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).

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

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. 

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• 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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On this week’s episode, comedian, host, actor, writer, and producer Murray Hill joins us to discuss Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man (Gallery Books, Oct. 6). Kirkus: “A rip-roaring story of Liza-esque unsinkability from a Don Rickles–esque entertainer.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell (Simon & Schuster Audio)
• The Stirling Defense by Gerald Patnode
• Life With Less of Me by Julianna Burmesch
• The Noema Field by Salvatore Cataudella
• The Drop by Iohamil Navarro
• A Stranger in Every House by Richard Carr

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On this week’s special Kirkus Indie Awards episode, C.W. Johnson discusses his award-winning novel, A Life Full of Quarks (Baryon Dreams Press, Sept. 24, 2024). “In Johnson’s novel, a brilliant physicist tries to build a life after narrowly surviving a childhood filled with reanimated dinosaurs, runaway aliens, and mutated Mexican beaded lizards,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Heartbreaking and hilarious.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• The Inner Compass by S.J. King
• Born Sick in the USA by Stephen Bezruchka
• Good Lookin’ by T.L. Bequette
• The Conclusion of the American Experiment by Jonathan Morrow
• Adams Morgan Fugue by Alex Fardon

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On this week’s episode, actor and writer Nadia Bowers joins us to discuss her stunning debut memoir, Dear Dealer (Gallery Books, Sept. 15). “A sister struggles to accept her sibling’s overdose death,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “A moving embodiment of the powerful, creative energy of grief.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• The Big Dream by Owen Thomas
• Indigo, The Deep by Kellye Abernathy 
• A Simple Guide to Being Alive by David M.L. Rabin
• To Be Here Is Immense by Clare Simons
• Rising Waters by Aleatha Romig

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On this week’s episode, undefeated world champion boxer Laila Ali joins us to discuss A Spark of Greatness: The Autobiography of a Fighter, illustrated by Caldecott honoree Cosby A. Cabrera (Crown, Sept. 8). “Boxing champion Ali describes how, growing up in the shadow of a legend, she at last stepped into the ring on her own terms,” Kirkus writes. “[A]n inspiring portrait of resilience and ambition.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm by Julie Ryan McGue, illus. by Mariia Stepanova
• Shallcross by Charles Porter
• Emil by Patrick Matthews

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On this week’s episode,  New York Times bestselling translator and classicist Emily Wilson joins us to discuss Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature (Liveright/Norton, Sept. 1). “Enchanting academic essays about translating the classics,” Kirkus writes in a starred review, calling this insightful, accessible essay collection, “a lively exploration of ancient literature.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Revenge Is the Best Revenge by James A. Scott
• Mall Goddess by Marilee Dahlman
• Revelations of Grimm Lohr by William Potter
• Life and Music by Idil Biret with Dominique Xardel, trans. by Gunesh Guran Gery
• Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany

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