The August 2026 Indie Next List Preview

Here are the 25 Indie Next List and 6 Now in Paperback picks on the August 2026 Indie Next List flier. 

The August title list is also viewable as a collection on Edelweiss and on the Indie Next List page as an Excel file alongside PDFs for the month’s flier and shelf-talker templates. Learn more and visit Matchbook Marketing’s program page to sign up to send the free Indie Next List e-newsletter to customers.

Additionally, to mark the start of the new month, the July Indie Next List picks are available as a flier, along with past lists, on the Indie Next List page on BookWeb.org.      

The 25 August Indie Next List Picks

#1 Pick: Etna: A Novel
By Paul Yoon
(Scribner, 9781668020821, $28, Aug. 4, Fiction)
“A canine soldier survives war, only to go on an odyssey that may take more than it gives. The Art of Racing in the Rain meets Angel Down. A beguiling, poetic affair that's bathed in crimson, and barks hope into the dark.”
—Dominic Howarth, Book + Bottle, St.Petersburg, FL

A Tender Age: A Novel
By Chang-rae Lee
(Riverhead Books, 9798217048441, $30, Aug. 11, Fiction)
“In A Tender Age, a quiet young Korean boy pulls a knife on his classmate, baffling both his parents and the juvenile justice system. It reminds us that new worlds are birthed in brutality, and children face a brand new world every day.”
—Sayan Ray, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Sea of Charms: A Spellshop Novel
By Sarah Beth Durst
(Bramble, 9781250400673, $29.99, July 28, Romance)
“A ship captain, a composer, a sea serpent, and a wax myrtle come together to form an adorable crew and charming found family. A delight for readers who love baked goods, music, magical creatures, and the sea.”
—Ashlyn Holeyfield, Underbrush Books, Rogers, AR

Meet Me in Paris: A Novel
By Kristin Harmel
(Gallery Books, 9781668092538, $29, July 28, Fiction)
“Paris, spring and the timelessness of love! The seven storylines are all carefully woven together yielding a truly rewarding read that will leave you breathless.”
—Laura Taylor, The Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

The Wild Beneath
By Kelly Anderson
(Park Row, 9780778306061, $30, Aug. 4, Fiction)
“When I was done reading this I had sand under my fingernails, pockets full of seashells, salt water in my hair, and a story to tell.”
—Jackie Jones, Books Revisited, St. Cloud, MN

Beginning Middle End: A Novel
By Valeria Luiselli
(Knopf, 9798217208319, $35, July 28, Fiction)
“Beginning Middle End is a story of a mother and daughter as they journey across Sicily after the mother's divorce. It is also a story of time and narrative, and the way the two interconnect. I love to lose myself in her stories.”
—Sophie Chen, Belmont Books, Belmont, MA

Cool Machine: A Novel (The Harlem Trilogy #3)
By Colson Whitehead
(Doubleday, 9780385550505, $30, July 21, Fiction)
“New York in the 1980s was full of corruption, development, and ambition. Against this backdrop, Ray Carney finds himself once again drawn into the world of crooks and heists after many years on a straighter path. A perfect finale to the Harlem Trilogy.”
—Nancy Sims-West, Raven Book Store, Lawrence, KS

The Amateur: A Novel
By Chris Bohjalian
(Doubleday, 9780385551298, $33, Aug. 4, Fiction)
“The Amateur is a defiant, tour de force of a book...a legal thriller about a young woman who makes endless wrong decisions, unlike anything he’s delivered to readers before.”
—Dallas Strawn, Pelican Bookstore, Sunset Beach, NC

Devour Me: A Novel
By Emily Rath
(Avon, 9780063484764, $22, Aug. 4, Romance)
“Polyamory is so much fun! On a mysterious island, a skeptical historian, a mage, and a shadow entity unite to stop a big bad and break a curse while entering into a throuple. Hilarity and hormones ensue!”
—Gerard Villegas, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, WA

Meet Me in the Garden: A Novel
By Nina LaCour
(Flatiron Books, 9781250810472, $29.99, Aug. 4, Fiction)
“Lush, atmospheric, and masterfully crafted, this sweeping family saga follows three Creole sisters from New Orleans to Los Angeles during the Great Migration. Meet Me in the Garden is a stunning exploration of identity, sacrifice, art, and love.”
—Pauline Hales-Brown, Literary Arts, Portland, OR

Daybreak (Sorrowsong University # 2)
By Autumn Woods
(Slowburn, 9781638933755, $19, July 28, Romance)
“Woods perfectly blends romance, mystery, and suspense to create a book that kept me turning every page and even made me tear up a few times. Alex and Ophelia's chemistry and banter back and forth is still off the charts.”
—McKayla Mayer, Prelude Bookstore, Dunwoody, GA

Lost and Found: A Spunes Novel
By Tarah DeWitt
(St. Martin's Griffin, 9781250329462, $19, Aug. 4, Romance)
“Tarah DeWitt delivers another tender, emotionally layered romance in Lost and Found. Grief, healing, slow-burn longing, and a firefighter hero with hidden scars? I was done for. Heartbreaking, hopeful, and full of so much love.”
—Hannah Swearingen, Books on the Square, Providence, RI

