No matter your age or background, it’s never too late to start writing a novel. Every year new novelists break out onto the scene with powerful, moving works of fiction that have the potential to influence the literary industry. These new authors, whether they be men or women, young or old, are on track to achieve great things as their careers grow.
If you’re looking for something new to read, you might consider reaching for something entirely new. Add some debut novelists to your reading list this year, and see what current literature has to offer. Not sure where to start? We’ve put together a list of the newest novelists that stand out from the rest, writing with voices that demand to be heard. Who knows, you may just find your new favorite novel.
What are you reading?
First on the list of new novelists you need to be reading is Caleb Azumah Nelson. His debut novel Open Water explores the security and vulnerability of love through the eyes of a black, artist couple. Nelson pays homage to black achievement in his work, celebrating black culture and music throughout the story.
Melody Razak is next on our list of debut authors with her powerful debut Moth. The novel focuses on a Brahmin family in 1940s India, with several strong and intricate female characters at the center of the story.
Following Razak is JR Thorp with another novel focusing on a strong female protagonist—one that may be familiar to some readers. Thorp’s first novel Learwife illuminates the life of King Lear’s wife after the event of Shakespeare’s play. The queen, unnamed in the novel, finds herself exiled to a nunnery where she begins to plot her revenge for the isolation she was forced into.
Next up is Abigail Dean with a gripping tale of a woman’s survival and the aftermath of abuse. The debut novel Girl A focuses on a woman named Lex who was raised as a prisoner in her parents’ “House of Horrors.” Now an adult and a successful lawyer, Lex is forced to reunite with her six siblings and confront their shared past.
Finally we have Ailsa McFarlane and her debut novel Highway Blue. McFarlane describes the book as, “a novel about outsiders, love and loneliness, and the desire for a sense of belonging.” The protagonist is a young woman named Anne Marie, and the novel follows her tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband Cal. After the couple has a harrowing encounter with a figure from Cal’s past, they are forced to flee from their San Padua home together.
We love a good mystery
Not seeing anything that jumps out at you? Perhaps you’d like to explore new novelists in specific book genres. Where mystery books are concerned, Jane Rosenthal and her novel Del Rio will always make our list of top new novelists. The novel centers on Callie McCall, a district attorney attempting to launch a political career in the titular city. Her career reaches a make or break moment when a migrant teen is found dismembered in the citrus groves surrounding Del Rio.
New novelists pop up every day, from heartwarming love stories to chilling mysteries. However, if that’s not enough reading material for you, we also have plenty of other books to recommend. Take a look at our top 5 mystery novels if you want something to have you on the edge of your seat.