de·but
(noun) a first appearance
(verb) to present to the public for the first time
This site features books from debut authors, but what does that mean? On this site, you’ll find authors from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences who are all doing something new in 2026:
- First-time debuts – Authors who are publishing a book for the very first time in 2026!
- Publishing path debuts – Authors who previously self-published and have their first trade/traditionally published book coming out in 2026.
- Age group debuts – Authors who previously published in a different age group (e.g., Young Adult) and in 2026 are publishing their first book in a new age group (e.g., Adult).
- Genre debuts – Authors who previously published in another genre (e.g., Romance) and in 2026 are publishing their first book in a new genre (e.g., Fantasy).
- Category debuts – Authors who previously published a different type of book (e.g., Nonfiction) and in 2026 are publishing their first book in a new category (e.g., Fiction).
Some authors may fall into more than one of these categories!
The books on this site are traditionally published. This means the book is released by a publisher that…
- does not charge the author any money to publish,
- covers the costs of publication (like cover design, printing, and distribution),
- provides professional editorial support for the author’s work,
- does not accept/publish every submission (i.e., selects books to publish that are the right fit for their target audience),
- publishes books from people who are not friends or family of the publisher’s staff.
Traditional publishing is one path to publishing. While this website focuses on that path, we also love and support our fellow authors who are indie/self-published!
If you are an author with a traditionally published debut novel coming out in 2026 and would like to join our cohort, click here to provide your information, and someone from our group will follow up with you!