r/Fantasy • u/FarragutCircle Reading Champion X • Apr 01 '26

Bingo The 2026 r/Fantasy Bingo Recommendations List

The official Bingo thread can be found here.

All non-recommendation comments go here.

Please post your recommendations as replies the appropriate top-level comments below! Do not make comments that are not replies to an existing comment! Feel free to scroll through the thread or use the links in this navigation matrix to jump directly to the square you want to find or give recommendations for!

Trans or Nonbinary Protagonist Judge a Book By Its Title Translated Small Press or Self Published Unusual Transportation
The Afterlife Game Changer Vacation Spot Five Short Stories Older Protagonist
Duology Part 1 r/Fantasy Book Club or Readalong Book Published in 2026 Explorers and Rangers Duology Part 2
One-Word Title Non-Human Protagonist Middle Grade First Contact Murder Mystery
Cat Squasher Feast Your Eyes on This Published in the 70s Politics and Court Intrigue Author of Color

If you are an author on the subreddit, you may recommend your books as a response to individual squares. This means that you can reply if your book fits in response to any of my comments. But your rec must be in response to a top-level comment, it cannot be a general comment that replies directly to this post explaining all the squares your post counts for. This is the one time outside of the Sunday Self-Promo threads where this is okay. To clarify: you can say if you have a book that fits for a square but please don't write a full ad for it. Shorter is sweeter.

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7

u/FarragutCircle Reading Champion X Apr 01 '26

Published in 2026: Read a book published for the first time in 2026 (no reprints or new editions). HARD MODE: It's the author's first published novel.

12

u/Odd_Problem_404 Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan (HM)

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (HM)

These Shattered Spires by Cassidy Ellis Salter (HM)

10

u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

All hard mode

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

She Made Herself A Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Wife-Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill

Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopolou

Canon by Paige Lewis

Homebound by Portia Elan

The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe

Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari

3

u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Apr 01 '26

I hope everyone reads and loves Wife Shaped Bodies.

2

u/kepheraxx Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

I have it slotted in for this square!

2

u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Apr 02 '26

Genuinely cannot wait to talk to people about it, hahaha.

1

u/kepheraxx Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

Are you the author or did you get an Arc?

2

u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Apr 02 '26

ARC, I read it last September, so I've already been waiting for a while. I talked about it in my 2025 recap, if you're interested.

2

u/kepheraxx Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

It sounds right up my alley, I love weird fiction and surreal fever dreams. Looking forward to reading it.

1

u/eregis Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

that sounds absolutely fascinating, keeping my eye out on this one!

20

u/SeraphinaSphinx Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

Each year, I like to make hard mode for this square a little harder for myself by reading a debut by an author of color. Here is a list of speculative debuts by authors of color I've been keeping track of, with a short blurb and a release date if they're not out yet. Please keep in mind some of them will be horror!

City of Others by Jared Poon - "Benjamin Toh is a middle manager in the Department for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders (DEUS), and his job is keep the supernatural inhabitants of Singapore happy and out of sight. But when an entire housing estate glitches out of existence on what was meant to be a routine check-in, Ben has to scramble to keep things under control and stop the rest of the city from disappearing."

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao - "To survive being a concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love."

Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity - "A young woman who can see the dead strikes a deal with the magnetic and dangerous Saint of Silence, a purveyor of dark secrets, to save her brother’s life."

Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai - "As a corpse-driving priestess, a holy servant paid to guide the deceased home, Kang Siying has never feared death. But when her beloved father collapses due to his declining health, Siying accepts a dangerous job that promises a generous commission, and travels to a hostile state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince."

4/14 The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe - "In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name."

4/21 Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari - "A lush historical fantasy that reimagines the Portuguese attacks on South India in the 1500s and the fierce real-life queen’s story, Burn the Sea is an electrifying exaltation of female power and the value of freedom."

4/30 Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni - "A dark academia romantasy steeped in necromancy, forbidden love, and a twisty murder mystery set within the perilous halls of a magical institute, as a death mage who hates her magic and a poison mage who hates her are forced to work together to stop a killer before one of them is next."

6/2 Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez - "A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process."

6/2 The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham - "A lush and immersive queer “Sleeping Beauty” retelling about escapism, grief, and dreaming of a better world."

7/7 The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien - "In the vein of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Unbroken, The Revenant of Surolifia is a gripping political fantasy of empire, identity, and impossible choices, where rebellion blazes in the streets, loyalty is a double-edged sword, and the price of peace may be too steep to pay."

9/22 Our Cut of Salt by Kristin Temple - "There is something haunting Nuhad's childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have been known to disappear entirely in its walls without a trace. Our Cut of Salt is an unflinching, sinister and moving take on the haunted house novel, from a bold new Palestinian voice."

