Wendy N. Wagner has announced that she will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of Nightmare Magazine to focus on writing, with the December 2026 issue being her last. Wagner wrote,

On the plus side, I’m simply returning the reins to our founder, John Joseph Adams. I am absolutely thrilled to see what he’ll do now that he’s had a bit of rest; his amazing work as a horror short fiction editor is what got me excited about short fiction in the first place! You can all look forward to a 2027 packed with thrilling and chilling new horror and dark fantasy.

I expect to spend the next few months feeling sad to say to goodbye and excited for the future. This magazine is such a special place, and the work we do here is so full of magic and delight. For a place called “Nightmare,” it’s actually a dream.

Wagner has also stepped down as senior editor at Lightspeed and is named Emeritus staff. In her place, associate publisher Christie Yant will assume the role of senior editor.

For more information, see the official announcements in Nightmare and Lightspeed.

The post Editorial Changes at <i>Nightmare</i> and <i>Lightspeed</i> appeared first on Locus.

Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week’s new books and support your local bookstore. And us!

 

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Ampersand, Erin: Time to Play (Tor 978-1250470171, $18.99, 368pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

SF LitRPG novel, the first book in the Apocalypse Parenting series. A mom has to teach their kids how to fight after Earth is transported to an intergalactic game show, and everyone is given supernatural powers.

 

 

Andersen, Kurt: The Breakup (Penguin Random House/Random House 978-1984801371, $30.00, 576pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Near-future satirical/dystopian political SF novel. In 2045, a couple with a failing marriage is brought together to tour colleges with their seventeen-year-old. They road trip through a broken America that’s been reshaped by a civil war.

 

 

Anonymous: Dreams Divine (Flame Tree Collections UK 978-1835627952, $30.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy romance anthology. Features stories from Benjamin Adams, Aishatu Ado, Dee Alberts, Danielle Marie Cahill, Bella Chacha, Victor W. Clubb, Irene W. Collins, K.S. Dearsley, H.L. Docherty, Philip Brian Hall, and many more.

 

 

Anonymous: Of Swords & Roses (Flame Tree Collections UK 978-1835627969, $30.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy romance anthology. Features stories from Erica Barnes, Keyan Bowes, Kim Chance, Deborah L. Davitt, Sarina Dorie, Umenyi Chisomaga Evelyn, Jonathan Ficke, Jess L. Freed, M.A. Gardner, and many more.

 

 

Blackwood, Lauren: The Queen’s Bodyguard (Penguin Random House/Delacorte 979-8217092413, $32.00, 307pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy romance novel. Queen Theora selects Argos to be her bodyguard during negotiations, and while they’re technically married, she has no plan to have their souls bound together, but over time she begins to change her mind.

 

 

Blake, Olivie: Dreamland (Tor 978-1250368935, $29.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy novel. Anya is invited to work for the de Witt family, one of the most important film dynasties in LA. It’s there where she finds herself oddly attracted to Jude, and discovers a family curse that lives within the walls of their villa. Simultaneous with the Tor UK edition.

 

 

Cantor, Jillian: The Season of Light and Darkness (Simon Pulse 979-8347107285, $21.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/04/2026)

Young-adult dystopian SF novel. Ellie and her family decide to freeze themselves cryogenically in order to escape a dictatorship. When the government finds the lab, Ellie is the only one who gets unfrozen, and she must become “initiated.”

 

 

Cavendish, Catherine: The Ghosts of Chanterlands (Flame Tree Collections UK 978-1787589919, $26.95, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 08/18/2026)

Horror novel. In the year 1940, Pamela Courtney is evacuated to Chanterlands, where her aunts live, but secrets are stirring in the house, and greater danger is awaiting Pamela as the safety her mother hoped for is not gaurunteed.

 

 

Cesare, Adam: Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo! (Harper 978-0063325081, $19.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Young-adult slasher horror novel, fourth in the Clown in a Cornfield series. Sabrina Alvarez is cast as the final girl in a horror movie, but things feel off as this movie based on real events begins to feel like it might repeat itself.

 

 

Cornell, P.A.: The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories (Stars and Sabers 978-1967550005, $30.00, 218pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, 08/18/2026)

Collection of 21 stories that look into human connections to each other, to technology, to the world, and to themselves. Includes stories such as “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont,” and “Split.”

 

 

Fletcher, C.A.: The Two of Us at the End of the World (Orbit US 978-0316538695, $19.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Post-apocalyptic SF novel. As the world is falling apart, a couple is falling in love, and when they realize they’re some of the only people in the world who can still have kids, the government does too. Simultaneous with the Orbit UK edition.

 

 

Gilman, Carolyn Ives: Testament of Leaves (Fairwood Press 978-1958880302, $16.99, 120pp, formats: paperback, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

SF novella. On a faraway planet, inscrutinator Shameesh Kulkarni must find out why a linguist has died, but no one wants to help her besides a digital copy of the victim, and an octopod.

 

 

Hallow, S.M.: The Halls of the Dead (Harper Voyager US 978-0063446984, $30.00, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Gothic fantasy novel. Irene Haley has been practicing necromancy her entire life, and when her love, Agnes, is hanged, she decides to perform a resurrection, something that hasn’t been done successfully in two thousand years. A first novel.

 

 

Jae-Jones, S.: Guardians of Dawn: Suhwa (St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books 978-1250191519, $22.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 08/18/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel, fourth in the Guardians of Dawn series. When Min Suhwa leaves her convent for the first time in her life, she finds herself having to flee from a Huntsman who’s trying to take her life. Simultaneous with the Titan Books UK edition.

 

 

Lemming, Kimberly: I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy (Penguin Random House/Berkley Romance 978-0593818657, $20.00, 352pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

SF romance novel. Blair is captured by aliens, and taken to their planet where she is to be put into a breeding program with the arrogant king Osid. Together, they must complete increasingly difficult, and dangerous challenges

 

 

Monét, Noelle: Bound by Fury (Simon & Schuster/McElderry 978-1665979870, $21.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel. Harper goes to Black Mountain Academy to discover more about her new powers, but as she digs deeper, she realizes that the academy has sinister secrets beneath the surface. A first novel.

 

 

Moronova, K.M.: Once Written in Gilded Blood (Sourcebooks/Bloom Books 978-1464279041, $29.99, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy romance novel, second in the Cruel Fates duet. Alira married the Blood Knight in order to end the war, and prove that peace between demons and demigods is possible, but the gods are restless and people keep fighting. Simultaneous with the Penguin Random House UK edition.

 

 

Pacton, Jamie & Podos, Rebecca: Homeward for a Spell (Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0593873670, $18.99, 368pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Cozy romantic fantasy novel, second in a series. Sage and Araphi go on a life-changing adventure together with a team of ragtag explorers. As time goes on, Sage and Araphi begin to develop great chemistry together. Simultaneous with the Penguin Random House UK edition.

 

 

Pedersen, Kailee: The Minimalist (St. Martin’s 978-1250328274, $18.99, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Horror novel. Mia Voss must finish the unfinished manuscript of her late teacher, Ryder Wakefield. Mia abandons her girlfriend to work in Ryder’s home, where she begins to unpack with the complicated bond she had with him.

 

 

Pratt, Tim: The Jewel and the Comet (Angry Robot UK 978-1836730224, $18.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

SF novel, the second in the Nigh-Space multiverse. Glenn is pulled out of his normal life to navigate through the multiverse, while his girlfriend, Vivy, is called on a scouting trip to stop a comet.

 

 

Pulley, Natasha: The Salt King (Bloomsbury USA 978-1639737291, $29.99, 464pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

SF novel. Former Jesuit priest Avelyn Brocken teams up with Jericho, a doctor, to protect the world from salt light, a dangerous substance that’s been turning people into salt. Simultaneous with the Orion UK edition.

 

 

Sandeen, Del: These Walls Remember (Penguin Random House/Berkley 978-0593955666, $30.00, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Horror novel. Strange things begin happening to sisters Mickie and Delilah after learn ingmore about the history of the house they inherited. Mickie must save her sister before they’re both changed forever by the house.

 

 

Schwab, Kathleen: Queenswood (Blackstone Publishing 979-8228465084, $29.99, 346pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Historical fantasy novel set in 12th-century Ireland. Angus, the Crown Prince of Faerie, must travel to the human world in order to find a maiden who can become the next Queen of Faerie, despite how much he doesn’t want to.
A first novel.

