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Will Aaron Rodgers depart Green Bay after an MVP-caliber season? Will Bill Belichick leave New England before it turns ugly? Theres no shortage of meaty NFL plotlines in 2021The NFLs general attitude towards 2020 can be summed up succinctly: What pandemic?Whereas other leagues ground to a halt, considered voiding their seasons, entered into complex bubbles or faced existential crises, the NFL thundered along, with the kind of bravado that is afforded only to the biggest and baddest and most-watched on the block.Some precautions were taken. Preseason was out. Mask mandates were in. But the bottom line was this: No matter the lineup, no matter the ridiculousness of the spectacle, no matter the health consequences, football will be played. And, in general, it was a success. Covid has the potential to embarrass the league in Week 17, the final week of the season, and we still do not know the extent of the health consequences, but for the most part the league got its wish: The season will be completed on time. As the calendar flips from 2020 to 2021, here are some subplots to keep an eye on. Aaron Rodgers futureAs of now, Rodgers likely has his name etched on the MVP trophy. Voters love a narrative, and the Rodgers Revenge Tour is a better narrative than isnt Patrick Mahomes droningly excellent? Its the Michael Jordan syndrome. (Voters actually gave Karl Malone an MVP award during Jordans prime. Thats a real thing that happened.)But its not that long ago that the Packers selected Jordan Love in the first round of the draft, that Rodgers future was up in the air, that the team had obviously selected his replacement, that it was just a matter of when not if Rodgers would leave.Rodgers has been terrific this season. His game has evolved. The improvisational off-script, jazz artist is still there, but hes married that with the on-script rhythm that defined his early years as a starter. Its a deadly combination.The power to decide his future now sits with Rodgers. Hes performing at an MVP level and could guide the Packers to another Super Bowl title. Green Bay will want to keep the 38-year-old around until he truly starts to decline. But will Rodgers take matters into his own hands this offseason? How upset was he really by the love selection? With possible quarterback openings in such hot spots as New England, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, could Rodgers look to push his way out of title town as the final act of this years tour? A franchise saleThe NFL as a whole has done a decent job of inoculating itself from the financial losses that have hit the majority of sports leagues during the pandemic. Rather than push games or add weeks, the NFL stripped back its preseason and steam-rolled ahead whenever there was a sign of a health scare. We are playing football! Whos ready to play? Whos watching? Well play them on Monday nights and Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, the quality of the games or the health of the players be damned.That was a lucrative strategy for the league, as much as any league is making money in the Covid age. But the league is still made up of old-school owners who made the bulk of their money in an old-school manner. While several owners have stomached the financial hit to their sporting institution, plenty have taken significant losses in their non-sporting ventures.You only have to look over to the NBA to see how even the tech-savvy, self-dubbed smart sport owners have been hit by the pandemic: Tilman Fertitta, the NBAs latest owner, who paid a record $2.2bn for the Houston Rockets franchise in 2017, makes his money in casinos and restaurants. His operation has been reduced to 4% during the pandemic and he has been forced to take his company public, as well as accepting an operating loan from the league.There are similar issues in the NFLs upper chamber. Some owners are feeling the financial costs much more than others, particularly those whose wealth is based on owning an NFL franchise. (The NFL remains the sports league with the most legacy ownership families.)Nobody will be shedding a tear for the fattest of fat cats, but NFL franchises are notoriously hard to prize away from owners because they print money. The pandemic has changed that. The year 2021 could usher in a band of new owners as those current owners whove been most severely impacted by the pandemic try to recover funds. Will there be any Cam Newton takers?Newtons one-year plan in New England was clear: Get himself to the smartest, most creative and consistent organization in the sport; show that he still had plenty of juice left, that he just needed a break; and then sign a mega-deal this coming offseason, be it re-upping with New England or elsewhere.But for as much as Bill Belichick has tried to sell the Patriots-Cam Newton experience to the media and fans this season as a success, it hasnt worked. The Patriots offensive staff has been creative and mailable, working around Newtons idiosyncrasies and lack of accuracy. But all too often when Newton has dropped back and attempted to play with some kind of rhythm, its looked like hes trying to throw a medicine ballNewtons health is the question here. He no longer has the same kind of zip on his fastball, and his throwing accuracy that was so-so even during the best of times has now completely fallen off a cliff.Perhaps the Patriots talk themselves into Newton for another season as a bridge to whatever the teams quarterback future looks like. Perhaps they tell themselves he looked OK prior to his Covid diagnosis. Perhaps Belichick believes Newton, even with his flaws, will be fine once the Patriots are able to bring back the chunks of their roster that missed this season due to COVID. But that seems unlikely. It seems like Newton, the great pioneer, the paradigm-shifter, is ultimately shot. And if Belichick isnt willing to indulge another season, will any other team? And if not, what does Newton do? Retire? Sit out another year and hope to heal? Its hard to imagine Newton doing the rounds as a one-year hired gun on a ready-to-tank, rebuilding team. Is this it for Bill Belichick?It doesnt feel like Belichick is slowing down. But, at some point, Belichick is going to walk away from the Patriots job. Belichick tried rolling things back for one more push this season, band-aiding together a roster that was missing the core of its defense due to Covid defections and which lacked a quarterback given Tom Bradys move to Florida.Is Belichick, at his advanced age, post-Covid, ready and willing after a par year to start another rebuild? He has no quarterback, and the backbone of the roster that delivered the last Super Bowl is starting to creak a majority have already or are expected to exit this offseason. Plus: Belichicks staff is expected to be picked apart again during the offseason, both on the coaching side and in the Patriots front office. Is it possible he opts to walk away before things get ugly? The Justin Fields surgeThe Jaguars have locked up the number one pick in the upcoming draft. The selection is expected to be Trevor Lawrence, Clemsons once-in-a-lifetime-type quarterback prospect. But as always in a draft cycle, expect there to be a run on Justin Fields, the Ohio State quarterback who would be the sure-fire top selection in a traditional year.And if former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer winds up as the head honcho in Jacksonville, look out. The chatter will increase. Leaks will flow. Trade offers will arrive.Lawrence should be the top pick, but there is a chance that Jacksonville switch spots with the Jets (for a significant haul). A JJ Watt tradeJJ Watt and the Houston Texans are synonymous with one another. But if Houston is looking to generate some kind of assets to be able to improve its roster this offseason, moving Watt is one of the only ways.The Texans have little to no draft capital and have one of the worst cap sheets in the league. They also have a jumbled roster that is the walking embodiment of the fractured front office that oversaw its construction over the past five seasons. Yet there, in the middle of it all, is Deshaun Watson, one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the league. Having a great quarterback fixes a lot. So for the Texans to leap back into contention, even with the roster holes and lack of flexibility in the market, could take as few as five to six smart moves. One way to open up some sort of flexibility, to increase the margin of error when trying to make such moves, would be to move on from Watt while he still holds value.It would be a difficult move financially and culturally, but it would also be a savvy one. And it would allow Watt to get a shot with a different organization, where he may get a shot over the next 24 months to advance beyond the divisional round. New TV dealsAs noted in the Guardians 2021 bold predictions piece, the NFLs current round of TV rights deals are set to expire in 2022. As sports continue to be the sole place that networks can bank on to produce a large, live audience, and as the NFL continues to reign supreme as the biggest provider of live content (eight of 2020s 10 most-watched single telecasts were football games or post games) the bidding is expected to be intense and expensive.The league could look to re-up with its traditional broadcast partners. Or it could hand a more favorable deal to ESPN/Disney, with the possibility of Disney snagging itself a coveted Super Bowl and moving its broadcasts to ABC. Or it could offer larger packages to a streaming client, like Amazon Prime, in the hopes of getting ahead of the live sports streaming curve or to try to make up for some of the revenue the league and its owners lost in 2020.

