Books

book gossip

The AI Agents Begging Editors to Keep Them Alive

 If they don’t publish, these autonomous bots claim, they’ll be retired forever. By Jasmine Vojdani
best of 2026

The Best Books of the Year So Far

 2026’s highlights include ambitious novels, biting short-story collections, and brazenly candid memoirs. By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
book review

Barbara Kingsolver Has a Grudge Against the Coastal Elites

 Her recent work, including her latest, Partita, is overly concerned with defending the South instead of writing for it. By Sam Worley
  1. reissue
    Tyra Banks Is Resurrecting ModellandShe’s adding even more “lore and depth” to Tookie De La Crème.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  2. remember that
    Michael Douglas Knows How to Do a MemoirIn both the book and the press, he’s shared harrowing details about his famous father, talked about his marriage, and revealed an old affair.
    By Jason P. Frank
  3. objet d’art
    Can You Believe It? Tilda Swinton’s Memoir Will Be Unconventional.Material Evidence will eschew linear narrative in favor of something freakier.
    By Bethy Squires
  4. sleeping beauties
    Why Do Good Ideas Scare Us?Ahead of his new book, David Byrne talks about his obsession with artistic breakthroughs that took time to come to light.
    By Emma Alpern
  5. must reads
    7 New Books to Read This OctoberDavid Byrne’s treatise on creativity, new novels from two Pulitzer winners, and Chad Harbach’s return.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  7. book review
    Ayad Akhtar’s Campus ProblemThe author’s portrayal of Gen-Z college students in The Radiance is too familiar. But when he writes about the body, it gets brilliantly weird.
    By Zain Khalid
  8. books
    Publishers Hit the AI JackpotThe industry stands to gain the most from Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement. Many writers aren’t happy about it.
    By Emma Alpern
  9. wife and wife
    Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris Have Been Secretly Married for Over a YearThe two tied the knot in a private ceremony in upstate New York in 2025.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  10. book review
    Min Jin Lee’s Model MinoritiesThe author’s fiction falls prey to the very tropes she has argued against.
    By Sanjena Sathian
  11. chapters
    Losing BeckHis acclaimed album, Sea Change, was inspired by a breakup. For his ex-partner, it was the story of how the Church of Scientology took over his life.
    By Josephine Riesman
  12. in conversation
    Ari Emanuel Is Finally Getting Around to Watching EntourageThe superagent on Roll the Calls, torching his enemies, and betting on a post-work utopia.
    By Lane Brown
  13. a long talk
    Chuck Klosterman Begs to DifferHis latest book imagines an alternate history where the Beatles are a footnote and music criticism changes forever.
    By Craig Jenkins
  14. rip
    Annie Dillard, Author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dead at 81Across genres, she was one of the most acclaimed prose writers of the past century.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  15. fall preview 2026
    11 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This FallIncluding an Ari Emanuel memoir and a new Emma Cline novel.
  16. chapters
    Elliott Smith at the Miramax TableThe musician’s friends remember his uncomfortable brushes with celebrity.
    By Jamie Fisher
  17. book review
    Switzy Is Emma Cline’s Best Novel YetThe Guest author has finally found a character who rewards her impulse to write in loops.
    By Emma Alpern
  18. first person
    To Love Reality TV, You Have to Care About More Than Reality TVVulture’s longtime Bachelor recapper wrote the book on learning to appreciate any, and every, reality show.
    By Ali Barthwell
  19. book review
    Is Marlon James’s ‘The Disappearers’ the Novel of the Century?Does it matter? It’s an excellent book and a provocation to Jamaican readers most of all.
    By Tembe Denton-Hurst
  20. must reads
    7 New Books to Read This SeptemberA new Marlon James tome, a tragic tale from Emma Cline, and a hip-hop history.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  21. chapters
    Conan, My Practice Baby“I’m not saying Conan was jealous, but he did call my babies Rub and Tug for the duration of my pregnancy.”
    By Sona Movsesian
    Introduction by Emily Palmer Heller
  22. book gossip
    Marlon James Describes His Latest Book As a Gay Revenge Thriller“I don’t know where I stand as a writer, but I am the greatest procrastinator of my generation.”
    By Jasmine Vojdani
  23. chapters
    That Time Dolly Parton Switched Up Her ‘Reputwah’After a chance run-in with Steve Buckingham, a lost Dolly Parton decided to try bluegrass music.
    By Martha Ackmann
  24. profile
    I Was Inspired by the Native Writer Thomas King. Then I Learned He’s White.Thomas King influenced a generation of Native writers, including myself. Then we discovered he wasn’t Native at all.
    By Tommy Orange
  25. chapters
    ‘Let’s Just Take the Piss Out of Bane’The Batman: The Animated Series writers didn’t like the roided-up villain’s intrusion on their Rogues Gallery.
