This Week in Publishing - Issue 19

About

Issue 19 covers August 10–17, 2026. H.M. Wolfe's self-published debut Daggermouth tops the hardcover fiction chart, the Big Little Lies sequel is confirmed, and the third Wren Muller novel arrives. The Edinburgh International Book Festival opens at Edinburgh Futures Institute, while the industry continues its consolidation push into audio. Plus bestsellers, new releases, and the full events calendar.

Table of Contents

1. This Week in Publishing · Issue 19p. 2
   1. Editor's Notep. 2
2. BESTSELLERS: HARDCOVER FICTIONp. 3
3. BESTSELLERS:HARDCOVER NONFICTIONp. 4
   1. ◀ CONTINUEDp. 5
4. BESTSELLERS: HARDCOVER NONFICTION (continued)p. 5
5. NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHTp. 6
   1. ◀ CONTINUEDp. 7
6. NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHT (continued)p. 7
7. EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVALp. 8
   1. ◀ CONTINUEDp. 9
8. EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL (continued)p. 9
9. PUBLISHING INDUSTRY: AUDIO AND CONSOLIDATIONp. 10
10. PUBLISHING INDUSTRY: AUDIO AND CONSOLIDATION (continued)p. 11
    1. Libreka by WeDoBooks Denmark'sWeDoBooks hasacquiredLibreka, bringing together digitaldistributioncapabilitiesanda subscription modelthat industry observers suggest offers a strong combination of pricep. 11
    2. Text Publishing by Penguin Random House Australia Melbourne-based independent Text Publishing has been acquired by Penguin Random House Australia. Text has been one of Australia's most respected indepp. 11
    3. Gräfe und Unzer by Verlagsgruppe HarperCollins Hamburg's Gräfe und Unzer, ap. 11
    4. market leader in lifestyle and guidebook publishing in Germany, has been acquiredp. 11
    5. by Verlagsgruppe HarperCollins. The deal continues HarperCollins's strategicp. 11
    6. expansion in the German market, and extends its footprint in the lifestyle andp. 11
    7. practical nonfiction categories.p. 11
    8. The consolidation wave creates genuine complexity for authors navigating the tradep. 11
    9. publishing landscape. Major publishers are acquiring with strategic intent —p. 11
    10. categories, formats, and rights packages matter more than ever. Authors and agentsp. 11
    11. are watching the vertical integration of audio in particular: as publishers absorbp. 11
    12. production capacity, the negotiation of audio rights in new contracts is becoming ap. 11
    13. more consequential conversation than it was even two years ago.p. 11
11. BOOK EVENTS CALENDARp. 12
12. WHAT TO WATCH & CLOSINGp. 13
    1. ◀ CONTINUEDp. 14
13. WHAT TO WATCH & CLOSING (continued)p. 14