Canongate Books

YOU KNOW BATMAN. BUT DO YOU KNOW FRANK MILLER? In Push the Wall, Frank Miller chronicles the creation of his most iconic works such as Sin City, 300, Ronin, Daredevil, Wolverine and notably, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which, alongside Batman: Year One served as the foundation for all Batman film and animated adaptations for the past forty years. Miller reveals how he got his first breaks, how he poured his own life into his darkly realistic characters, how he fought against comic book censorship of the early 1980s, and how he introduced manga-style storytelling to US readers decade before popular anime and manga began tiptoeing into pop culture. Miller transformed the way comics are told and this is how he did it. Push the Wall is a masterclass in the art of storytelling and an intimate look inside the mind and life of a creative genius. With over a dozen illustrations, chosen from seminal moments from Miller's art, and organised by the sixteen lessons that meant most to Miller, this reveals the man behind some of the most exciting stories of our age.

UNSETTLING ~ WRY ~ TENDERAn unusual and unforgettable take on what it means to be an outsider, an outcast, a misfit. Five thousand years after having escaped Crete, the Minotaur finds himself deep in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at Grub's Ribs. He leads a lonely life observing the haphazard human goings on around him, trying in vain to put his flesh-devouring past behind him. Socially inept, he is at best tolerated by mortals. But as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and capacity for connection.

INTOXICATING ~ EFFERVESCENT ~ HEDONISTIC Iconic LA 'lit girl' Eve Babitz's semi-autobiographical novel of sun, excess and success. Jacaranda - wild child of sun and surf - grows up by the hurling glory of the ocean and believes that good things are infinite. Propelled by drink, drugs and men, she travels headlong through the rip current of West Hollywood's decadent paradise in the pursuit of pleasure. Before long, she is on the edge: the allure of excess threatens her book deal, the patience of her agent and the possibility of a new life. Sex and Rage charts the highs and lows of a life lived at the limits, of creative pursuit and of dazzlingly beautiful people in 1970s LA.

Legendary chef Anthony Bourdain's crude culinary noir classic. When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's failing restaurant in Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. Between the chef's smack habit and a murder in the kitchen, Tommy finds that nothing he learned at culinary school has prepared him for what happens next. Charcoal-black and gloriously entertaining, Bone in the Throat is a thrilling Mafia caper that slices open the criminal underbelly of New York City's restaurant scene - and serves it up raw.

IN A WORLD THAT'S LIKE OURS BUT EVEN STRANGER . . . A TV star president is campaigning for a constitutionally dubious third term, normal Americans are falling into an unexplained weeping sickness and a wrestler claiming to be the reincarnated mystic Rasputin is making a spandex-clad entrance into politics. Meanwhile Clarence Thomas Jr. is a journalist just trying to make sense of his country as it unmoors from reality. But with violence and bullshit erupting everywhere, things seem to be approaching collapse. Or maybe it's all building to a grand gesture: something political, romantic, religious, insane and quite possibly fatal. From award-winning author Ben Fountain, Rasputin Swims the Potomac is outrageously funny, wildly imagined and razor-sharp satire. It asks: what could possibly grow out of what we have now, except for something even stranger, harder to grasp and more tumultuous? And will what comes next be better or, somehow, even worse?

When you are a prisoner of your secrets, the death of shame is the only path to liberty Annabel Banks was promised work as a maid with a prestigious Edinburgh family. But on her first day, she's nowhere to be found. Concerned relatives contact Sarah Fisher to help. Sarah might know her way around the city - its light sides and dark - but soon she'll discover the plight of dozens of girls ensnared in its many brothels: lured, abused and left ruined in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, a prominent society figure throws himself from the Scott Monument. Will Raven is asked to establish whether the death was suicide or if someone else was involved. Drawing upon real historical events, The Death of Shame takes the Raven and Fisher series into a treacherous labyrinth of shame and the pitfalls of a culture obsessed with moral purity.

'Very funny' Guardian 'Inkwell black and surprisingly tender' ADAM KAY 'Outrageous' MARINA HYDE 'A blockbusting explosion of toxic masculinity' SpectatorIn a busy maternity ward, first-time father Dan meets Jada, a dad welcoming his fifth - no, sixth? - child into the world. But Dan and Jada come from very different places: both called Glasgow. Dan is a successful TV writer with a townhouse in the West End and a shiny Tesla ready to drive his wife and baby home. Jada is a hustling, small-time criminal who is already planning how to separate Dan from some of the luxuries Jada has never been able to enjoy in his tiny flat in a Brutalist sixties council block. When a tragedy occurs, Dan and Jada's worlds are brought closer than either could ever have imagined - close enough that it could mean destruction for both of them . . .

LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN'Unforgettable' OBSERVER'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Mym? aya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual. One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it.

'Wonderful and necessary' ANNE ENRIGHT ~ 'Constantly surprising' GUARDIAN ~ 'Stunning' DEBORAH LEVY ~ 'Compulsively fascinating' NEW STATESMAN ~ 'Beautiful' HANYA YANAGIHARA ~ 'Daring and seductive NEW YORK TIMES ~ 'Profound, unclassifiable' GARTH GREENWELL ~ 'Exhilarating' INDEPENDENT ~ 'Continually unexpected' PETER CAREY ~ 'Triumphant' TELEGRAPH ~ 'Luminously wise' HELEN MACDONALD ~ 'Unusually brave' THE TIMESWhen Olivia Laing moved to New York City in her mid-thirties, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Increasingly fascinated by this most shameful of experiences, she began to explore the lonely city by way of some of its most compelling artists, illuminating loneliness in a whole new light. The Lonely City is a celebration of that strange and lovely state, intrinsic to the very act of being alive. Hailed as 'a new kind of literature' when it was first published and selling over two hundred thousand copies, Olivia Laing's dazzling book has been beloved by readers all over the world. Now, in this tenth anniversary edition, Laing reflects in a new afterword on how our experience of loneliness has changed over the course of a difficult decade.

