Bookshelf: 5 Southern novels we can’t wait to read in 2026

The new year brings with it a whole new crop of books ready to add to your reading wish list. For the latest in Southern fiction, here are five eagerly anticipated novels in 2026.

In “When We Were Brilliant,” Lynn Cullen turns her attention to documentary photographer Eve Arnold and her friendship with Marilyn Monroe. (Courtesy of Berkley)

“When We Were Brilliant”

Atlanta author Lynn Cullen has built a long, successful career writing historical novels about women who dwell in the margins of fame, like Frances Osgood, Edgar Allan Poe’s lover in “Mrs. Poe,” and Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, a woman instrumental in finding a cure for polio but overshadowed by Dr. Jonas Salk, in “The Woman with the Cure.”

In Cullen’s latest novel, she turns her attention to documentary photographer Eve Arnold and her friendship with Marilyn Monroe. The narrative is told from Arnold’s perspective as though speaking directly to Monroe, who’s long dead, as the photographer processes their shared history. Along the way, Monroe is revealed to be considerably more intelligent and ambitious than the breathy, busty image she projected. (Berkley, Jan. 20)

“Kin” by Tayari Jones is a heart-wrenching look at the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, as well as a study in female friendships. (Courtesy of Knopf)

“Kin”

Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her 2018 novel “An American Marriage,” Emory professor Tayari Jones’ new novel is a heart-wrenching look at the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, as well as a study in female friendships.

Born in the early ’40s in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, and orphaned in infancy, Vernice is raised by her fiercely independent aunt Irene. Her “cradle friend” Annie — abandoned by her mother to do “GodKnowsWhat out in GodKnowsWhere” — grows up next door, raised by her stern grandmother. After high school, their paths diverge: Vernice strikes out for Spelman College where she falls in with a powerful sisterhood of Black women navigating a world of affluence, aspiration and inequality, while Annie runs off with a group of friends in hopes of finding her mother. The women remain connected through letters and are brought back together in adulthood when tragedy strikes. (Knopf, Feb. 24)

Virginia author Rebecca Kauffman keeps lots of plates spinning in her latest novel, “The Reservation.” (Courtesy of Counterpoint)

“The Reservation”

On the day they’re preparing to host a special dinner for the writer John Grisham, the staff at an upscale restaurant in a small, Midwestern college town is in a panic. Someone has stolen 22 rib-eye steaks and all these nasty restaurant reviews are popping up online. It appears someone is out to sabotage Aunt Orsa’s, but who and why? Virginia author Rebecca Kauffman keeps lots of plates spinning as various members of the staff — from lead line cook and busser to bartender and pastry chef — weigh in on the mysterious goings-on. (Counterpoint, Feb. 24)

Gin Phillips’ new Depression-era novel, “Ruby Falls,” is part historical fiction, part locked-room mystery. (Courtesy of Atlantic Crime)

“Ruby Falls”

The discovery of Ruby Falls — a 150-foot waterfall inside a cave in Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee — provides the dramatic backdrop for Alabama author Gin Phillips’ new Depression-era novel. Part historical fiction, part locked-room mystery, the narrative takes place almost entirely inside the cave where a publicity stunt is underway. To draw attention to the new tourist attraction, a psychic has set out to locate a hatpin hidden in the cave. Accompanying him is his manager, his wife, a guide, a businessman and a reporter. But the endeavor takes a tragic turn when someone is murdered — by whom is anyone’s guess. Knowing there is a murderer among them, young spelunker Ada Smith and her cohort Quinton are charged with getting everyone safely out of the cave before their light source runs out. (Atlantic Crime, March 3)

Conflicts arise and ambitions clash in Jessica Handler’s “The World To See.” (Courtesy of Regal House)

“The World To See”