Meg Anderson Wants Debut Novel “The Memory of Borrowed Books” to Feel ‘Like a Hug’ — See the Cover! (Exclusive)

Meg Anderson’s upcoming novel is a love story — a love story about libraries, that is.

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the author’s forthcoming novel The Memory of Borrowed Books, out in Fall 2026 from Sourcebooks Landmark.

Set in the coastal town of Foxhollow Bay, the book follows Claire Ashford, a librarian who keeps her personal life like she does her workplace: in order. But Claire’s world is thrown off course when Foxhollow Bay announces plans to shut the library down, per the book’s official synopsis.

Claire is set to say goodbye to her beloved sanctuary, until a late night walk through the stacks leads her to a secret door, hiding a room full of books that only Claire can see. Claire finds that each story allows her to see the memories — and unfinished stories — of patrons who have visited the library before. Every book also holds a message that Claire needs in order to save the library from closing.

Claire finds herself in a race against the clock to save the library — but when one particular book keeps calling to her, she realizes that the answer to her problem may be even closer to home.

Sourcebooks calls Anderson’s debut novel, “an ode to the power of community and hope.” And for the author, the book began as a “love letter” to libraries and the stories they hold.

“I learned early on that stories could feel like both escape and home, and this novel grew from that love,” Anderson explains to PEOPLE. “I wanted to write a story that felt like a hug — one that made space for conversations about belonging and the invisible battles so many of us carry.”

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The Memory of Borrowed Books is also a story that Anderson, who writes books “for life’s hardest chapters,” per her bio, hopes fans will find some solace in too.

“My hope is that readers will be reminded that every story — including their own — deserves to be kept and told, one borrowed book at a time,” the author says. “I can’t wait for the doors to officially open and for everyone to wander the stacks of Foxhollow Library.”

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The Memory of Borrowed Books will be published on Oct. 6 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.