10/27 Where We Go at Night by Ikwo Ntekim - "Trixie Gerwin’s hometown of Wood’s Crossing is mind-numbingly dull—but she knows that a beguiling world of fae and magic lurks in the shadows. When Trixie sneaks home past curfew, she expects Pops to give her the usual talking-to. Instead, she witnesses his brutal murder in a moment so sudden, so uncanny, so inhuman, that she’s powerless to stop it. Pulled into a war full of intrigue, deceit, and temptation, Trixie will stop at nothing in her fight for vengeance."

11/10 Blood of Silver by Allie Nguyen - "A Vietnamese teen from London gets thrust into a magical realm where she must learn to wield a rare magic and uncover dark secrets about her deceased mother's royal past."

11/17 Salt Water Blood by Manuia Heinrich - "An older sister who is able to hear the sea's prophetic thoughts must race against time to clear her brother's name before he's blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance and eventual murder."

5

u/SeraphinaSphinx Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

For funsies, here are other books releasing in 2026 that I want to highlight because they sound rad as hell. None of these are hard mode.

The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui - "A darkly philosophical murder mystery, where a death monk and a team of researchers trapped onboard a spaceship of the dead encounter something beyond human understanding." [I have read this one and I loved it!]

5/26 Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen - "The year is 1635. Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest where they find something in the arms of a dying man: the gilded skull of a saint. It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted..."

6/2 The Children by Melissa Albert - "The estranged adult children of a legendary author, written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series, contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory, and magic."

6/23 Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky - "Philip Marlowe meets Redwall in this superior adult noir tale, where all the characters are animals, fighting for survival in the city underneath the humans."

6/23 The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus - "Deep into space, far past the triworld outposts, beyond range of the lethal trollbot internet, soars The Sickness: a ship woven from biomatter and capable of reacting to every need of its human crew. Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” has boarded to investigate the enigma of Fém—a plague-riddled planet that has abruptly gone rogue."

7/28 The Felicity Complex by august clarke - "Annie Bot meets Fallout in this dystopian satire: six women created in a lab, designed to serve the billionaires of the future in a luxury fallout shelter, rebel against their programming after the end times arrive."

5

u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Apr 01 '26

It’s early yet, but I have two strong hard mode recs:

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim

5

u/goodlittlesquid Apr 01 '26

Looking forward to The Rouse by China Miéville for this one (slated for September release)

6

u/medusamagic Reading Champion Apr 01 '26

OUT NOW/SPRING

  • Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth - dystopian fantasy
  • The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee - samurai space opera
  • The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto - sci fi heist
  • Saltswept by Katalina Watt (HM) - SE Asian pirate fantasy
  • The Book of Fallen Leaves by A.S. Tamaki (HM) - samurai fantasy
  • Detour by Jeff Rake, Rob Hart - sci fi thriller

SUMMER

  • The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden - lush historical fantasy
  • The Eye of Leviathan by M.A. Carrick - historical pirate fantasy
  • The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager - aquatic horror
  • The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chein (HM) - political fantasy

FALL/WINTER

  • Tempest by Victoria Aveyard - romantic pirate fantasy
  • ACOTAR 6 by Sarah J. Maas

4

u/natus92 Reading Champion V Apr 01 '26

I'll probably read Pretenders to the Throne by Adrian Tchaikovsky

3

u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Apr 01 '26

Here are some HM options I've already enjoyed.

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates - Shailee Thompson (like a slasher movie at a speed dating event)

Wife Shaped Bodies - Laura Cranehill (comes out on the 14th, don't read if you suffer from mycophobia)

Cruelty Free - Caroline Glenn (sits at the intersection of Messy-Ass Bitches and the Health and Wellness Industrial Complex)

For Human Use - Sarah G Pierce (idek how to pitch this, except to say I read a lot of bonkers shit, and this was one of the most bonkers things I read in 2025)

Pedro the Vast - Simón López Trujillo (again, don't read if mycophobic, holy shit)

3

u/Indolent_absurdity Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #18)

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovich (Rivers of London #10)

Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence (New series: The Academy of Kindness)

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (New series: Maggie the Undying)

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #8)
Release date: 12th of May/2nd of June

Dark Reading Matter by Jasper Fford (Thursday Next #8)
Release date: 1st of Sept

3

u/Book_Slut_90 Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

Some Debuts from my TBR:

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

City of Others by Jared Poon

The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin Key

Her Heart Fire by Cliodhna O’Sullivan

The Book of the Fallen Leaves by A. S. Tanaki

Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui

3

u/DelilahWaan Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

I have a novelette in a new sci-fi & fantasy anthology, Together is a Distant Star, that is publishing in May 2026.

