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New paperbacks to read in 2026

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What to read based on your favourite Olivia Rodrigo song

Debut authors (left to right) William Rayfet Hunter, Fiza Saeed McLynn and Catherine Airey sitting and talking in the book-filled Penguin Podcast studio

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The Penguin Podcast: series 2 episode 3 – Debut books

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Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

Sunstruck

Sticky and pacy with an undercurrent of unease, you won't want to put it down

A heartbreaking but necessary portrayal of identity and belonging in modern day Britain. It's the perfect beach read

The book of the summer . . . a pacy page-turner and a timely piece of social commentary

Richly evoked and quietly furious, building from its Saltburn-like beginnings into a roar about the state of modern Britain that never loses sight of the questions around family, friendship and belonging at its emotional core

There’s plenty of plot; the novel’s brisk pacing, together with its shrewd blend of emotional sincerity, brooding intrigue and political overtones, make for a lively beach read

[A] dark, intoxicating debut . . . A thoughtful meditation on class, race and queerness

Sticky, twisting and dangerous: Sunstruck compels, unravelling the fraught strings that keep the elite class together and asking if an outsider can ever truly belong in their fold

Hunter's debut skilfully follows the journey of an aspiring Black musician drawn into a world of privilege and excess. Beautifully written and well-paced . . . builds tension as it approaches an exciting revelation

A stunning and tender debut. Sultry and compulsive. Full of heart

Poignant, tender, and wonderfully honest

Sunstruck is a book that is very hard to put down, full of lovable and equally hatable characters whose lives - much like the protagonists - are both displayed and withheld from the reader, perfectly mimicking the realities of how we relate to those around us, even those we believe are closest to us. A truly gripping story about power, privilege and perspective from a writer with a sharp pen and a wicked sense of humour whose incredible career is only just beginning

A smart, bracing, sexy novel about privilege and desire, full of indelible images and beautiful writing. Rayfet Hunter evokes the dream-like allure of power and the nightmare it soon becomes. I was completely gripped

Gorgeous and heartbreaking. I loved it

Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

A masterful debut, full of elegance, suspense, and wit. Sunstruck is a razor-sharp dissection of race, class and love

A deft and compelling portrait of race, class, wealth, privilege and power

William Rayfet Hunter is a British-Jamaican writer from the North West of England. They now live and work in East London. Their non-fiction writing has been published by VICE, Dazed, and the Evening Standard. Sunstruck, their debut novel, won the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize 2022.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2025 
 
AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025 
 
'This summer's hottest read' 
SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'You won't want to put it down' 
BRITISH VOGUE 
 
'Sticky, twisting and dangerous' 
REBECCA K REILLY 
 
It’s summer. An unnamed young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France, ready to join the Blake family on their annual holiday. Here, during dreamlike days lounging by the pool and nights blurring into opulent parties, he quickly falls for Felix, the Blake’s eldest son. He is everything the man wants to be – handsome, charismatic, wealthy – and his desire is surprisingly reciprocated. Suddenly, a new world of money and power feels within reach. 
 
But when summer ends and the two men return to London, the cracks in the Blakes’ careful façade begin to show. With the two tormented by demons of their own, their bond risks being pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.

P.G. Wodehouse

Frank Skinner

Roddy Doyle

Alan Titchmarsh

Dominic Sandbrook

Deborah Frances-White

Andrew Hunter Murray

Scarlett Curtis

Jasper Fforde

John Finnemore

Ian Moore

William Rayfet Hunter

Fergus Craig

A multi-voiced tribute to a literary great . . . jolly good fun

The funniest writer to ever put words to paper

He has made a world for us to live in and delight in

Wodehouse is the greatest comic writer ever

Paper has rarely been put to better use than printing Wodehouse

For as long as I'm immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer one where happy endings are the order of the day

Incomparable and timeless genius - perfect for readers of all ages, shapes and sizes!

I'm not sure I can entirely like or trust anyone who doesn't love Jeeves and Wooster

Twelve New Stories

FULL OF FIZZ AND VARIETY' Sunday Times 
 
'JOLLY GOOD FUN' i Paper 
 
'WHIP-SMART' Daily Mail 
 
'FUN AND FROLICS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON' Saga Magazine 
 
FEATURING HUGE NAMES FROM LITERATURE, COMEDY AND BEYOND - INCLUDING RODDY DOYLE, FRANK SKINNER AND ALAN TITCHMARSH - THIS ANTHOLOGY OF STORIES REIMAGINES JEEVES AND WOOSTER THROUGH FRESH EYES. 
 
The irrepressible duo first appeared on the page in 1915, coming to feature in more than 35 short stories and eleven novels over the course of Wodehouse’s lifetime. 
 
Each story in this new collection offers a delightful and original reimagining of the incomparable Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman – seeing them journey to the horse races in Paris, solve puzzles at a wartime Bletchley Park, and even transported forward in time to the year 2025. <ul><li>Frank Skinner</li><li>Roddy Doyle</li><li>Alan Titchmarsh</li><li>Dominic Sandbrook</li><li>Deborah Frances-White</li><li>Andrew Hunter Murray</li><li>Scarlett Curtis</li><li>Jasper Fforde</li><li>John Finnemore</li><li>Ian Moore</li><li>William Rayfet Hunter</li><li>Fergus Craig</li></ul> JEEVES AGAIN is a joyful celebration of Wodehouse as a much-beloved British literary icon – as well as a timely and entertaining reminder of the lasting impact of his characters on a whole new generation of readers and writers. 
 
*** 
 
HEAR FROM THE WRITERS . . . 
 
'A Wodehouse book is a journey into joy.' RODDY DOYLE, Booker Prize-winning author of PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA 
 
'Anybody who has even a vague interest in good writing should read Wodehouse.' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, author and co-host of THE REST IS HISTORY 
 
'I simply adore Wodehouse.' ALAN TITCHMARSH MBE, broadcaster and writer 
 
'To stumble into the world of Wodehouse is like sinking into a warm bath.' SCARLETT CURTIS, Sunday Times bestselling author of FEMINISTS DON'T WEAR PINK (AND OTHER LIES) 
 
'What Wodehouse is still today, just as much as ever, is funny.' JOHN FINNEMORE, creator of CABIN PRESSURE

William Rayfet Hunter

Praise for Jeeves Again

Reviews for JEEVES AGAIN

Full of fizz and variety

A multi-voiced tribute to a literary great . . . jolly good fun

Reviews for JEEVES AGAIN

Full of fizz and variety

A multi-voiced tribute to a literary great . . . jolly good fun

Reviews for JEEVES AGAIN

Full of fizz and variety

A multi-voiced tribute to a literary great . . . jolly good fun

Books by William Rayfet Hunter

Celebrating Independent Bookshop Week

William Rayfet Hunter picks his favourite indie bookshop

Articles featuring William Rayfet Hunter

7 must-visit independent bookshops, according to Penguin authors

New paperbacks to read in 2026

What to read based on your favourite Olivia Rodrigo song

The Penguin Podcast: series 2 episode 3 – Debut books

Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

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