If we were to judge 2022 by the books it gave us, one thing could be firmly declared – it was indeed a year that happened. Conceptualised earlier this month by i-D contributor Laura Pitcher as the year of rot, its imminent end comes as somewhat of a relief from an irrepressible stream of chaos – and some frankly quite mid debut novels. Thankfully, 2023 is already shaping up to be an exciting and diverse year for new releases.
From experimental novels about horse trainers and cinephiles to reimaginings of Andy Warhol’s New York and insights into the Nigerian queer scene, there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Let’s look ahead at some of the year’s best alternative releases and, perhaps, the next must-have literary accessories.
Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan
Kathryn Scanlan’s name sits beside Lydia Davis and Mary Gaitskill in that great pantheon of writers who pack so much into so little, achieving in a handful of pages what some writers couldn’t achieve in hundreds. Scanlan describes Kick the Latch as a “composite portrait of a self”, a book compiled out of interviews the author conducted with a horse trainer at a racetrack, creating a vivid and idiosyncratic profile of a life that straddles fact and fiction.
Skin of Nocturnal Apple by Misha Honcharenko
One of the most exciting new voices in poetry, Misha Honcharenko is a queer Ukrainian artist and writer. Turning to Instagram at the beginning of the Russian occupation of his country, Honcharenko creates both textual and visual works that document his life in wartime. Skin of Nocturnal Apple is his first collection of poetry, made up of poems he wrote prior to the occupation, in which he paints a portrait of youth and queerness in a landscape that is about to change irrevocably.
Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery
Following on from her excellent debut short story collection Show Them a Good Time, Nicole Flattery brings us a novel set in Warhol’s New York. Based around the creation of Warhol’s book a, A Novel – which was compiled from several hours of transcripts between Warhol and his muses – Flattery’s novel follows the four young women whose job it was to transcribe Warhol’s interviews for the book.
Lazy City by Rachel Connolly
Returning to her native Belfast after the death of her best friend, Erin finds that she is suddenly faced with a future that she didn’t plan. A novel about the almighty power of grief and the process of rebuilding a life, Rachel Connolly’s debut is a much-anticipated novel from a sharp cultural critic with an instantly recognisable voice.
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Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton
In Porn: An Oral History, Polly Barton investigates how we talk about porn. Why is it so difficult and awkward to discuss something that everyone has an intimate familiarity with? Compiled from interviews with twenty of Barton’s acquaintances, the book attempts to finally banish the taboo around openly talking about porn and, in the process, documents an oral history of the things we often leave unsaid.
Brian by Jeremy Cooper
The novelist and art historian Jeremy Cooper has proven himself to be one of the most essential writers today with releases such as Ash Before Oak (2019) and Bolt from the Blue (2021), works that blend his expertise and passions into form-breaking novels. Brian is the story of a council worker whose world is blown open when, one day, he takes a visit to the BFI and is introduced to the worlds of Ozu, Fellini, and Varda. A blend of novel and film criticism, this looks to be another unmissable work from Cooper.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Megan Nolan made her literary scene debut in 2021 with Acts of Desperation, a book that quickly became one of that year’s chic-novels-to-be-seen-with. Her next novel, Ordinary Human Failings, is sure to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. A tale of 90s London concerning an immigrant Irish family who find themselves at the centre of a tabloid-fuelled witch-hunt after a young child is found dead in a local estate, the novel displays Nolan’s versatility – a quality that positions her as one of Ireland’s leading literary voices.
Lakiriboto by Ayodele Olofintuade
Perhaps the most exciting indie press in the country, Cipher is looking to have another excellent year ahead if works like Ayodele Olofintuade’s Lakiriboto are anything to go by. A twisty thriller about the fate of a sprawling family in Lagos, Lakiriboto is a queer, feminist revenge thriller like no other, in which murder, betrayal, and witchcraft collide – with explosive results. A major name in the Nigerian queer and literary scene, Olofintuade’s debut with a British publisher is a long overdue introduction.
The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
Doyenne of Literary Twitter and Booker-robbed author of Real Life and Filthy Animals, Brandon Taylor blesses us with a new book in 2023 – The Late Americans. Following a group of three friends as they traverse love and life in Iowa City, Taylor’s novel examines the intricacies of relationships through an intimate lens, deftly chronicling contemporary loneliness and desire.
Penance by Eliza Clark
Following the viral success of her debut novel Boy Parts, Eliza Clark is back with a work that further cements her status as one of the UK’s most exciting transgressive writers. A novel in the guise of a true crime book, Penance is the definitive account of the murder of Joan Wilson. Collating interviews from witnesses, historical research, and correspondence from the murderers themselves, Clark’s novel is a timely take on true crime that both interrogates and rhapsodises the controversial genre.
Shame by Annie Ernaux
In 2022, Annie Ernaux was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature – to the surprise of approximately no one. Her books have become bestsellers in recent years due to her stunning ability to recall and recast her life, pushing the memoir to its maximum poetic potential. Shame is another volume of Ernaux’s great memoir project, this time focusing on the author at twelve years old and the memory of her father attempting to kill her mother, a traumatic memory that haunts Ernaux throughout her life.
Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt
Tell Me I’m Worthless was one of the most original horror novels of recent years so it is a great pleasure to see that author Alison Rumfitt is back with a new novel in the coming October. Brainwyrms is a novel about fetish, infestation, TERFism, radicalisation, and, naturally, worms. Oh, and it’s a love story too. A horrifying delight that’ll get all the worst people very, very angry.