Cal Flyn, Deputy Editor

Translated fiction “expands not only our literary horizons, but also our moral and emotional imaginations,” explains Troy Onyango—the writer, editor and judge for the 2026 International Booker Prize. He introduced us to the six novels that made the shortlist, including this year’s “formally inventive” winner and a “razor sharp” book about a “mediocre witch.”

A great biography should be a readable and deeply-researched story of a person whose life and times can teach us something of our own, explains Andrea Wulf—author of a highly anticipated new biography of the explorer George Forster. Here, she recommends five biographies about 18th-century figures, including a landmark account of the life of Goethe and a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biography.

Every year, the judges for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction make a shortlist of the best new historical novels published over the previous twelve months. We spoke to Katharine Grant, prize judge and highly acclaimed author, about the five books that made the 2026 shortlist—from a “haunting and haunted” tale of triple murder on a Scottish island to a “gloriously told” reimagining of real-life intrigue during England’s Wars of the Roses.

Tennessee Williams was a giant of 20th-century American theatre, explains literary scholar Ahmed Honeini, whose new book unpicks Williams’ preoccupation with domestic family drama. Here, Honeini selects five key books—landmark plays, personal memoirs and an influential biography—that illuminate the life of the great playwright.

The figure of the witch recurs across cultures and time periods, and remains a source of fascination even today. Here, Margaret Meyer—author of The Witching Tide, an acclaimed historical novel inspired by a notorious English witch hunt—recommends five brilliant fiction books about witches, and explains how the witch serves as a symbol of female power in a patriarchal society.

The modern environmental movement emerged in the post-war world after humanity’s self-destructive capacity became undeniable, argues the veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce. Here, he highlights five landmark environmental books that have marked a shift in environmental thought.

We asked Grace Talusan—the critic, memoirist, and chair of the National Book Critics Circle autobiography committee—to talk us through their shortlist of the best new memoirs: from the “novelistic” winning book by Arundhati Roy to journalist Beth Macy’s hard-hitting examination of her struggling Ohio hometown.

Every year, we ask the chair of the National Book Critics Circle biography committee to talk us through their shortlist of the best new books in the genre. Here, Iris Jamahl Dunkle—the award-winning biographer, poet and critic—introduces us to the winning title, a deeply-researched profile of a special education pioneer, as well as the four runners-up.

To live and to write in South Africa is to engage with history, explains Karen Jennings, the acclaimed novelist and co-creator of the Island Prize for South African writers. Here, she recommends five historical fiction books set in South Africa for those who would like to improve their understanding of the country’s complex past.

World War II forced people of many nationalities into extraordinary circumstances, says Lori Inglis Hall—who works in the archives of WW2 photographer Lee Miller and whose new novel follows twins forced apart by conflict. Here, she recommends five of the best novels set during World War II, both historical fiction and novels written immediately after or during the war by eyewitnesses.