The adaptation pipeline just got more interesting. The Black List has added unadapted titles from Spiegel & Grau to its discovery database, making it easier for film, TV, and theater industry professionals to identify adaptable properties. Spiegel & Grau is the first independent publisher to partner with the platform. More like this, please!
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THE HEADLINEThe best horror books of the century (so far)Publishing has changed a lot since the ’90s, but one of the genres that has transformed the most is horror: Black horror, queer and trans horror, and Japanese horror in particular have made a big impact on the genre in recent years.
Today, we’re sharing our picks for the Best Horror Books of the Century So Far.
No single list can contain a genre as vast as horror, of course, but these 50 books showcase the standout titles across subgenres, age categories, and formats, including horror comics, dark fiction anthologies, sci-fi horror, gothic novels, YA horror, and even a scary story picture book.
They represent the biggest and buzziest horror books of the century, the most influential titles of the genre, and our personal favorites. Here are some highlights.
Big and buzzy:
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
- Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
- Uzumaki by Junji Ito, translated by Yuji Oniki
Most influential:
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Ring by Koji Suzuki, translated by Glynne Walley
Personal favorites:
- Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky: A “witty, tender romp through the cosmic horror of being alive.”
- The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson: “It’s social horror of the best kind, the kind that dares you to even try to look away and where no one gets off easy.”
- White Horse by Erika T. Wurth: “Wurth challenges Indigenous stereotypes and offers a unique twist on a ghost story.”
- The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling: “It’s The Descent meets The Martian meets Killing Eve.”
How many of the best horror books of the century have you read?
ADAPTATION NATIONWatch the new Narnia trailerThe trailer for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew has arrived. Get a good look at Greta Gerwig’s spin on the first story in the Narnia chronology by watching Netflix’s official trailer.
Here are my first impressions:
- “Stairway to Heaven”? Tell me it’s rock opera inspired without telling me
- I would like the stats on how many people microdose before showing up to the premiere
- The multiverse is inevitable
- I’m ready for the glitter eyeshadow trend to make a comeback
- Gerwig is laughing at the Millennial Gray dominating cinematography
- Azlan contains multitudes (and Meryl Streep)
Catch up on everything we know about Gerwig’s Narnia. – SZW
READING PATHWAYSWhere to begin reading the work of Daniel KrausDaniel Kraus is having an unbelievable year. His book Angel Down won the Pulitzer Prize in May, he threw out the opening pitch for the Chicago Cubs in mid-September (IYKYK), and the adaptation of his novel Whalefall hits theaters October 16.
Kraus’s work has been growing and expanding since his debut, The Monster Variations, in 2009. He is a writer who takes bold risks and always delivers on the promise and premise of his stories. With a catalog packed with books written for different ages and within different styles, where’s a good place to begin with Kraus’s work?
- Whalefall is an excellent starting place, as it encapsulates the pulse-pounding, creative storytelling that’s a hallmark of Kraus’s writing. This is about a young adult working through the grief of losing his father, only to be sucked into the belly of a sperm whale. With one hour of oxygen left in his tank, he’s racing the clock for survival.
- Rotters is a creepy, grody Midwest horror—and that’s a compliment. It follows a 16-year-old boy sent to live with the father he’s never known. That boy is then brought into his father’s business: graverobbing.
- Angel Down should not work and it should not be the kind of book that’s an entry point into an author’s oeuvre, and yet, it does and it is. Told in a single sentence, this war story is about what happens when a group of soldiers encounters an angel who has been hit by artillery fire. Each wants something from the angel, but she may serve a bigger purpose than any of them could ever imagine.
You can’t go wrong with whatever book you pick to begin your Kraus reading adventures. Chances are, even if you think you’ve never read his work, you’re familiar with it in some capacity: he co-wrote the novelization of the blockbuster film The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro, and he’s been crucial in keeping George A. Romero’s work in the public eye following his death almost a decade ago.
Learn more about Daniel Kraus’s books and discover what book of his he thinks more people should read. – KJ
CLUB CULTUREThe big book club picks of OctoberFrom big names to new names, October’s book club picks contain multitudes. Among the highlights:
- Deesha Philyaw’s righteous and riotous The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman earned shouts from both Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club and Eclectix.
