Publishers Weekly has published its Best Books of Summer list as temperatures rise. The update covers new titles, celebrity memoir announcements, and recent adaptations. Library workers receive a roundup of literary trends and awards.
Publishers Weekly posted its Summer Reading List early, coinciding with 80-degree weather in the Chicago area. Dustin Hoffman plans to publish a memoir this fall, while Meryl Streep announced she will not write one. Casey McQuiston hinted at a new project related to Red, White, and Royal Blue, and Veronica Roth revealed a duology set in an alternate Divergent timeline. The list also features upcoming romance retellings and the scariest horror novels of 2026. New reader resources discuss fan fiction going mainstream, Freida McFadden's thrillers, the status of new adult fiction, older women in historical fiction, and top queer historical fiction of the century so far. Adaptations in the news include Warner Brothers developing a film of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Ryan Coogler executive producing an Animorphs TV series, and Amazon MGM creating a romcom series from Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute. Trailers have emerged for Sunrise on the Reaping and Practical Magic 2. A new PEW survey shows readers still prefer print books, with 30% believing reading makes them superior to others. Award updates feature the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist, LA Times Book Prizes winners, and Helen DeWitt turning down a $175,000 Windham-Campbell Prize over promotional demands.