The Independent Press: Top 40 Fiction Bestsellers

September 25, 2026

Here are this week’s Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers for fiction, based on sales in hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide, generously provided by the American Booksellers Association. Compiled, designed, and distributed by The Independent Publishers Caucus.

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1. The Calamity Club — written by Kathryn Stockett, published by Spiegel & Grau

2. The Odyssey, originally by Homer and translated into English by Emily Wilson, published by W.W. Norton

3. Fruit Fly, authored by Josh Silver, published by Crooked Lane Books

4. I Who Have Never Known Men — Jacqueline Harpman, published by Transit Books

5. The Birthing Tree — Amanda Peters, published by Catapult

6. The Poison Daughter — Sheila Masterson, published by Slowburn

7. John of John — Douglas Stuart, published by Grove Press

8. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

9. Stitched — Eli McCann, published by Torrey House Press

10. Heart the Lover — Lily King, published by Grove Press

11. Stoner — John Williams, published by NYRB Classics

12. On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) — Solvej Balle, Barbara J. Haveland (Transl.)

13. I See You’ve Called in Dead — John Kenney, published by Zibby Publishing

14. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

15. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

16. Small Things Like These — Claire Keegan, published by Grove Press

17. Sipsworth — Simon Van Booy, published by David R. Godine Publisher

18. On the Calculation of Volume (Book II) — Solvej Balle, Barbara J. Haveland (Transl.)

19. Helen of Nowhere — Makenna Goodman, published by Coffee House Press

20. Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel — Shuang-zi Yang, published by Graywolf Press

21. Victorian Psycho: A Novel — Virginia Feito, published by Liveright

22. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

23. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

24. The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) — Rabih Alameddine, published by Grove

25. Writers & Lovers — Lily King, published by Grove Press

26. Lights Out (Into Darkness Series #1) — Navessa Allen, published by Slowburn

27. The Employees — Olga Ravn, published by New Directions

28. The Berry Pickers — Amanda Peters, published by Catapult

29. My Brilliant Friend — Elena Ferrante, published by Europa Editions

30. Hungerstone — Kat Dunn, published by Zando

31. Kindred — Octavia E. Butler, published by Beacon Press

32. The Overstory — Richard Powers, published by W.W. Norton

33. Orbital — Samantha Harvey, published by Grove Press

34. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 6 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

35. Carmilla, Deluxe Edition: The Dark Sapphic Romance that Inspired Dracula — Sheridan Le Fanu, published by Pushkin Press

36. Sunburn — Chloe Michelle Howarth, published by Melville House

37. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7 — Beth Brower, published by Rhysdon Press

38. Slow Horses — Mick Herron, published by Soho Crime

39. Game On — Navessa Allen, published by Slowburn

40. Harvest Season — Brynne Weaver, published by Slowburn

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Isabela Reyes

Isabela Reyes

I write about books as quiet places where memory, imagination, and culture meet. At PLAI, I explore literature through reviews, author stories, reading reflections, and the small details that make a story stay with us long after the final page.