This week, I have a smorgasbord of updates for all of your collection needs, whether you’re keeping up with new books, adaptations, comics, or award winners. Let’s dive in.

New Books

• Freida McFadden’s next novel, Dear Debbie, will be published on January 27, 2026.
• Ben Lerner, author of The Topeka School, returns with a new novel.
• Kamala Harris and John Fetterman are both publishing political memoirs.
• Sarah Dessen is publishing her first novel in seven years.
• Here’s a preview of Anna Quindlen’s next novel, More Than Enough.
• And here’s a preview of Philippa Gregory’s upcoming novel, Boleyn Traitor.
• James Patterson is co-writing a book about Luigi Mangione. Look, I’m as interested to read about this situation as the next person, but I don’t think I’ll be reading James Patterson’s take. Also, how informative is this book going to be when nothing about Mangione’s case has been resolved? But I digress…
• August picks from Barnes & Noble, Kirkus, LA Times, LitHub (SFF), New York Times, Reactor (fantasy, SFF crossover), Vulture.
• Book Riot’s best August picks across the board, plus picks for mysteries/thrillers, romance, SFF, horror, nonfiction, historical fiction, queer reads, children’s.

RA & Genre Resources

• Where to start with cozy mysteries. ​​
• Kirkus has a profile on romance author Kennedy Ryan.
• How do deepfakes and AI function in crime fiction?
• The rise of the X-rated novel.
• Fan fiction is everywhere, if you know where to look.
• Meet dieselpunk: steampunk’s grittier cousin.
• What’s the difference between hard and soft science fiction?

All Things Comics

• The 2025 Eisner Award winners have been announced.
• Captain Underpants is making the leap to manga.
• The best graphic novels for August.
• The coward’s guide to horror comics.
• Graphic novels about 60’s musicians.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Murder, She Wrote is getting a film adaptation with Jamie Lee Curtis starring as Jessica Fletcher.
• Jordan Harper gives us a first look at She Rides Shotgun.
• Here’s a sneak peek of Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster.
• Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù is starring as Titus Crown in the upcoming adaptation of Netflix’s All the Sinners Bleed.
• Hamilton is getting a September theatrical release.

Award News

• Essie Chambers has won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for Swift River.
• The Lambda Literary Award finalists have been announced.
• The 2025 Booker Prize longlist has been announced. But an interesting complication is that Sarah Jessica Parker is a Booker Prize judge, and one of the longlisted books (Claire Adam’s Love Forms) is being adapted by SJP’s production company.