The 12 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of Spring 2026

Tom Rath, Lena Dunham, David Epstein, Laura Vanderkam, and other authors we're looking forward to hearing from in the next couple of months.

One of the perks of working in publishing is getting an early look at the ideas authors are quietly developing—sometimes months or even years before the books themselves arrive.

At the Next Big Idea Club, we’re always scanning the horizon for the ideas most likely to shape the next big conversations.

Below are 12 nonfiction books we’re especially excited about this spring. Each one explores a timely idea—from how we experience time and uncertainty to the future of marriage, the design of institutions, and the science of resilience.

And (shh) a few of these are contenders for our next official club selection.

What’s the Point? Turning Purpose Into Your Daily Superpower

By Tom Rath
Publication Date: April 28, 2026

Big Idea: What if purpose isn’t something you find, but something you create every day by helping others? Rath argues that in a world reshaped by AI, your real value and fulfillment comes not from chasing passion, but from making a meaningful difference in someone else’s life. View on Amazon

Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance

By Laura Vanderkam
Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Big Idea: Feeling rich in time may matter more than squeezing more productivity out of every hour. Few writers understand time better than Vanderkam. In her latest book, she tackles the modern sense of time scarcity and offers practical ways to reclaim a feeling of “time abundance”—the sense that our days are spacious enough for what matters most. View on Amazon

Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life

By Alex Mayyasi
Publication Date: April 7, 2026

Big Idea: Mayyasi makes the case that economics isn’t some abstract discipline but a powerful way of seeing the world. With sharp storytelling and a knack for finding meaning in unexpected places, his new book reveals the hidden logic behind how we live, work, and decide. View on Amazon

Famesick: A Memoir

By Lena Dunham
Publication Date: April 14, 2026

Big Idea: In her new memoir, Dunham reflects on fame, friendship, illness, and creative reinvention with the same candor that made her a defining voice of her generation. By turns funny and unflinching, it traces how she’s grown up in public while trying to reclaim a sense of self behind the spotlight. View on Amazon

Read on for the rest of the list…