Oprah’s Book Club Names This Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author’s New Book the No. 1 Title She ‘Can’t Wait to Read in 2026’
- - Oprah’s Book Club Names This Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author’s New Book the No. 1 Title She ‘Can’t Wait to Read in 2026’
Meredith GordonJanuary 18, 2026 at 11:25 PM
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Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN on Getty Images
Oprah Winfrey has a new book to add to your 2026 reading list. In addition to publishing her own health and wellness book titled Enough this month, Winfrey’s Oprah’s Book Club is also sharing the books she “can’t wait to read in 2026.” Her picks are culled from the Oprah Daily list of books to look out for in 2026, with one clear frontrunner standing out at No. 1.
In a post shared to social media by Oprah’s Book Club, the team behind the iconic reading community wrote, “New year, new books for the TBR list 🙏. Our friends at @oprahdaily shared a list of titles to look out for in 2026, and we’re marking our calendars ahead of a great year for books.”
Oprah’s Book Club Names Its Most Anticipated Read of 2026
Topping the list of books Winfrey can’t wait to read this year is Small Town Girls by Jayne Anne Phillips.
Described as “tender” and “inviting,” Small Town Girls is a luminous memoir in essays in which Phillips reflects on her origins in West Virginia and the mysteries of memory. The book comes from the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, who earned the honor for Night Watch in 2024.
Critics and fellow authors have praised the memoir’s vivid prose and emotional depth. Kirkus Reviews highlighted Phillips’s beautiful, rhythmic writing and described her as “West Virginia’s most eloquent and grateful daughter.”
Related: Oprah Daily Names This National Book Award Nominee One of 'The Best Memoirs That Makes Grief Less Lonely'
About Jayne Anne Phillips and Her Literary Career
Jayne Anne Phillips is a highly regarded American writer whose prolific career spans decades. Known for her novels and short story collections, Phillips is the author of Black Tickets, Machine Dreams, Shelter, MotherKind, Lark and Termite, Quiet Dell, and Night Watch. The latter was also longlisted for the National Book Award.
Phillips is a Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellow, received the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction for Black Tickets, and has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Small Town Girls is scheduled to be published on April 21, 2026.
Other Books Oprah Is Excited to Read in 2026
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Other titles featured on Oprah’s Book Club list include Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer, Hooked by Asaka Yuzuki, Give Them Their Flowers by Octavia Spencer, and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe.
What books are you excited to read this year? Drop a comment below.
Related: New York Times Books Names This 'Stunning Romantasy' One of the Year's Best Hidden Gems
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This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
