All of the dark academia book releases in 2023
We like to think of ourselves as connoisseur of dark academia - we do host a podcast exploring the genre, after all.
Have you listened to ‘The Dark Academicals’ yet? Because you should. It’s quite good, if we do say so ourselves.
When it comes to dark academia, we have a whole list of things we look for, but we’re ultimately in search of The Vibe. That’s impossible to find or know about until you read the books, so we have to keep a close eye on all of the books being released that are marketed as dark academia, or something that sits close to it (usually linked to the Gothic or horror!).
These are ALL of the dark academia books that we currently know of that are being released in the UK in 2023.
All titles below are listed per their UK release in 2023, some may have been released previously in other countries or languages.
‘Hell Bent’ by Leigh Bardugo
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.
(Part of Season 5 of ‘The Dark Academicals’)
Goodreads - out now
‘A Study in Drowning’ by Ava Reid
Effy has always believed in fairy tales. She's had no choice. Since childhood, she's been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She's found solace only in the pages of Angharad - a beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.
Effy's tattered copy is all that's keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at her prestigious architecture college. So when the late author's family announces a contest to design his house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.
Goodreads - 19 September 2023 (Del Rey)
‘Ink Blood Sister Scribe’ by Emma Törzs
Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.
Goodreads - out now
‘The Things We Do to Our Friends’ by Heather Darwent
A dark, intoxicating, compulsive tale of feminist revenge, toxic friendships, and deadly secrets.
Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate – to finally become who she was meant to be. And then she meets Tabitha.
(Part of Season 5 of ‘The Dark Academicals’)
Goodreads - out now
‘I Have Some Questions for You’ by Rebecca Makai
Podcaster and film professor, Bodie, is desperate to forget her past and the death of her roommate during her college years, but returning to campus to teach reignites her need to for closure and she begins examining the case once more.
Goodreads - out now
‘Maddalena and the Dark’ by Julia Fine
‘Maddalena and the Dark’ is an opulent and sensuous Venetian fairytale, full of music, magic, passion, and betrayal, perfect for fans of ‘The Last Tale of the Flower Bride’ and ‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’.
Goodreads - out now
‘The Cloisters’ by Katy Hays
Ann heads to NYC for a summer research position at The Met Cloisters and finds herself falling head first into the world of early Renaissance tarot and divination.
(Part of Season 5 of ‘The Dark Academicals’)
Goodreads - out now
‘Assassin of Reality’ by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (translated by Julia Meitov Hersey)
The eagerly anticipated sequel to the highly acclaimed ‘Vita Nostra’ takes readers to the next stage in Sasha Samokhina’s journey in a richly imagined world of dark academia in which grammar is magic—and not all magic is good.
Goodreads - out now
‘The Centre’ by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqui
A darkly comic, boundary-pushing debut following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school which boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost.
Goodreads - out now
‘Curious Tides’ by Pascale Lacelle
An atmospheric dark academia fantasy for fans of The Atlas Six, The Binding and The Hazel Wood, set in a world of lunar magic, whispered secrets and dangerous friendships. Returning to the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magic, Emory has more to hide than just the impossible magic that has corrupted her healing abilities.
Goodreads - 3 October 2023 (Simon & Schuster)
‘In These Hallowed Halls’ edited by Marie O’Regan
A beguiling, sinister collection of 12 dark academia short stories from masters of the genre, including Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, Susie Yang and more!
Darkened libraries at elite schools, looming Gothic towers, charismatic professors, the tang of autumn in the air… and the rivalries and obsessions that lead to murder. Within these Hallowed Halls is a chilling, compulsive collection of dark academia short stories.
Goodreads - 12 September 2023 (Titan)
‘The Shards’ by Bret Easton Ellis
A sensational new novel from the bestselling author of ‘Less Than Zero’ and ‘American Psycho’ that tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friends as a serial killer strikes across the city. His first novel in 12 years, ‘The Shards’ is Bret Easton Ellis at his inimitable best.
Goodreads - out now
‘The Spirit Bares It’s Teeth’ by Andrew Joseph White
Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all. London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.
Goodreads - 5 September 2023 (Peachtree Publishers)
‘They’re Watching You’ by Chelsea Ichaso
When a secret society has you in their sights, it can lead to power, privilege... or death.
It's been two weeks since Polly St. James went missing. The police, the headmistress of Torrey-Wells Academy, and even her parents have ruled her a runaway. But not Maren, her best friend and roommate. She knows Polly had a secret that she was about to share with Maren before she disappeared― something to do with the elite, ultra-rich crowd at Torrey-Wells.
Goodreads - out now
‘This is the Way the World Ends’ by Jen Wilde
As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in—in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school’s charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident “it girl” asks Waverly to attend the school’s annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance—especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean’s daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.
Goodreads - out now
What dark academia releases are you looking forward to this year?
Written by Sophie
