25 non-fiction books you can’t miss in 2023

Non-fictions books you can't miss for 2023

Credit: Courtesy of publishers

Books

25 non-fiction books you can’t miss in 2023

By Francesca Brown

Updated 3 years ago

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4 min read

Must-read books that cover everything from food and self-healing to love, sex and activism – here are the biggest non-fiction works coming your way in 2023.

It’s looking like 2023 is shaping up to be an incredible year for books, with non-fiction in particularly fine fettle. There are high-profile books from Munroe Bergdorf, Prince Harry, Pamela Anderson and Andi Oliver and thought-provoking reads about feminism, trans joy, dancing, hanging out, cats and grief. It’s nothing if not eclectic. So we’ve put together a taster of the 25 books leading our non-fiction to-read pile.

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Whether you’re after cookbooks, memoirs, self-help reads, essays or manifestos, we’ve got something for every reading palate. Start your 2023 reading list now and start pre-ordering the titles that are set to become major talking points over the next 12 months.

The Year Of The Cat by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

The Year Of The Cat by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

How one small cat called Mackerel inspired a leap of hope… This clear-eyed and thoughtful book examines everything from the aftermath of a shock assault to the chaos of lockdown while asking questions about what makes us invest in the things and places we love and why they are so necessary for us to thrive. If you’re feeling at a bit of a loss, then this tender and uplifting book will put you back on the right track.

Shop The Year Of The Cat by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett (Tinder) at Bookshop, £19.99

Transitional by Munroe Bergdorf

Transitional by Munroe Bergdorf

Transitional is one of those books you pick up for an idle glance then find yourself immersed in an hour later. As Bergdorf beautifully points out: we all transition. Whether it’s growing up and coming of age, reacting to the things that happen to us, learning from our mistakes, dealing with trauma or finding love, we all evolve. This is the book that explores the things that bind us together (out 16 February).

Shop Transitional by Munroe Bergdorf (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop, £16.99

You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd

You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd

Cariad Lloyd is the comedian and actor behind the brilliant Griefcast podcast and she’s taken the insight and comfort learned from hundreds of interviews and turned them into a practical manual for grief. As she recognises, none of us wants to be in the grief club, but once you’re in it, you’re not alone (out 19 January).

Shop You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop, £18.99

Killjoy by Jo Cheetham

Killjoy by Jo Cheetham

Smart and cheering, Killjoy is about Cheetham’s involvement in the No More Page 3 campaign and how this powerful grassroots movement proved to her that power really is there for the taking. Snappily written with humour and irreverence, it unpeels the insanity of our patriarchal society and why it can and must change. Order it now, is our advice (out 2 March).

Shop Killjoy by Jo Cheetham (Picador) at Bookshop, £16.99

Unprocessed by Kimberley Wilson

Unprocessed by Kimberley Wilson

Kimberley Wilson’s first book, How To Build A Healthy Brain, is a bookshelf essential. Her new release, Unprocessed, is set to shine a light on the connection between poor nutrition, social disadvantage and mental health. Moving the conversation into new realms, this is set to be a must-read book (out 23 February).

Shop Unprocessed by Kimberley Wilson (Ebury) at Bookshop, £22

All The Things They Said We Couldn't Have by TC Oakes-Monger

All The Things They Said We Couldn’t Have by TC Oakes-Monger

“While I was writing this, a wise friend reminded me why joy is so powerful. He said, ‘Joy is different to happiness insofar as it is kinda non-dependent on circumstance.’” TC Oakes-Monger takes their own story as a starting point to celebrate the often-overlooked moments of acceptance, love and self-discovery that remain intrinsic to the trans experience (out 19 January).

Shop All The Things They Said We Couldn’t Have by TC Oakes-Monger (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) at Bookshop, £12.99

A Little Give by Marina Benjamin

A Little Give by Marina Benjamin

Marina Benjamin can take the everyday – previously insomnia and menopause – and transform it into deeply affecting prose. Here she explores ‘women’s work’ – the caring, cleaning and giving that often become part of women’s lives. Do we pull away from it or should we recognise it as something more fundamental? (out 13 April)

Shop A Little Give by Marina Benjamin (Scribe) at Waterstones, £14.99

I'm Black So You Don't Have To Be by Colin Grant

I’m Black So You Don’t Have To Be by Colin Grant

Out 26 January, I’m Black So You Don’t Have To Be is about Grant and his family’s experience of being Black and British. Talking to his mother, father, sister and more, Grant creates a memoir that delves into the first-hand experience of generations trying to find their sense of self in a shifting, hostile world. In keeping with the theme, his daughter, the graphic artist Jazz Grant, created the arresting cover.