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Steve Wyche breaks down Patrick Peterson's future with the Cardinals - Yahoo Sports

Ken McMillan|Times Herald-Record

A little knowledge can be a bad thing.

Thats how Army mens basketball coach Jimmy Allen is feeling after Colgate used a bit of scouting of his team to throw off his ball club while torching the Black Knights on the offensive end. The Raiders shot lights out in the early going, stormed to a 23-point halftime lead and rolled to a 101-57 victory in Hamilton in the Patriot League opener for both teams on Saturday.

I give them a lot of credit, said Allen, whose team fell to 4-2. They didnt play any games first semester and they looked like a bunch of guys that were starving to play, and we did not respond.

Colgate (1-0) blazed the way with 65.1 percent shooting (41-for-63) and sank 12 3-pointers. The Raiders outscored Army 52-22 in the paint.

Nelly Cummings lit up Army with 24 points, Jordan Burns had 20, Tucker Richardson 13, Keegan Records 12 and Jack Ferguson 10.

Not a single Army player out of 15 who saw action scored in double figures. Lonnie Grayson scored nine, Charlie Peterson and Tucker Blackwell netted seven and Jalen Rucker and Alex King each had six.

They were prepared for some of the things that we do on offense and defense and there were some things that they did differently that we were we weren't prepared for, Allen said. We knew that coming into the basketball game. We knew we would have to respond much, much better than we did and that's the frustrating part.

Army shot just 35 percent (21-for-60), and hit only six of 22 attempts beyond the arc. The silver lining is the Black Knights only had 11 turnovers.

We were poor at both ends of the floor, Allen said. I thought offensively one of the things we do well is we share the ball really well. I thought today we were poor at sharing the ball. I thought we took some shots that we don't count as very good shots.

The teams meet again at 3 p.m. Sunday in Hamilton.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter, Parler: @KenMcMillanTHR

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Army men struggle in all facets of game, drop Patriot opener at Colgate - Times Herald-Record

As Ive chronicled the minutiae of the literary world online this year, Ive seen a lot of cancellations. Ive collected the biggest hits below, and updated some stories to see how the authors fared after facing the Internets fury. The experience has left me a little confused; Im wondering just what cancel culture really means anymore.

