Books hitting stores in the next week, author interviews and original essays from bestselling writer
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Something Wicked

This week at PW Picks, mischief is the name of the game—chalk it up to the influence of the spring equinox. We've got an interview with Julia May Jonas, whose feverish 2022 novel, Vladimir, has just hit Netflix in a steamy adaptation starring Rachel Weisz, and an interview with British comedian Fergus Craig, whose latest novel is an acerbic cozy centered on a septuagenarian serial killer trying to live a quiet life.

Elsewhere, our editors recommend a tantalizing folk horror novella, a moody graphic novel about an actor-turned-spy, and a memoir from a woman who's made a habit of going against the grain. Happy reading!

—Conner Reed

March 20, 2026
Story Image Starred Reviews Releasing Next Week
Check out all the books to receive starred PW reviews that are hitting shelves next week.
Story Image Julia May Jonas on Finding the Perfectly Hot Cast for Vladimir
The novelist and playwright talks with PW about adapting her 2022 novel as a Netflix limited series with Rachel Weisz, who embodies the nameless, unreliable narrator. more
Story Image Hostile Landscapes: PW Talks with T. Kingfisher
The Hugo and Nebula winner discusses how location informs her next two works of horror: Snake-Eater and Wolf Worm. more

The Body Image Book for Girls
Story Image Casey and Jon Scieszka Answer Their Frequently Asked Questions
Casey Scieszka published her first novel, The Fountain, this week. She joined her father, children’s author Jon Scieszka, to unpack some of the writing queries people often ask them. more
Story Image Cookbooks for Kitchen Success
Authors emphasize efficiency, economy, and the pure pleasure of making a meal. more
Story Image Killer Comedy: PW Talks with Fergus Craig
The British actor and comedian’s I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home finds a geriatric serial killer accused of a fresh slaying. more

Sponsored
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An Invitation to Hold the Good and the Hard With Honesty and Hope

With humor and humility, Martin introduces you to the heart-changing concept of counterweights: the essential practice of holding both the good and the bad with hope. She shows you how to notice the ordinary delights hiding in plain sight—reminders that even in tough times, life can be deeply good.


Editor's Picks
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The Cellar Below the Cellar

By Ivy Grimes (Violet Lichen)

I was so sucked in by this wonderfully strange little fairy tale. Set after an apocalyptic event, it chronicles the relationship between the skeptical narrator and her witchy grandmother, with many a surreal, Kelly Linkian flourish along the way. —Phoebe Cramer, SFF, horror, and romance reviews editor
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Levitating the Pentagon and Other Uplifting Stories: A Life of Activism

By Nancy Kurshan (Three Rooms)

Is there ever a bad time to hear firsthand from someone who made a life fighting good fights? Probably not—but now is an especially good one. In this fiery memoir, Kurshan, who cofounded the radical anti-war Youth International Party in 1967, discusses the good, bad, and ugly of organizing for women's rights, Black liberation, Puerto Rican independence, and more. It's invigorating stuff. —Conner Reed, mystery and memoir reviews editor
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Shadower

By Peter and Maria Hoey and C.P. Freund (Top Shelf)

I’m a great fan of the Hoeys and their coolly observed, angular comics, which blend influences from Chris Ware to Twin Peaks. Their latest noir-ish tale finds a young actress compelled to become a spy and masquerade as a waitress at a coffee shop in a Soviet-styled “unnamed city." It's full of strange turns, with the surveillance state mimicked in the comic’s layouts, which peer into proceedings from overhead, like a camera. —Meg Lemke, comics and graphic novels reviews editor

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Top 10 Bestsellers
1
James Patterson, Author, Viola Davis, Author
2
Theo of Golden
Allen Levi, Author
3
Andy Weir, Author
4
Mistakes Were Made (Standard Edition)
Lucy Score, Author
5
The Wings That Bind (Deluxe Edition)
Briar Boleyn, Author
6
Want to Know a Secret?
Freida McFadden, Author
7
It's Not Easy Being a Bunny
Marilyn Sadler, Author
8
Nothing Is Impossible with God: Eleven Heroes. One God. Endless Lessons in Overcoming.
Shannon Bream, Author
9
10
Freida McFadden, Author
Download a printable PDF of this bestsellers list.

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