Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On this special episode, dedicated to Kirkus’ Best Fiction Books of 2026, we welcome No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo to discuss Dead Beat (Flatiron Books, Sept. 15), the wildly anticipated final installment in her dark academia Ninth House trilogy. Kirkus: "Sharp writing, vivid characters, and puzzle box plotting bring the trilogy to a ringing conclusion” (starred review).

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Blood on the Page by Kate Winkler Dawson (Penguin Random House Audio)
Echoes of the Gene by John H. Thomas
Your Labs Are Fine. You’re Not. by Joy Stephenson-Laws
Native Species by Michael Albergo
The Spark by Danice Rinderknecht

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On this special episode, we present the 9th annual Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide, with special guest Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence (St. Martin’s Press, Dec. 1)—an epistolary novella that continues the romance between Alex and Prince Henry sparked in their 2019 blockbuster debut Red, White & Royal Blue.
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Climate Realism: Facing the Facts About Energy by Dieter Helm (Cambridge Univ. Press)
Baghdad Underground Railroad by Steve Miska
Ithia’s Dance by Dixie L. King
On the Bayou by Sean Bridges
The Wolves of the Kaiser's War by Johnathon Parham

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On this week’s episode, Chad Harbach joins us to discuss The Brightness (Little, Brown, Oct. 27), the eagerly anticipated follow-up to his sensational debut novel, 2011’s The Art of Fielding. In a starred review, Kirkus calls The Brightness—which returns readers to fictional Westish, Wisconsin, four years hence—“brilliant, poignant, and absorbing” (starred review).
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Antichrist by James BeauSeigneur
Crypto Island by Georgine Hodgkinson
That Strange Feeling of Freedom by Marina Tyurina Oberlander, trans. by Anya Tucker, illus. by Konstantin F. Weber-Chubays
The Other Side of Fear by Jan Gephardt
The Ashes of the Forest by Güzide Ertürk
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Description:
On this week’s special episode, we’re celebrating the 2026 Kirkus Prizes, announced Oct. 7th at a ceremony in New York City. Kirkus Prize for Fiction winner Tayari Jones joins us to discuss the ceremony, literary prizes, and her stellar novel, Kin, which judges selected from 3,584 eligible titles.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Poor Farm Meadow by Cynthia Centerbar
Frail Blood by Edward Stanton
Under an Indiana Sky by Lynne Hugo
Maybelline Has a Very. Bad. Day. by Dawn Dolan, illus. by Olena Kharkovenko
The Seven by Igor Stefanovic
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On this week’s special episode, recorded live at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Jordan Moblo, Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management at Universal Studio Group, and founder of Jordy’s Book Club, for a conversation about what it takes to develop books for TV series, book clubs, reading recommendations, and more.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Where the Wild Horses Are by Amy Alznauer (Neal Porter/Holiday House)
World News From Waverly High by Linda Kass
Hugo by Karl Linden
Sebastian the Belgian Koala by Jill Charlotte Thomas, illus. by Parks Sadler
The Hourglass by Michelle Christina

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