The now-infamous letter in Harpers Bazaar decried a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity and called for argument over criticism. Many critics, especially in reaction to a hot story, have legitimate concerns about censorship, and may conflate that with cancellation.

As well see below, calling out a racist book or an unsavory author online doesnt always hurt sales; if anything, it probably helps them. All press is good press, as they say. At best, some folks argue, the cancellation opens up some space for conversations around the very white publishing industry.

When critics on social media cancel a [] writer or book, its really about ongoing frustrations with an overwhelmingly white publishing industry, writes Molly Templeton about cancelled YA authors for Buzzfeed News. [A]nd if we step back and consider that the power to publish or cancel a book lies not with internet critics but with publishers and authorsthen theres another aspect of these stories thats often ignored in mainstream discussions: What if these critics, with their focus on representation and diversity, have a point? And what change might happen if more people listened to them?

Its been a transformational year for sure, in more ways than one. Im grateful for all the juicy literary gossip out there to keep me entertained mid-pandemic, and hopeful for where it may take the industry. Until then, lets take a look back at the year in cancel culture, and see how our authors are doing.

Though not the years first cancellation, American Dirt was probably the biggest. Cummins Oprah-stamped novel about the immigrant experience was problematic for a number of reasons: the writing was tropey and unoriginal; the writer is a white woman who dug up a Puerto Rican grandparent to sound more legit; and, largely, the novel raised the question of whose stories get big advances and publishing power and whose dont. American Dirt is currently #17 on Amazons list of most read books this week, and was a New York Times best seller. A film adaptation is in the works.

Allen made the cancel culture rounds once again in March after publisher Hachette pulled the filmmakers forthcoming memoir after publishing industry employees staged a protest amid continued allegations of Allens sexual abuse of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow in the 1990s. The book landed at Arcade Publishing, which released it a few weeks later. Its first printing sold out almost immediately, and every major publication, including this one, reviewed it.

In response to a racist comment about the death of George Floyd, Marisa Corvisiero, founder and agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency, didnt just step down; she fired her whole staff. It was a confusing move that certainly escalated things for Corvisiero. I doubt Id be writing about her here if shed quietly left or apologized. At the time of this writing, the Corvisiero website is back up and running, and lists the founder as accepting new queries. The agencys staff page also reflects some new hires, leading me to wonder if Corvisiero or her staff were really the ones to suffer.

Tobias Literary Agency (TLA), a full-service agency that is explicitly looking for non-white and marginalized voices to publish, fired former assistant agent Sasha White for anti-trans comments on her personal Twitter. White is now an interview host at Plebity, a California-based free speech nonprofit. Her Twitter bio reads, Interested in giving a platform to people whove been punished for their speech, and her interviewees are mostly fellow victims of cancel culture.

The billionaire author rattled off some anti-trans tweets that drew her TERF-y opinions into the public view. Since then, she has definitely doubled down on those opinions. I think the Harry Potter series is so large as to be above cancellation at this pointAmazon lists them all as having spent the last 188 weeks on their most read books of the weekand her newest childrens book, The Ickabog, is currently #17 on Amazons list of most sold books this week.

Target pulled Shriers book on the trans epidemic from its shelves last month after a Twitter user accused the writer of transphobia. Since then, the Economist named it one of itsBooks of the Year, and The New York Times dubbed it one of theBest Books of 2021.

The world has cancelled Jordan Peterson since 2016 for decrying gender-neutral bathrooms, but most recently, publishing staff protested the release and support of his upcoming book, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. As of this writing, Simon & Schuster is still slating Petersons book for publication in March 2021.

Burchill is a last-minute entry into this consortium of cancellation. Publisher Little, Brown nixedher forthcoming book about, ahem, cancel cultureafter the author was accused of making Islamophobic comments toward journalist Ash Sarkar. I just wonder if theres somecode of conduct at the Sunday Telegraph which would mean that outright racismfor instance, falsely accusing me of worshipping a paedophilewas a bit of a no no, she tweeted in part. As is my duty, I will await Burchills response and see where her book lands. (Is Arcade currently taking new queries?)

Though Epstein earned the Internets ire for a misguided editorial about the First Lady-elect, I prefer his earlier work. About a week before, he published an essay in the National Review that decries the modern literary landscapes lack of literature.

[T]hat we are in a less-than-rich period for literature today, cannot be doubted. Ask yourself whose next novel among living novelists you are eagerly awaiting. Name your three favorite living poets. Which contemporary critics do you most rely upon? he writes. If you feel you need more time to answer these questionsa long, slow fiscal quarter, say not to worry, for I dont have any impressive answers to these questions either. Recent years have been lean pickings for literature.

He obviously doesnt read Book & Film Globe, where trenchant criticismof serious literature, from across a vast spectrum of genres and creators, abounds.

