What are the Best New Books Coming in March 2020?

New month, new books! Book Light is our Dandelion Chandelier curated list of the most-anticipated new book releases every month, and next up is March 2020. If you ask us, the perfect March read captures the endings and fresh beginnings of the month and the spring season. So what are the best new books to read coming out in March 2020? Our intrepid team has been exploring and here’s what we found. 

what are the most-anticipated new book releases for March 2020?

Wondering what to read in March 2020? We’ve surveyed the landscape, and rounded up a list of the best new books coming this March.

What are the common themes in the crop of most-anticipated new book releases this month? Well, first, of course, it’s the start of spring. And also the month of St. Patrick’s Day. Perhaps as a result, there’s a lighter spirit afoot than in prior months.

There are playful ghost stories, and workplace romances. A bewitching New England field hockey team that casts a spell on the way to a state championship. A modern take on Anna Karenina. A celebration of traveling solo.

Several beloved authors are back with new works, including Hilary Mantel, Louise Erdrich, Lily King, James McBride, Emily St. John Mandel and Terry McMillian. And there are some highly buzzed-about debuts (we’re looking at you, My Dark Vanessa).

What to read in March 2020? That’s gonna be a tough call. How much free time do you have, dear reader?

the best new books coming in March 2020

Here’s our pick of the top new books – novels, essay collections, and non-fiction – that we cannot wait to read. You can pre-order them now if you like (and if you do, full disclosure, we may earn a small commission on the sale).

new books coming in the week of March 3, 2020

1.

Writers and Lovers by Lily King. In the Euphoria author’s new novel, Casey Peabody has just moved to Boston, where she’s waiting tables and working on the same novel she started six years ago. As she falls in love with two different men, Casey will struggle between the pulls of love, creativity, and ambition – Publication date: March 3, 2020

2.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. This new novel is based on the true life story of the National Book Award-winning author’s grandfather. He worked as a night watchman, and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C – Publication date: March 3, 2020

3.

The Exhibition of Persephone Q. by Jessi Jezewska Stevens. Set in post-9/11 New York, this debut dark satire is the story of Percy. Unbeknownst to her husband (who she no longer recognizes), she’s pregnant. Then she receives a catalog for an upcoming photography exhibition and the edited and manipulated photos are of her. But are they really? When no one else believes her, it becomes difficult to tell if she’s lost her mind. Or if understanding one’s own identity might be the most labyrinthine task of all – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

4.

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card. This debut novel examines the ways in which a Jamaican family forms and fractures over generations. The man currently known as “Stanford Solomon” is actually Abel Paisley, a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend. And now, nearing the end of his life, Stanford is about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

5.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn. This debut novel folds the legends of Hawai’ian gods into an engrossing family saga. A school of sharks saves 7-year old Nainoa Flores from drowning. His family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from the ancient gods. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart– Publication Date: March 3, 2020

6.

Deacon King Kong by James McBride. From the author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird comes a new novel about what happens in the aftermath of a shooting. In September 1969, a cranky elderly church deacon fires point-blank at a drug dealer in the entryway of a housing project in south Brooklyn. It soon becomes clear that the lives of the victim, the perpetrator and the witnesses overlap in unexpected ways – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

7.

Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee. As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is, until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. In this re-imagining of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story, Anna Karenina, we trace the universal experience of first love and first heartbreak.– Publication date: March 3, 2020

8.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. The author of the charming novel The Dinner List returns with a new novel. Where do you see yourself in five years? After nailing this query in a big job interview at a Manhattan law firm and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep convinced she’s on track to achieve her five-year plan. Then she awakes, and it’s 5 years later, and nothing is as she expected – Publication date: March 3, 2020

9.

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. Set in a coastal town in Massachusetts – the original site of the accusations leading to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials – this comic novel follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons girls’ field hockey team. They’ll do anything to make it to the state finals—even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

10.

Dame Traveler: Live the Spirit of Adventure by Nastasia Yakoub. From backpackers in Peru to artists in Berlin to storytellers in Morocco, Dame Traveler celebrates the diversity and bravery of women from around the world who are not afraid to think (and live) outside the box. In this breathtaking volume, Instagram’s premier solo female travel community is showcased with 200 striking photographs—most of them all-new—plus empowering messages and practical tips for solo travelers – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

11.

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson offers a personal look at the 28-year-old National Book Award finalist’s career so far, ranging from essays to mini-comics – Publication Date: March 3, 2020

12.

John Currin: Men by Alison M. Gingeras, Naomi Fry, and Jamieson Webster. Contemporary artist John Currin painted his portraits of women as a form of tongue-in-cheek satire. In this new volume a curator, a magazine writer and a psychoanalyst jointly assess the artist’s depictions of men and male couples. – Publication date: March 3, 2020

13.

The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business by Nelson D. Schwartz. The New York Times business reporter shines a light on the societal divides that make life “frictionless” for those with means and hugely difficult on a daily basis for those without. From health care to education, highways to home security, money can cut red tape and open doors. There’s a hidden cost to this “velvet rope” and this is an illuminating assessment of the price we all pay – Publication date: March 3, 2020

14.

Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath. Many public health issues, crimes, chronic illnesses, and customer complaints are preventable. So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention? The author presents case studies and practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them – Publication date: March 3, 2020

new books coming in the week of March 10, 2020

15.

The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel brings the trilogy started with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies to its end. In it, we follow the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power. Taking place between 1536 and 1540, this installment begins with Anne Boleyn’s execution and ends with Cromwell’s execution, after he was charged but never tried for treason, corruption and heresy. Among the many pressing questions examined in this piercing finale: “If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?” – Publication date: March 10, 2020

16.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. Set in the year 2000, this debut novel explores the psychological dynamics of the relationship between Vanessa, a precocious yet naïve teenage girl, and her charismatic and manipulative middle-aged teacher. As other women start speaking out about how he groomed and groped them as underage girls, Vanessa begins to view her past in a new light – Publication Date: March 10, 2020

17.

New Waves by Kevin Nguyen. This debut novel is an exploration of race and startup culture, secrecy and surveillance, social media and friendship. Two employees of color team up and go rogue in Silicon Valley. Fed up with being overlooked at work, a pair of work friends decides to steal their tech startup’s user database in an attempt at revenge. But the heist goes wrong, one ends up dead, and the other is left to piece together the true picture of his friend and their employer – Publication Date: March 10, 2020

18.

So We Can Glow: Stories by Leesa Cross-Smith. From Kentucky to the California desert, these forty-two short stories expose the hearts of girls and women in moments of obsessive desire and fantasy, wildness and bad behavior, brokenness and fearlessness, and more – Publication Date: March 10, 2020

19.

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler. In a tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, two neighboring families find themselves at odds. First, over an historic oak tree in one of their yards. And second, over the blossoming romance between their two teenagers, one of whom is biracial – Publication Date: March 10, 2020

20.

Recollections of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit. In this candid memoir, the author describes her formation as a writer and as a feminist in 1980’s San Francisco. She describes how she came to recognize that her own experiences of harassment were inseparable from the systemic problems of gender discrimination, and how she was galvanized to use her voice for change – Publication date: March 10, 2020

new books coming in the week of March 17, 2020

21.

How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz. The senior art critic at New York magazine, who began his career in the arts formally at age 41 after working as a long-distance truck driver (among other gigs), shares advice and inspiration for aspiring artists of all types. His core message? Any creative endeavor requires originality, persistence, a balance between knowledge and intuition. And that most precious of qualities: self-belief – Publication Date: March 17, 2020

22.

London in Bloom by Georgianna Lane showcases the floral abundance of the English capital’s extraordinary parks, gardens, florists, and flower markets. In this companion to her popular books Paris in Bloom and New York in Bloom, the author and photographer takes us on a romantic floral tour of London, juxtaposing luscious blooms with intricate floral details found in the city’s iconic architecture – Publication Date: March 17, 2020

23.

Broadway for Paul: Poems by Vincent Katz. Friendship, love, and the potential energy that can come from change animate these poems of walking through New York City. Broadway is a metaphor for the poet’s path. From Lincoln Plaza on the Upper West Side to the African Burial Ground and the courthouses downtown, this iconic journey delivers both fresh insights and warm memories of being free and alone in the city – Publication Date: March 17, 2020

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb. The author – an Emmy-nominated television writer and New Yorker contributor – shares a an oral history of four generations of women in her family in the voice of her beloved late grandmother. She saved every voicemail she received from her grandmother, and those messages form the core of a wonderful remembrance that contains some very sage advice – Publication Date: March 17, 2020

new books coming in the week of March 24, 2020

24.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. In this new novel from the author of Station Eleven, the collapse of a Ponzi scheme and a woman’s disappearance—two events that seem to have absolutely no connections at all – turn out to be connected by greed – Publication date: March 24, 2020

25.

Lakewood by Megan Giddings. In this debut thriller about class and race, the author evokes a terrifying world of medical experimentation. A black millennial drops out of college to support her family, and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. As the truths of the program reveal themselves, she discovers the the horrors that have been forced on black bodies in the name of science – Publication date: March 24, 2020

26.

Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony. A Republican Congressman struggles to save his career after a stuffed aardvark appears on his doorstep in this original and uproarious novel of politics, power, and sexuality. a time-traveling taxidermied aardvark, which shuttles between Victorian England, where it was hunted and stuffed, and present-day Washington D.C., where its appearance on a young Republican congressman’s doorstep threatens to upend his career – Publication date: March 24, 2020

27.

The Herd by Andrea Bartz. Here’s the pitch: a thriller set in a women-members-only elite Manhattan co-working space like The Wing. Say no more! We’re all in. In this ripped-from-the-zeitgeist novel, on the night of a news conference to announce a big new strategy for the glitzy co-working space The Herd, the charismatic female founder and CEO vanishes without a trace. Everybody has a theory, and when the police suggest foul play, everyone is a suspect. The founder’s husband; other Herders; the men’s rights groups that have had it out for the Herd since its launch — even the missing woman’s closest friends. Cannot. Wait.  – Publication date: March 24, 2020

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. The first in a planned trilogy, this fantasy novel from the author of the short story collection How Long ’till Black Future Month? follows five New Yorkers who must come together to defend their beloved city from an ancient evil – Publication date: March 24, 2020

new books coming in the week of March 31, 2020

28.

Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight. Nell Barber, an expelled PhD candidate in biological science, is exploring the fine line between poison and antidote. In a group of current and former friends and lovers tangled together at the center of a web of illicit relationships, grudges, and obsessions, she keeps a journal that becomes an extended love letter to her mentor in the lab – Publication date: March 31, 2020

29.

It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan. In the latest from the author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Loretha Curry, a successful almost 68-year-old woman with a thriving company, devoted husband, and great group of friends, is rocked by an unexpected loss – Publication date: March 31, 2020

30.

Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby. In this collection, Irby recounts the raw, hilarious particulars of the new life she’s building with her wife in a Blue town in the middle of a Red state, where she hosts book clubs and makes mason jar salads – Publication date: March 31, 2020

31.

More Myself: A Journey by Alicia Keys. Described by Keys as “part autobiography, part narrative documentary,” the songstress’s intimate memoir is the first entry released under the new publishing imprint from O Magazine, “An Oprah Book.” – Publication date: March 30, 2020

32.

Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang. A 24-year-old staff writer at a prestigious tech publication reports on the achievements of Silicon Valley billionaires and start-ups, while her own request for a raise is ignored. As she contemplates an escape via a cr0sscountry move with her boyfriend, she must confront a profound question: what does it mean to exist in a society that does not notice or understand you? – Publication date: March 31, 2020

33.

Christian Louboutin The Exhibitionist by Eric Reinhardt. Timed to coincide with the opening of a new exhibit in Paris, in this volume the legendary shoe designer shares his most significant influences and the details of his creative process – Publication date: March 31, 2020

best new book releases in March 2020

Those are our picks for the best and most-anticipated books coming – and an overview of options for what to read in March 2020. What’s at the top of your list?

join our community

For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter, here. And see luxury in a new light.

Forward This Article