NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Brandon Sanderson, whose epic 鈥淲ind and Truth鈥� is a highlight of the upcoming , sees nothing wrong with the idea of 鈥渆scapism.鈥�
鈥淚t's just the ability to go to another world and relate to other people's problems, problems that aren't our problems. It's a really valuable tool in our lives,鈥� the fantasy novelist told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. Sanderson's fans have waited four years for 鈥淲ind and Truth,鈥� the 1,300-page fifth volume in his 鈥淪tormlight Archive鈥� fantasy series.
He acknowledges, with mixed feelings, that some will take relatively little time to finish it.
鈥淭hey will absolutely read it in two days, which feels both gratifying and a little horrifying,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou put your heart and soul into something for so long, knowing that fans are going to be done in a couple of days and say, 鈥榃hen鈥檚 the next one?'鈥�
The is expected to dominate headlines this fall, but booksellers look to Sanderson and others to sustain the wave of fantasy and the hybrid romantasy novels that have been selling strongly over the past few years. 鈥淲ind and Truth鈥� is among numerous anticipated works that include Jeff VanderMeer's 鈥淎bsolution,鈥� Alan Moore's 鈥淭he Great When,鈥� Cecy Robson鈥檚 鈥淏loodguard鈥� and Kerri Maniscalco鈥檚 鈥淭hrone of Secrets,鈥� the second installment of her 鈥淧rince of Sin鈥� series.
According to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the retail market, fantasy sales have been growing for the past five years and since last summer have jumped by nearly 75%, driven in part by the million-selling romantasy authors Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.
鈥淭he fantasy subject is the top growth segment of the total U.S. print book market," says Circana analyst Brenna Conner, who cites the reader-driven sales of #BookTok as a strong factor. "I also believe escapism is a component as more readers seek out stories with elements of escapism to counter daily stress and fatigue of the news cycle."
At Barnes & Noble, senior director of books Shannon DeVito notes that fantasy has expanded and diversified, blending horror and romance and mystery. She cites Maas and Yarros, and such upcoming releases as Frances White's gay-themed 鈥淰oyage of the Damned,鈥� John Gwynn's Norse-inspired 鈥淭he Fury of the Gods鈥� and Ann Liang's mythical 鈥淎 Song to Drown Rivers."
鈥淚t's event-proof,鈥� DeVito says of fantasy and its offshoots. 鈥淚t doesn't depend on news of the day.鈥�
Election fallout
decision not to seek reelection may have little effect on the fantasy market, but it upended the fall campaign and left a void in the publishing schedule: No one had time to work up in-depth books on the Democrats' new nominee, . The best chance for revelations likely comes from Bob Woodward's 鈥淲ar," which in Ukraine and the Middle East, but also promises insights on Harris and the presidential race.
Publishers of anti-Biden books are proceeding with scheduled fall releases, including 鈥檚 鈥淭he Biden Crime Family." Harris' Republican opponent, has a , 鈥淪ave America," which on its cover has the AP's image of him bloodied and raising his fist after the assassination attempt in July. His wife, former first lady Melania Trump, Donald Trump's estranged niece and bestselling author, Mary Trump, returns with more family (horror) stories in 鈥淲ho Could Ever Love You."
H.R. McMaster, who served briefly as national security adviser during the Trump administration, has written 鈥淎t War With Ourselves.鈥� Onetime Trump opponent in the essay collection 鈥淪omething Lost, Something Gained.鈥� Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts' 鈥淒awn's Early Light,鈥� for which GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance wrote the foreword, has been postponed until just after the election amid Republican efforts to distance themselves from the controversial blueprint for a second Trump term. But pre-election readers can consider recommendations from Joel B. Pollak's 鈥淭he Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 50 Days,鈥� with a foreword from Trump ally
Prose and poetry
is a story of grief and sibling rivalry from the author known for the best sellers 鈥淣ormal People鈥� and 鈥淐onversations With Friends.鈥� Nobel laureate 's 鈥淭he Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story鈥� is the Polish's author variation of the Thomas Mann classic 鈥淭he Magic Mountain.鈥� Nobelist of France combines memoir and images in 鈥淭he Use of Photography" and perennial Nobel candidate expands on an early short story for 鈥淭he City and Its Uncertain Walls,鈥� which his Japanese publisher is calling 鈥渟oul-stirring, 100% pure Murakami world.鈥�
Pulitzer Prize winner 鈥� 鈥淧layground鈥� touches upon everything from climate change to artificial intelligence, while another Pulitzer winner, Louise Erdrich, sets 鈥淭he Mighty Red鈥� on a North Dakota beet farm during the economic crash of 2008. In 鈥淭ell Me Everything,鈥� Pulitzer winner returns to fictional Crosby, Maine, and such friends from 鈥淥live Kitteridge" and 鈥漁live, Again" as the elderly title character and the scribe Lucy Barton.
鈥淚 never intended to write about them again. I think I keep bringing them back because they are so very well known to me,鈥� Strout says. 鈥淭hey feel almost as real as actual people. I know they're not real people, but they feel like real people.鈥�
John Edgar Wideman blends fiction, history and memoir in 鈥淪laveroad,鈥� and Rebecca Godfrey's 鈥淧eggy鈥� is a fictional take on the heiress-art collector Peggy Guggenheim that was completed by Leslie Jamison after Godfrey's death in 2022. New fiction is also coming from Richard Price, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Kate Atkinson, Janet Evanovich, Rachel Kushner, Richard Osman, Tova Reich, Paula Hawkins, and Rumaan Alam.
began her career as a poet and her verse is collected in 鈥淧aper Boat: New and Selected Poems: 1961-2023," while 鈥淏lues in Stereo鈥� features early work from the late Langston Hughes. Prize winners Paul Muldoon, Kimiko Hahn and Matthew Zapruder all have collections coming out, along with new books from Billy Collins, Ben Okri, Frank X Walker and E. Hughes.
鈥淒ear Yusef鈥� is a tribute to the celebrated poet Yusef Komunyakaa that includes contributions from Terrance Hayes, Major Jackson and Sharon Olds. 鈥淟atino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology鈥� compiles verse from the 17th century to the present.
Taylor-ed
Like all pop culture phenomena, from the Beatles to 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� 's appeal isn't confined to a single art form. Her songs and her life have inspired young adult novels, children's books and biographies and the wave continues.
Katie Cotugno's 鈥淗eavy Hitter鈥� is an athlete/pop star romance based in part on Swift and NFL great Travis Kelce, while 鈥淭he 13 Days of Swiftness鈥� is a picture story for holiday shoppers who can chant such lines as 鈥�12 strings for strumming鈥� and 鈥�11 bracelets beaded.鈥�
The anthology 鈥淧oems for Tortured Souls鈥� includes verse from Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay and other alleged kindred souls of Swift's. Biographies/critical studies include the picture book 鈥淭aylor Swift: Wildest Dreams,鈥� by Erica Wainer and Joanie Stone, and Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield's 鈥淗eartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music.鈥�
The famous and near famous
鈥淔rom Here to the Great Unknown鈥� was nearly done before she died in 2023 and was completed by daughter . In 鈥淒idion and Babitz,鈥� Lili Anolik draws upon newly discovered letters as she contrasts the California bards and who died within days of each other in 2021 and whose lives, Anolik documents, were more entwined than previously known.
Celebrity books also will include 's 鈥淪onny Boy,鈥� Josh Brolin's 鈥淔rom Under the Truck,鈥� Kelly Bishop's 鈥淭he Third Gilmore Girl鈥� and Connie Chung's 鈥滳onnie." shares stories-allegories-musings in 鈥淭he Last Dream鈥� and Neneh Cherry looks back on her life and music in 鈥淎 Thousand Threads.鈥�
Past and present
鈥淧atriot鈥� is a posthumous memoir from imprisoned Russian opposition leader Supreme Court Justice has written 鈥淟ovely One: A Memoir,鈥� Malcolm Gladwell returns to famous territory in and explores the power of stories, and misinformation, in 鈥淭he Message.鈥�
Numerous books draw upon racism in U.S. history and those who fought against it. David Greenberg's 鈥淛ohn Lewis鈥� is a biography of the while Wright Thompson's 鈥淭he Barn" promises new information on the murder of Emmett Till. Russell Cobb's 鈥淕hosts of Crook County,鈥� like 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� tells of a white oil man in Oklahoma who seeks to steal Native property. In 鈥淭he Black Utopians,鈥� Aaron Robertson tracks a century of planned communities and asks, 鈥淲hat does utopia look like in black?鈥�
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This story has corrected 鈥淭he Black Utopians鈥� author鈥檚 name from Aaron Robinson to Aaron Robertson.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