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Cancel Culture: The Lit-World Year In Review - Book and Film Globe

The elusive big bat is not something unique to the 2020 Atlanta Braves. In fact, for this pitching-rich club, its been almost an annual event that some hitter needed to be added. Heres a run-down of the biggest such deals.

1991 Terry Pendleton. Won the MVP for the National League this year and finished 2nd in 1992 with the best seasons he ever had. Was also a defensive standout, winning the Gold Glove (his third one) in 1992.

ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent to a 4-year, $10 million deal, which covered his age 30-33 seasons.

Atlanta also signed free agent Deion Sanders that same Winter after he was released by the Yankees.

1993 Fred McGriff. Acquired via trade from the San Diego Padres for 3 prospects. To say that Atlanta won this trade is a strong understatement. McGriff was an All-Star and generated 11.1 bWAR of production from 1993-97.

Really back in 1987, but arrived in 1995 Javy Lopez. Lopez was signed as an International free agent in 1987 and became established in the majors in 1994 as a 23-year-old. He hit 214 homers as a Braves through 2003.

1995 Marquis Grissom. Not exactly a big bat, but won 2 Gold Gloves in his 2 Atlanta Braves seasons while also hitting 23 homers in 1996 and getting some MVP consideration.

ACQUIRED: Traded from the Montreal Expos to Atlanta for Roberto Kelly, Tony Tarasco, and Esteban Yan.

Grissom was traded to Cleveland the next season for Kenny Lofton. That worked kinda for Atlanta, though Loftons steal numbers dropped from 75 (1996 with Cleveland) to 27 (1997). He returned to the Indians as a free agent the very next year and stole 54 bases.

1998 Andres Galarraga. Was only able to muster two full seasons as a Brave (1998 and 2000), but hit .300+ both seasons with big production (100+ RBI, 72 total homers). Was an All Star both years.

ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent once leaving the Rockies. Roughly 3 years, $25 million. Moved on to the Rangers after that.

1999 Brian Jordan. His best days were as a Cardinal, but still managed 9.9 bWAR from 1999-2001.

ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent from St. Louis for his age 32-34 seasons. Made $21.3 million in those seasons.

2002 Gary Sheffield. A healthy 11.2 bWAR with 64 homers and 216 RBI in just two tomahawking seasons during his age 33 and 34 seasons. One of the more feared hitters in baseball third base coaches tended to wander away from their post when he came to the plate.

ACQUIRED: Traded from the Dodgers to Atlanta for Andrew Brown, Brian Jordan, and Odalis Perez.

Winter of 2003: J.D. Drew. While he only was in Atlanta for one season, he made it count: this was Drews career year, bar none. An 8.3 bWAR was fueled by a 1.006 OPS, .305 average, 31 homers, and 93 RBI.

Yet with all that, he was only 6th in the MVP voting. Oh yeah there were guys named Bonds, Beltre, and Pujols above him (for starters).

ACQUIRED: Traded with Eli Marrero from St. Louis to the Braves for Ray King, Jason Marquis, and (sigh) Adam Wainwright. Thats a blockbuster deal right there.

July 2007: Mark Teixeira. Overall, the Georgia Tech alum did his job 6.1 bWAR over almost exactly one full season. But at this point, The Streak was broken, and the attempt to get things back on track with his addition failed.

Along the way, there were two of the most notorious trades in stream history.

ACQUIRED: via trade from Texas (with Ron Mahay) to the Braves for Beau Jones, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. You might have heard of some of those guys.

DUMPED: via trade 364 days later to the Angels for Stephen Marak and Casey Kotchman.

Nov 2010: Dan Uggla. The Marlins were penny-pinching and refused to give Uggla what he wanted, so they sent him to the Braves, who did just that a 4 year extension worth $52 million that started in the 2012 season.

This started promising, but ended poorly: 4.5 bWAR in 2011 and 2012 (with 55 homers), but disaster after that.

ACQUIRED: from the Florida Marlins for Mike Dunn and Omar Infante.

Winter of 2012: B.J. (Melvin) Upton Jr. The hand-writing was on the wall for this one, and right away, Braves fans were kind of gritting their teeth in the hopes that this deal would work out in the end. It didnt.

Over 2 seasons of that contract (2013-14), Melvin produced a bWAR value of -1.8. It wasnt pretty.

ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent for a whopping 5 years and $75 million. The Braves talked San Diego into taking him (and Craig Kimbrel) in April of 2015 for some spare parts and Carlos Quentins contract.

About a month later: Justin Upton. B.J. wanted his brother to join him, so thats what happened.

Justin spent two seasons in Atlanta (2013-14), generating close to the kind of production that his brother should have done: 5.9 bWAR. This came with 55 homers, and roughly .820 OPS. He earned a Silver Slugger award in 2014 and made the All-Star team in 2015 as a Padre.

ACQUIRED: via trade with Arizona with Chris Johnson for Nick Ahmed, Randall Delgado, Brandon Drury, Martin Prado, and Zeke Spruill. An interesting deal for both sides.

