Wondering what new book releases to expect throughout 2012? These are some of the hottest book releases by month with links to more complete calendars for each month. This page will be updated as publishers announce new books for each publishing season.
January - Books for a Variety of Moods
Putnam Adult
Publishing usually is slow at the beginning of the year, but January new releases bring a little something for a variety of tastes -- a literary remake, comic relief from Dave Barry, a sad young adult novel, politics and more.
February - Some Big Debuts
Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
Two February debuts -- No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel and A Good American by Alex George -- have received a lot of buzz. There are, of course, also new releases from well known authors for those who don't like to take risks in their reading.
March - Spring Reads
Penguin Group
Those who enjoyed Anne Lamott's 1993 book, Operating Instruction, chronicling her son Sam's first year, will happy to hear that Sam is all grown up with a child of his own now, and Lamott's take on sudden grandmotherhood is hitting shelves in March -- Some Assembly Required. March also brings Lauren Groff's second novel (we loved her first -- The Monsters of Templeton) and some more debuts.
April - Popular Authors Return
Scribner
April brings a novel on grief from Anne Tyler, a book of essays by Jonathan Franzen and some books from always popular authors like Stephen King and Mary Higgins Clark.
May - Literary Heavy Hitters
Simon & Schuster
Toni Morrison, Richard Ford, John Irving -- don't expect to jump straight to beach reads in May! There are some major authors releasing well written and sometimes controversial titles to keep you satisfied.
June - Vacation Reads
Knopf Doubleday
Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time will release another novel, The Red House. There are also some very exciting debuts and beach reads.
July - Expect More this Summer!
Simon & Schuster
Usually July is somewhat slow in publishing with most new releases being thrillers or romance. This year, though, literary big names like Chris Cleave and Chris Bohjalian are together with the fluffier reads. The second book in Deborah Harkness' trilogy will also be released.
August - Family Comedy & Drama
Little, Brown
There are several books with family themes that people expect to be big in August.
September - War, Family & Time
Little, Brown
This September includes huge releases, like J.K. Rowling's first adult novel, along with some debuts that have received a lot of pre-publication praise.
October - Big Authors for Everyone
Ballantine Books
October is a month for fans, whether you love John Grisham and Dennis Lehane or Kate Morton and girly memoirs. There are several highly anticipated titles out this month.
November & December - Ending the Year Quietly
HarperCollins
Publishers make an effort to release most substantial books before the holiday season. There are still a few notable titles set for release in November, but December is usually a literary wasteland.
