The California Independent Booksellers Alliance met on September 17–18 at the South San Francisco Convention Center, drawing more than 200 owners, managers, and booksellers, plus more than 50 exhibitors and dozens of authors.

The late Mexican writer Elena Garro, dazzles in this 1963 collection of stories about hauntings, curses, and the uncanny. This collection highlights what made the author such a seminal figure in Latin American literature.

See what we published in this week’s print issue of Publishers Weekly, including our New York Comic Con preview and more. buff.ly/ROxiqKN

Hyewon Yum’s new picture book, A Spoonful of the Sea, examines the Korean tradition of miyeok-guk, a seaweed soup that’s served to nursing mothers the month after they give birth, and to children as birthday soup.

The new online magazine, founded by Adam Morgan, is dedicated solely to fine press book publishing, featuring hands-on reviews and news.

Experimental writers’ press Under the BQE celebrated its 1 year anniversary during a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookends event at Mama Tried in Sunset Park. In attendance were (from l.) publisher Brian Russ, founder Lauren Belski, intern Leo Kouklanakis, writer David Greenwood, and writer Judson Merrill

The company’s flagship Royalty Tracker software will now allow publishers to process agents’ fees, as well as author and licensor royalties, and instantly publish agents’ statements to an online portal.

Janet Evanovich’s fun, frothy sequel to 'The Recovery Agent' follows contractor Gabriela Rose on a globe-trotting quest for stolen treasures. It's a swift and enjoyable adventure that proves this series has legs.

At a September 15 panel at NYU, Madeline McIntosh of Authors Equity, Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks, and Chantal Restivo-Alessi of HarperCollins recounted how they forged paths to leadership in the book business.

At Massie McQuilkin & Altman, Lopez will represent literary and book club fiction, speculative, horror, thrillers, narrative and practical nonfiction, as well as select poetry and YA. She was formerly director of foreign rights and an agent at WLA Books.

Sim Butler, a former associate professor of communication at the University of Alabama, debuts with a poignant memoir of raising his transgender daughter in the rural South. It’s a moving glimpse of the struggle for trans kids’ rights.

Val McDermid is at the top of her game in the masterful latest installment of her DCI Karen Pirie series. Readers will rest easy knowing they’re in the hands of a seasoned storyteller. @groveatlantic.bsky.social

IPG adds four new publishers to its sales and distribution programs, and S&S inks a deal with Shortwave Publishing.

★ John Blair surveys stories of corpses rising from the dead, from classical Greece to the “corpse killing” epidemics of the 17th century. It sheds horrifying light on the constancy with which women have been made to pay, even in death, for society’s larger anxieties.

Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum recalls coming-of-age as a gay punk rocker in San Francisco in his punchy debut. Far from a milquetoast music bio this lively self-portrait has spirit to spare.

The Munich-based self-publishing platform is rolling out a new subscription app for readers with a three-tiered pricing model. It will offer both self-published, or “community,” content as well as books from established publishers.

VP and children’s book agent Elizabeth Harding has acquired the literary agency from its co-owners, Timothy and Ginger Knowlton. Harding will continue to represent her list of children’s authors and illustrators.

The publisher typically has a quiet first quarter, during which most schools are not in session—and that was again the case for the period ended Aug. 31, 2025. Sales in the quarter fell 5%, to $225.6 million, and operating losses rose to $92.2 million from $88.5 million a year ago.

After more than two decades with Candlewick Press and its parent company Walker Books, Karen Lotz is joining W.W. Norton as director of children’s books and strategic development.

★ This beautiful anthology of poetry and prose by contemporary Native American writers includes traditional motifs along with works of stark feminism and hopeful futurism. Readers will find a wide assortment of riches on offer here.

A California couple’s marriage is put to the test when they take part in a dodgy experiment in Aja Gabel’s satisfying sophomore novel. She hits a winning combination in this tale of modern love and time travel. @riverheadbooks buff.ly/K4TCuJf

After 25 years, Glen Cook returns to the grim world of his cult classic Chronicles of the Black Company series with an exhilarating spin-off launch. Cook’s cadre of fans will find this well worth the wait. @torbooks.bsky.social

Caldecott Honoree Lies’s new picture book, Cat Nap, is a romp through art history, as a gray kitten pursues a mouse by magically jumping into a poster for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and centuries of sculpture, painting, stained glass, and illuminated manuscripts come to three-dimensional life.

The British thriller writer’s 59 Minutes (Atria, Nov.) plunges into the panic that ensues when England gets news of an imminent nuclear attack.

In this vivid standalone from Cara Black, a traumatized teenager reinvents herself in post-WWII Paris. Historical mystery fans will root for Huguette all the way to the novel’s bittersweet end.