Sunrise: A Novel
By Téa Obreht
(Random House, 9781984855534, $29, Aug. 11, Fiction)
“A clever, horror-adjacent thriller about a plane crash in the wilderness, a quest for survival, a ghost town, and the shared myths that make America. The small nightmarish details ratchet up the tension in this highly enjoyable tour-de force.”
—Timothy Benz, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

Dad, Love, Me: A Memoir
By Matthew Quick
(Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, 9781668091753, $30, July 21, Memoir)
“With stunning honesty and insight, Matthew Quick shares his experience of growing up with an abusive parent now in the twilight of his life. Dad, Love, Me feels like sharing your deepest thoughts and fears with an intimate friend.”
—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN

Reliquary
By Hannah Whitten
(Run For It, 9780316579537, $30, Aug. 11, Horror)
“Unsettling, mysterious, and just a tad claustrophobic, Reliquary is horror as you've never seen it before. Prepare yourself to jump, or should I say dive, into this gem of a novel!”
—Cassidy Washburn, Northshire Bookstore, Saratoga Springs, NY

Just a Highland Fling: A Novel
By Naina Kumar
(Dell, 9798217094660, $20, July 21, Romance)
“A vacation in a book, I couldn't put down this wild ride through Scotland between a woman and her one-night stand in search of her father's runaway bride. I never say no to Naina Kumar's swoony prose and deep feelings!”
—Maddie McDermott, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, MO

The Flayed Man: A Novel
By Chloe Lauter
(Soft Skull, 9781593768256, $16.95, July 21, Horror)
“The Flayed Man is a compelling piece of queer, folkloric horror set in the Las Vegas desert, featuring the dual nightmares of caring for an ailing mother and trying to outrun a family curse that threatens to turn you into a literal monster.”
—Chloe Kirkpatrick, BookPeople, Austin, TX

All That's Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir (Indies Introduce)
By Emilee Hackney
(Penguin Press, 9780593831403, $32, July 28, Memoir)
“Hackney digs into the real grit of her upbringing with a loving thoughtfulness no outsider could ever hope to capture. As someone with a similar background, this kind of honest reckoning is necessary for us to ever move forward.”
—Brooke Barber, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC

Freyja
By Margrét Ann Thors
(Spiegel & Grau, 9781966302230, $28, Aug. 4, Thriller)
“This is Iceland — with cold, dark sand beaches, a missing girl and a missing chunk of memory, and good helping of Icelandic folklore.”
—Laura Cummings, White Birch Books, North Conway, NH

The Story Keeper: A Novel
By Kelly Rimmer
(Mira Books, 9781525831669, $30, Hardcover; 9781525805110, $19.99, Paperback, July 21, Fiction)
“As Fiona works to restore her childhood home after an unexpected divorce, she discovers The Midnight Estate, a book with similarities to her own life. Haunted house, mystery, or family drama? This story-within-a-story tale blurs them all and keeps you guessing.”
—Brandy Evans, The End Bookstore, Allentown, PA

The Felicity Complex
By August Clarke
(Erewhon Books, 9781645661177, $28, July 28, Sci-Fi)
“Vat-grown by scientists to be the perfect hospitality workers, Hallelujah and her fellow specimens' sole purpose in life is to comfort the rich and fabulous in a luxury bunker after communists nuke the world. This goopy, gory, heart-wrenching satire puts a match to gender essentialism and the cult of the traditional.”
—Milo Michels, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA

Lost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown (Indies Introduce)
By Roberta Kwok
(Sourcebooks, 9781728275970, $27.99, July 21, Science)
“Lost in Curiosity revived a childlike sense of wonder in me. I loved journeying along on these adventures with Kwok and the scientists she follows on these crazy missions.”
—Amani Jackson, The Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore, MD

The Princess Trap (Deluxe Edition)
By Talia Hibbert
(Sourcebooks Casablanca, 9781464235412, $18.99, July 21, Romance)
“Who doesn't want to fake date fictional royalty? While Cherry is living out our wildest dreams, she's also a strong, fierce, independent queen that you can't help but to root for. I'm here to eat it up every single time.”
—Jonlyn Scrogham, A Novel Romance, Louisville, KY

Triage
By Claudia Rankine
(Graywolf Press, 9781644454008, $28, Aug. 4, Essays)
“Claudia Rankine returns with a wise, open-hearted, and deeply sensitive book about the simple and monumental struggles of everyday life in our present moment. A book that serves as a thoughtful companion for anyone putting on a brave enough face to confront the most difficult questions of our age. Beautiful, illuminating, and poetic.”
—Bryan Seitz, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI

Great and Unfortunate Things
By Jason Arday, Eve Claxton (With)
(37 Ink, 9781668085578, $29, Aug. 11, Memoir)
“This incredible and inspiring story celebrates a mother's unwavering love and belief in a child's potential, even when no one else sees it. The author's story will break your heart and have you cheering for the many triumphs you know will come.”
—Molly Coogan, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, Vineyard Haven, MA