...and the rest of 2018 most hotly anticipated reads

Debut fiction

The Pisces by Melissa Broder Broder is the woman behind So Sad

Today, but her first novel is the story of a heartbroken student who falls dangerously in love with a merman. Yes, really. (Bloomsbury, out May) The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J Harris This is a novel about a boy with synesthesia and face blindness who tries to solve the murder of his neighbour. (Harpercollins, out May) RED TALKS TO... Sarah J Harris What do you hope readers will learn about synesthesia and how we describe people as “normal” or not? “We all perceive the world very differently, and that is a good thing.” What is “normal” anyway? “We often confuse ‘normal’ with ‘average’, and who wants to be average?”

What book are you looking forward to reading in 2018? “Whistle In The Dark

by Emma Healey.”

Peach by Emma Glass

What it lacks in pages (Peach has just 98), it makes up for in uniqueness. (Bloomsbury, out 11th January) The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin How would you live if you knew the day you were going to die? That’s the premise of this title, for which we’re predicting a huge groundswell of love. (Tinder Press, out 8th March)

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce

In 1940s London, Emmy finds herself secretly writing back to Mrs Bird’s agony aunt letters. Both funny and touching, this tale radiates Blitz spirit and the power of female friendships. (Picador, out 5th April)

Essays and short stories

You Think It, I’ ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld The Prep and Eligible author’s first short story collection is wise and warm. Exploring what it means to be human, these characters spring off the page. (Random House, out April)

Feel Free by Zadie Smith

She’s known for her stunning literary fiction but Smith hasn’t been able to resist turning her nimble mind and pen to topics as eclectic as Brexit, despair and Justin Bieber. Explosive. (Hamish Hamilton, out 2nd February) Her Body And Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Caustic and comic, these eight fables all focus on the lives of women and how they interact with sexuality, masculinity and oppression. Machado’s talent and imagination are visceral and voracious. (Profile, out 4th January)

RED TALKS TO... Carmen Maria What reaction do you hope Machado these fables provoke in the reader?

“Sorrow, familiarity, fear, arousal and resolve. I would describe the stories as being terrifying, sexy and real.” What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2018? “Mallory

Ortberg’s The Merry Spinster.”

Roar by Cecelia Ahern

Few can resist the urge to confront proliferating anti-feminist forces, and Ahern is among those people. Her collection of 30 short stories, all starting with the title: The Women

Who…, will resonate with women

everywhere who feel the need to roar. (Harpercollins, out late 2018)

Bad Romance by Emily Hill

Turning her skill for romance writing into fiction, the Sunday Times columnist has written a collection of poignant short stories. Dark, sharp and deeply moving. (Unbound, out 8th February)

Memoirs

(As yet untitled) by Debbie Harry The Blondie megastar recalls the highs and lows of her rock ’n’ roll life. (Harpercollins, out late 2018)

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton The journalist revels in the love of her female friends in this, her funny, frank first book. (Fig Tree, out 1st February) RED TALKS TO... Dolly Alderton

What do you hope that women will

learn from reading your story? “I hope it will remind women to cherish their female friends and to hold those relationships as closely and with the same respect as their romantic ones.” What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2018? “Two fellow journalists have books out this year that I can’t wait to read: Anna Hart’s travel memoir Departures and Emily Phillips’ novel Trying.” The Cost Of Living by Deborah Levy Picking up where Things I Don’t

Want To Know left off, the Man Booker shortlisted author of Hot Milk tackles writing, womanhood and bereavement in sharp, ruthless prose. (Hamish Hamilton, out 5th April) (As yet untitled) by Barack and Michelle Obama The publication of the former (and much-missed) President and First Lady’s memoirs will be a global publishing event. (Viking, out 2018)

