrus used to be the biggest villain in Agatha, but no one’s been paying attention to him recently. The hero of the land, Maximillian, creates a plan to start a fake rivalry with Cyrus, but it becomes harder to perform when they start to fall for each other. A first novel.

Arden, Katherine: The Unicorn Hunters (Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0593128282, $30.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy Novel. As Anne, the duchess of Brittany, is set to be married off to the king of France, she devises a plan to stop it. Anne plans a unicorn hunt in the forest of Brocéliande so that she can marry someone else and escape this arranged marriage. Simultaneous with the Penguin Random House UK edition.

Bandreddi, S.C.: The Game of Oaths (Candlewick Press 978-1536252637, $19.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Young-adult dark fantasy novel. Falan Sunkara, a 17 year old trapeze artist, is seeking revenge after her sister died in the game of oaths, a game where 12 are selected to compete, but only one will survive. A first novel.

Cambias, James L.: The Ishtar Deception (Baen 978-1668073308, $18.00, 288pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 06/02/2026)

Science fiction novel, book four in the Billion Worlds series. In the far-future solar system, Sabbath and Daslakh of Deimos travel to the city of Ishtar on Venus to find out the truth about the death of an undercover agent.

Crocker, Ed: Moonfall (St. Martin’s 978-1250287755, $30.00, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy novel, second in the Everlands trilogy. Sam has a plan to destroy the vampire city of First Light, but she’ll need the help of the city’s former ruler in order for it to succeed. The most dangerous sorcerer in history, Neuras Sinassion, is finally telling the truth about humanity.

DuQuette, Lon Milo & Bratkowsky, James M.: Young Aleister Crowley and the Magicians’ Revolt (Red Wheel/Weiser 978-1578639151, $16.95, 176pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 06/06/2026)

Fantasy novel. Aleister Crowley steps foot into Edwardian London where there’s a power struggle between magicians of the Golden Dawn, and the leaders of the Golden Dawn. The leaders’ power is fading, and Crowley finds himself in the middle of this war.

Gómez, Cynthia: Muñeca (Penguin Random House/Putnam 979-8217047581, $29.00, 171pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Gothic fantasy romance novel. Violeta, the heiress to Spanish colonial wealth is paralyzed, and Natalia Fuentes thinks dark magic caused it. Nati becomes Violeta’s caretaker in hopes of receiving a reward, but as feelings start to form between the two, Nati is forced to confront her past. A first novel.

Jane, Emily: Mr. Yay (Disney/Hyperion Avenue 978-1368116046, $18.99, 488pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Novel in Disney’s line of adult books. Mr. Yay (Who’s real name is Fatty Bratty), has a blossoming rap career, but his therapist, Miriam, has memories of a TV show named Mr. Yay, yet no one else does, and there’s no record of it on the internet. Miriam watches Mr. Yay continue to grow as her life starts to fall apart.

Kim, Isabel J.: Sublimation (Tor 978-1250376794, $28.99, 357pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Science Fiction novel. Immigration splits you into two copies of yourself, one stays in their original country, and one travels to their new country. Some stay in touch with each other, while others never speak to each other again. A first novel.

Lacrampe, J.P.: Valet (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 978-1668216439, $28.00, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Science fiction novel. Grayson panics as his sister plans to sell the family’s robotics company to a tech giant. Grayson, Cy (Grayson’s robot helper), and their dog, Sasha III, run away until they can figure out what to do. A first novel.

Leighton, Georgia: Maiden (Penguin Random House UK/Bantam UK 978-0857505934, £16.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/04/2026)

Fantasy novel. Every year after the snow is melted, a young woman is selected to be sacrificed to the dragon. The three women in charge hold the power to stop the ritual, but doing so comes with a price.

Noni, Lynette: Shadow Reaper (Penguin Random House/Knopf 979-8217033454, $21.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

YA fantasy romance novel. The streets of Aravell are swarmed with reapers, and they’re led by the Reaper Priest. When his most loyal follower is captured, he makes a deal with a person whose parents he murdered.