 

 

Sharabianlou, Lexie: The Blue Moon Café and 24-Hour Occult Emporium (Penguin Random House/Dell 979-8217094684, $20.00, 448pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Paranormal romance novel. Talula Smith runs the worst coffee shop in town, but that’s the point. The true purpose of the café is to protect and provide new identities for magical beings that are at risk. A first novel.

 

 

Singh, Amal: Slow Burn (Flame Tree Press UK 978-1787589889, $26.95, 224pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 08/18/2026)

Fantasy novel. Failed actor Rishi Tripathi is sent to an inverted version of Mumbai. In this world, he’s a superstar, but when the actions of his doppelganger start having consequences, he’s forced to make a hard decision.

 

 

Snow, Eli: The Divine Gardener’s Handbook (St. Martin’s/Saturday Books 978-1250395184, $31.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

New adult SF novel. Cyprin cheats her way into getting a job in the divine gardens, and starts working with her rival, Purcell. They begin to form a bond that might ruin Cyprin’s life. A first novel.

 

 

Young, E.G.: A (Dead) Thing Like Me (Holiday House 978-0823461066, $19.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 08/18/2026)

Young-adult ghost novel. A ghost named Hot Dog is summoned by Logan, an artist grieving the death of her best friend. Hot Dog hopes this will make her feel alive again, but she’ll need to confront the reason behind her death. A first novel.

 

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The post New Book Releases: Aug 18, 2026 appeared first on Locus.

The most prominent debut this week is Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Adversary to the Villain (Entangled: Red Tower Books), fourth in a series, ranking #1 or #2 on three trade paperback lists. Also, the latest by Robert Jackson Bennett, A Trade of Blood (Del Rey), debuts on all four fiction hardcover lists compiled here. The sixth volume of Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series now has a title: A Court of Splintered Harmony (Bloomsbury, due Oct. 27th).

