Upcoming in February
Although February isn’t exactly a month to look forward to, for us February 2026 is brightened up considerably by our authors.
NON-FICTION
On Thursday 5 February two really important non-fiction books are published: the paperback of Leor Zmigrod’s The Ideological Brain, and Professor Kate Pickett’s The Good Society: And How We Make It.
It’s inspiring to be working with two such trailblazing writers and thinkers of different generations who are committed to being hopeful about positive change – and also so determined to get their ideas into the hands of policy makers internationally. The Good Society (Bodley Head, Penguin) is Kate Pickett’s follow-up to her hugely influential books The Spirit Level (2009, published in 26 languages) and The Inner Level (2018). The first review just came in from the Independent, who made it their non-fiction ‘Book of the Month’, and it’s glowing. The Guardian are about to run an interview with Kate and there will be more media upcoming.
Meanwhile, a year on from the English-language hardback publication of Leor Zmigrod’s debut The Ideological Brain (Viking Penguin UK and Henry Holt US), many of the 18 translated editions have been published to major attention. It’s great to see all the various covers for the foreign editions on Leor’s website. There is a TED talk shortly to be released. Plus Leor made a visit to talk to people at No 10 last week, so she’s cutting through.
Another of our authors at the cutting edge of things is Chris Summerfield, who was working at Google DeepMind when he started writing his incisive analysis of generative AI These Strange New Minds, and is now Research Director at the UK government’s AI Security Institute. The paperback of The Strange New Minds is out on 26 February from Viking Penguin UK.
FICTION
Valentine’s Day is time for our annual love-in of amazing crime-writer Elly Griffiths, whose second book in the already legendary Ali Dawson time-travelling detective series, The Killing Time, is published by Quercus on 12 February (American fans will have to bite their nails until November for the US release from Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin US). Cue major tour for Elly as she visits fans around the country.
It’s wonderful to see readers enjoying this series so much – and internationally as well. TV rights have been optioned by Two Brothers. Nicci French sums it up: “Here's a paradox: a thriller that is full of zest and joy”. Saga magazine has already published a great review:
Then on 26 February there is time-travelling of a very different sort in Gavin McCrea’s deeply original and masterly Rousseau’s Lost Children (John Murray Press).
This is McCrea’s first novel after his remarkable memoir Cells, and picks up on some of the themes in that book, taking as its inspiration Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas about solitude, social corruption and authenticity. The novel is written entirely in letters (i.e. epistolary). A fictional ‘Gavin’ wanders the streets of 21st century Paris simultaneously with those of eighteenth-century Paris, all the time holding a conversation with Rousseau himself. In the present, he’s supposed to be writing a book about Jean-Jacques (there are letters to his thinly disguised literary agent Barbara Digby apologising for being late with his manuscript!); in the past, he accompanies Jean-Jacques on the philosopher’s walks to the periphery of Paris in search of unadulterated nature and true love.
Look at these quotes!
“A hugely inventive and rich novel from a major storytelling talent.”
Joseph O’Connor, author of The Star of the Sea
“A novel quite unlike anything else. McCrea is an astonishingly talented writer, the breadth of his ability matched only by the magnitude of his ambition. His formal risks pay off in spades. This is an astounding narrative achievement. I loved every page.”
Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart
“An original, absorbing, illuminating novel; an exploration of life's big themes – love, loyalty and truth – from a writer of tremendous skill and brilliance.”
Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples
“Smart, formally playful, and psychologically astute, Rousseau’s Lost Children is a novel of ideas with moral insight and real emotional power.”
Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits
“A masterful work of imagination, intellect and empathy that further cements McCrea as a singular voice in literature.”
Helen Cullen, author of The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually
“Rousseau's Lost Children pulls off the admirable feat of being as fun to read as it is creatively daring and rich with ideas.”
Rob Doyle, author of Threshold
Coming up in March, a beautiful illustrated children’s book from Alice Albinia, Chiara Barzini’s Aqua is published in the US, and there are major paperbacks from Charlie Porter and Xiaolu Guo…