Pacton, Jamie: The Hyacinth Labyrinth (Peachtree Teen 978-1682638194, $19.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Young-adult fantasy romance novel. The fae Hyacinth, her friend Chloe, and a dragon travel through a labyrinth to find a library. Hyacinth and Chloe discover bandits, magical creatures, and their feelings for each other.

Pham, Cindy: The Secret World of Briar Rose (Penguin Random House/Kokila 979-8217113026, $21.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy romance novel. Corin finds her sister Elly after jumping into a portal that leads to Princess Amelia’s dreams. There they meet the dream version of Amelia, but suspect that she’s hiding some things that can’t be kept secret forever. A first novel.

Samorano, Désirée: Amarisa’s Cooking Pot (University of Nevada Press 978-1647792428, $26.95, 229pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 06/02/2026)

Collection of 21 stories. These stories draw on Mexican American culture, and possess a wide range of emotions that are all deeply human. It explores what it means to be alive in a world that’s so unpredictable.

Sim, Tara: The Dawn Throne (Orbit US 978-0316458962, $19.99, 448pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy novel, the third in the Dark Gods series. When the god of light, Phos, decides to attack the heirs for control of the cosmos, the heirs decide to bring the battle to Phos’s home realm. Simultaneous with the Hodder & Stoughton UK edition.

St. Jude, Jen: Where You’ll Find Us (Bloomsbury USA 978-1547611409, $20.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel. Calla’s parents disowned her because she was gay, but she’s trying to figure out if she’s even a girl. She finds a farmhouse that’s frozen in time, and houses queer teens from the past. Simultaneous with the Penguin Random House UK edition.

Tubb, Kristin O’Donnell: The Spiritualists (Simon & Schuster 978-1665985734, $19.99, 416pp, formats: ebook, 06/02/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel. Stella, a psychic, gets an invitation to join a group of mystics, and in return they’ll get revenge on her sister’s killer. The only problem is, she’s the reason her sister is dead in the first place. A first novel.

Valldeperas, R.J.: Their Will Undone (HarperCollins/Quill Tree 978-0063388765, $19.99, 367pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel. Kasik must retrieve Nina and bring her to the emperor, however the path back brings them to dangerous places. Kasik questions her loyalty when desire starts to take over. A first novel.

Yang, Tessa: The Jellyfish Problem (Penguin Random House/Berkley 978-0593955826, $30.00, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Magical realism novel. Dr. Jo Ness gets a call from Nadia who tells her of a giant jellyfish terrorizing her island. Jo decides to fly over to the island where she meets Clementine, a jellyfish that changes everyone who sees it. A first novel.

Young-do, Lee: The Heart of the Nhaga (Harper Voyager US 978-0063349896, $32.00, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 06/02/2026)

Fantasy novel, book one of the Bird That Drinks Tears series. The world is divided in two, the Tokebbi to the north, and the Nhaga to the south. No one has crossed the border in centuries, but that’s about to change.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.

The post New Book Releases: June 2, 2026 appeared first on Locus.

The Locus Selected Books by Author list has been updated on our Forthcoming Books page, with information from the June 2026 issue covering upcoming titles from genre houses slated through December 2026. Find out about your favorite authors’ upcoming books!

For the complete list of books by publisher, subscribe to our print magazine or purchase the June issue in print or digital editions, available June 1, 2026.

The post Forthcoming Books Through December 2026 appeared first on Locus.

Debuting last week and this week, Sarah A. Parker’s The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Avon) ranks #1 on three lists this week. Also notable: the trade paperback reprint of Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth (Orbit) debuts on four lists. And a graphic novel version of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl (Vault Comics) debuts on two lists.

