Fall's most anticipated books are fueled by complicated characters, twisty plots

Corrections & clarifications: A previous version of this report incorrectly characterized Justinian Huang's "Lucky Seed." The book is his second. 

Cozy sweaters, warm mugs of tea, curling up by the fireplace. Fall reading is just around the corner.

The end of summer may be groaning on (there’s still time to enter USA TODAY’s Summer Book Challenge online), but we’re looking ahead to cooler days and new immersive reads. Fall 2025 promises new titles from literary giants like Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan and Lily King and celebrity memoirs from Michael J. Fox, Lionel Richie and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

From long-awaited sequels to speculative literary fiction, here are the books USA TODAY is most excited about this autumn. Titles are listed in order of anticipated publication date.

‘What We Can Know’ by Ian McEwan (Sept. 23)

The renowned author of “Atonement” is back with a new genre-bending story told in two timelines. The first, in 2014, follows a wine-soaked birthday party where a poet debuts a new poem. Over 100 years in the future, after the collapse of the Western world from nuclear catastrophe, survivors dissect the same poem for a glimpse into a way of life they never knew. 

‘We Love You, Bunny’ by Mona Awad (Sept. 23)

Anyone who loved Awad’s fascinating fever dream novel “Bunny” from 2019 is surely thumping their tail for “We Love You, Bunny”. Now, we hear the Bunnies’ side of the story as they kidnap Sam, who has just published her first novel about the cult-like circle of MFA girls. Readers can expect origin stories and revenge plots in this combination prequel and sequel.  

‘Thief of Night’ by Holly Black (Sept. 23)

“Thief of Night” is Black’s follow-up to “Book of Night.” Black, also known for “The Cruel Prince” and “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” closes out her adult debut “Charlatan Duology” with a new story following Charlie Hall, a con artist living in a world of thieves and magicians who seek to control and manipulate people's shadows. In this second book, Charlie must risk her life to stay with the man she loves, embarking on a new order heartbroken, vulnerable and alone.

‘Will There Ever Be Another You?’ by Patricia Lockwood (Sept. 23)

Follow a woman on the brink during a global pandemic in Lockwood’s “Will There Ever Be Another You?” The novel’s protagonist navigates loss and her own unraveling, fearful of her own floorboards and hating her friends, unable to get a '90s earworm out of her head or discern time and memories. 

‘Heart the Lover’ by Lily King (Sept. 30)

In “Heart the Lover,” our narrator is swept into a passionate and intellectual friendship with two boys from her 17th-century lit class, only to find herself at the center of a messy triangle threatening to implode as graduation nears. This novel has a surprising connection to “Writers & Lovers” that King fans will relish. 

‘The Impossible Fortune’ by Richard Osman (Sept. 30)

It’s the perfect follow-up to your “Thursday Murder Club” Netflix binge. Osman returns with his fifth saga in his bestselling cozy mystery series, this time surrounding a wedding. “The Impossible Fortune” sees the sleuthing seniors in the throes of a quiet year, but when a wedding guest vanishes suspiciously, the gang will jump back into action to investigate.

‘Enshittification’ by Cory Doctorow (Oct. 7)

Wondering why the internet seems a little awful these days? One author has an answer in his new nonfiction, “Enshittification.” A deep dive into the word he coined years ago, Doctorow writes an enticing argument for why the platforms that once brought us joy are now failing their users – and how we can get them back. 

‘Revolve’ by Bal Khabra (Oct. 14)

What’s fall reading without a little hockey romance? This love story follows Olympic figure skater Sierra, who's been unable to get back on the rink since her accident last year. Back on campus for her final year of college, she collides with reckless Dylan, who's just been kicked off the hockey team. Picking up figure skating seems to be his only option to get back on the ice. And could a new partner be Sierra’s chance at a comeback?

‘Minor Black Figures’ by Brandon Taylor (Oct. 14)

Booker Prize finalist Taylor returns with a dazzling literary novel about a Black painter who, amid a period of struggle in his work, connects with a former seminarian over a formative New York summer. Our protagonist is an art restorer, weighing his own work as he investigates the life of a forgotten artist. “Minor Black Figures” is a poetic meditation on Black art, friendship, young love and intimacy. 

‘Finding My Way’ by Malala Yousafzai (Oct. 21)

Activist and figurehead Yousafzai reintroduces herself in “Finding My Way,” a memoir about wrestling with her place in the world after the Taliban attack that thrust her into global consciousness. The 28-year-old takes readers through her high school years and messy college days as she navigates friendship, first love, academia and identity to find herself in young adulthood. 

‘Coldwire’ by Chloe Gong (Nov. 4)

Get ready for a new dystopian series to sink your teeth into. Gong’s “Coldwire” follows a society broken into exacerbated disparities – those who have live “upcountry” in virtual reality, and those who have not remain in the crumbling “downcountry.” Two young soldiers from each reality must unite to solve a government conspiracy.

‘Bread of Angels’ by Patti Smith (Nov. 4)

Anyone who loved Smith’s “Just Kids” should keep an eye out for this November memoir. Smith brings a new account of her life in “Bread of Angels,” including her post-World War II childhood, discovering art and poetry as a teenager, her marriage and how she learned to write again through grief and profound loss. 

‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Nov. 4)

In “Cursed Daughters,” a young woman grows up in the shadow of a family curse – “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace …” – and the belief that she is the reincarnation of a family member who died on the day she was born. But after she saves a handsome boy’s life and falls in love with him, she’ll be forced to reckon with family history to break generational patterns, secrets, spiritual superstition and traumas.

'Book of Lives' Margaret Atwood (Nov. 4)

The literary icon who brought us “The Handmaid’s Tale” now has over 600 pages worth of memoir to share with readers. “Book of Lives” traverses through Atwood’s childhood in the forests of northern Quebec, the year she spent writing “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 1980s Berlin and the connection between Atwood’s life and art. 

‘Lucky Seed’ by Justinian Huang (Nov. 11)

This novel promises a family drama and inheritance battle akin to “Succession” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” “Lucky Seed” follows the billionaire Suns, whose matriarch Roses is on a mission to secure a male heir with the Sun last name, to carry on the family name and avoid punishment of being turned into "hungry ghosts" in the afterlife. Specifically, she wants the son to be born to her favorite nephew Wayward, the gay black sheep of the family with "lucky seed."

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].