Info

This post is auto-generated from RSS feed BOOK RIOT. Source: Bookish Trend Predictions for 2026

Trends come and go, and the world of books and publishing doesn’t play by different rules—though bookish trends typically last longer. What was popular last year may remain popular this year and the next, until readers lose interest and move on to a different trend.

For 2024’s bookish trend predictions, I had spoken with some industry professionals, who told me that cozy and escapist fiction was on the rise. Susie Dumond from Book Riot suggested that it would be a trend that continued into 2025. Indeed, books like Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid topped bestseller lists in 2025. Dumond also saw a boom in escapist themes and darker, more twisted fiction, which included twisty horror and grim near-future dystopian novels. True enough, 2025’s consistent bestsellers included Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping, Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth, several books by Freida McFadden, and SenLinYu’s Alchemised.

In her article, Dumond also mentioned the rise of special editions of books. This recently past year, more and more books had limited deluxe editions, including Katabasis by R.F. Kuang and Quicksilver by Callie Hart.

Romantasy also remained popular in the world of books in 2025, as evidenced by Rebecca Yarros’ romantasy books continuing to dominate Circana BookScan’s overall bestseller list. What happens next? Which genres will take its place? What are the emerging trends that will define the book industry in 2026?

This year, many bookish predictions for 2025, such as those suggested by Dumond, still hold true for 2026. I spoke with industry professionals from various sectors, including librarians, executives, public relations professionals, and others to see what they thought the new year also had in store.

What Library Patrons Want

All access members continue below for bookish trend predictions for 2026

This content is for members only. Visit the site and log in/register to read. 🏷️ Books_feed