Thrillers

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton A woman becomes a flight attendant in order to pursue a pilot around the world who’s the object of her obsession. Written by a former air hostess, this debut is compelling. (Wildfire, 8th March) Take Me In by Sabine Durrant Durrant’s previous psychological thriller, Lie With Me, kept us on our toes, and the same can be said for her new sizzling tale of trust, relationships and how far you must go to repay a debt. (Hodder, out 28th June)

Lullaby by Leïla Slimani

Winner of France’s Prix Goncourt, this short novel tells the story of an upscale couple whose nanny does the unthinkable. Deftly confronting race, class, gender and motherhood right from the first sentence. (Faber, out 18th January) Anatomy Of A Scandal by Sarah Vaughan An eerily timely and much-hyped page-turner about Sophie – wife of James, a Westminster figure accused of a terrible crime – and Kate, the barrister prosecuting him. Deep, dark and full of drama. (Simon and Schuster, 11th January)

RED TALKS TO... Sarah Vaughan What do you hope it will add to current debates around sexual harassment? “I came up with this idea four years ago, but it feels pertinent:»

some details are even being reflected in real life. I’m hoping it will prompt readers to question assumptions we make about women who allege rape; to recognise how difficult it is for them to initiate a prosecution; to acknowledge the impact of a sexual assault, even to discuss consent.” What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2018? “I’m

hoping Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror

And The Light will come out this year, and not 2019 as she’s indicated it will!”

Big hitters

Still Me by Jojo Moyes Completing the trilogy that began with 2012’s Me Before You and 2015’s

After You, Still Me sees Lou Clark arrive in New York to start a new life, while trying to maintain her relationship with Ambulance Sam. (Michael Joseph, out 25th January) How To Be Famous by Caitlin Moran Her novel How To Be A Woman, sold over a million copies. Her new novel, sequel to How To Build A Girl, is the coming-of-age tale of a music journalist trying to make it in Britpopera London. (Ebury, out June)

The Wives by Lauren Weisberger

The Devil Wears Prada author’s hotly anticipated next book is nearly here, and an unputdownable cocktail of gossip, secrets and revenge it is, too. (Harpercollins, out July)

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse Mosse heads to 16th-century France for her hotly-anticipated new historical novel. RED TALKS TO... Kate Mosse

What inspired the book?

I went to the Huguenot Museum in Franschhoek in South Africa a few years ago. Coincidentally, on the wall was the name of a family I’d written about in Labyrinth. Instantly a Romeo and Juliet story of two families – one Catholic and one Protestant – started to take shape. (Mantle, out May)

Follow-ups

Melmoth Perry’s new by novel, Sarah following Perry Waterstones’ 2016 Book of the Year

The Essex Serpent, is a retelling of

Charles Maturin’s Melmoth The

Wanderer and features an ensemble cast of characters on a journey through time. (Serpent’s Tail, out October)

RED TALKS TO... Sarah Perry

The Essex Serpent was such a huge hit. Do you feel pressured to replicate its success?

“I’m conscious of a desire not to let anybody down! I’m also motivated by a desire not to write the same book twice, and to improve as a stylist, storyteller and thinker, so that in many ways the greatest pressure is coming from myself, and my own need to feel that I am getting better at what I do.” What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2018?

“I have seen a few glimpses of Emily Wilson’s new translation of The

Odyssey, and it instantly hot-wired my love of storytelling and language, and reduced me to tears.” Whistle In The Dark by Emma Healey Her debut, Elizabeth Is Missing, was one of 2015’s bestselling novels. Next up, a gripping mystery about Lana, a missing girl who is found, but stays silent. Gripping, warm and humane. (Viking, out May) Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller Behind Her Eyes thrust Pinborough into the spotlight. Her follow-up promises to be a thriller, packed full of equally delicious twists and turns. (Harpercollins, out 17th May)

The Trick To Time by Kit de Waal

The TV rights to her debut, My Name

Is Leon, were snapped up by Lenny Henry. For her second act, de Waal presents an epic novel about a couple ripped asunder by sudden tragedy. (Viking, out 29th March)