Book up your ideas
on a plantation in Mississippi, which tells of the forbidden love between two enslaved men who find in each other a refuge and hope in a world dominated by brutal masters.
Yaa Gyasi (author of phenomenal debut Homegoing) brings us
(Viking, Mar 4), a saga following a family of Ghanaian immigrants in Alabama, exploring faith, love and addiction in contemporary America.
From Georgina Lawton comes
(Sphere, Feb 4), her story of being raised by white parents and her challenging journey of self-discovery as an adult as she tries to unravel her racial identity, and the deceit her parents wove around her.
by Nikesh Shukla (Bluebird, Feb 4), is an inspiring memoir about how to find hope and even happiness in a world of grief and racism, explored from Shukla’s perspective as a father.
In spring, social media influencer and Instagram star Sophie Williams brings us (HQ, Apr 15) a much-needed roadmap for young black women striving to progress in the workplace in 2021 and beyond, together with actionable steps to succeed in what can often be hostile environments.
REFLECTIONS ON COVID
Michael Rosen
Mar
Review,
Louise Redknapp
(Mar
ROYAL WATCHERS
FOR those who loved The Crown and want to find out more about the behind-thescenes shenanigans in royal circles, look out for royal biographer Andrew Morton’s forthcoming offering, Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor
Sisters (Michael O’Mara, Mar 30), which will no doubt shed more light on the relationship between the Queen and her sister.
(Hodder & Stoughton, Feb 18), as he recounts how his faithful labrador, Maxwell, helped him come to terms with his difficult journey as an adopted child.
And there’s a heartfelt read from Reverend Richard
Reverend
BESTSELLING NOVELISTS
FAMILIAR names who always deliver include Kate Mosse, whose new novel (Pan Macmillan, Jan 21), the second historical epic in The Burning Chambers series, is a story of love and loss, war and displacement sweeping from Carcassonne to South Africa.
The hugely popular Elly Griffiths brings us (Quercus, Feb 4), another tale involving forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway that finds her investigating the death of a boy whose body is found by a group of metal detectorists.
And (John Murray, Feb 4), the seventh book in Mick Herron’s Sunday Times bestselling award-winning series, finds Diana Taverner on the warpath a year after a calamitous blunder by the Russian secret service left a British citizen dead. It’s being adapted into a TV series starring Gary Oldman.
THRILLERS
THERE’S a huge publicity campaign for by Ashley Audrain (Penguin Michael Joseph, Jan 7) which charts the experiences of a new mother who finds motherhood isn’t what she hoped for.
She starts to fear something is wrong with her daughter but also something terrifyingly wrong with her.
Meanwhile, acclaimed author Belinda Bauer brings us
(Bantam, Jan 21), her first thriller since her Booker Prize long-listed Snap, in which an old man, part of a network called the Exiteers, keeps a dying man company as he takes his final breath – until something goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
And former top-10 British freestyle snowboarder Allie Reynolds brings us (Headline, Jan 21) a debut set in the world of high stakes snowboarding, in which a woman accepts an invitation for a reunion in a deserted lodge in the French alps with four fellow athletes she hasn’t seen for a decade.
Soon, buried secrets come to light with dangerous consequences.
This one sold after a 10-publisher auction and the TV rights have already been bought.