Best Debut Author Books 2015

Skip navigation!

Begin Slideshow

We've heard it many times: Literature is dead. No one reads anymore. No one writes anymore. It's all about Instagram. But despite all the naysaying, new authors just seem to keep on writing great new books, and we keep on reading them.

This year was no different, with a fresh crop of first novels that are sure to convince you (yet again) that reading will never go out of style. Here are 16 debut novels from 2015 that should definitely be on your radar, this year and in years to come. From heartrending family sagas to literary visions of the future to deliciously compelling thrillers, there's something here for every kind of reader. Which one was your favorite this year?

More from Books & Art

Central American Authors Are Finally Having Their Moment — & I...

Growing up, I had no idea how much I craved to see myself and my culture in stories — on the big and little screens, in novels, and even in history books

by Saraciea J. Fennell

Loreal Palmer (Keke’s Sister!) Is In Her Main Character Era...

Content warning: This article contains details of depression, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and the Black Maternal Health crisis. Loreal Chanel “LC

by Stephanie Long

R29Unbothered Presents The Black Love Reading List

by R29 Unbothered

The 58 Most Erotic Books You Will Ever Read

by Shannon Carlin

Angela Bassett & Amanda Gorman Explain Why The 2024 Pirelli Calen...

The 2024 Pirelli Calendar has been released, and it’s Blacker than ever before. At the end of November, I had the opportunity to attend the launch of Pir

by Rissa Papillion

Border Stories Too Often Depict Latine Pain. These Artists Center...

Latines who cross the Mexican border into the United States regularly confront misconceptions about immigration and life at the edge of two countries. The

by Nicole Froio

Roxane Gay Has One Hot Take That Just Might Shock You

Roxane Gay is a very opinionated person, so much so that she’s made it her literal business to share those opinions whenever she can. The esteemed writer

by Ineye Komonibo

Yomi Adegoke’s The List Is A Cautionary Tale For The Chro...

Yomi Adegoke refuses to look up reviews of her debut novel, The List, online — especially on TikTok, a side of the internet she openly admits she’s “

by L'Oréal Blackett

Prepare To Hibernate With An On-Sale Kindle From Amazon’s F...

The most important bookish day of the year for us e-readers is here: Amazon Prime Big Deals Day. What we are thinking of as an autumnal Prime Day, this sal

by Mercedes Viera

The Steamiest Romance Novels Written By Black Authors

by R29 Unbothered

Who Taught Us To Run From Grief? This Children’s Book Faces It He...

Having your first book come out on your birthday is quite the coincidence (and a pretty neat birthday gift!) for most people. But for Maryah Greene, the 28

by Gloria Alamrew

In Pictures: Young People Living With ADHD

London-based Norwegian photographer Nora Nord was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018, when she was in her early 20s. It was an immensely freeing feeling, she says

by Joanna Cresswell