Publishers Weekly

FEBRUARY 2, 2026 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 7

Currents

Edited by SOPHIA STEWART “SHOUTOUT TO NYPL FOR SO ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND EFFICIENTLY GIVING THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT—IN THIS CASE, SPICY GAY ICE HOCKEY ROMANCE.”

Weekly Record

Currents

NEW CHAPTERS FOR PHAIDON, BILL MILLER

 S&S MAKES JOB CUTS Simon & Schuster cut more than a dozen jobs last week, mainly on the editorial side. Following an initial round of layoffs, which an S&S spokeswoman described as “limited” cuts in response to shifting market conditions, the publisher made further reductions in its adult and children’s divisions. Among those let go were Eamon Dolan, VP and executive editor at the flagship imprint; Scribner editorial director Colin Harrison; Laurent Linn, art director for the children’s division; and Rebecca Kuss, executive editor at Aladdin. The spokeswoman declined to provide further comment on the reductions. One agent told PW that the layoffs have left her “reeling.” — JM  TOP CHILDREN’S PRIZES ANNOUNCED The American Library Association presented its Youth Media Awards, children’s publish- ing’s highest honors, on January 26. Renée Watson took home the Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children’s litera- ture for her middle grade novel All the Blues in the Sky . “It’s an incredible honor that my words are going to be resonating with young people for years to come,” Watson told PW . Illustrator Cátia Chien received the Caldecott Medal for distinguished picture book for children for Fireworks , written by Matthew Burgess, and Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories , edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, won the Printz Award for excellence in YA literature. — NodB The American Booksellers Association announced on January 28 the revival of its Indies Choice Book Awards, a literary prize program founded in 1991 and presented at the now-defunct trade show BookExpo. The prizes have not been given since 2019. The revamped awards will include seven categories—adult fiction, adult nonfiction, picture book, middle grade, YA, debut adult book, and debut children’s book— and carry a $2,000 purse for each winning author and illustrator. Nominees will be selected by ABA member bookstores from titles included on the ABA’s Indies Next, Kids Indie Next, and Indies Introduce lists. — CK  ABA REVIVES BOOK AWARDS

BOB MILLER HAS stepped down as CEO of Phaidon Press to start a new endeavor, with Philip Ruppel being tapped to replace him. Miller—a veteran publishing execu- tive who founded Macmillan’s Flatiron imprint in 2013—took the helm at Phaidon in January 2025 and is depart- ing the post to launch his own firm, Bookswork Press. Miller told PW that, though he enjoyed his time at Phaidon, he realized he missed being directly involved with

Bob Miller

the editorial process. With Bookswork, an independent book and creative development company for authors and publishers, he aims to “develop ideas into great books.” His goal is to do “deep dives” into different book projects and then bring those projects to agents or publishers. Miller said he is in talks to work on projects with Brad Meltzer, a former Flatiron author, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, whom Miller knows from his days at Hyperion. “I’ve always loved discovering what the DNA of every book is and how to translate that,” Miller said. Ruppel joined the century-old art book publisher as COO in 2015. He led the acquisition of the Monacelli Press, now an imprint of Phaidon. Prior to joining Phaidon, Ruppel spent more than two decades at educa- tion publisher McGraw-Hill, where he served as president of McGraw-Hill Professional and McGraw-Hill International. — SLS, JM

Top 10 Overall Bestsellers, January 18–24

RANK TITLE

AUTHOR

IMPRINT

UNITS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Woman Down

Colleen Hoover Peter Schweizer

Montlake

53,478 39,890 36,403 33,517 32,382 30,761 26,605 26,373 24,729 22,156

The Invisible Coup

Harper

Twelve Months Heated Rivalry

Jim Butcher Rachel Reid Mel Robbins

Ace

Carina

The Let Them Theory

Hay House Ballantine

Half His Age

Jennette McCurdy

Theo of Golden

Allen Levi

Atria

The Correspondent

Virginia Evans

Crown

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

Grand Central Pine & Cedar

My Husband's Wife

Alice Feeney

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