TRADED to San Diego in December 2014 with Aaron Northcraft for Max Fried, Dustin Peterson, Jace Peterson, and Mallex Smith. This officially began The Rebuild Years.

Nov. 2018: Josh Donaldson. This was risky due to recent injury history, but it paid off for the Braves in a big way.

Donaldson led the team with 6.0 bWAR and his best season wince 2016. It was a pillow contract of one year to allow him to prove himself though $23 million makes an awfully comfortable pillow. 37 homers, .900 OPS and some MVP votes. Nice.

ACQUIRED: free agent signing, $23 million for 1 year.

2020: Marcell Ozuna. After waiting out for Donaldsons final call which landed him in Minnesota the Braves decided to turn to Ozuna to see if the same 1-year technique would work.

It did for at least the length of a 60 game season. This was Ozunas best year possibly ever, given pro-rated numbers (2.6 actual bWAR over the short year). His 1.007 OPS was certainly tops of his career and showed what a healthy shoulder would allow him to do.

ACQUIRED: free agent signing, $18 million for 1 year.

Thats the list so far: most of these were free-agent acquisitions along with a few trades some of those better than others.

The trick now is that the free-agent market is thin (Ozuna and Springer and few others), so the competition is likely to be fierce in January. But times getting late for the Atlanta Braves to make a move.

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Atlanta Braves big bats from the past and how they were acquired - Tomahawk Take

Claire G. Coleman will publish Enclave in October.Credit:Joe Armao

After writing memoirs and a young adult novel, Alice Pung turns her hand to adult fiction with One Hundred Days (June, Black Inc.) about a teen whose mother confines her to their housing commission flat for 100 days. In Jesustown (August, A&U), Paul Daley follows a historian who leaves London after the accidental death of his son and travels to a former mission town in far north Australia. In Echolalia (June, Vintage), Briohny Doyle takes us to a fictional regional city beset by drought and the aftermath of a family tragedy. For a smile, try husband and wife Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist's Two Steps Onward (March, Text), a follow up to their Two Steps Forward.

The youngest person to be shortlisted for the Stella Prize, Jamie Marina Lau, follows her bamboozling debut Pink Mountain on Locust Island with Gunk Baby (May, Hachette), about a budding entrepreneur who opens an ear-cleaning business in the local mall. After winning the Stella Prize in 2015 with her debut The Strays, Emily Bitto will publish Menagerie (second half, A&U), which tells of a young man on a doomed American road trip. Following her poignant debut, The Last Migration, Charlotte McConaghy again takes the natural world as her subject in Once There Were Wolves (August, Hamish Hamilton). And more than a decade after publishing Fugitive Blue, Claire Thomas returns with a bang with a promised breakthrough novel The Performance (March, Hachette).

Author Alice Pung will publish her first adult novel, One Hundred Days.

Also expect new titles from: John Kinsella (Pushing Back, February, Transit Lounge), Trevor Shearston (The Beach Caves, February, Scribe), Pip Adams (Nothing to See, March, Giramondo), Stephen Orr (Sincerely, Ethel Malley, April, Wakefield Press), Debra Oswald (The Family Doctor, March, A&U), Nikki Gemmell (The Ripping Tree, April, Fourth Estate) and Kate Morton (untitled, second half, A&U).

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most journalists have a manuscript tucked away in the bottom drawer of their desks and it seems publishers have been busy enticing writers to move from fact to fiction. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age writer Jacqueline Maley's first novel, The Truth About Her (April, Fourth Estate), follows journalist and single mother Suzy Hamilton who is troubled after the death of one of the subjects of her investigations. Also drawing on his day-job, journalist Barry Divola's Driving Stevie Fracasso (March, HarperCollins) is about a down-and-out music journalist tasked with driving his estranged ex-rock star brother from Texas to New York. Former Saturday Paper chief correspondent Martin McKenzie-Murray's The Speech Writer (Scribe, February) starts with the Prime Minister's ex-speechwriter in a high-security prison ghost writing letters for his cell mates. Wine writer Campbell Mattinson's We Were Not Men, about the relationship between twin brothers, is published by Fourth Estate in June.

As Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles approaches its 70th birthday, Angela O'Keeffe's intriguing debut, Night Blue (May, Transit), is told in the voice of the abstract painting. Neurodiverse author Madeleine Ryan's A Room Called Earth (March, Scribe) promises to "reveal something new about what it means to be a human trying to communicate with others".

Publishing newcomer Ultimo Press pins its hopes on Hannah Bents When Things Are Alive They Hum (second half) about two sisters and set in Hong Kong, London and China in the year 2000. Other works from fresh faces include Ella Baxter's New Animal (February, A&U), L.P McMahon's As Swallows Fly (March, Ventura), Emma Spurr's A Million Things (March, Text), Sophie Overett's The Rabbits (July, Michael Joseph) and Max Easton's Leaving the Plain (tbc, Giramondo)

Jacqueline Maley will publish her first novel, The Truth About Her, in April.Credit:Louise Kennerley

Look out for these short story collections: Adam Thompson (Born Into This, February, UQP), Te-Ping Chen (Land of Big Numbers, March, Scribner) Melissa Manning (Smokehouse, April, UQP), Chloe Wilson (Hold Your Fire, March, Simon & Schuster) and Paige Clark (She is Haunted and Other Stories, August, A&U).

