Kin
The instant New York Times bestseller
Will be published approx. on 26. March 2026
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-86154-390-8 (ISBN)
Description
THE SPELLBINDING NEW NOVEL FROM THE WOMEN'S PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE
* 'This is Tayari Jones's very best work.' ANN PATCHETT, author of Tom Lake
* 'Kin is a masterpiece of a novel.' OPRAH WINFREY
* 'A future classic.' ROISIN O'DONNELL, author of Nesting
*'An exquisite gift.' TIME MAGAZINE
A Most Anticipated Book for 2026 according to the New York Times, New Statesman, Guardian, Independent, Financial Times and USA Today
A yearning for their missing mothers pulls Vernice and Annie apart. It will take a devastating tragedy to bring them back together.
Vernice and Annie are 'cradle friends', born days apart in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, both destined never to know their mothers. The girls are inseparable, bound by a friendship far deeper than sisterhood. But this is the American south in the 1950s. Black girls like Vernice and Annie have to fight for every opportunity they can, and neither one can build the future they hope for in Honeysuckle.
Gradually, inevitably, the girls drift apart. Vernice pursues her education; Annie is lured by the promise of a heady first love affair and a growing obsession with finding her mother. But her search pulls her even further into a world of danger that soon leaves her oldest friend battling to save her.
Tayari Jones returns with an exuberant, richly told story about mothers, daughters, and a lifelong friendship that is as dangerous as it is unbreakable.
* 'This is Tayari Jones's very best work.' ANN PATCHETT, author of Tom Lake
* 'Kin is a masterpiece of a novel.' OPRAH WINFREY
* 'A future classic.' ROISIN O'DONNELL, author of Nesting
*'An exquisite gift.' TIME MAGAZINE
A Most Anticipated Book for 2026 according to the New York Times, New Statesman, Guardian, Independent, Financial Times and USA Today
A yearning for their missing mothers pulls Vernice and Annie apart. It will take a devastating tragedy to bring them back together.
Vernice and Annie are 'cradle friends', born days apart in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, both destined never to know their mothers. The girls are inseparable, bound by a friendship far deeper than sisterhood. But this is the American south in the 1950s. Black girls like Vernice and Annie have to fight for every opportunity they can, and neither one can build the future they hope for in Honeysuckle.
Gradually, inevitably, the girls drift apart. Vernice pursues her education; Annie is lured by the promise of a heady first love affair and a growing obsession with finding her mother. But her search pulls her even further into a world of danger that soon leaves her oldest friend battling to save her.
Tayari Jones returns with an exuberant, richly told story about mothers, daughters, and a lifelong friendship that is as dangerous as it is unbreakable.
Reviews / Votes
'It's among Tayari's many gifts that she can touch us soul to soul with her words... Tayari Jones's storytelling washed over me like a trip back home... Kin is a masterpiece of a novel that will live with you long after you turn the last page.' Oprah Winfrey 'Kin is the kind of all-encompassing reading experience I'm always hoping to find: smart and funny and deftly profound. This is Tayari Jones's very best work.' Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake 'A riveting and deeply moving portrait of indelible female friendship, found family and finding your way... This gorgeous novel already feels like a future classic.' Roisin O'Donnell, author of Nesting 'A triumphant return of one of the most important literary voices today. Vibrant, funny, moving and powerful, Kin is an unforgettable read.' Nguy?n Phan Qu? Mai, best-selling author of The Mountains Sing 'Jones delivers a triumphant novel of two motherless girls from rural Honeysuckle, Louisiana, who follow very different paths into adulthood... Throughout, Jones tells her protagonists' stories with grace, humor, and pathos. Kin is a tour de force.' Publishers Weekly (starred review) 'Tayari Jones is back with her first novel since she won the Women's Prize for An American Marriage. Kin (Oneworld) tells of a lifelong friendship set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.' Alice O'Keeffe, Bookseller Buyer's Guide Fiction 'Affinity and affection are the touchstones of Jones's warm, engaging fiction and they are on full display in this wonderful novel... Jones's writing is conversational, funny and brimful of sympathy for her characters and their faults, foibles and steadfast, heartfelt feelings....sisterly friendship glows from the page.' Daily Mail 'Kin is a lush, beautiful novel about the family we make... Jones maintains a light touch and a gift for effortless portraiture... When reading Kin, I wanted nothing more than to keep reading it. That's the circle Jones creates, the one that connects her voice, her characters and her readers.' New York Times 'Beautifully written and powerfully compelling... Intimate, conversational, and musical all at once.' Kirkus (starred review) 'Jones's prose is chock-full of lyricism, grace and wisdom.' Observer 'Jones deftly conveys the nuances of Southern Black culture in this novel full of depth, pain, and beauty... A tender love song to Southern Black families, communities, and female friendships.' Booklist (starred review) 'A tender, clear-eyed novel about inheritance, loyalty and the families we build for ourselves.' Service95 'A beautiful, thought-provoking read about everything from sisterhood and found family to racism and inequality, this is a book that will break your heart - and put it back together again.' Daily Mirror 'A beautifully written novel about fate and sisterhood. Two girls grow up motherless in the segregated American South. Niecy acquires an education and marries into wealth. Annie runs away to Memphis to search for the mother who abandoned her and finds herself in dodgy places with dubious men.' Economist 'A deeply moving novel about two girls whose friendship begins in infancy and shapes their lives... Their bond is tested by choices, distance and tragedy. Jones writes with wit, sensuality and empathy, showing how resilience and chosen family can sustain even the most fractured lives.' Women's Weekly 'This magisterial, moving novel... Jones's book is a profound examination of the evolving intricacies of love, family, and belonging.' New Yorker 'This is a surprisingly traditional novel. But... it manages to overturn expectations and maintain a quiet power.' The Spectator 'We promise you will be mesmerised by this hotly anticipated new novel from the Women's Prize-winning author... Poignant and funny, it's a triumph.' Sunday Post 'Tayari Jones has blazed her own path through American fiction... Kin, is an exquisite journey through a lifelong friendship between two girls born in Louisiana who enter adulthood at the dawn of the freedom movement. In this novel, as in her preceding books, Tayari revels in language that is both literary and vernacular, and she uses her abundant gifts to deeply contemplate love in all its complexity' Time Magazine 'A lush, beautiful novel. When reading Kin, I wanted nothing more than to keep reading it.' BBC Culture, 10 Best Books of 2026 So FarMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
576 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-86154-390-8 (9780861543908)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Tayari Jones is the internationally bestselling author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019. Born in Atlanta, Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She is currently professor of Creative Writing at Emory University and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.