Texas book lovers — we hope you have some space on your shelf. Texas Monthly and Penguin Random House are relaunching Texas Monthly Press.
The press is set to release their first set of books in 2027. You can look forward to titles like:
• "The Texas Monthly Barbecue Book" by Daniel Vaughn, Paula Forbes, and Texas Monthly editors: A guide on everything the Texas Monthly team thinks you need to know about barbecue, from the people who make it to the techniques they use.
• "True to the Union" by Stephen Harringan: A sequel to "The Gates of the Alamo," it's a love story set in Texas during the tumultuous period between the 1840s and the Civil War.
• "The Bowie Knife That Killed Dracula" by William Broyles and Stephen Harringan: This story follows Quincey Morris, the Texan who killed the Dracula at the end of Bram Stoker's famous novel. It will span from the "pyramids of Tenochtitlán to the battered walls of the Alamo, the court of Queen Victoria, and, finally, the deep and spectral forests of Transylvania."
• The third book in the "Which Way Tree" trilogy by Elizabeth Crook: A conclusion to the story of Benjamin Shreve, from Crook's previous novels "The Which Way Tree" and "The Madstone." Benjamin, now an old rancher on the Texas-Mexico border, looks back on his life and finds out what happened to his panther-scarred half sister.
• "Where the River Took Us" by Aaron Parsley: Informed by Parsley's 2026 Pulitzer Prize winning story, "The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.," this book explores the different ways our pasts influence how we experience tragedy. It's a personal story and a narrative that "serves as a guide for living through disaster, hardship, and grief — and how to survive survival itself."
While these books won't share a Dewey Decimal class, they do all have one thing in common: They capture the mythos of Texas.
Ross McCammon, the editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly, emphasized that while Texas Monthly is partnering with Penguin Random House, the operation is still all Texan.
"We are going to be working out of Texas," McCammon said. "The people that are in charge of this are Texans. They're us."
The Texas Monthly Press had an initial run back in late 1970s through the 1990s. McCammon said that the revival of the press comes while the publishing industry experiences a minor renaissance.
"The book industry — it's been up and down," McCammon said. "And it's up right now. People are reading books, people are listening to books. Barnes and Noble is opening new bookstores for the first time. It's a great time to be in the book business."
According to McCammon, Texas Monthly had been planning to start a new press when they began talks with their collaborators at Penguin Random House. Unlike some other publishing partnerships, this is not a brand licensing agreement.
"The thing I want to make sure people understand is that Texas Monthly is the publisher," McCammon said. "This isn't just slapping Texas Monthly's name on books. This is a business partnership."
He said the arrangement is meant to play to both organizations' strengths.
"Texas Monthly storytelling, ethos, quality, dedication to covering the state," McCammon said. "Plus the muscle and the infrastructure of an outfit like Penguin Random House."
McCammon hopes this will mean more Texas stories in the hands of readers beyond the state.
"We tell stories about Texas, but we don't just tell stories for Texans," he said.
Readers can learn more about the Texas Monthly Press at press.texasmonthly.com. Those interested in submitting a manuscript can reach out at texasmonthlypress@texasmonthly.com.
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