Dark Academia

Dark Academia is a literary and aesthetic genre that revolves around the themes of elitism, classicism, intellectualism, prestige, mystery and death taking place in a higher education setting.

Updated July 12, 2025
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A deadly education : a novel
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
Babel ; or, The necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War   "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial...
Black chalk
Yates, Christopher J.
Paper Book
One game. Six students. Five survivors. It was only ever meant to be a game. A game of consequences, of silly forfeits, childish dares. A game to be played by six best friends in their first year at Oxford University. But then the game changed: the stakes grew...
Blood over Bright Haven
Wang, M. L.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever in this "provocative stand-alone novel [that] deftly incorporates elements of science and philosophy into dark academia" (...
Bunny
Awad, Mona
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Soon to be a major motion picture "Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" --Margaret Atwood,...
Hell bent
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Award Winner "A tour de force of suspenseful pacing and empathetic writing." ―The New York Times "All hail the queen of dark academia!" ―NPR Wealth. Power....
I have some questions for you
Makkai, Rebecca
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  Named a Best Book of 2023 by The Washington Post, People, USA Today, NPR, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, The Boston Globe, CrimeReads and more "A twisty, immersive...
If we were villains : a novel
Rio, M. L.
Paper Book
"Much like Donna Tartt's The Secret History, M. L. Rio's sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments." --Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The...
In my dreams I hold a knife : a novel
Winstead, Ashley
Paper Book
"[A] mordant debut novel....examines what it means to covet the lives of others, no matter the cost."--The New York Times "Tense, twisty, and packed with shocks."--Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Survive The Night Six friends. One college reunion. One...
Madam
Wynne, Phoebe
Paper Book
"The simmering menace and mystery kept me absolutely gripped...a smoldering novel that I could not put down." --Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne "Rebecca meets The Secret History: gloriously dark, gloriously Gothic." --Sara Collins...
Middlegame
McGuire, Seanan
Paper Book
A HUGO AWARD FINALIST! WINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL, 2020! A Pick on the 2020 RUSA Reading List! New York Times bestselling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo-Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to...
My dark Vanessa
Russell, Kate Elizabeth
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  "[An] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power." --The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice "A lightning rod . . . brilliantly crafted."--The Washington Post Recommended by The New York Times...
Ninth house
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
"The best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people... Impossible to put down." --Stephen King Enter a mesmerizing world of power, privilege, and dark magic among the Ivy League elite in the first book in the Alex Stern series. ...
Plain bad heroines : a novel
Danforth, Emily M.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER The award-winning author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post makes her adult debut with this highly imaginative and original horror-comedy centered around a cursed New England boarding school for girls--a wickedly whimsical celebration of the art of storytelling,...
Portrait of a thief
Li, Grace D.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize Named a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022 Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *...
Survive the night : a novel
Sager, Riley
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of New York Times Book Review's "summer reads guaranteed to make your heart thump and your skin crawl"; An Amazon Best of the Month Pick; Named a must-read summer book by The Washington Post, USA Today, Vulture<...
The Atlas six
Blake, Olivie
Audiobook
The Cloisters : a novel
Hays, Katy
Paper Book
In this "sinister, jaw-dropping" (Sarah Penner, author of The Lost Apothecary) debut novel from the author of Saltwater, a circle of researchers uncovers a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York's famed Met Cloisters. When Ann Stilwell...
The golden enclaves
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate. FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD * ONE OF...
The last graduate
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The specter of graduation looms large as Naomi Novik's groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling trilogy continues in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education. "The climactic graduation-day battle will bring cheers, tears, and...
The magicians : a novel
Grossman, Lev
Paper Book
Lev Grossman's new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD is out now! The New York Times bestselling novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world, now an original series on SYFY "The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of...
The Maidens
Michaelides, Alex
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
The picture of Dorian Gray
Wilde, Oscar
Paper Book
Oscar Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliant puzzle, intended to tease convention minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life, and consequence. From its provocative preface, challenging the reader to believe in "art for art's sake", to its...
The secret history
Tartt, Donna
Paper Book
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch. ...
The starless sea
Morgenstern, Erin
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world--a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea. Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont...
The broken girls
St. James, Simone
Paper Book
The "clever and wonderfully chilling" (Fiona Barton) suspense novel from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare... Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good....

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Magic for liars
Gailey, Sarah
Paper Book
A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey. Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it....
Anita de Monte laughs last : a novel
Gonzalez, Xochitl
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death A Best Book of 2024:...
The will of the many
Islington, James
Paper Book
At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington. AUDI. VIDE. TACE. The Catenan Republic--the...
The resemblance
Nossett, Lauren
Paper Book
Lauren Nossett's artfully written debut, The Resemblance is an exhilarating, atmospheric campus thriller reminiscent of If We Were Villains and The Likeness. Never betray the brotherhood On a chilly November morning at the University of...
The professor
Nossett, Lauren
Paper Book
"The Professor is a thoroughly gripping mystery about power, ambition, and the lengths we will go to in order to succeed. Pacey and full of tension, this one will stick with you long after THE END." -New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author, Karin Slaughter
Bloody genius
Sandford, John
Paper Book
Virgil Flowers will have to watch his back--and his mouth--as he investigates a college culture war turned deadly in another one of Sandford's "madly entertaining Virgil Flowers mysteries" (New York Times Book Review). At the local state university, two feuding departments...
Real life
Taylor, Brandon
Paper Book
Almost everything about Wallace, an introverted African-American transplant from Alabama, is at odds with the lakeside Midwestern university town where he is studying for a biochem degree. For reasons of self-preservation, he has kept a distance even from his own friends - some dating each other,...
Tell me everything : a novel
Brockman, Cambria
Paper Book
"A compulsive page-turner with shades of Donna Tartt's The Secret History peopled by a new generation."--Catherine Steadman, New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY...
Choose me
Gerritsen, Tess
Paper Book
From New York Times bestseller Tess Gerritsen and acclaimed thriller writer Gary Braver comes a sexy murder mystery about a reckless affair and dangerous secrets. Taryn Moore is young, beautiful, and brilliant...so why would she kill herself? When Detective Frankie Loomis...
Never let me go
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Paper Book
NOBEL PRIZE WINNER * From the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day comes "a Gothic tour de force" (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist--a moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic. One of The New York Times's 10...
The plot
Korelitz, Jean Hanff
Paper Book
** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ** The Tonight Show Summer Reads Winner ** A New York Times Notable Book of the Year** "Insanely readable." --Stephen King Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful," Jean Hanff Korelitz...

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