Inside the Wuthering Heights Marketing Machine

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Kingsolver Returns October 6

HarperCollins announced yesterday that Barbara Kingsolver will publish her first novel since 2022’s blockbuster Demon Cooperhead this fall. Partita , due out October 6 from the Harper imprint, is about "a married woman whose modest life in farm country is disrupted when an old lover from her days as a music conservatory student wants to reconnect." Put it right into my veins.

The Wuthering Heights Marketing Machine is WILD

Everything about Emerald Fennell’s "Wuthering Heights" is big, from Jacob Elordi to the claim that it is "the greatest love story of all time" to the hype machine that propelled it to an $83 million global box office its opening weekend. There’s a co-branded lingerie line, a curated collection at Bloomingdale’s that includes clothing, home decor, cocktail napkins, tea, and a sleeping mask, among many other items that have virtually no relationship to either Brontë’s book or the film, and customizable embroidered sweaters from Lingua Franca for when you want to come undone but stay cozy. The biggest (but perhaps least surprising) reveal, though, is the 2,000 (!) influencers Warner Brothers paid to fluff the film. It takes a lot of content to make a hit these days, even when a film is great. In this case, the hype exceeds the quality, and now I understand how that happened.

Ryan Reynolds Launches New "Bedtime Stories" Series

Next week, Ryan Reynolds will debut the first 10-episode season of his new live-action Nickelodeon show, "Bedtime Stories with Ryan," during which he’ll read "new and classic bedtime stories as the tales magically come to life around him." Check out the trailer here , and take comfort that next time you simply can’t bear to go one more round with Little Blue Truck, you can tap Reynolds in for bedtime pinch-hitting.

7 Aromantic Books Coming Out This Year

It’s Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week! Of the identities under the queer umbrella, aromanticism is still one of the least represented in books, but Danika Ellis has rounded up seven out in 2026 to share with you today—so get your preordering fingers ready!