5 Most Anticipated Books of 2019

With 2019 fast approaching, Augur scoured the internet for the most anticipated speculative fiction releases. Behold! A list of five we are excited to read in the new year. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

FICTION
Riverhead Books
February 5, 2019

Ever wonder what a high fantasy book written by Jamaican Man Booker winner would look like? Well, meet Black Leopard, Red Wolf. If anyone could take a hard left turn genre-wise, it’s Marlon James. Not only is James diverting from the “serious, literary” fiction that made him famous, he’s also diving into the animal that we all know and love as the “fantasy trilogy.” We couldn’t be more delighted. 

Drawing of African mythology and history, the series follows Tracker—a mercenary tasked with finding a mysterious missing boy. Along the way, Tracker finds himself among a hodgepodge team of characters, including a shape-shifter named Leopard, who help him on his journey. Cited as an ambitious, engrossing read, the novel explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both. Basically, everything you could ever ask for.

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

FICTION
Doubleday
January 9, 2019

Lucky UK readers may have already gotten the chance to read this Man Booker nominee, but The Water Cure is coming to North American readers just on the cusp of 2019. Hinting at a dystopian future, The Water Cure is set on an isolated island where three sisters and their father live surrounded by barbed wire. The girls have been raised to fear men. The barbed wire is a wall between them and the toxic, degrading world outside. But when their father disappears and three male strangers wash up on the shore, a week of simmering tension and psychological cat-and-mouse games ensue. Eerie, disturbing, beautiful, otherworldly, and dreamy have all been used to describe this book and that can only mean it’s a must-read.

The Body of Beasts by Audrée Wilhelmy

FICTION
House of Anansi Press
July 30, 2019
Translated by Christelle Morelli, Susan Ouriou

The first book by Québecois writer Audrée Wilhelmy to be translated into English is decidedly a strange one. On the surface, it’s a dark exploration of a family of lighthouse keepers whose lives are forever changed by the appearance of wild, wandering Noé. After marrying into the family and bearing seven children, Noé secludes herself in a cabin in the woods—the walls of which become covered with drawings about her mysterious life. The rest of the family inexplicably descends into a primal, carnal existence. But wait. There is also Noé’s young daughter Mie, who can shape-shift into mammals, insects, fish and birds. Mie’s growing understanding of human sexuality and her own body gives the story another level of depth. The Body of Beasts is nothing if not intriguing and we’re excited to see how this twisted, dark story plays out on the page.

Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist

POETRY
Arsenal Pulp Press
March 1, 2019

Cree writer Arielle Twist takes on trauma, grief, identity, and displacement in her debut poetry collection. Wrought with both rage and tenderness, Twist explores what it means to be an Indigenous trans woman. Her poetry promises to be beautiful, powerful, hopeful and we’re here for it.

salt slow by Julia Armfield

SHORT STORIES
Picador
May 30, 2019

Julia Armfield’s debut short story collection promises to be arresting. Centered around the experiences of women in society, the short stories feature shifting bodies, and expressions of isolation, obsessions and love. What’s really fascinating about this 2019 release is its transformation of  mundane spaces through a blend of the mythic and the fantastic. We love its nods to the strange: women become insects, men turn to stone, a city becomes insomniac, and bodies are picked apart to make up better ones.

BONUS: Untitled by N.K. Jemisin

Rumour has it N.K. Jemisin is writing a contemporary fantasy set in New York, taking on the topics of race and power. Jemisin’s publisher, Orbit, is being very mysterious about it, but we may get a new book by the three-times-Hugo-winning author in April. In the meantime, you can make the wait more bearable by picking up Jemisin’s latest release, How Long ‘Til Black Future Month?