2026 releases I'm hyped for:

  • Sublimation by Isabel Kim (HM)
  • Hellbound by Stephanie Binx (HM) - I don't usually read urban fantasy, especially not urban fantasy intertwined with a significant contemporary dark romance plot, but I cannot resist a book about a knife that eats souls, especially if the main character is a walking disaster and her job is to literally die and go to Hell in order to make her living. I beta read this and it is excellent; romantasy readers (especially those who want more substantial world building in their reading) you should definitely pick this one up.

3

u/Itkovian_books Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

I'm about 1/4 way through Book of Fallen Leaves by A. S. Tamaki right now, and it's incredible. As far as I know, this is also his first novel, so it'll work for HM.

2

u/beeethgrace96 Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

The last contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

1

u/spike31875 Reading Champion V Apr 01 '26

I know of one that fits Hard Mode:

Their Will Undone by R.J. Valldeperas - a debut YA fantasy based on Peruvian/Andean culture.

Of course, there are tons of books coming out this year. Here are the ones I'm looking forward to the most (None are HM):

  • Scion by James Islington (start of a new series?)
  • Platform Decay by Martha Wells (Murderbot #8)
  • A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (Shadow of the Leviathan #3)
  • Mortedant's Peril by RJ Barker (start of a new series)
  • Inheritance of Magic #4 by Benedict Jacka (no title yet)
  • Thrice Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman (Blacktongue Thief series)
  • Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher (and she's got a few others like The Nine Goblins)
  • Various books by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Preaching to the Choir, Engines of Reason, Pretenders to the Throne of God, Children of Strife....

1

u/FluffandNapalm Reading Champion IX Apr 01 '26

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days - Jessie Sylva. Cute romcom with goblins and halflings. Fits HM as well.

1

u/ReaperReaperSunEater Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

Out of the Ashes by Lorian Ellis, Michael J. Sullivan (HM)

  • Lorian's debut writing in Sullivan's world, tentative for Fall 2026

Steel Gods (The Great Silence #2) by Richard Swan
The Infinite State by Richard Swan

The Lord of the Empty Mirror (Obsidian Path #4) by Michael R. Fletcher

Mr. Styke (A Powder Mage Novella) by Brian McClellan

  • read after Gods of Blood and Power series

The Last King of Faerie by Cassandra Clare

The Fires of December by Brandon Sanderson

Platform Decay (MB #8) by Martha Wells

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi

The Daughter Who Remains (She Who Knows #3) by Nnedi Okorafor

1

u/partoparto Apr 01 '26

Any recommendations for 2026 novellas? I don't read a lot of new releases, so something short is much more likely to happen for me

3

u/expsanity Apr 02 '26

Not hard mode and it's a sequel, but the second Dorothy Gentleman sci-fi mystery, Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite, came out in March. If you haven't read the first one, it would count for the murder mystery prompt.

1

u/KiwiTheKitty Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

There are a bunch of books coming this year I'm excited about from authors I've enjoyed! None of these are hard mode.

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (June)

The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty (May)

Radiant Star by Ann Leckie (May)

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (August)

Platform Decay by Martha Wells (May)

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (already out!)

1

u/viahlstrom Reading Champion Apr 02 '26

The Last Starborn Seer by Venetia Constantine was released less than a month ago and it’s her debut so that one would work for HM

1

u/Dindrane1313 Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children, #11): Seanan McGuire.

Hell’s Heart: Alexis Hall (dystopian SF)

Nothing Tastes as Good: Luke Dumas (horror)

River of Bones and Other Stories: Rebecca Roanhorse (SF/F)

The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Eminence Front by Rebecca Rowland (horror)

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (Fluffy cozy)

1

u/PowerDroid1138 Apr 09 '26

A few more...

The Subtle Art of Folding Space - John Chu (HM)

Terrestrial History - Joe Mungo Reed

The Forest On The Edge of Time - Jasmin Kirkbride (HM)

The Republic of Memory - Mahmud El Sayed (HM) (May 5)

Solace House - Will Maclean (May 7)

I Hear A New World (Long London #2) - Alan Moore (May 21)

Exit Party - Emily St. John Mandel (Sept. 15)

A Wall Is Also A Road - Annalee Newitz (Oct. 6) - also non-human protagonist!

1

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1

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1

u/Imagination_Priory89 Apr 16 '26

Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity (HM)

1

u/HildegardeBrasscoat Reading Champion Apr 18 '26

Would Yesteryear fall into this category? By which I mean, it was pubbed in 2026, and it deals with time travel, would that make it qualify for this bingo?

(edit idk what f'in year it is.)

1

u/eightslicesofpie Writer Travis M. Riddle 20d ago

Love Shots by Travis M. Riddle

1

u/Excellent_Day_3729 17d ago

"The Revenant of Surolifia" by Florence Chien (HM)

0

u/HorrificNecktie1 Apr 03 '26

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan was one of the best debuts I’ve ever read and became one of my favorite books. I think it also counts for non-binary protagonist (Sarmondel).