Sneak Peek: October 2026 Indie Next List

The October 2026 Indie Next List includes six Macmillan titles!

#1 PICK: BAD WORDS by Ríoghnach Robinson
9781250431295 | 10/6/26

“Robinson, the author of best-selling YA novels as Riley Redgate, makes her adult debut with this lit world–set look at how we communicate now. It’s a rom-com with plenty of heft, in the way it nails the effects of social media on how we talk, read, and even think; in its prescient landscape of bookstores’ and City’s fight to survive; in how Selina and Parker each struggle to fit into their very different families; and in its heady, romantic toppling of its protagonists’ expectations.”—Booklist, starred review

LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN by Jason Rekulak
9781250895875 | 10/13/26

“Increasingly terrifying comic strips and haunting woodcut illustrations accentuate the tale’s sinister undertones, while Rekulak’s broad characterizations make room for humor. With a plot that’s by turns cozy, creepy, and comedic, this is good fun.”—Publishers Weekly

VICTORIOUS by V. E. Schwab
9781250192233 | 10/6/26

“Victor Vale, an EO, or ExtraOrdinary, resurfaces after three years to reunite his allies around a desperate cause and confront a new adversary, the newly minted director of EON, Dr. Gabriel Gray… Victor’s allies rally around rescuing Sydney, establishing their own, sometimes heart-wrenching, parameters for the term ‘victorious’ in this must-read conclusion to the Villains trilogy (which began with VICIOUS, 2013).”—Booklist

HOME FOR THE HOMICIDES by Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey
9781250413352 | 10/13/26

“This is a hilarious and raunchy holiday whodunit that pokes fun at holiday romance stereotypes but cherishes their happily ever afters.”—Library Journal

MOTHSBLOOD by Lynn D. Jung
9781639737888 | 10/13/26

“Author Jung’s lush prose conveys the depths of Lark’s ambition as it wars with her sense of despair and self-destructive impulses that flare up as she struggles for independence from her mentor… Questions that Lark can easily answer in the opening chapters lose their clear-cut edges as she traverses the reality behind the glamorous facades of Paris, Meurdrac, and alchemist society: What is the cost of innovation and progress? Who decides? A mesmerizing exploration of power and progress.”—Kirkus Reviews

THE COURT OF VENUS by Bel Banta
9781250437136 | 9/29/26

THE COURT OF VENUS is an ensnaring romantic fantasy in which a moon-blessed magician is summoned back to the deadly, Tudor-inspired magical court she thought she had escaped; where power is determined by the stars—and the closer you are to the king, the more likely you are to die. Perfect for fans of THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH, THE FAMILIAR, and A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC.