The 2026 USBBY List of Outstanding Books features 41 titles from 24 countries which reflect universal themes of identity, hope, intergenerational bonds, friendship, play, curiosity, migration, nature,...

It’s going to be another banner year (in the words of lying African governments, a “bumper harvest”) for books from authors on the Continent and in its Diaspora! Here’s your list, sorted by month, with all kinds of genres included (including children’s books, at the end of the post). There’s no way I could list every book that’s coming, but here’s what I think is notable—as always, a work in progress, subject to updates.