2023 Middle Grade Debut Authors (July – December)

Make sure you’ve got your Goodreads account ready! Because you’ll definitely find something on this 2023 Middle Grade Debut Authors (July – December) that’s bound to pique your interest! As promised from my post about January – June title, here are some additional debut authors being published in the second half of 2023.

Just to note, some of the titles at the end of the list don’t have a ton of information available yet, but I wanted to make sure to promote them. You’ll also notice there are far fewer covers for these titles. That’s because the cover art may not be final, the publishers and authors may be doing a cover reveal, or any host of reasons. Also, publication dates change regularly, if any of these dates are incorrect, I apologize in advance. And if you know of any debut middle grade authors being published this year, please share them in the comments below so we can add them to our TBR list too!

2023 Debut Author Posts

• Picture Books
• Middle Grade (January – June)
• Middle Grade (July – December)
• YA (January – April)
• YA (May – July)
• YA (August – December)

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.

2023 Middle Grade Debut Authors (July – December)

Clara Poole and the Long Way Round by Taylor Tyng

Publication Date: July 4, 2023

When an unintended flight over Michigan in her class science project—a lawn chair held aloft by balloons—brings her instant celebrity, Clara Poole is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race. But when her overprotective father refuses, Clara forges his signature in a moment of defiance and runs away to Paris to take her place in the skies. If only she’d read the fine print first.

Partnered with a veteran aeronaut who wants nothing to do with her, Clara faces down ten treacherous stages in a race around the world—capturing flags in the perilous Himalayas; being a guest of honor at a maybe-wedding in the Arabian desert; flying through rings of fire in Hong Kong—all while learning the ropes alongside a colorful cast of international competitors.

But there are more dangers ahead. Someone is trying to sabotage the competition. And surviving this race means Clara must come to terms with the tragedy that set her fleeing to the skies in the first place, and accepting that forgiving herself isn’t a process she has to undertake alone.

Gorgeous prose and winning characters combine in this quirky, often-hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking, and thoroughly captivating middle grade adventure series starter from an incredible new talent.

The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things by Rob Renzetti

Publication Date: July 25, 2023

When Zenith finds a strange, unsettling bag at his front door, he’s not sure where it came from or who sent it to him. He knows better than to expect his overprotective older sister Apogee to help him figure it out, because ever since she turned thirteen, she’s been acting more like a parent to him than a sibling. But he certainly did not expect for a horrifying spiderlike creature to emerge from the bag, kidnap Apogee, and drag her inside to the equally horrifying and unsettling world of GrahBhag. 

Zenith sets off into the bag to bring her back but soon finds a bizarre realm where malicious forests, a trio of blood-drinking mouths, and a sentient sawdust-stuffed giant are lurking within the seams. And from every corner of the world come whispers of the Great Wurm, an eldritch horror with a godlike hold over the creatures of GrahBhag, who seems to have a dark, insidious purpose for Apogee. With the help of a greedy, earwax-nibbling gargoyle, Zenith will have to save Apogee from the Great Wurm and help them both escape the horrible bag before it’s too late. 

Don’t Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton

Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it’s morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They’re vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.

Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?

Field of Screams by Wendy Parris

Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Paranormal enthusiast Rebecca Graff isn’t happy about being dragged to Iowa to spend the summer with family she barely knows. But when she tracks a ghostly presence to an abandoned farmhouse, she starts to think the summer won’t be a total lost cause!

The trouble is no one believes her. Then Rebecca finds a note stashed in a comic belonging to her late father—a note that proves the same spirit haunted him when he was twelve. Suddenly she feels a connection to the dad she pretends not to miss, and she is determined to uncover the story behind the haunting.

But the more Rebecca discovers, the scarier the ghost becomes. Soon she is in a race to piece together the puzzle and recover a family legacy before it is lost forever and a horrible tragedy repeats itself.

Bee Bakshi and the Gingerbread Sisters by Emi Pinto

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Bee wanted to spend the summer reading Betsy Chillers books and exploring the new spooky theme park with her best friend. Instead, she’s spending the summer trapped at Storm Lake with her too loud, too thrifty, and too Indian family.

Luckily, Bee finds a place to escape her embarrassment—a magical house across the lake that transforms her into the cool girl she always wanted to be. Maybe cottage life isn’t so bad after all! But strange dreams are haunting Bee, and there’s a chill in her bones she just can’t shake.