A DUA LIPA'S SERVICE95 'MUST READ' FOR 2026'A smart, razor-sharp takedown of the machismo of Big Oil' CAOILINN HUGHES'Propulsive and engrossing and deeply fascinating' SAFIA ELHILLO'A thrilling and emotionally complex ride ' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS'Required reading for the Petroleum Age' DAVID HUEBERT'An utterly brilliant, searing, incisive novel' LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY'Fast-paced, gripping and gloriously entertaining' TILLY LAWLESSBeing one of the boys was one thing. Being the boss of the boys was something else altogether. Expert driller Zainab is called to take charge of a high-stakes oil rig operation. Unable to resist the opportunity, she leaves behind her pregnant sister and heads offshore for the job of her life. But there's a catch. The rig is teetering on the edge of disaster - and Zainab is the only woman amongst a crew of hardened men who want absolutely nothing to do with her. At the helm but forced to prove herself at every turn, Zainab labours to investigate the rig's imminent collapse. She quickly grasps that the real danger lies in the cold calculations and base desires of the men she is forced to spend every waking moment with. As tensions rise and secrets unravel, Zainab races to uncover the truth bubbling below and fend off the looming catastrophe. Explosive and thought-provoking, At Sea is an exhilarating story about the clash of ambition, principle and prejudice, and the unexpected consequences of our choices.

'This book is a complete delight, not only a fairytale for adults that transports you on a magical journey of childlike wonder, but also a parable that helps you lead a better life' - JAMES NORTON'Magically hopeful. This story will speak to your soul and your monkey mind and bring them back into harmony. Beautiful and uplifting, charming and soul-nurturing, this is another glorious triumph from the beloved Matt Haig' - DONNA ASHWORTH 'If you enjoyed The Midnight Library, you'll love this. The Midnight Train is exquisite storytelling and utterly brilliant. One of the most beautiful stories you'll ever experience' - JOANNA CANNONWhen your life flashes before your eyes, what will matter mos? or Wilbur it was his time with Maggie, the love of his life. Their honeymoon in Venice. Before he threw it all away. Years later, on the brink of his own death, a train arrives. It can take Wilbur back in time. To relive his most important moments. Soon he realises just how much he would have changed. An adventure through time, The Midnight Train is a story of love and second chances, from the world of The Midnight Library.

Born in 1958, the only child of a dinner lady and a sheet-metal worker, Geoff Dyer grew up in a world shaped by the Second World War. It was a time of Airfix models and wargames, conkers and frugality: having splurged on a mono record player, Geoff's dad discovers it's a portal to endless expenditure and funding for records is abruptly withdrawn. But far from being a story of hardship overcome, Homework is a celebration of opportunities afforded to Dyer's generation. A grammar-school education leads to books, prog rock (on a new stereo), girls, beer and, eventually, a place at Oxford. In Homework, Dyer returns to his early life and asks what it means to live through an era of complex social transformation.

FROM GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST AND WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2026'Disarmingly poignant' Guardian'Rare and compulsive' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS'Unflinching' DAMON GALGUT'Wise, tender and funny' CAMILLA GRUDOVA'A true masterpiece' JASON OKUNDAYE'Glaringly fresh and true' COURTTIA NEWLAND'Full of originality and raw, pure, gutsy talent' CHRISTIE WATSONLoneliness means you don't have to disappoint anyone until you develop the habit of talking to yourselfAt nineteen, Marcus is young and in love . . . again. When his latest crush, Adwoa, starts showing him true affection, Marcus is ready to reconsider his lifestyle - the drugs, the casual encounters. At least for a little while. Now, before he knows it, Marcus is twenty-five. And history risks repeating itself. Told through two parallel narratives - one past, one present - Borderline Fiction is a highly original and deeply affecting contemporary tale of what it means to be a young black man navigating today's world.

When your life flashes before your eyes, what will matter most? For Wilbur it was his time with Maggie, the love of his life. Their honeymoon in Venice. Before he threw it all away. Years later, on the brink of his own death, a train arrives. It can take Wilbur back in time. To relive his most important moments. Soon he realises just how much he would have changed… An adventure through time, The Midnight Train is a story of love and second chances, from the world of The Midnight Library.

In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shared with her audience an abiding sense of wonder at the cosmos, while imagining a world without the entrenched injustice that plagues her field. Now, in The Edge of Space-Time, she embraces that cosmic wonder, taking readers on a mind-altering journey to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time and about ourselves. Guided by her conviction that for humanity to go forward we must know our cosmic past, Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics and draws on poetry and popular culture—from Queen Latifah to Lewis Carroll to Big K.R.I.T. to Sun Ra and Star Trek— to tell fascinating stories about the fundamental quantum nature of space-time and everything inside of it. Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes, investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity, and map out the meeting place of the unimaginably vast with the confoundingly small, following our guide out to the far reaches of the particle horizon and down to the tiniest (and queerest) neutrino. Prescod-Weinstein shows us how spending time with the cosmos is a vital human activity that enriches all our lives. Along the way, she calls on us to resist colonial approaches to space exploration and instead imagine a better path forward in our pursuit of humanity's undeniable connection with the stars. Through Prescod-Weinstein's clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of post-colonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Time argues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that "the edge" is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture.

Our narrator understands good love stories - their secrets, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the rules. She was in her senior year of college when star students Sam and Yash swept her into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. Their lives became quickly intertwined - with friendship but also with unpredictable passions and the intimations of first love. Decades later, she is a successful writer, living a comfortable life with her husband and children, when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, forcing her to confront the decisions and deceptions of her youth.