WE SAY IT every year – there’s a brilliant 12 months ahead for Irish literature. But 2026 truly looks like it’s going to be a standout year.

In an absolutely jammers year for Irish books, here are 16 you should look forward to across fiction, non-fiction and short stories.

Non-fiction

Opening Night by Sara Baume (26 February, Granta)

The author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither is back with a new work of non-fiction, which is about her friendship with the artist Molly Douthit, who she reached out to after seeing her work at an exhibition. The pair bond over art and rituals, but as Baume’s life becomes more settled Douthit experiences major changes.

Hungry: A Biography of My Body by Katriona O’Sullivan (23 April, Hachette Books Ireland)

Katriona O’Sullivan’s first book Poor has been an absolute smash hit since its release in 2023, and adapted into a sell-out stage play. Now she turns her fierce, empathic lens towards her body, writing about her journey with bodily autonomy and body image. Sure to be another massive hit for O’Sullivan, who is writing about topics that often go unspoken. 

Home Economics by Caitriona Lally (Spring, New Island)

Caitriona Lally is the author of singular novels about quirky and intriguing characters (Eggshell and Wunderland), and is the winner of the prestigious Rooney Prize. In this memoir, she writes about failure, class, economics and ideas of what a writer should be. This is absolutely one to read about the reality of ‘making it’ as an artist, and how to live, make money and create.

Crime/Thrillers

Edel Coffey – In Glass Houses (12 February, Sphere)

 The world of the privileged Manhattan elite is always a juicy one to read about, and author and journalist Edel Coffey has set her third novel right in the centre of it. If you want a book that’s a propulsive read, pick this up – it’s about a journalist called Eddie whose career was destroyed when she got involved in the aftermath of a young woman named Juliet’s murder. When Juliet’s father builds a luxury sky-rise near where she was killed, Eddie gets drawn back into the family’s world.

Liz Nugent – The Truth About Ruby Cooper (12 March, Penguin)

Liz Nugent’s novels always delve deep into the murky sides of human behaviour, and with her last novel Strange Sally Diamond she showed that it’s the strength of her character-building that really shines. In her upcoming novel, it’s all about buried secrets and the damage they can do to people’s lives. At the centre are Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, who live an idyllic life in Boston, until a young Ruby is involved in an incident. The fallout lasts decades for Ruby (who ends up living in Dublin) and Erin back home.

Louise O’Neill – Whatever Happened to Madeleine Stone? (9 April, Bantam)

It’s been three years since Cork author Louise O’Neill last published a novel, so anticipation is at a high for her latest. And it looks like a good ‘un – taking her cues from books like Daisy Jones and the Six and the lives of the Olsen Twins, she writes about two sisters who grew up famous as the stars of a popular sitcom. But then one of the sisters disappears… (O’Neill will also publish a memoir, A Bigger Life, in September.)

Literary fiction

Charleen Hurtubrise – Saoirse (February, Eriu)

For her second novel, Charleen Hurtubrise brings us the story of Saoirse, an artist living a charmed life in Donegal with her family. But when she wins a prestigious award and is caught in a blaze of publicity, long-buried secrets threaten to be made public: like the fact Saoirse has been on the run since she was 17… and Saoirse isn’t even her real name.

Sarah Gilmartin – Little Vanities (May, One) 

Sarah Gilmartin’s always great at exploring the tensions that rise in close relationships, be they familial or romantic. In her third novel, she writes about two couples and two decades of secrets and betrayal. Dylan, Stevie and Ben have been close since their days at Trinity College, but in midlife longings and resentments threaten to overspill.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa – Said the Dead (21 May, Faber)

Fans of Ní Ghríofa’s writing know that she loves to delve into the past to help us discover more about how we live today. In her upcoming novel, she writes about a woman who feels a connection to the former inhabitants of an asylum in Cork. Expect the beautifully poetic writing that you’ve come to love from this poet and author, and to be moved by how she reclaims women’s stories.

Louise Kennedy – Stations (September, Bloomsbury)

The author of the fantastic Trespasses is back with her second novel – colour us excited. What we know about Stations is (aside from sharing a biblically-themed title like Trespasses) that it’s about Róisín and Red, who meet as teenagers and find themselves back in each other’s orbit decades later. But as they are both living very different lives, things get complicated.

Short stories

Colm Tóibín – The News From Dublin (26 March, Picador)

In this new collection, Tóibín writes about people’s tangled relationships with home – sisters living in Argentina who return to Catalonia; a Galway woman whose son dies in WWI; an undocumented worker in San Francisco. Timely and sure to be as moving and reflective as his work always is.

Lucy Caldwell – Devotions (April, Faber)

One of the finest short story writers on this island is back with a new collection. Featured amongst these stories: a professional musician travelling the world; a Belfast theatre troupe bringing their experimental production of Hamlet to New York; and a woman whose grandfather claimed to have met Jesus. Sounds as fascinating as always.

Debuts

Tanya Sweeney - Esther is Now Following You (29 January, Penguin)

As a journalist, Tanya Sweeney always writes astutely about the anxieties of modern life. In her debut novel she writes about Esther, who becomes obsessed with an actor named Ted. She grows so convinced they belong together that she books a one-way ticket to Canada.

Jen Bray – The Lies Between Us (26 February, Penguin)

Another journalist making her debut in the publishing world is Jen Bray, who has penned a thriller about three warring sisters – Lucy, Susannah and Tara – who are haunted by secrets. Then one night, Susannah disappears at the same time that a woman is killed on a nearby beach. Are these two incidents linked? Lucy sets out to figure out what’s going on.

Djamel White – All of Them Dogs (26 March, John Murray)

Djamel White’s first novel is set in the world of gangland Dublin. Tony Ward arrives back in Dublin and tries to reintegrate himself by working with crime enforcer Darren ‘Flute’ Walsh’. But soon Tony finds himself drawn to White in more than a platonic way.