Kathryn Stockett’s second novel—and her first in 17 years—is coming in 2026.
Spiegel & Grau will publish The Calamity Club, by the author of The Help, the press announced in a news release.
The Help, published in 2009 by Amy Einhorn/Putnam, told the story of two Black housekeepers in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, who join forces with a white socialite to write a tell-all book about the experience of being Black maids in the South. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “This genuine page-turner offers a whiff of white liberal self-congratulation that won’t hurt its appeal and probably spells big success.”
The novel spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, then called the Orange Prize for Fiction. It was adapted into a 2011 film directed by Tate Taylor and starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone; Spencer won an Academy Award for her performance.
The Calamity Club, Spiegel & Grau says, takes place in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1933 and follows a group of women whose lives are upended by the Great Depression.
“I am fascinated by the underestimated woman who, for better or worse, can surprise even herself by how far she’s willing to go to get what she needs to survive,” Stockett said in a statement. “I grew up around women like that and can attest that the underestimated woman is the one to keep your eye on."
The Calamity Club is scheduled for publication in April of 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