Shop I’m Black So You Don’t Have To Be by Colin Grant (Vintage) at Bookshop, £18.99

Spare by Prince Harry

Spare by Prince Harry

So what’s his memoir going to say? Preview copies will be hidden in a vault somewhere (with a password that’s definitely not HRH) but there’s no doubt that Harry’s memoir is set cause a stir in 2023 – the title alone is a take-no-prisoners statement of intent. Written with former Los Angeles Times journalist JR Moehringer, prepare for it to be everywhere (out 10 January).

Shop Spare by Prince Harry (Bantam) at Bookshop, £28

Snowflake by Lucy Nichol

Snowflake by Lucy Nichol

Sensitively and seriously exploring mental health stereotypes, Nichol – inspired by her own experience of anxiety and work discrimination – looks at the language surrounding the subject, what labels really mean, how they’re used pejoratively and how to evolve the ways in which we see and talk about each other (out 5 January).

Shop Snowflake by Lucy Nichol (Welbeck) at Bookshop, £12.99

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

This coming-of-age memoir by Lamya H spans her early years to finding her tribe in New York as a queer hijabi Muslim immigrant. Exploring the strength and stories of the Quran that inform her own experience and celebrating how we move forwards to accept different viewpoints and ideas while telling the tale of her life, this is a brilliant read to savour (out 2 February).

Shop Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (Icon) at Bookshop, £16.99

Is This OK? by Harriet Gibsone

Is This OK? by Harriet Gibsone

Former music journalist Harriet Gibsone experienced early-onset menopause in her late 20s, leading to fertility treatments. Underpinning her experience was the complex relationship we have with being online: searching for connection and understanding but also creating an unhealthy symbiosis that is affecting all our lives. Written with humour and intelligence, this is one to watch (out 25 May).

Shop Is This OK? by Harriet Gibsone (Pan Macmillan) at Bookshop, £14.99

Fugitive Feminism by Akwugo Emejulu

Fugitive Feminism by Akwugo Emejulu

Silver Press is an independent feminist publisher based in London and one for your radar. Having published Your Silence Will Not Protect You (Audre Lorde’s essays and poems together in one volume for the first time) and the first collected edition of Leonora Carrington’s short stories, Fugitive Feminism by Akwugo Emejulu is a beautiful book that unites ideas from bell hooks and Angela Davis to create a bold manifesto for Black women (out now).

Shop Fugitive Feminism by Akwugo Emejulu at Silver Press, from £12.99

Real Self-Care by Dr Pooja Lakshmin

Real Self-Care by Dr Pooja Lakshmin

Dr Pooja Lakshmin is a certified psychiatrist and a leading voice at the intersection of mental health and gender. This book tackles why self-care via juices and journals isn’t the answer but “setting boundaries, moving past guilt, practising self-compassion and asserting your power” is more likely to achieve some actual results. We’re in (out 23 February).

Shop Real Self-Care by Dr Pooja Lakshmin (Cornerstone) at Bookshop, £18.99

Why Women Grow by Alice Vincent

Why Women Grow by Alice Vincent

Oh, what a beautiful book this is both inside and out. Writer and gardener Alice Vincent, inspired by asking the question ‘What drew you to gardening?’, meets women across Britain to talk about the herbs, the flowers and the patches of space – big and small – that allow women to touch the earth, find their power and revel in the simplest but most satisfying of actions (out 2 March).

Shop Why Women Grow by Alice Vincent (Canongate) at Bookshop, £16.99

Mother Tongue by Gurdeep Loyal

Mother Tongue by Gurdeep Loyal

This is set to be one of the most gleeful cookbooks of 2023 from food writer Gurdeep Loyal, who was inspired by the paradox of being a second-generation immigrant brought up with ‘authentic’ home-cooked Punjabi food [and] ‘inauthentic’ curry house tikka masalas. With guides to ‘flavour chords’ and recipes for miso-masala fried chicken and chocolate chai pie, prepare to fall deeply in love with this book (out 2 March).

Shop Mother Tongue by Gurdeep Loyal (4th Estate) at Bookshop, £26

Table For Two by Bre Graham

Table For Two by Bre Graham

“Whether it’s your mum, your best friend or your significant other, sweep the person you love off their feet with failsafe recipes for show-off meals for two.” And that is the idea at the heart of this lovely book: meals you make to show someone how much you love them and that you’ll remember forever. Genius (out 19 January).

Shop Table For Two by Bre Graham (Dorling Kindersley) at Bookshop, £20

Rebel Bodies by Sarah Graham

Rebel Bodies by Sarah Graham

We’ve all experienced the gender health gap: whether it’s doctors not believing symptoms or dismissing them – with marginalised women facing even worse treatment – or endometriosis taking, on average, six to 10 years for a proper diagnosis, Sarah Graham explores in Rebel Bodies the glaring inequalities across England (Scotland is slightly better) and lays out essential ideas on how to fix them. Crucial reading for us all (out 5 January).

Shop Rebel Bodies by Sarah Graham (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop, £16.99

Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren

Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren

This uplifting and fascinating social history of dance by music journalist Emma Warren traces what triggers us to dance, how it brings people together and why it’s so important to us as humans. Interviewing musicians and celebrating dance scenes from raves to the humble kitchen disco, this is joy in book form (out 16 March).

Shop Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren (Faber) at Bookshop, £16.99

Rave New World by Kirk Field

Rave New World by Kirk Field

This is set to be a sweaty first-hand account of the rise of the 90s dance scene from Mixmag’s “raving reporter” that encompasses everything from the hand-wringing fear of the British press and government to moments of magical myth and legend (out 25 May).

Shop Rave New World by Kirk Field (Nine Eight Books) at Waterstones, £22

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson

Actor and model Pamela Anderson tackles her journey from small-town girl to one of the icons of the 90s, terrorised by the LA paparazzi who were obsessed with her personal life. Having distanced herself from the TV show Pam & Tommy, this is a chance for her to tell her story in her own way. (out 31 January).

Shop Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson (Headline) at Bookshop, £20

The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver

The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver

Andi Oliver’s first cookbook (a fact that somehow seems incredible) is inspired by Caribbean flavours and features a diary written during a visit to Antigua that reflects on the recipes and dishes that have influenced her own cooking. Full of curries, stews and easy-to-create sides, this will be one to savour (out 27 April).

Shop The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver (Dorling Kindersley) at Bookshop, £27

Prostitute Laundry by Charlotte Shane

Prostitute Laundry by Charlotte Shane

Writer and sex worker Charlotte Shane started releasing essays about herself, her work and her inner life via her own newsletter in 2014. For the first time, these essays have been put together in a compilation that highlights how we approach sex, money, ourselves and healing (out 25 May).

Shop Prostitute Laundry by Charlotte Shane (Profile) at Bookshop, £14.99

Comfort And Joy by Ravinder Bhogal

Comfort And Joy by Ravinder Bhogal

Writer, cook and Jikoni restaurateur Ravinder Bhogal is releasing a cookbook that aims to bring veggie and vegan food into a world of sensuous delight, with thoughtful essays interspersing the recipes. Put on pre-order now for a summer of pure abundance (out 25 May).

Shop Comfort And Joy by Ravinder Bhogal (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop,

Hanging Out by Sheila Liming

Hanging Out by Sheila Liming

When was the last time you hung out doing nothing? Exactly… Drawing a parallel between the need for play as a child, Liming explores how hanging out in a social space can help to restore our fragmented selves, take us away from digital distractions and boost our pleasure in life (out 26 January).

Shop Hanging Out by Sheila Liming (Melville House Publishing) at Bookshop, £20

Images: courtesy of publishers; Ravinder Bhogal by Rahil Ahmad

Topics

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Non-fiction

Memoirs

Cookbooks

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