- #ReadWithJenna is taking on love, grief, and the healing part of art with Partita by Barbara Kingsolver.
- Oprah selected Amanda Rizkalla’s debut novel, Hungered, calling it “a provocative and beautiful read.”
- Dua Lipa’s Service95 is reading Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro ahead of the October 23rd release of Taika Waititi’s adaptation.
Find more book club picks that will keep your crew talking.
MYSTERY/THRILLERCon artists, grifters, and assumed identitiesGrifters and con artists make for thrilling subjects. Just look at the buzz around the adaptation of Emma Cline’s The Guest and You Can See Everything, the unnerving documentary about Elizabeth Holmes.
- If you’re anything like A24, the production company behind both films, you have your sensors up for stories about cons, and you’re going to find some good ones among mystery and thriller books.
The con artist can be charismatic, corrupt, deeply troubled, highly organized, or all of the above, and these books deftly plumb their minds and trajectories:
- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith: This psychological thriller following con artist Tom Ripley is considered one of the best in the category. Exploring extreme obsession and involving identity theft by way of murder, this is a decidedly chilling grifter tale.
- The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: If you’re looking for con artist noir, you’re in good hands with this versatile and prolific author. Moreno-Garcia’s 2026 release follows a con artist who thinks he’s found an easy mark in Veracruz boarding house owner, Perla. But he’s in for a surprise with Perla and her observant niece.
- Eileen by Ottessa Mosfegh: Though not a straightforward story of con artists and grifters, if you enjoyed The Talented Mr. Ripley and mysteries involving assumed identities, you’ll want to pick up this critically-acclaimed thriller about a self-loathing woman and the charismatic colleague who changes her life.
- The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe: This queer YA thriller about the daughter of a con artist taken hostage during a bank heist combines wit, daring, and a feminist edge. Nora O’Malley, protégé of her con artist mom, is trying to lead a normal life, but that’s about to be upended along with her relationships. – SZW
A couple of weeks ago, I discussed some of the literary fiction coming out in October that the editors at Goodreads were most excited for. This month—this season, really—is the time for big releases, so this week has even more titles for you to add if you’re looking for the latest.
Below are books by mega bestselling, award-winning authors, one of whom has a book that’s been adapted.
One book sounds like a deliciously seasonal Dracula-centered gothic mystery, while the other two are decidedly of the arts. No matter which subject you’re drawn to, just know that these are going to be in everyone’s mouths for the next few months (at least).
- Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li – The award-winning Li’s latest is historical fiction that sweeps across late 18th-century Dublin, England, Russia, and India as it explores the story of the talented pianist Adelaide Percheron and her future husband, John Field (who invented the term “nocturne”), and their lives as ambitious artists.
- Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus – Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry really had a moment, and I suspect Peck & Peck will too. The bestselling author’s latest takes place in 1982 New York City, where Batter Gray gets a job right out of college at a celebrated literary journal. He slogs it as the lowest person in the company, and tries to ascend ranks, even after the editor-in-chief shows a dislike for him. This is essentially Lessons in 1980s Poetry.
- Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova – If you are unfamiliar with Kostova’s work, just to give you an idea of its popularity, her 2005 tome, The Historian, has more than 280k ratings on Goodreads. Mystery Play’s subject matter is similar: a relic is found with connections to Dracula. This time, it’s a medieval book that was left to Jay’s secretive mother, which he only finds when she passes away suddenly. As he sets out to chase down the clues he finds through the artifacts, he finds out just how dangerous the book is. —EE
Did you know? cummings was also a painter, and the sketch above is a self-portrait.
CRITICAL LINKINGYou are now free to roam about the internetDante’s Divine Comedy is getting a horror adaptation.
Here’s what to read if you loved East of Eden.
Scare yourself silly with movies & TV shows based on Stephen King books.
Cast your vote for Zero to Well-Read in the Signal Awards.
Peep the books models were reading during fashion month.
END NOTESWritten by Rebecca Schinsky, Danika Ellis, S. Zainab Williams, Kelly Jensen, Erica Ezeifedi, and Jeff O’Neal. Thanks to Vanessa Diaz for copy editing.
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