Scribe's UK New Releases, October 2026

Inspired by the life and work of Emily Brontë, this masterful, multi-award-winning book — acclaimed as the best Dutch novel published this century — pulls readers into a narrative that redefines time itself.

In the early 1800s, in Yorkshire, Eliza May Drayden and her sisters live far from the public eye, devoted to their shared love of reading and writing books. When, after dozens of rejections, Eliza May’s only novel, Haeger Mass, is finally published, it’s labelled as ‘ghastly’ and ‘immoral’. Over time, however, it is embraced by generations of readers as a masterpiece, and tales about its mysterious, reclusive author take on a life of their own.

In eleven extraordinary chapters, the story of Eliza May — both before and after her death — unfolds: through the tales of people who met her; her sister’s letters; her biographers’ words; the pages of a mysterious notebook; and the lives that become intertwined with hers, even centuries later.

In The Song of Stork and Dromedary, Anjet Daanje has crafted an absorbing literary mystery and an unforgettable meditation on love, life, loss, and the inexplicable nature of time. As the Brontës themselves did, Daanje shows us that storytelling is our only way to transcend death.

Tadao Ando is one of the most celebrated architects of our time. Winner of the Pritzker Prize and numerous other international awards, his bold, concrete buildings and their interplay with light, shadow, and nature have become emblematic symbols of the modern world, blending modernist design with Eastern spirituality from his native Japan.

Now, at eighty-five, Ando looks back on a lifetime of making. Born in a working-class family living amongst the ruins of postwar Osaka, he could not afford a university education. After a brief stint as a professional boxer, he taught himself architecture at night from books, founded a practice in a cheap rented room, and, after years of uncertainty, persistence, and belief, eventually saw his ‘concrete poetry’ built around the world.

Towards Light, Ando’s first through-written book to be translated into English, explores the stories behind his greatest buildings and shares wisdom drawn from pivotal moments in Ando’s life. Ando is a guide to both the granular demands of creative work — clients, budgets, and the importance of using your own tools — and the exhilaration of inspiration, the power of art and music to spark new ideas, and how to keep the imagination open.

Towards Light is a grounded guide to a creative life as it is actually lived, for anyone committed to their work and to the long process of creating something meaningful.

From a multiple New York Times bestselling author, here is an eye-opening history of the United States’ war on terror across four presidential administrations.

The year 2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, the most devastating attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Within days, the United States began to declare its war on terror: ‘Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,’ President George W. Bush proclaimed. The resulting invasion of Afghanistan cost trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives, and led to a series of misguided wars and the damaged perception of American power.

Based on hundreds of interviews, All the Presidents’ Wars focuses on critical decisions of four successive presidents — Bush, Obama, Biden, and Trump — that arose out of the country’s responses to 9/11. One of the few journalists to interview Osama bin Laden and to have unparalleled access to the US intelligence community, Peter Bergen covers a tragic history that might have been avoided.

All the Presidents’ Wars explores the innovations and unintended consequences of each presidency’s military and political decisions, including debates over military intervention and withdrawal, and the tactics of special operations units, armed drones, and the armies of counterterrorism partners. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand America’s devastating war on terror and to avoid the mistakes of the past.

The first book to explore the distinct personality style of the otrovert — someone who lacks the communal impulse and does not fit in with any social group, regardless of its members — and to reveal all the advantages of being an otrovert and how otroverts contribute to the world.

If you were the kid who never wanted to go to summer camp, if you prefer spending time with friends one-on-one than going to parties, if you would rather forgo your vacation than travel with a tour group, and if you often engage in acts of silent rebellion against group norms and traditions, you are very likely an otrovert.

Dr Kaminski has been studying this personality style for over 30 years. He explains that, while otroverts enjoy deep and fulfilling one-on-one relationships, within groups they feel alienated, uncomfortable, and alone. Unlike introverts, who crave solitude and are easily drained by social interactions, otroverts can be quite gregarious and rarely tire from one-on-one socialising. And unlike loners, or people who have been marginalised based on their identity, otroverts are socially embraced and often popular — yet are unable to conform with what the group collectively thinks or cares about.

And therein lie the great gifts of being an otrovert. When you have no affinity for any particular group, your sense of self-worth is not conditioned on the group’s approval. And, best of all, you know no other way to think other than to think for yourself. The Gift of Not Belonging urges otroverts to embrace their unique gifts, and equips them with the knowledge and tools to thrive in a communal world.

Winner of the 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year for Older Children (age range 8 to 14 years)

Parlour Games for Friends and Family sets out to revive the tradition of indoor family games: push aside the consoles, turn off the telly, and bring some mental stimulation, silliness and laughter, joy and connection back into your living room.

This book is bursting with games of logic and memory, wordplay, card games, role-play, and rough and tumble. Not a single game requires equipment that you won’t find in your average home: a pack of cards, a dictionary, an hourglass, dice, paper and pen.

Games are organised thematically and referenced for age appropriateness. All are set out with clear rules and instructions. There are games that will challenge and stimulate you, and games that will have you in fits; games that can last all night, and games to fill that empty half-hour before tea; games for adults and older children, and games for your four-year-old’s birthday party.

Parlour Games for Friends and Family, a book for fun-lovers aged four to 104, winds back the clock to remind you of games you’d forgotten and then a whole lot more. Whether you dip into it as the urge takes you or read it from cover to cover, a very good time is guaranteed.