The table shows the current rank of each book and the change since last week, where:

= same as last week

+/- change since last week

+ back on list

++ new on list

x no longer on list (number of x’s: weeks off list)

All lists rank hardcovers and paperbacks separately, except for the USA Today list, which is a single list combining fiction and nonfiction in all formats. Dates shown are posted dates, except those in parentheses, which are dates compiled. New York Times posts its list one week in advance of print publication.

Note that some sources do not compile paperback bestsellers, and some exclude YA books (like the Harry Potter series) from their hardcover and paperback fiction lists.

The post Weekly Bestsellers, 1 June 2026 appeared first on Locus.

The Nuremberg 2028 Worldcon bid has announced its withdrawal from the race after a decision by a crew-committee assembly.

This decision comes from a mix of personal, organisational and timing reasons. Since our introduction at Smofcon in November, we have received wonderful support from volunteers, artists, experienced conrunners and communities across Central Europe. We are deeply grateful for that.

But as site selection begins, we have to be honest: we are not at the point where we would need to be in order to ask the community to vote for us and be ready to carry the responsibility of winning.

The Kigali bid, which was changed from Uganda to Rwanda in 2024, also withdrew February 7, 2026 due to lack of resources.

This leaves the Brisbane bid for 2028 the only remaining bid for the 2028 Worldcon. The bid’s administrators responded to the Nuremberg bid withdrawal:

The post Nuremberg Worldcon Bid Withdraws appeared first on Locus.

The June 2026 Locus magazine, issue #785, has interviews with Robert Jackson Bennett and Isabel J. Kim, and a spotlight on artist Dante Luiz. The Summer Reads section includes Locus reviewers’ recommendations, commentary from Saga editor Nivia Evans and Sheree Renée Thomas, and US and UK forthcoming books titles. News includes the 2026 Locus Awards winners, Daniel Kraus’s Pulitzer Prize win, LA Times Book Prize winners, new Transworld imprint 3AM Books, and more. Obituaries remember Tom Clegg, Michael P. Spradlin, and Donald Sidney-Fryer. Reviews include new titles by Amitav Ghosh, Joseph Eckert, Ian McDonald, Christopher Priest & Nina Allan, Rachel Khong, Thomas Elrod, Ra Page & David Sue (eds.), Garth Nix, J.M. Sidorova, Andrea Hairston, Isabel Ibañez, Leslye Penelope, Vonda N. McIntyre, Isabel J. Kim, Jedediah Berry, ‘Pemi Aguda, Munir Hachemi translated by Julia Sanches, M. John Harrison, Lee Young-do translated by Anton Hur, Violet Allen, Andrew Dana Hudson, Kate Milford, Meg Shaffer, Elana K. Arnold, Daisy Pearce, Uketsu translated by Jim Rion, Allen Stroud, Cynthia Gómez, James S.A. Corey, Ann Leckie, Alex Shvartsman, Jeff Noon, Sheree Renée Thomas, and more.

Reviews by MAYA C. JAMES / 19

The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays, Andrea Hairston; Graceless Heart, Isabel Ibañez; The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass, Leslye Penelope.

Reviews by GABINO IGLESIAS / 25

Dark is When the Devil Comes, Daisy Pearce; Strange Buildings, Uketsu; Anti-State, Allen Stroud.

Reviews by DIVERS HANDS: ALEX BROWN, YOON HA LEE, RUSSELL LETSON, ADRIENNE MARTINI, ADAM ROBERTS, WOLE TALABI, ALVARO ZINOS-AMARO / 26

Muñeca, Cynthia Gómez; The Faith of Beasts, James S. A. Corey; Radiant Star, Ann Leckie; The Best of All Possible Planets, Alex Shvartsman; Moon Over Brendle, Jeff Noon; Ring Shout on Saturn, Sheree Renée Thomas; The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J.G. Ballard, Christopher Priest & Nina Allan.

Aguda, ‘Pemi • One Leg on Earth (Niall Harrison)
Allen, Violet • Plastic, Prism, Void (Abigail Nussbaum)
Arnold, Elana K. • Holloway (Colleen Mondor)
Berry, Jedediah • Kill All Wizards (Niall Harrison)
Corey, James S. A. • The Faith of Beasts (Yoon Ha Lee)
Eckert, Joseph • The Traveler (Gary K. Wolfe)
Elrod, Thomas • The Franchise (Ian Mond)
Ghosh, Amitav • Ghost-Eye (Gary K. Wolfe)
Gómez, Cynthia • Mu eca (Alex Brown)
Hachemi, Munir • The Mulai (Niall Harrison)
Hairston, Andrea • The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays (Maya C. James)
Harrison, M. John • The End of Everything (Niall Harrison)
Hudson, Andrew Dana • Absence (Abigail Nussbaum)
Iba ez, Isabel • Graceless Heart (Maya C. James)
Khong, Rachel • My Dear You (Ian Mond)
Kim, Isabel J. • Sublimation (Niall Harrison)
Leckie, Ann • Radiant Star (Russell Letson)
McDonald, Ian • Boy, With Accidental Dinosaur (Gary K. Wolfe)
McIntyre, Vonda N. • The Curve of the World (Niall Harrison)
Milford, Kate • Rialto (Colleen Mondor)
Nix, Garth • Massif (Alexandra Pierce)
Noon, Jeff • Moon Over Brendle (Adam Roberts)
Page, Ra, & David Sue, eds. • Monster Capital: Tales of Capitalist Unease (Ian Mond)
Pearce, Daisy • Dark Is When the Devil Comes (Gabino Iglesias)
Penelope, Leslye • The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass (Maya C. James)
Priest, Christopher, & Nina Allan • The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J.G. Ballard (Alvaro Zinos-Amaro)
Priest, Christopher, & Nina Allan • The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J.G. Ballard (Gary K. Wolfe)
Shaffer, Meg • The Book Witch (Colleen Mondor)
Shvartsman, Alex • The Best of All Possible Planets (Adrienne Martini)
Sidorova, J. M. • The Witch of Prague (Alexandra Pierce)
Stroud, Allen • Anti-State (Gabino Iglesias)
Thomas, Sheree Ren e • Ring Shout on Saturn (Wole Talabi)
Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion • Strange Buildings (Gabino Iglesias)
Young-do, Lee • The Heart of the Nhaga (Abigail Nussbaum)

The post Issue 785 Table of Contents, June 2026 appeared first on Locus.

The Locus Science Fiction Foundation announced the winners in each category of the 2026 Locus Awards on May 30, 2026, during the Bay Area Book Festival.  Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, and Nnedi Okorafor were Guests of Honor, with Featured Local Artist Alyssa Winans. Additional weekend events included readings, panels with leading authors, and a catered reception.

The post 2026 Locus Awards Winners appeared first on Locus.

The post Magazines Received – June appeared first on Locus.

Get ready for another week of incredible new reads as Locus spotlights the latest Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Young Adult releases hitting shelves the week of May 26th, 2026! From highly anticipated adventures to chilling tales and imaginative worlds, this lineup is filled with books readers won’t want to miss. We’ve rounded up some of the biggest and most exciting releases to help you discover your next favorite addition to your TBR pile. New videos arrive every week, so be sure to subscribe and stay connected with all the newest happenings in speculative fiction. Thanks so much for watching and supporting the channel—we can’t wait to share even more upcoming releases with you soon!

The post New Books Video: Releases of the Week! May 26, 2026 appeared first on Locus.

The 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards nominees for outstanding achievement in horror, psychological suspense, and dark fantasy fiction have been announced.

The post 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees appeared first on Locus.

Hum by Helen Phillips (Marysue Rucci) [amazon / bookshop] has been announced as the winner of the second annual Climate Fiction Prize. Founded by Leo Barasi, Rose Goddard, and Imran Khan, and supported by Climate Spring, the prize seeks to “celebrate the most inspiring novels tackling the climate crisis.”