    By Daniel Dockery
  26. book review
    Rachel Cusk’s Alleged Natalie Portman Novel Is Not Very GoodLife of M’s celebrity character study is half salacious, half tediously vague.
    By Emma Alpern
  27. books
    Here’s How Life of M Leads Back to Natalie PortmanTwo big dogs … actress living in Europe …
    By Fran Hoepfner
  28. a long talk
    Roland Orzabal Wanted Fame, Fortune, and TherapyHow Tears for Fears beat their “three-album act with one greatest-hits album” fate — and what’s next for the band.
    By Devon Ivie
  29. more maas
    The Next ACOTAR Installments Are Closer Than You ThinkBook six will be out by the end of this year.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  30. book gossip
    How 20 Well-Read People Make Time for BooksBJ Novak wishes he could read in an airplane chair at home, and Padma Lakshmi once listened to Giovanni’s Room while weight-training.
    By Jasmine Vojdani
  31. must reads
    6 New Books You Should Read This AugustA buzzy character study from Rachel Cusk, a thriller about time travel, and a shattering new novel from Chang-rae Lee.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  32. adaptation
    Children of Blood and Bone Arrives With Big EnergyAuthor and co-screenwriter Tomi Adeyemi is distancing herself from the movie, but it’s still coming soon.
    By Jason P. Frank
  33. book review
    Colson Whitehead Keeps Subverting ExpectationsThe final book in his Harlem Trilogy is both enjoyable crime fiction and an ode to Black ingenuity.
    By Niela Orr
  34. first person
    The Death Scene I Was Ashamed to Cry AboutEver since I was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, I’ve been finding myself thinking about Little Women’s Beth March.
    By Sarah Chihaya
  35. endings
    The Five Star Weekend Changes a Key IngredientThe adaptation opts for easily digestible gratification in place of the novel’s more complex themes.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  36. bad blood
    Tomi Adeyemi Doesn’t Support The Children of Blood and Bone MovieThe author confirmed there’s a “reason” why she’s done with the adaptation.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  37. must reads
    7 New Books You Should Read This JulyColson Whitehead’s final Harlem Trilogy installment, a contemplative travel novel, and an audacious caper that’s back in print.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  38. encounter
    Robinne Lee Writes More Than RomanceThe Idea of You author’s first novel was misunderstood. Now she’s back with a book that defies the genre.
    By Allison P. Davis
  39. q&a
    Hannah Murray Stopped Playing Make-BelieveIn her memoir, the onetime actor untangles her time within a wellness cult that resulted in a psychotic break.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  40. q&a
    No One Has Dealt With More Angry Odyssey Bros Than Emily WilsonChristopher Nolan cited Wilson’s translation when discussing his upcoming film. She unpacks the backlash to her work and to Nolan’s adaptation.
    By Jason P. Frank
  41. books
    5 Romance Novels to Read This SummerIncludes a queer romantasy, a wallflower versus a rake, and a comforting coming-of-age.
    By Angelina Mazza
  42. 1.5x speed
    What Mina Kimes Is Listening to (and Reading) This Summer“If you’re looking for book recommendations from ten years ago, I got you.”
    By Nic Juarez
  43. profile
    Joyce Carol Oates Can’t QuitT​he octogenarian is on her 50th short-story collection and 15th year as an X power user.
    By Emma Alpern
  44. vulture recommends
    If You Liked Backrooms, You’re Gonna Love House of LeavesAre you into weird liminal locations that make no sense and might drive you insane if you think about them too long? Here’s your next read.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  45. rip
    Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis Writer, Dead at 56Her family and friends say she “died of sadness” after the death of her husband.
    By Jason P. Frank
  46. book gossip
    How Lit Mags Are Dealing With AI-Slop Submissions“You don’t have to be an AI booster to think ‘catching people out’ is a poor use of the literary community’s energy.”
    By Jasmine Vojdani
  47. must reads
    7 New Books to Read This JuneA new Ann Patchett, a reissue of a Pulitzer-winning book of essays, and a sprawling, intelligent immigrant novel.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  48. book review
    Maggie O’Farrell Goes MaximalistThe Hamnet author’s new novel, Land, is her most ambitious work to date.
    By Rachel Vorona Cote
  49. book review
    I Keep Falling for Ann Patchett’s Slightly Maudlin NovelsHer latest, Whistler, is full of unusually decent people. But it still made me tear up.
    By Emma Alpern
  50. booktok get ready
    Smith Jerrod Is Moving to Costa RicaThe Sex and the City star is working on an original fantasy-book series.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  51. jesus freaks
    Interview With the Vampire Wants to Do the Anne Rice Jesus Stuff“If you didn’t grab one or two of the totally psychotic, weird, wild things, you’d be missing out on what makes her as an artist, singular.”
    By Bethy Squires
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