Bee follows her hunch—and the scent of gingerbread—to Lucas, the dorky boy next door. He thinks there are ghosts in the forest, but new friend Alina tells her what Bee has feared all along: There’s a witch at Storm Lake. And she’s coming for Bee.

I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

1998, Colombo. The Sri Lankan Civil War is raging, but normal life continues, too. At Kavi’s school, her friends talk about the weekly Top 40, the Backstreet Boys, Shahruhk Khan, Leo & Kate. (And the latest bomb. Who died. Who didn’t die.) But Kavi is afraid that if her friends discover her secret—that she’s a scholarship girl, not a rich man’s daughter—they’ll stop talking to her altogether. 

I want to be friends with these/happy,/fearless,/girls/who look like they/belong.

So I could also be/happy,/fearless,/and maybe even/belong.

This elite new school was supposed to be everything she ever wanted, but nothing is going to plan. After her father died in the war, her mother married again, and when Kavi won her studentship, Ahma—newly pregnant—couldn’t come with her to Colombo. Is it possible to feel more alone?

Ever seen a lorry full of coconuts/packed to the brim,/spilling over?/That’s how crowded this bus is.

Our village is remote./Not many leave it,/and if they do/they often don’t /return.

In the city, Kavi lives with her aunt, a maid, in a “palace”—a mansion with a pool, air conditioning, even a TV—and tries to do well in school, make friends, stay out of trouble, and find some semblance of normalcy in a country on fire. But in an effort to fit in with the rich, glittering, and self-assured city girls at her academy, Kavi begins telling lies: lies about who she is, where she came from, where she lives, how her father died… Lies that threaten to ruin her scholarship, her sense of self, and her future. 

That’s when it comes crashing down on me./I have been spending all my time/since I came here/preparing for the/wrong/test.

Pizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie: The Stories Behind the Foods We Love by David Rickert

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Whether it’s pizza and pickles or sushi and salad, there’s a story  behind all of our favorite foods. From breakfast to dinner, this book explores popular foods from our history, and explains their origins. Young readers will travel back in time—sometimes thousands of years—to cultures all over the globe to learn how and why foods were discovered. They’ll also meet key people from food history along the way, including the inventor of breakfast cereal and the creator of salad dressing. The science behind unhealthy foods is also explored in this fascinating book, which includes projects and activities for both the classroom and home.

The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms by Fiona Cook

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Each “spoke” in The Wheel of the Year marks an important turning point: the winter and summer solstices, the spring and fall equinoxes, and the festivals of seeding, growing, and harvesting that arrive in between. Within each section, enjoy:

• An overview of the holiday and its significance in cultures around the world
• A sensory scavenger hunt for sights, sounds, and smells the season
• Ideas for a seasonal altar using objects from nature
• Themed crafts, rituals, games, and recipes

Blending nature connection with art, poetry, and myth, The Wheel of the Year conveys the magic and beauty of ancient traditions and encourages young readers to notice, care for, and celebrate the natural world around them.

Alex Wise vs. the End of the World by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Publication Date: September 26, 203

Alex Wise feels like his world is ending. His best friend Loren is leaving town for the summer, his former friend and maybe sort of crush Sky hasn’t spoken to him since he ditched Alex on first day of sixth grade, and now his mom is sending him and his annoying younger sister, Mags, on a cruise with the dad who abandoned them. And, as if things couldn’t get worse, a creepy shadow monster may or may not be stalking him. 

But none of this could prepare Alex for the actual end of the world. Too bad that is exactly what’s coming, after the definitely-real Shadow Man kidnaps Mags and she is possessed by the ancient spirit of Death—one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Luckily (depending on who you ask), Alex is possessed as well by a powerful god who imbues Alex with their powers in an effort to stop the Horsemen…if he can figure out how to use them. So begins an epic battle between good and evil: Alex, Loren, a grumpy demi-god and Alex’s fourth grade teacher vs. Death, Pestilence, Famine, War, and the waves of chaos and destruction they bring to LA and soon the rest of the globe. Just your average summer vacation.

Alex is more used to being left behind than leading the way, but now he’s the only one who can save his sister—and the world. That is, if he can unlock his new powers and and see himself as the hero he is.

Debut Titles with Limited Information Available:

• Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans by Isi Hendrix
• The Destiny of Minou Moonshine by Gita Ralleigh
• Finch House by Ciera Burch
• Go Big or Go Glitter by Alexis Larkin
• The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter
• Hangabout: Far From Home by Ree Augustine
• If I Have To Be Haunted by Miranda Sun
• The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans
• Peril at Price Manor by Laura Parnum