The Dark Academicals Podcast is returning for Season 12!
The rumours are true.
After nearly four (!!) months, The Dark Academicals podcast is coming back this February for a 12-week run of six brand new titles.
Season 12 of The Dark Academicals begins streaming on Tuesday 3rd February 2026.
Without further ado, the six titles that we’ll be reading very, very soon.
As with every season, we try to pick a range of dark academia titles, as well as a dark academia adjacent title, that will work for us and for our listeners.
We have adult novels, YA novels, classics, new books, older books, beloved books, and less known books. A bit of everything! We’re super excited about our line up for this season and as I write this I can confirm that the reading for this season is very positive so far (for me, anyway!).
Katabasis by RF Kuang
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.
Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick. But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
When We Love You, Bunny opens, Sam has just published her first novel to critical acclaim. But at a New England stop on her book tour, her one-time frenemies, furious at the way they’ve been portrayed, kidnap her. Now a captive audience, it’s her (and our) turn to hear the Bunnies’ side of the story.
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
The diabolical decline of Ambrosio, a worthy superior of the Capuchins of Madrid who is tempted by Matilda, a young girl who has entered his monastery disguised as a boy. Descending into a hell of his own creation, Ambrosio is driven to magic and murder in an attempt to conceal his crimes from the Inquisition.
Boys With Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell
Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. So when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Graves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic, yet dangerous leaders of the school's ecosystem.
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
Dr Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions.
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
he Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.
Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that's what Alessa Li is told when she's kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But there's more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa's class.
Season 12 of The Dark Academicals begins streaming on Tuesday 3rd February 2026.
You can listen to The Dark Academicals anywhere you get your podcasts, but here are links to Spotify and our website podcast page.
Please come over and join The Dark Academicals Book Club on Substack for extras!
We really hope you’ll join us for the new season!
