The September Edit: 61 New Books Worth Knowing

Summer is gone. Fall has arrived. The scent of pumpkin spice fills the air as the season of witches begins.

This horror-loving editorial director found herself immersed in Tell The Ghosts I’m Gone by Kalynn Bayron while she was in France. I loved You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, so when Bloomsbury sent me an early copy of Bayron’s upcoming title, I made sure to make space in my suitcase because this book was going to be my top priority to read.

It did not disappoint.

I was filled with so much dread at the end, just like I was in Craig DiLouie’s Episode Thirteen. Truth be told, I hated Episode Thirteen. Why? Because I discovered a new fear: complete never-ending darkness. Who knew that was a fear? But imagine going through dark, supernatural tunnels that never end. I guess you could say that DiLouie did his job and made me feel the horror vibes. Extreme dread. Not an emotion I like having invoked. *shudders*

Bayron, though, put me back in that dreaded place, but this time, she helped us get out. This YA horror novel was one of my favorite reads of the summer. Now, it’s out there for the world to devour.

As I finished reading The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, a new classic arrived at my threshold. It was a copy of Sabine Baring-Gould’s 1865 study of lycanthropy, The Book of Were-Wolves, with a deeply personal foreword by master of horror Stephen Graham Jones. He once signed my copy of his werewolf novel Mongrels: “Michelle – I used to (also: still) want so much to be a werewolf.” Baring-Gould’s study just may be what started it all for Dr. Jones.

Josh Malerman is back with Pictures of You. For September, this is the horror novel that should be at the top of your TBR pile.

One of the most brilliant writers of our time has a new novel out this month. Marlon James’s The Disappearers explores a murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica. As with all of James’s brilliant works, I expect to see this book win multiple awards.

Fallow from Sarah Anderson is worth noting this month. This satirical novel is about a woman who rents out her womb to be a surrogate for women executives who don’t want to take time to be pregnant or go on maternity leave. Seven babies in 10 years. She lives the good life until a new administration enters the picture and it all goes downhill from there.

Other books worth mentioning this month: Amanda Peters, author of The Berry Pickers, returns with The Birthing Tree. This Mi’kmaq story brings a young woman back home to her community after her grandmother dies and explores the condemnation of traditional midwifery. Chloe Benjamin, The Immortalists, also returns with Under Story.

Before I get into all the horror worth noting, I want to take a moment to mention a couple of non-fiction books that came across my desk. The first is A Life in Lyrics by Freddie Mercury with Mary Austin (Mercury’s former fiancee). This book shares the notes, photographs, and original lyrics of songs made famous by Queen. While I was turning the pages to take a quick glance at the beginning, I discovered a tip-in sheet. It had once been wet with saliva. This caused the copyright page and photo of Mercury to become stuck together. But that wasn’t what stopped me. It was what was behind the page.

I am going to have to contact HarperCollins to ask, but what followed was a Freddie Mercury signature in Sharpie. Whether this is authentic or reproduced, I don’t know. I need to investigate further. It’s just that little tiny water mark in the book that makes me wonder if this tip-in sheet was signed before his death.

If it is real…

This book will be curated into my collection.

Another non-fiction book worth noting is Man in the Mirror. This book investigates the story behind the death of Jordan Neely, the homeless man who dressed like Michael Jackson. This story was headline news in 2023. This is a sad story, but worth taking a moment to read what the author found.

As for which of these new releases are hitting the top of my TBR, they are: Trad Wife by Sarah Langan, I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas, Something of a Calling by Zoje Stage, The Rouse by China Miéville (note this is 1,260 pages), Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel, Mazywood by Tananarive Due, This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want by Hailey Piper, The Need by Megan Mostyn-Brown, Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm, Nightjars by Michael Wehunt, and In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste.