Get In Early: 5 Major New Series Starting in 2026
April 27, 2026
There are two kinds of readers.
The first kind discovers a series ten years after it started, stares at a twelve-book backlist, and either commits to a month-long reading marathon or quietly puts it back on the shelf.
The second kind finds a series at book one. They read it. They wait. They get to be smug about it later.
2026 is a rare year for the second kind of reader. Several major authors — from Shadowhunter royalty to literary heavyweights — are launching brand new series, meaning the backlist is zero, the lore is fresh, and the community is just getting started.
Here are five new series launching in 2026 where you can get in at the very beginning.
1. The Wicked Powers by Cassandra Clare
Book One: The Last King of Faerie
Status: Coming 2026
Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles has been one of the defining fantasy universes of the last two decades — The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, and more. Now comes The Wicked Powers, the newest series in that world, following Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn — two characters whose story was left deliberately unfinished at the end of The Dark Artifices.
Why start now?
If you’re already in the Shadowhunter world, this is the continuation you’ve been waiting for. If you’re new to it, 2026 is actually a reasonable entry point — Clare’s series interconnect, but The Wicked Powers is designed to function as a new chapter rather than demanding you’ve read everything before it.
And if you have been following the Chronicles: Kit and Ty’s dynamic is one of the most talked-about relationships in the whole universe. This is the payoff.
2. Coven of Three Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Book One: Birth of the Witch
Release Date: November 2026
Nora Roberts starting a new trilogy is always an event. The author of The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy, The Dragon Heart Legacy, and dozens of other beloved series is launching a new three-book arc in late 2026 — and this one leans into the supernatural.
Why start now?
Roberts’s trilogies have a rhythm to them: the first book establishes a world and a character who feels immediately lived-in, the second deepens everything, the third pays it all off. She is one of the most reliable series writers working — if she’s starting a trilogy, you know the whole arc exists in her head and the landing will stick.
Getting in at book one means you’ll have the second and third books to look forward to. In Roberts’s case, that’s a good problem to have.
3. Academy of Kindness by Mark Lawrence
Book One: Daughter of Crows
Release Date: March 2026
Mark Lawrence is the author of Prince of Thorns, Red Sister, and The Book That Wouldn’t Burn — a writer with a reputation for dark, intelligent fantasy that rewards patient readers. Daughter of Crows opens a new series with a new world, a new magic system, and the kind of morally complex protagonist Lawrence does better than almost anyone.
Why start now?
Lawrence doesn’t write accessible, comfort-read fantasy — he writes the kind that sticks with you. If you’ve been meaning to try him and haven’t known where to start, a brand-new series is the cleanest entry point he’s offered in years. No prior knowledge required. Just the book.
His track record also means this series will build into something substantial. Getting in at book one means you’ll be the person recommending it to others in two years.
4. The Avonleya Series by Melissa K. Roehrich
Book One: Tortured Souls
Status: 2026
Melissa K. Roehrich built her following with Lady of Darkness — a dark fantasy series that found a devoted readership through BookTok for its morally grey characters, slow-burn romance, and willingness to put its protagonists through genuine suffering. Tortured Souls opens a new world entirely, which means readers who bounced off Lady of Darkness’s entry point now have a clean second chance.
Why start now?
Roehrich’s audience has been waiting for this. The community around her work is engaged and vocal — the conversations happening around Tortured Souls as it releases will be worth being part of. This is the kind of series that generates fan theories, character debates, and obsessive reread threads.
If dark romantasy with genuine emotional stakes is your genre, this is the 2026 ground floor.
5. Silver Elite by Dani Francis
Book One: Silver Elite
Status: 2026
Dani Francis arrives with a romantasy series that has all the hallmarks of the genre’s most addictive entries: a high-stakes world, a heroine navigating power she doesn’t fully understand, and the kind of tension that makes you read past your bedtime. Silver Elite is published by Random House — a traditional publishing stamp that suggests the series has the backing to go the distance.
Why start now?
The romantasy wave isn’t slowing down, but readers are getting selective. A series that earns its place in the conversation in 2026 will be one where the first book does real work — building a world worth returning to, establishing stakes that feel genuine, and delivering a story that holds up on reread.
Silver Elite is the one to watch in its corner of the genre. Getting in early means forming your own opinion before the discourse settles.
The Case for Starting Early
There’s a particular pleasure in being early to a series. You get to experience the first book without knowing where it goes. You get to form opinions before the fandom hardens into consensus. You get to recommend it to people before it becomes ubiquitous.
The binge-ready list is for readers who want the whole story in hand before they commit. This list is for readers who want the opposite: the clean start, the open road, and the rare feeling of not knowing what comes next.
Five series. All of them beginning in 2026. None of them with a backlist to climb.
Pick one and start.