Other shortlisted titles and authors of genre interest include:

Phillips received the £10,000 prize in a ceremony in London and will be celebrated at a winners’ event at Hay Festival on May 30. For more information, including the complete lists of finalists and judges, see the Climate Fiction Prize website.

The post Phillips Wins 2026 Climate Fiction Prize appeared first on Locus.

Lalana Dararutana, 49, died May 18, 2026. She had cervical cancer.

Dararutana was born September 15, 1976 in Syracuse NY. In her childhood she was a caregiver to her younger sister and brother. She began publishing books in her thirties after attending a writing conference in 2009. As an author, Dararutana went by Piper J. Drake and PJ Schnyder and published many works of fantasy, paranormal, and SF romance. She wrote two books in the Mythwoven series: Wings Once Cursed & Bound (2023) and Fangs So Bright & Deadly (2024). She wrote SF romance series The Triton Experiment, including Hunting Kat, Tracking Kat, and Fighting Kat, all in 2022. She wrote An Idol with Luv (2024); steampunk romances Keeping Cadence (2019) and Evie’s Gift (2019); and paranormal mystery The Ink that Bleeds (2023). She also wrote an urban fantasy short story, Siren’s Calling (2018).

Dararutana has a third forthcoming novel in the Mythwoven series, Hearts Still Bound & Broken, currently scheduled for 2027, as well as a short story in another project currently forthcoming in 2027 or 2028. She is survived by her husband Matthew Beckerleg, siblings, parents, and found family members.

The post Lalana Dararutana AKA Piper J. Drake (1976-2026) appeared first on Locus.

The British Fantasy Society (BFS) has announced the shortlists for the 2026 British Fantasy Awards:

Winners will be announced during Fantasycon 2026, to be held October 9-11 in Glasgow, Scotland. For more information, see the BFS website.

The post 2026 British Fantasy Awards Shortlists appeared first on Locus.

Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week’s new books and support your local bookstore. And us!

Banerjee, Anindita & Vint, Sherryl: Reactionary Worldbuilding (MIT Press 978-0262053679, $90.00, 434pp, formats: paperback, 5/26/2026)

Non-fiction collection with in-depth examination of the process of worldbuilding, and its connection to ideology. Includes apocalyptic reenactments, alternative histories, conspiracy theories, and more.

Frost, Jeaniene: A Curse of Beasts and Magic (Tor/Bramble 978-1250395993, $20.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy romance novel. Ever since Raine Stones family was killed, a beast that survives off of violence has lived inside of her. She stops the beasts energy until one night she uses it to save an elderly man, and finds a new realm of danger. Simultaneous with the Tor UK edition.

Haig, Matt: The Midnight Train (Penguin Random House/Viking 978-0593833377, $30.00, 304pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Time-travel fantasy novel. The Midnight Train can take you back to moments from the past. Wilbur wishes to use it to revisit his honeymoon with his ex-wife Maggie, but doing so is a big risk.

Hairston, Andrea: The Redemption Center Is Closed on Sundays (Tor 978-1250807311, $32.99, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Science fiction novel. After the murder of a local celebrity, Oona the Saint Berdoodle teams up with a group of misfits to solve the case. Oona secretly knows who the killer is, but the killer knows she knows, and is trying to keep her silent forever.

Ishiguro, Naomi: The Rainshadow Orphans (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 978-3751791564, $27.00, 641pp, formats: ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy novel, the first in a trilogy inspired by Japanese folklore. The Lucky Crows—a criminal organization—is terrorizing Rainshadow City. A family is seeking revenge against the Lucky Crows after the murder of their aunt. A first novel. Simultaneous with the Simon & Schuster UK edition.

Knútsdóttir, Hildur & Kowal, Mary Robinette: Dead Weight (Tor/Nightfire 978-1250329295, $24.96, 160pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Horror novella. Unnur befriends Ásta after finding her lost cat. They form a quick bond, but when things become violent, their friendship is truly put to the test. Translated from Icelandic by Mary Robinette Kowal.