In his first novel since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017, Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (March, A&U) is about an "Artificial Friend" who waits for a customer to choose her. Jonathan Franzen will release what's been dubbed "the grandest sounding novel of 2021", A Key to All Mythologies: Crosswords (Fourth Estate, October), the first in a trilogy that will "span three generations and trace the inner life of our culture through to the present day".

Also polarising, but in prose rather than personality, Grief is a Thing with Feathers author Max Porter's The Death of Francis Bacon (February, A&U) about a dying painter. Similarly turning to art, Rachel Cusk publishes Second Place (May, A&U) about a woman who invites a famous artist to visit her in a remote coastal region.

Colson Whitehead's literary crime novel Harlem Shuffle is a family saga set in New York City of the early 1960s.Credit:Alamy

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead's literary crime novel Harlem Shuffle (September, Penguin Random House) is a family saga set in New York City in the early 1960s and in the same month Sebastian Faulks is due to release Snow Country (Vintage). After his Booker-shortlisted, Pulitzer Prize-winning The Overstory (yes, that really long book about trees), Richard Powers will release Bewilderment (September, William Heinemann) ,which takes our imperiled world as its subject. Jennifer Egan is also expected to have a new novel later in the year.

Keep your eyes peeled for: Viet Than Nguyen'sThe Committed (March, Corsair), his long awaited sequel to his Pulitzer-winning debut The Sympathiser; Lisa Harding's moving Bright Burning Things (March, Bloomsbury); Haruki Murakami's collection of eight short stories (First Person Singular, April, Harvill Secker) and Imbolo Mbue's second novel How Beautiful We Were (April, A&U).

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun is out in March.Credit:Alastair Grant

Turning her hand to fiction after the international phenomenon that was Three Women, Lisa Taddeo's Animal (June, Bloomsbury) is about "one woman's exhilarating transformation from prey into predator". Other new voices to watch include: Caleb Azumah Nelson's Open Water about two black British artists falling in and out of love (February, Viking), Irish writer Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree (February, A&U) and Zakiya Dalila Harris' The Other Black Girl (June, Bloomsbury) which prompted a nine-way auction.

Scrublands author Chris Hammer gets better with each novel and his fourth, as yet untitled, is due out with A&U in the second half of the year. Sarah Bailey follows her bestselling The Dark Lake and Into the Night with Housemate (second half, A&U), the third in her Gemma Woodstock series. A former soldier and an Airbnb rental feature in Call Me Evie writer J.P. Pomare's The Last Guests (August, Hachette) and an arts journalist chasing a deadly scoop is the subject of Pip Drysdale's The Paris Affair (February, S&S).

When it comes to the Michaels, Michael Robotham has his first standalone thriller since The Secrets She Keeps with When You Are Mine (July, Hachette) and Michael Brissenden's Dead Letters (February, Hachette) moves from the streets of Sydney to the corridors of Canberra. Also keep an eye out for The Cry author Helen Fitzgerald's Ash Mountain (March, Affirm); Tasmanian writer Kyle Perry's second novel The Deep (July, Michael Joseph) and Beautiful Revolutionary writer Laura Elizabeth Woolletts The Newcomer (July, Scribe) about the murder of a young woman on Norfolk Island.

Sarah Bailey's third novel, Housemate, is out later this year.

There's no shortage of crime debuts, including novels by Banjo Prize-winner Elizabeth Flann (Dogs, January, HarperCollins), Kill Your Darlings publishing director Rebecca Starford (The Imitator, February, A&U) and Richell Prize-winning author Ruth McIver (I Shot the Devil, June, Hachette). Former professional snowboarder Allie Reynolds has a locked-room thriller set in the French Alps (Shiver, February, Hachette), Amy Suiter Clarke's Girl, 11 (May, Text) is led by a social worker turned true crime podcaster; John Byron's Sydney-set story follows a serial killer recreating scenes from the foundation text of modern anatomy (The Tribute, July, Affirm) and Peter Papathanasiou offers what could be our first fictional Greek-Australian detective (The Stoning, October, Transit).

The Natural Way of Things author Charlotte Wood's Inner Life (second half, A&U) develops an essay published in Spectrum about the creative process, inspiration and hard work. Rick Morton follows his acclaimed debut memoir One Hundred Years of Dirt with My Year of Living Vulnerably (March, HarperCollins) and Eggshell Skull writer Bri Lee's Brains (second half, A&U) explores the structural inequalities behind elite institutions.

