Publisher’s Weekly, the publishing industry’s trade magazine, has announced over 843 ‘notable’ book titles scheduled to be released this fall. This group of books is targeted at adult readers. There are separate lists for Children’s books and Young Adult readers. In March of this year, publishers were invited to submit information on titles planning to be released between August 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023. Thousands of entries were received, and the PW editors selected titles for their notable list in fifteen fiction and nonfiction categories.
Whether self-publishing or hoping to get a traditional book contract, the takeaway is don’t reinvent the wheel. The books on this list are those that the experts think will get the most traction in the marketplace. If you’re still in the idea stage of your book project, you can take inspiration from the types of books showcased. If you’re in your book project’s publishing or marketing phase, start following the authors of similar titles and see how they are marketing their books. You will probably get some actionable ideas. I’ve listed the categories below that reflect the books my clients write – those that teach or inspire. I’ve also picked one book in each category I’d like to add to my library.
When you view the entire list on Publishers Weekly, you’ll see the range of titles is truly exciting for aspiring authors because it validates the fact that there is an audience for wide variety of sub-topics. Read on to see what the editors are saying is hot for fall 2022.
Art, Architecture, and Photography
What’s Hot: Books showcasing the Black artistic experience and those exploring the connection between architecture and nature.
My Pick: In the Black Fantastic. First of all, the cover is gorgeous! It makes you want to open it. Second, I’m excited to see what promises to be a book filled with beautiful images.
From Amazon Description: The book assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora. Embracing the mythic and the speculative, it recycles and reconfigures elements of fable, folklore, science fiction, spiritual traditions, ceremonial pageantry, and the legacies of Afrofuturism. In works that span photography, painting, sculpture, cinema, graphic arts, music and architecture.
Business and Economics
What’s Hot: Pandemic related issues such as workplace burnout, and a focus on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in organizations.
My Pick: Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. I recently had this conversation with my mastermind partner. My business went through several rebranding efforts before I settled on coaching authors to write and self-publish. I attribute part of my success to recognizing when something wasn’t working and not being afraid to move on and try something new. I’m interested to read Ms. Duke’s tak on the subject.
From Amazon Description: Business leaders, with millions of dollars down the drain, struggle to abandon a new app or product that just isn’t working. Governments, caught in a hopeless conflict, believe that the next tactic will finally be the one that wins the war. And in our own lives, we persist in relationships or careers that no longer serve us. Why? According to Annie Duke, in the face of tough decisions, we’re terrible quitters. And that is significantly holding us back. In Quit, Duke teaches you how to get good at quitting.
Cooking and Food
What’s Hot: Cookbooks focused on family recipes and those that explore other cultures.
My Pick: The Pasta Queen. Aside from loving all things pasta, I’m fascinated by the fact that the author rose to fame using Tik Tok viral videos. I’m looking forward to the pictures of Italy and reliving fond memories of my visit there.
From Amazon Description: In this delectable antipasto platter of over 100 recipes, cooking techniques, and the tales behind Italy’s most famous dishes (some true, some not-so-true), Nadia guides you through the process of creating the perfect pasta, from a bowl of naked noodles to a dish large and complex enough to draw tears from the gods.
History
What’s Hot: Russian History, WWII Espionage, Racial justice, white supremacist ideology in U.S. institutions, and pioneering Black Americans.
My Pick: American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics. I didn’t know this piece of history and I’m anxious to get the details on these hidden figures of the medical field!
From Amazon Description: Until the 1970s, if you suffered a medical crisis, your chances of survival were minimal. A 9-1-1 call might bring police or even the local funeral home. But that all changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh, a group of Black men who became America’s first paramedics and set the gold standard for emergency medicine around the world, only to have their story and their legacy erased—until now.
Lifestyle
What’s Hot: Tips for sustainable living, how to optimize time management, holistic health methods, and Mexican and Indigenous American approaches to wellness.
My Pick: How to Navigate Life. I’m looking at this book as one to gift to recent graduates. I like the fact that it’s written by two professionals who have spent many years counseling individual students on how to cut through the daily pressures to show them a better way.
From Amazon Description: Today’s college-bound kids are stressed, anxious, and navigating demands in their lives unimaginable to a previous generation. They’re performance machines, hitting the benchmarks they’re “supposed” to in order to reach the next tier of a relentless ladder. Then, their mental and physical exhaustion carries over right into first jobs. What have traditionally been considered the best years of life have become the beaten-down years of life. How to Navigate Life shows that successful human beings instead tap into their PURPOSE―the why behind the what and how.
Memoirs and Biographies
What’s Hot: A wide range of authors including journalists, activists, and poets along with some famous people like Paul Newman and Willie Nelson.
My Pick: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man. I’m a huge fan of Paul Newman. Aside from his incredible acting career, he was such an interesting person. I remember when he started his food company Neman’s Own and loved that fact that he was donating all of the profits to charity. Many companies have a philanthropic aspect to sales these days but he was a trailblazer. At first, I was puzzled by the title claiming to be memoir, but you’ll see from the description, the book was compiled from transcripts.
From Amazon Description: In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stewart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman’s family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor’s life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years. The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts.
Poetry
What’s Hot: Reflections on humanity, oppression, connection, and communication.
My Pick: River Poems. I don’t read a lot of poetry, but this book sounds intriguing.
From Amazon Description: Rivers were the arteries of our first civilizations—the Tigris and Euphrates of Mesopotamia, India’s Ganges, Egypt’s Nile, the Yellow River of China—and have nourished modern cities from London to New York. In this collection, British poets from Shakespeare and Wordsworth to Ted Hughes and Alice Oswald mingle with American voices ranging from verses by the indigenous Klallam people and the African-American spirituals “Deep River” and “Roll, Jordan, Roll” to such recent poets as Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, and Natasha Tretheway.
Politics and Current Events
What’s Hot: Books about former President Donald Trump, studies on conspiracy thinking, cyber crime, the Covid pandemic, racism, environmental destruction, and misogyny.
My Pick: The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race From Moms Not Like Me. This is another one for the gift drawer for a new Mom.
From Amazon Description: Helena Andrews-Dyer lives in a “hot” Washington, D.C., neighborhood, which means picturesque row houses and plenty of gentrification. After having her first child, she joined the local mom group—“the Mamas”—and quickly realized that being one of the only Black mothers in the mix was a mixed bag. The racial, cultural, and socioeconomic differences were made clear almost immediately. With sharp wit and refreshing honesty, The Mamas explores the contradictions and community of motherhood—white and Black and everything—against the backdrop of the rapidly changing world.
Science
What’s Hot: Fighting climate change, human relationship with the natural world, space explorations.
My Pick: Greenhouse Planet: How Rising CO2 Changes Plants and Life as We Know It. I hadn’t thought of the effects of carbon dioxide on plants until I read the book description. Like most people, I have always heard that CO2 feeds plants but the author shares that while true, it isn’t the whole story.
From Amazon Description: CO2 doesn’t just make “good” plants grow; it makes all plants grow. It makes poison ivy more poisonous, kudzu more prolific, cheatgrass more flammable. CO2 stimulates some species more than others: weeds fare particularly well and become harder to control. Many crops grow more abundantly but also become less nutritious. And the further effects of climate change will be formidable.
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