Lourey, Jess: The Blackthorn Women (Amazon/Thomas & Mercer 978-1662535260, $16.99, 320pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy novel. With Katrine Blackthorn’s return to her family’s mansion in Faith Falls, Minnesota, all of her family’s fears start manifesting. Katrine needs to confront the dark secret of her family’s lineage if her family is to survive.

Lukens, F.T.: The Last Best Quest Ever (Simon & Schuster/McElderry 978-1665950978, $19.99, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Young-adult humorous fantasy romance novel. Ellinore has one final quest to slay a mythical beast, but the problem is all of her quests were lies. On this quest she must decide whether she wants to continue the lie, or become someone new.

McBride, Hazel: A Queen Crowned in Flames (Penguin Random House/Delacorte 978-0593972977, $30.00, 480pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy romance novel, the second in a duology inspired by Celtic mythology. A queen named Aemyra Daercathian is fleeing. She must decide whether or not to make a great sacrifice in order to save her people.

Oh, Ellen: Jin Young, In Between (Penguin Random House/Crown 978-0593125984, $19.99, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Young-adult fantasy romance novel about lovers in parallel worlds. Jin Young teleports to Mina’s world inside of a webcomic, but each time he does so, catastrophic weather nearly destroys his world.

Randall, Breanne: Curses, Keys, and Secret Societies (Penguin Random House/Dell 978-0593875025, $20.00, 384pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy novel, second in the Sisters of Light and Shadow series. Eléa Deniz returns home to discover the estate is now home to the Shadowcraft Academy. Eléa must find her power, and resist the prophecy involving her magic. Simultaneous with the Bloomsbury UK edition.

Roche, Máire: Bromantasy (Penguin Random House/Putnam 979-8217180707, $20.00, 352pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Humorous fantasy romance novel. Juniper O’Reilly and Mo Elmthorn set on a quest to slay a monster, only to discover the “monster” is a little girl. On the quest they may be forced to confront the truth of their “platonic” friendship. A first novel.

Tsamaase, Tlotlo: House of Margins (Kensington/Erewhon 978-1-64566-104-7, $28.00, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Horror novel. Anaya, an up-and-coming African author disappears during a writing residency. Her sister Ranewa is determined to find out the truth on her disappearance, and realizes it’s more horrifying than she could have thought. A first novel.

Varghese, Anuja: A Kiss of Crimson Ash (Orbit US 978-0316591959, $19.99, 396pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy romance novel, the first in the Games of the Goddess trilogy. An ancient goddess teams up with a newly crowned queen, a heartsick prince, a common thief, and a courtesan with magic in her blood to stop the corrupt king of Nandapore. A first novel. Simultaneous with the Orbit UK edition.

Viel, Neena: I’ll Watch Your Baby (St. Martin’s Griffin 978-1250906342, $18.99, 336pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Supernatural horror/thriller novel. In 1994, Bless finally found the family she needed, but someone had unfinished business with her. She’s forced to face horrors from her past and her present, and there’s only one way out. A first novel. Simultaneous with the Titan Books UK edition.

Yeeun, Cho & Ryu, Sung: Teddy Bears Never Die (Orbit US/Run For It 978-0316601245, $19.99, 304pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Genre-bending novel with horror elements. Hwayoung, who lost her mother in a mass-poisoning attack, teams with Doha, whose mind is trapped in a teddy bear, to get revenge. Translated from Korean by Sung Ryu.

Kendall, Keala: That Which Feeds Us (Penguin Random House/Random House 979-8217117963, $20.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Young-adult Hawaiian Gothic horror/supernatural thriller novel involving the horrors of colonialism. Native Hawaiian teen Lehua goes to a luxury resort in search of her missing twin, and is haunted by dreams. A first novel.

Hudson, Lexy: Wonders Never Cease (Titan Books UK 978-1835416174, £10.99, 384pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy novel. Trix and Sander are ballerinas and their company’s star attraction. Trix falls for Sander, but finds herself questioning his past, and at the peak of their popularity, he goes missing. A first novel.

Lem, Darkly: Transmentation | Transgression (Blackstone Publishing 979-8228648807, $24.29, 452pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Science fiction multiverse novel, the second in the Formation Saga series. Malculm starts to question the motives of the society he works for. Prieme Dhalgram is doing whatever she can to expand Burel Hird’s territory across the multiverse.

Lemon, Sarah Nicole: A Dark and Wild Wood (Harper Voyager 978-0063441583, $32.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Fantasy novel. When Salomé’s sister disappears, she’s determined to find a way to save her. She travels into the wild black forest where she has an encounter with Lord Death, and he takes her in as his apprentice, but is it safe to trust Death? A first novel.

Palmer, Suzanne: Ode to the Half-Broken (Astra House/DAW 978-0756419585, $29.00, 442pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 05/26/2026)

Science fiction novel. Be—an old robot—has lived a life of isolation after the world almost ended three decades ago. Be is brought out of solitude by a cyborg dog, and they have to come to terms with who they’ve become.

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The post New Book Releases: May 26, 2026 appeared first on Locus.

Matt Dinniman’s A Parade of Horribles (Ace), eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, debuts strongly, ranking in the top five of all four print lists compiled here, and at #1 on two of them. Seven other Dinniman titles rank on one or more lists this week, three of them on the NY Times fiction hardcover list. Other debuts this week are books by Shannon Chakraborty, Dani Francis, Sarah Gailey, Sarah A. Parker, Veronica Roth, and Sarah Rees Brennan.

The table shows the current rank of each book and the change since last week, where:

= same as last week

+/- change since last week

+ back on list

++ new on list

x no longer on list (number of x’s: weeks off list)

All lists rank hardcovers and paperbacks separately, except for the USA Today list, which is a single list combining fiction and nonfiction in all formats. Dates shown are posted dates, except those in parentheses, which are dates compiled. New York Times posts its list one week in advance of print publication.

Note that some sources do not compile paperback bestsellers, and some exclude YA books (like the Harry Potter series) from their hardcover and paperback fiction lists.

The post Weekly Bestsellers, 25 May 2026 appeared first on Locus.

Edward Ashton, After the Fall (St. Mar­tin’s 2/26) This humorous SF novel is set more than a century after Earth’s civiliza­tion collapses, some 100 years aliens took over. John is bonded to Martok Barden, one of the “good” alien grays, but things start to go wrong when John’s bond is put up as collateral for a messed up business deal. “Entertaining, smart, fast-paced, and funny, this is science fiction for people who like their alien stories with a side of chuckles but also profoundly human.” [Gabino Iglesias]

Amal El-Mohtar, Seasons of Glass & Iron (Tordotcom 3/26) El-Mohtar’s new collec­tion offers 14 stories and four poems, all originally published between 2008 and 2023, including the title story, which won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. Inspirations range widely, from folklore and murder ballads to present day issue, united by a “stylistic thread that runs through all eighteen of these selections… a kind of intense lyricism, mediated by a degree of intellectual rigor.” [Gary K. Wolfe]

Jeffrey Ford, Pandemonium Waltz (Lethe 2/26) Ford, an ever-surprising author with a distinctive knack for mixing the real world with the weird, is in fine form in his eighth collection, offering 17 stories, most from the last five years and one new, plus “a delightful and incisive interview with Kelly Link” [Gary K. Wolfe]

Darkly Lem, Transmentation | Transgression (Blackstone 3/26) This follow-up to Transmentation | Transience picks up soon after, following people body-hopping between universes, all with their own agendas, not all of them clear. Notably, those of Burel Hird want to bring order to all worlds, but predictably face some opposition. This volume digs a bit deeper into the mechanics of body-hopping, but leaves much still to be investigated. “This series is doing bold and clever new things with many-worlds narratives and anyone with an interest in such ideas needs to be reading it.” [Alexandra Pierce] Lem is a writ­ers’ collective consisting of Josh Eure, Craig Lincoln, Ben Murphy, Cadwell Turnbull, and M. Darusha Wehm.