After publishing feminist manifestos Fight Like A Girl and Boys Will Be Boys, Clementine Ford's How We Love (second half, A&U) is a deeply personal account of love, motherhood and her family. After a year dominating column inches, ABC's former chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici promises to Rewrite the Story (September, Hardie Grant). One of Australia's most famous playwrights, David Williamson, is set to release his as yet untitled autobiography (October, HarperCollins) as is Dick Smith, one of Australia's most famous businessmen (August, A&U).

Writer Bri Lee's Brains will be released in the second half of 2020.Credit:Wolter Peeters

Sexuality, gender and bodies continue to dominate, with no shortage in creative non-fiction that blends memoir, essay and cultural history. Look out for Sam van Zweden's Eating With My Mouth Open (February, NewSouth Books); Billy-Ray Belcourt's A History of My Brief Body (May, QUP), Lucia Osborne-Crowley's My Body Keeps Your Secrets (June, A&U) and Shane Jenek (aka Courtney Act)'s Gender, Sexuality and Growing Up Fluid (October, Pantera).

Other highlights include: Fiona Murphy's memoir about being deaf, The Shape of Sound (March, Text), writer Alison Croggon's Monsters (March, Scribe), Storm and Grace novelist Kathryn Heyman's Fury (May, A&U), Lech Blaine's Car Crash (March, Black Inc.), Sinead Stubbins' In My Defence, I Have No Defence (June, Affirm) and Yumiko Kadota's Emotional Female (March, Viking).

Writer, researcher and editor Evelyn Araluen's debut Dropbear (March, QUP) will blend poetry and essay.At Ventura, the standout is Christine Skyes' Gough And Me (May), about the authors relationship with Gough Whitlam who lived on her street in Cabramatta and whose political reforms shaped her life.

Politicians picking up the pen include Chris Bowen (On Charlatans, March, Hachette), Kate Ellis (Sex, Lies and Question Time, April, Hardie Grant), Scott Ludlam (Full Circle Power, May, Black Inc.), Mehreen Faruqi (July, A&U) and Julia Banks (Power Play, August, Hardie Grant).

American actor Will Smith will share his life story in a biography due out in September.Credit:Jason Merritt

Blockbuster releases are expected from actor Sharon Stone (The Beauty of Living Twice, April, A&U), Chelsea Manning (untitled, May, Bodley Head) and actors Stanley Tucci (Taste, Fig Tree, July) and Will Smith (Will, September, Century).

Nearly 15 years after Fun Home proved what the graphic novel can do, Alison Bechdel has The Secret to Superhuman Strength (April, Houghton Mifflin) about fitness fads and exercise obsessions.

Chelsea Manning has an autobiography out in May.Credit:AP

On the way are two biographies of Australia's 30th Prime Minister Scott Morrison by political reporters Annika Smethurst (The Accidental PM, July, Hachette) and Sean Kelly (Scott Morrison: A political portrait, October, Black Inc.) New Zealand's Prime Minister also goes under the microscope in Supriya Vani and Carl A. Harte's Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy (May, Hardie Grant).

Journalist Paddy Manning offers the first Australian biography of Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch and expected heir to his empire, with Sly Fox (November, Black Inc.). Stephen Chavura and Greg Melleuish have a new account of Australia's longest-serving prime minister The Forgotten Menzies (May, MUP).

Journalist Santilla Chingaipe tells the stories of convicts of African descent transported to the Australian penal colonies in Black Convict out in July.

Historian Henry Reynolds looks to the question of First Nations sovereignty and argues for the importance of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in Truth-Telling (February, NewSouth). After discovering the involvement of his relatives, David Marr blends the personal and historical in A Family Business (October, Black Inc.) about Queensland's frontier massacres in the 19th century. Journalist Santilla Chingaipe tells the stories of convicts of African descent transported to the Australian penal colonies in Black Convict (July, Picador).

The prolific Tom Keneally recounts the story of how a Luger from World War I ended up being involved in the death of an IRA turncoat in NSW in 1933 in Corporal Hitler's Pistol (August, Vintage). Other dives into Australian history include: David Hunt's Girt Nation (November, Black Inc.), his third instalment after Girt and True Girt; Stuart Macintyre's The Party (second half, A&U) about the Cold War period, the sequel to his 1998 history of the Communist Party of Australia, The Reds; Matt Murphy's exploration of booze in colonial Australia (Rum, June, HarperCollins) and Guy Hull's account of foreign animal species The Ferals (July, Harper Collins).

Rebecca Wilson tells the story of Ned Kelly's sister in full for the first time in Kate Kelly (February, A&U) and Ian Hoskins has the first work to explore Australia's relationship with the Pacific region from the arrival of humans more than 60,000 years ago in Australia and the Pacific (June, New South).