In the newly created position, Jochum will report to Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya and join PRH’s Global Executive Committee. He will also continue to serve as SVP of people and culture at PRH Germany, where he has led HR operations since 2021.

The Japanese author will make a rare stateside appearance at Murakami Mixtape, a December 11 event hosted by Manhattan’s Town Hall and Japan Society, with support from the Center for Fiction.

High joins Sourcebooks from Hachette Book Group, where she most recently served as VP and director of international sales. Before that, she spent nearly two decades at Workman.

BREAKING: U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $15 billion disparagement suit against Penguin Random House and the New York Times, filed earlier this week, calling it “improper and impermissible in its present form.” buff.ly/BRxi84e

Trade sales at the 1,325 publishers that report to the AAP’s StatShot program dropped 1.7% through first six months of 2025, to $4.3 billion, over the comparable period in 2024. The adult fiction category saw sales sink 5%, after an 11.3% rise in the same period last year.

Warwick’s Bookstore and the Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, hosted R.F. Kuang (r.) as she discussed her new book, Katabasis. Kuang was in conversation with Dean Nelson, the founder of Writer’s Symposium. Joining Kuang during the pre-signing was Julie Slavinsky (l.), Warwick’s director of events.

With fewer outlets publishing book criticism, the founders of Viva la Book Review hope to match reviews—and reviewers—with local media. The nonprofit is headed by Arts Fuse editor-in-chief Bill Marx and former Beacon Press director Helene Atwan.

In a report, PEN said Israel’s military campaign “amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and offers evidence of genocidal intent.” The organization had previously drawn criticism for what some saw as its muted response to the crisis in Gaza.

Effective February 6, 2026, Underwood will join Bloomsbury’s board of directors and report to chief executive Nigel Newton, who praised his “AI expertise.” Underwood comes to the U.K. publisher from Guardian Media Group, where he holds the same title.

★ In this eye-opening account, Bronwen Everill outlines the biases, projections, misunderstandings, and irrationalities underlying Western economic intervention in Africa since the 18th century. It’s a laser-focused, relentless deconstruction of European “reform” in Africa.

As part of the weeklong celebration of the freedom to read, Libro.fm and Silent Book Club will partner with nearly 450 independent bookshops and libraries for a nationwide Read-In from October 5-7, featuring silent reading sessions and other activities. buff.ly/MfZPSfq

The publisher will commemorate the nation’s upcoming semiquincentennial with its new American Classics series, slated for next spring. The paperback series will include adult and children’s titles from the HarperCollins backlist, which spans more than 200 years.

The California Independent Booksellers Alliance’s annual autumn gathering is under way in South San Francisco, drawing 200-plus bookstore owners, managers, and employees, as well as some 56 exhibitors and more than 60 authors.

Graeme Macrae Burnet delves into the circumstances behind a shocking crime in this eerie tale.The author once again proves his mastery of moody psychological thrillers.

John Ajvide Lindqvist pokes fun at the publishing industry in this offbeat series launch that teams cop-turned-author Julia Malmros with expert hacker Kim Ribbing. Readers will be eager for the sequel. @amazonpublishing.bsky.social buff.ly/bXrE9XC

These legal cases may determine which titles are available in public schools and libraries for years to come.

★ Novelist Patrick Wensink presents a charming, idiosyncratic love letter to his native Ohio. With humor and pathos, he weaves his own life into this twisty environmental history, from his farmer ancestors to the dissolution of his marriage.

The author of The Weight (Drawn & Quarterly), a family saga in the tradition of Steinbeck, discusses family and farm life as inspiration, the way serialization changes the shape of a narrative, and more.

On September 9, M.L. Rio (r.) discussed her latest novel, Hot Wax (S&S), with Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Wiener (l.) at Rough Trade Below in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. (Kathy Daneman PR)

The San Francisco literary festival will pay homage to the author, who died last year, with a 12-hour marathon reading of her novel Bastard Out of Carolina on October 12, staged in partnership with Allison’s estate.

★ Sönke Iwesen and Michael Verfürden uncover Tesla’s shadowy and dangerous business practices. Through their dogged research, the authors portray Tesla as plagued by company-wide corner-cutting and gross mismanagement.

Ten years since the release of Lisa Mantchev’s debut picture book, Strictly No Elephants, featuring art by Taeeun Yoo, the duo is back with The Trouble with Giraffes. We spoke with the author and illustrator about following up on the success of the first book, and spreading a message of inclusion.

In honor of Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, we asked the authors of five books for young readers about highlighting different aspects of their culture and history.

In the newly created position, Jochum will regularly convene HR leadership across Penguin Random House starting this fall, when he will meet with CEOs, HR heads, and staff across PRH’s territories to shape global HR agendas.

Millions of readers with disabilities can now easily identify accessible e-books on Amazon, thanks to new accessibility metadata displays for titles that meet Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible (GCA) standards.