Superb Self Pub Sequels for 2026!

The new year has arrived, and with it, the promise of a smorgasbord of new and shiny sci-fi and fantasy fiction! It is indeed, the most wonderful time of year where all the readers gather round to make their most anticipated lists, ready to make our poor, suffering TBR’s collapse in on themselves. But what about all the wonderful sequels coming up just around the corner? The poor subsequent books left to collect dust as we venture into fresh adventures. Trust me, these highly anticipated releases are just as worthy of your time!

This year, rather than a batch of book ones (which are certainly very exciting), I wanted to present a list of self-published sequels that have really caught my eye. Here are the top five on my radar for the coming year!

An early release for the year comes our way on February 12^th, with an eBook release of Banners of Wrath by the incredibly talented Michael Michel. While the physical release has been delayed slightly, I for one will not be waiting to get my hands on the next instalment of this spectacular series. For fans of George R.R. Martin and Abercrombie, Michel presents an extremely polished best of both worlds, all while making his own unique fantasy voice heard! I have loved my time with the Dreams of Dust and Steel so far and I cannot wait to continue on with book three when the time comes.

Next up we have a continuation that has been on my anticipated release list for years! I have been gobbling up any and all information about the next instalment of The Twelfth World as soon as it has been dropped. Well, my friends, the wait is finally over. The Cure for the Living is coming our way in two instalments in 2026! Nicolas Lietzau has crafted one hell of a world, with compelling and flawed characters that I just needed more from immediately. If you are anything like me, and chomping at the bit for these books, you won’t have to wait too much longer! Book two, volume one is releasing Feb 26^th with the second volume coming our way a month later to conclude the series. My poor, poor, TBR.

Now this one is technically a prequel, but I am way too excited for it not to be included in this list. Our next taste of The Council of Athyzia is coming! This has easily become one of my favourite ongoing indie series to date. The political intrigue and machinations that just keep unravelling, a web of complicated relationships and a world that expands in fascinating ways. I am so dang hooked. A Call to Bones is set to release in March of 2026 and I am waiting, impatiently for that ARC form to drop, because I need this book yesterday!

Ok, ok, I am coming in with another technicality. I have already read this one…well, two, BUT, I read a very early versions of them, and I will absolutely be reading them again when they comes out to the wider public this year. Palmer Pickering is giving us not one, but two sequels to her ongoing series this year and I am really excited for you to discover both. It is no secret that Pickering is an auto-buy author for me. I just adore her detail heavy writing style that sucks you in and encourages you to get caught up in her worlds. While I don’t have specific dates for both of these releases, I am confident we will see them by the end of 2026. The first is The Swamp (set to release on April 1st), the follow up to Dark Town in her Tales of Temerity LitRPG. This one is so fun team. The tag line says it all, “Part cozy, part bloody, all fun.” We are also looking at an Anaximenes release, book three of the Star Children Saga before the year is out. Talk about an ambitious year!

And finally, with an April 29^th release we have The Sunrise Dagger by the one, the only, Abel Montero. This gentleman is not only a huge advocate for the indie scene but also working hard on his own series. The Crimson Fire was a promising debut and I am very much looking forward to seeing what happens next. I respect Mr. Montero a hell of a lot and trust his own passion for consuming indie fantasy to shine through in his storytelling. Also, have you seen this cover! Stunning!

There are so many more I could write about! The Tusks of Wrath by E.J. Doble, Ill is the Fate by Chance Dillon, Rise of the Skae Queen by L.R. Shultz, The Empire of Dirt and Lies by Joshua Walker, the list goes on and on! It is shaping up to be an incredible year for the indie sequels and I hope to stack my shelves with a bunch of them!

Want to read more? Check out Kris’s Top 5 of 2025!