New books by Liza Minelli, David Sedaris, Maggie O’Farrell and Yann Martel are among the literary highlights of the year ahead

2026 is already promising plenty of unmissable releases: there are new novels by George Saunders, Ali Smith and Douglas Stuart, memoirs from Gisèle Pelicot, Lena Dunham and Mark Haddon, and plenty of inventive debuts to look forward to. Here, browse all the biggest titles set to hit shelves in the coming months across fiction and nonfiction, selected by the Guardian’s books desk.

Dan, 40, a sock designer and writer, meets Emmie, 39, an art consultant

What were you hoping for?
To snog the love of my life. Failing that, I’d heard good things about the broccoli.

Need something brilliant to read over the holidays? Here are six of our best pieces from 2025. Look out for part two next Saturday

Two countries pledge in joint statement to halt all forms of attacks and further troop deployments in long-running dispute over contested territory

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes that have killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.

In a joint statement, the two south-east Asian neighbours said the ceasefire would take effect on Saturday at noon local time and involve “all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.

North Korea leader speaks of ‘really meaningful year’ for alliance with Moscow; Zelenskyy accuses Russia of using Belarus apartments to attack Ukraine. What we know on day 1,403

Country’s foreign minister says his president signed off on US air attack – key US politics stories from 26 December at a glance

US airstrikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day were aided by intelligence provided by the Nigerian government, the country’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Donald Trump had announced the strikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria after spending weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians.

Week 17 delivers a decisive at Soldier Field as Chicago and San Francisco battle for positioning in a crowded NFC race for the No 1 seed and a precious first-round bye

Chicago Bears (11-4) v San Francisco 49ers (11-4)

Parts of the US right have for years been amplifying claims that Christians face violence in Nigeria, a notion the US president has helped to encourage

After spending weeks accusing Nigeria’s government of failing to tackle the persecution of Christians, Donald Trump announced a series of strikes on the west African country on Christmas Day.

The strikes, targeting Islamic State militants in the country’s north, mark the latest overseas military intervention from Trump, who campaigned on a promise to extricate the US from decades of “endless wars” during his 2024 run for president.

Elections will be first since military seized power in 2021, but analysts say vote is far from a step toward democracy

Myanmar is preparing to go to the polls for the first time since its military seized power in a coup in 2021, but with its former leader behind bars, its most successful political party disbanded and roughly a third of the country either disputed or in rebel hands, few believe claims by its military rulers that its 28 December election will be “free and fair”.

“This is not for the people, this is for themselves,” says Pai, 25, who fled Myanmar after the military seized power. “They [the ruling junta] are looking for a way out of the trap they are [in].”

Ahead of his new album, My Days of 58, the US singer-songwriter will answer your questions for the Guardian’s reader interview

In a career hardly plagued with lows, Bill Callahan has been on a hot streak recently. Since 2019’s Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, the Maryland-born songwriter has shared his beguiling meditations on being changed by parenthood and marriage, while his music has loosened and expanded accordingly. The latter is in part down to the chemistry that Callahan has formed with his live band – guitarist Matt Kinsey, saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi and drummer Jim White also of the Dirty Three – audible on the extraordinary 2024 live album Resuscitate! It’s this ensemble and their facility for improv that powers Callahan’s forthcoming solo record, My Days of 58, the first tastes of which offer up some Callahan wisdom.

The song Lonely City, he said, was an odd one for him to write, being generally more concerned with “humans and the spirit within”.

So writing about concrete and steel felt like a no go. Like I’m going to write a song about a car next? But of course cities are made by humans so they are human, too. You have a relationship with them, like friends.

This year saw everyone from Alan Carr to demon sheep run riot on our screens – but there could only be one winner. Here’s our full countdown of the very best television of 2025
• More on the best culture of 2025

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Nesrine Malik delivers your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world

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