The fall is packed with heavy-hitting releases from past Pulitzer Prize winners and authors whose stories have dominated pop culture. Sure, conversation starters this fall include Emma Cline’s follow-up to “The Guest,” as well as a new intergenerational family saga by “Pachinko” author Min Jin Lee, and an apocalyptic story by Emily St. John Mandel. Here’s a look at the titles you’ll be eager to discuss at dinner parties and beyond come fall.

“Switzy” by Emma Cline
After exploring the female coming-of-age experience through her early novels like “The Girls” and buzzy 2023 release “The Guest,” Cline is shifting the perspective with her latest release. “Switzy” follows an aging male executive as he embarks on a reflective “farewell” tour across Europe, a one-way trip with a final destination: Zurich. Release date: Sept. 8.

“Taipei Story” by R.F. Kuang
Fantasy writer Kuang, who released “Katabasis” last summer, has mined her personal story for her latest book “Taipei Story.” The coming-of-age tale is set during summertime in Taipei, where a Chinese American college student lands in an intensive-language immersion program in an effort to connect with her heritage and family history. Release date: Sept. 8.

“Exit Party” by Emily St. John Mandel
Mandel, whose books include pandemic-novel-turned-HBO-series “Station Eleven” and “Sea of Tranquility,” is releasing a new spec-fic story rooted in the not-too-distant future. Set in Los Angeles in 2031, “Exit Party” follows the collapse of the U.S. in a world rife with doppelgängers, disappearances, parallel realities and fractured timelines. The book is already set for a screen adaptation, with Emma Stone and Dave McCary onboard as executive producers. Release date: Sept. 15.

“American Hagwon” by Min Jin Lee
Ten years after the release of “Pachinko,” author Lee has penned a new heavy-hitting cross-generational novel. “American Hagwon” traces the Koh family’s journey over several decades as they move between Seoul, Sydney and Southern California. Ambition, family loyalty, education, status, sacrifice all come into play. Release date: Sept. 29.

“Ply” by Hernan Diaz
After co-winning the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel “Trust,” Diaz returns with a futuristic tale of an orphan who’s peddling electricity on the black market. Although the story is set several centuries from the current, Diaz explores constant universal themes — loss, survival, family — amid a technological backdrop; familiar territory for 2026. Release date: Sept. 29.

“Partita” by Barbara Kingsolver
The other 2023 Pulitzer winner, “Demon Copperhead” author Kingsolver, has described her new novel “Partita” in tantalizing terms: the story she’s been waiting her whole life to tell. The book follows main character Livia Cable, who reconnects in midlife with a past romantic interest from her days attending a music conservatory as a promising young pianist. Release date: Oct. 6.