Richard K. Morgan, No Man’s Land (Del Rey 3/26) Morgan’s latest novel is a stand­alone hardboiled fantasy, set just after WWI was ended by a fae invasion (with accom­panying magical reforestation) in Britain. Ex-soldier Duncan Silver, scarred by the war and furious, is determined to recover the children the fae have stolen. “A reader expecting a retread of Altered Carbon or The Steel Remains may be disap­pointed in No Man’s Land; no outrageous technology, no great prophecies. I, however, loved it.” [Alexandra Pierce]

Francis Spufford, Nonesuch (Faber & Faber UK 2/26; Scribner 3/26) Spufford returns to London and the Blitz for his latest literary fantasy novel, where an independent young woman must thwart time-traveling fascists trying to change history. “As much as I loved the spectacle – which at one point has Iris hundreds of feet in the sky as German bombers ham­mer London – it’s the authentic moments, grounded in history, that hit home.” [Ian Mond]

A.D. Sui, The Iron Garden Sutra (Ere­whon 2/26) Sui’s first novel mixes philoso­phy and an involving SF mystery, as Vessel Iris, a death monk of the Starlit Order, sets out to do rites for the long-dead crew of a recently recovered spaceship, only to find something stalking the academic explorers in the vegetation-covered ship interior.

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Strife (Orbit US 3/2026) This far-future SF novel, fourth in the acclaimed Children of Time series, combines new ideas with series history and some familiar characters, from terraformers playing god who accidentally produce something terrible that destroys them; generations later, a research vessel rediscovers that lost world, but soon most of the crew disappears, leaving a single human, the uplifted mantis shrimp captain, and an AI to figure out what’s going on. “Tchaikovsky ends on that note of Roddenberry excitement and optimism that promises many new Children books to come.” [Paul Di Filippo]

Sheree Renée Thomas, Mojorhythm (Third Man 11/25) Thomas introduces The Root and Sky series, a trio of collections that opens with this volume of 14 stories (eight new), a multi-genre mix focusing on Hoo­doo, fantasy, myths, and folklore. “Thomas wields literary tools to induce a heady sense of wonder… in the amalgamation of multiple ideas, styles, conventions, histories and forms into a vibrant, beautiful collage that connects past, present and future, and makes reality feel more magical, full of the potential for change.” [Wole Talabi]

Makana Yamamoto, The Obake Code (Harper Voyager US 2/26) Yamamoto returns to the world of their popular first novel Hammajang Luck for this entertaining standalone heist novel. Set for life after the big heist, Malia has retired as the notorious hacker, the Obake – only she gets bored and crosses some gangsters, who demand she take down a crooked politician, which gets her embroiled in a conspiracy that might be too big for her.

The post New & Notable, May 2026 appeared first on Locus.

Bouchercon has announced the nominees for the 2026 Anthony Awards, honoring the best in crime fiction. Authors and works of genre interest include:

Best Hardcover Novel

The post 2026 Anthony Awards Nominees appeared first on Locus.

Shahriar Shaams is the recipient of the 2026 A.C. Bose Grant for South Asian Speculative Literature, presented by the Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) and DesiLit.

The $1,000 grant is given annually to “a South Asian / South Asian diaspora writer developing speculative fiction.” Shaams’s winning work is A Night With the Spy.

For more information, see the SLF website.

The post Shaams Wins 2026 A.C. Bose Grant appeared first on Locus.

The winners of the 2026 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, honoring the best SF/F work published in France in 2025, were announced on May 18, 2026.

Winners will be awarded at a ceremony in Montpellier, to be held May 23. For more information, see the official webpage.

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