A cool page turner: Check out these new books set to release in 2026

Walk like a Girl A MemoirPrabal Gurung HarperCollinsThis is sensitive storytelling about a queer boy who grew up in Nepal and India and came to New York to pursue his dreams in fashion Gurung bares his soul in this tellall that tracks his inspirational meteoric rise dressing American icons like Oprah Winfrey and Michelle ObamaExpected TBAAamchi MumbaiGulzar translator Rakhshanda Jalil HarperCollins IndiaWith 30 short stories and 70 poems in a bilingual edition the legendary poet lyricist and filmmaker pays a fitting tribute to Mumbai Since the 1950s when he first arrived in the city he has written about the struggles and hopes of the citydwellers in his films and poems with profundityExpected FebruaryLove Sex India The Agents of Ishq AnthologyEdited by Paromita Vohra Westland BooksThe anthology consists of reallife stories about the experiences of love and sex while living in India Powerful intimate and honest the stories range from cheeky firstdate tales to those about heartbreaks tender friendships exploitation queerness and thrilling kinksExpected JanuaryBiting Off More Than I Can ChewRahul Akerkar HarperCollinsOne of Mumbai and Indiarsquos most celebrated and inspirational chefrestaurateurs opens the melting pot of his lifersquos adventures in this ambitious memoir Itrsquos an insightful story about Indiarsquos food and drink landscape as much as itrsquos Akerkarrsquos bold uninhibited life in and outside the kitchenExpected TBAFirst PersonRituparno Ghosh translator Arunava Sinha Simon amp Schuster IndiaOne of the earliest openly queer filmmakers in India Ghosh introduced nuanced ideas of freedom of choice and identity in his films He wrote a weekly Sunday column for the Bengali magazine Robbar An English translation of his memoir comprising the column pieces will be out in 2026Expected OctoberLight and ThreadHan Kang translated by Maya West e yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris PenguinSince her 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature win this is Kangrsquos first title The collection includes her Nobel Lecture where she expresses reliving moments of wonder In the essays poems diary notes and photographs she traces the connections between her exterior and interior worlds furtherExpected MarchAbsolute JafarSarnath Banerjee HarperCollinsAn IndoPakistan romance that withstands years of toxic nationalism only to emerge in a third region Europe this is easily one of Banerjeersquos most personal works that is rich in detail humanity wit and imaginationExpected JanuaryAbandoning a CatHaruki Murakami PenguinThe master storyteller is back with this meditation on memory where he recalls his equation with his father and the arrival of a cat into the scenario He also delves into the reasons behind the distance between father and son in classic Murakami styleExpected SeptemberKishori AmonkarShailaja Khanna Westland BooksekadaAn Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur Gharana Amonkar was most revered for her khayals alongside her performances of thumris and bhajans Music critic Khanna has put together the legendary singerrsquos first ever biography introducing readers to her quiet magnetism and her unique way of thinking about art and lifeExpected ThirdLast quarterThe Longevity CodePullela Gopichand and Sophia Pathai PenguinAn evidencebased reframe of how we think about aging performance and resilience that blends cuttingedge science with elite coaching wisdom to deliver a personal practical and transformative guide to living stronger longer and with more clarity and purposeExpected TBAWe The People of IndiaTM Krishna Westland BooksCarnatic singer and author TM Krishna will release his third book to open his account for 2026 ldquoThe book looks at the formative symbols of our secular Republic in an aesthetic historic and contemporary contextrdquo Krishna revealedExpected JanuaryAlso check outgtgt The Godrej Story by Anand Kumar Westlandgtgt Of Least Concern by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra Westlandgtgt Not Quite Family by Khaled Mohamed HarperCollinsgtgt Rebel English Academy by Mohammed Hanif Penguingtgt The Steps by Sylvester Stallone Hachettegtgt Wahid Shaikh vs The State by Wahid Shaikh with Amrit BLS RoliChildrenrsquos cornergtgt Unlocking the Animal World by Ingrid Newkirk HarperCollinsgtgt Magnificent Murals Buddhist Art of Ajanta by Ashwin Prabhu Tulikagtgt Death Comes to Matheran by Shabnam Minwala HarperCollinsgtgt Under Pressure Freddie Mercury by Shyamala S Niyogi Books