Robert Wainwright will publish a biography of Nellie Melba.Credit:National Library of Australia

Turning to culture, Eleanor Hogan has a biography of writers Daisy Bates and Ernestine Hill (Into the Loneliness, March, NewSouth) and Joyce Morgan details the life of Sydney author Elizabeth von Arnim who is having something of a resurgence after one of her books was mentioned in Downtown Abbey in The Countless from Kirribilli (July, A&U). Robert Wainwright will release a biography of soprano Nellie Melba (The Diva and the Duc, second half, A&U) and Evelyn Juers takes to the stage with Philippa Cullen in The Dancer (tbc, Giramondo).

Also look out for: Simon Winchester's history of land ownership (Land, February, HarperCollins); Frances Wilson's Burning Man: The Ascent of DH Lawrence (Bloomsbury, May); Andrew Morton on royal sisters Elizabeth and Margaret (April, Hardie Grant) and Katie Booth's revisionary biography of Alexander Graham Bell, The Invention of Miracles (April, Scribe).

After cleaning up awards with her 2019 book The Trauma Cleaner, Sarah Krasnostein's The Believer (March, Text) weaves together the stories of six people and their faith and convictions. Journalist Stan Grant's latest, With the Falling of the Dusk (April, HarperCollins), is about the challenges facing our world. After his international blockbuster The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben returns with The Heartbeat of Trees (June, Black Inc.). Tobias McCorkell looks at Australia's relationship with class in essays Cop This Lot (May, Scribe); Randa Abdel-Fattah's Coming of Age in the War on Terror (February, New South) explores the world post 9/11 as the generation born at the time of the attacks turns 18and Carly Findlay edits the latest in the Growing Up series, Growing Up Disabled (February, Black Inc.).

Mark McKenna's Return to Uluru (March, Black Inc.) takes as its starting point the 1934 shooting at Uluru of Aboriginal man Yokunnuna by white policeman Bill McKinnon; Mick Warner looks at the power and politics of AFL in The Boys' Club (June, Hachette) and The Australian's foreign editor Greg Sheridan follows Good is Good for You with Christians (August, A&U). Helen Garner is also expected to have a new non-fiction work out with Text later this year.

Author Randa Abdel-Fattah's Coming of Age in the War on Terror is out in February.

Books about last year's bushfires will also hit the shelves, including: Michael Rowland's edited collection of essays by ABC journalists, Black Summer (January, ABC Books); philosopher Danielle Celermajer's essays Summertime (February, Hamish Hamilton); science writer John Pickrell's Flames of Extinction (March, NewSouth); journalist Bronwyn Adcock's Currowan (August, Black Inc.) and former NSW Fire and Rescue commissioner Greg Mullins' Firestorm (September, Viking Australia).

Writers investigating human interaction with the natural world include Bill Gates (How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, February, Allen Lane); Richard Beasley (Dead in the Water, February, A&U); Jonica Newby (Beyond Climate Grief, NewSouth); Michael E. Mann (The New Climate War, February, Scribe); Gabrielle Chan (Why You Should Give a F--- about Farming, August, Vintage); and Ian Lowe (Long Half Life, August, Monash).

In politics, Peter van Onselen and Wayne Errington grade Scott Morrison in How Good is Scott Morrison? (March, Hachette), Zoe Daniel and Roscoe Whalan explore how the Trump presidency has changed the world (February, ABC Books) and former press gallery journalist Kerry-Anne Walsh considers the division between Church and state with In God's Name (second half, A&U).

Elsewhere in current affairs, Trevor Watson and Melissa Roberts edit a collection of essays from foreign correspondents in The Beijing Bureau (May, Hardie Grant); Nicholas Jose and Benjamin Madden edit Antipodean China (February, Giramondo), an anthology of writing by Australian and Chinese authors and academic David Brophy has China Panic out through La Trobe in June.

Stan Grant's latest non-fiction book, The Falling of Dusk, is released in April.Credit:Louie Douvis

If we can't go on cruises, we can at least read about the reason why in Duncan McNab's The Ruby Princess (February, Macmillan). Also speaking to COVID-19 times, are economist Ross Garnaut's Reset (Februrary, La Trobe), Hugh McKay's The Loving Country (May, A&U) and everyone's favourite medical expert Norman Swan in So You Think You Know What's Good for You (July, Hachette).

On gender, power and feminism try: Koa Beck's White Feminism (February, S&S) Isabel Allende's The Soul of a Woman (March, Bloomsbury), and Zareh Ghazarian and Katrina Lee-Koo's collection Gender Politics: Navigating Political Leadership in Australia (May, NewSouth).

Isabel Allende's non-fiction book, The Soul of a Woman, is out in March.

There's also a new book from former FBI director James Comey (Saving Justice, January, Macmillan), George Saunders' guide to seven classic Russian short stories (A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, February, Bloomsbury), Jordan Peterson's already controversial Beyond Order: 12 more rules for life (March, Allen Lane), Julie K.Brown's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Perversion of Justice (May, HarperCollins) and Johann Hari's Lost Focus (October, Bloomsbury) about our addictions to phones, social media and television.

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Melanie Kembrey is Culture Deputy Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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The most anticipated books of 2021 - Sydney Morning Herald