Title	Debut / #wks on any list	NYT 08.23	LAT 08.16	USAT 08.09	PW 08.17	Amz (08.17)	UK: Amz UK (08.17)	Canada: Amz.ca (08.17)
Items on list -x- number of lists surveyed		10×3	10×2	150	15×3	100	100	100
Hardcovers
Arena, To Dance with Death	08.17.26 / 1			51 ++
Aster, Starside	04.13.26 / 19	xxx..		121 +	17 -2			xxx..
Baldree, Brigands & Breadknives	11.24.25 / 5	xxx..	xxx..	79 +	xxx..
Bennett, A Trade of Blood	08.17.26 / 1	10 ++	8 ++	16 ++	8 ++
Bright, Wings of Reverie	08.17.26 / 1	1 ++		41 ++	3 ++
Broadbent, The Lion & the Deathless Dark	08.17.26 / 1	5 ++		18 ++	5 ++
Brown, Red Rising (Deluxe Slipcase Edition)	10.27.25 / 42	xxx..		36 -4	xxx..
Burke, Yesteryear	04.20.26 / 18	3 =	1 +1	5 -1	3 =	5 -2	4 -1	5 -1
Clarke, Piranesi	09.21.20 / 8	xxx..	xxx..	136 +	xxx..		xxx..
Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles	04.27.26 / 17	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	11 +1	90 -4		100 -13
Dinniman, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario	01.12.26 / 32	13 -5	7 +	13 +8		65 -23		33 -6
Dinniman, Dungeon Crawler Carl	05.26.25 / 53	11 =	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	14 -2		xxx..
Dinniman, The Butcher’s Masquerade	04.21.25 / 28	15 -1		57 -17	xxx..	48 -5		70 +18
Dinniman, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook	02.02.26 / 28	8 +2		28 -4		26 -11		10 -1
Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride	05.26.25 / 26	xxx..		95 -6	xxx..	63 -4		98 ++
Dinniman, The Gate of the Feral Gods	03.24.25 / 30	12 +1		39 -9	xxx..	40 -5		17 -6
Dinniman, This Inevitable Ruin	10.06.25 / 23	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	14 =	70 -6
Durst, Sea of Charms	08.10.26 / 2	x		50 -44	12 -8
Gong, Eyes of Kings	08.17.26 / 1			58 ++
Karlie, Cursed by the Dawn	08.17.26 / 1	10 ++
King, It	09.25.17 / 4				22 +
King, It	08.17.26 / 1			103 ++
Maas, A Court of Splintered Harmony	03.09.26 / 14			xxx..		36 =	41 +	32 +20
Marie, Ruinous Ends	07.27.26 / 4	4 -2		xxx	x
Parker, The Ballad of Falling Dragons	05.25.26 / 13	xxx..		xxx..	xx		xxx..	89 -9
Roberts, Powerless	11.20.23 / 106	xxx..		xxx..	19 -5	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..
Saft, Immortal Game	08.17.26 / 1	5 ++
Walsh, The Iron Hex	08.17.26 / 1			104 ++
Yarros, Onyx Storm	04.01.24 / 121	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	40 -7	xxx..
Yarros, Threshing Day	04.20.26 / 16					4 =	8 -1	6 =
Title	Debut / #wks on any list	NYT 08.23	LAT 08.16	USAT 08.09	PW 08.17	Amz (08.17)	UK: Amz UK (08.17)	Canada: Amz.ca (08.17)
Paperbacks [tpb=trade]
Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451	07.20.03 / 501		xxx..	21 +20	xxx..	9 +4	xxx..	xx
Brown, Red Rising [tpb]	05.02.16 / 42	12 -1	xxx..	xxx..		x		82 -44
Buehlman, Between Two Fires [tpb]	09.09.24 / 25			64 +17
Collins, Sunrise on the Reaping [tpb]	08.17.26 / 1				1 ++		34 ++	91 ++
Collins, The Hunger Games [tpb]	07.13.10 / 227	xxx..	xxx..	132 +	xxx..	94 +	xxx..	xxx..
Dinniman, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario [tpb]	08.17.26 / 1	5 ++			4 ++	52 ++		29 ++
Dinniman, Dungeon Crawler Carl [tpb]	01.12.26 / 32	4 =	1 +4	3 +	3 =	50 -12		7 +3
Dinniman, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel) [tpb]	06.01.26 / 12			70 +1	20 -8
Hawk/Van Alst, Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology [tpb]	12.11.23 / 55		xxx..	127 +
Hawthorn, A Fate Worse than Drowning [tpb]	08.17.26 / 1			117 ++
Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter [tpb]	07.27.26 / 4		xxx	98 -15	xxx
Kraus, Angel Down [tpb]	05.18.26 / 11		10 +	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..		xxx..
Lowry, The Giver	09.02.13 / 199		xxx..	91 +43	xxx..	23 +24		xxx..
Maas, A Court of Frost and Starlight [tpb]	04.10.23 / 132	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..		xxx..	70 -12	xxx..
Maas, A Court of Silver Flames [tpb]	09.12.22 / 162	xxx..		xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	56 -1	xxx..
Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses [tpb]	05.16.16 / 279	xxx..	xxx..	68 +16	xxx..	xxx..	49 -4	73 -13
Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set	06.19.23 / 154			xxx..		xxx..	xxx..	76 +5
Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin [tpb]	05.14.18 / 199	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	68 -16	xxx..
MacLean, Sunsplitter [tpb]	08.17.26 / 1			78 ++
Maehrer, Adversary to the Villain [tpb]	08.17.26 / 1	1 ++		2 ++	1 ++
Maehrer, Apprentice to the Villain [tpb]	08.19.24 / 9	xxx..		143 +	xxx..	xxx..
Miller, Circe [tpb]	09.06.21 / 101	11 -3	8 -1	30 -1		x		xxx..
Miller, The Song of Achilles [tpb]	09.06.21 / 115	xxx..	xx	55 -1		xx	xxx..	xxx
Orwell, Animal Farm	07.20.03 / 141			89 +		18 +14	xxx..	xxx..
Rowling, Harry Potter Box Set: The Complete Collection (UK) [tpb]	03.23.15 / 463						xxx..	75 -14
Weir, Project Hail Mary [tpb]	10.03.22 / 91	3 -1	3 +5	14 -1	xx	15 -6	74 -18	13 +2
Yarros, Fourth Wing [tpb]	09.16.24 / 99	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	xxx..	38 -9	xxx..
Yarros, Iron Flame [tpb]	06.02.25 / 60	xxx..		xxx..	xxx..		32 -5	xxx..
Title	Debut / #wks on any list	NYT 08.23	LAT 08.16	USAT 08.09	PW 08.17	Amz (08.17)	UK: Amz UK (08.17)	Canada: Amz.ca (08.17)

The table shows the current rank of each book and the change since last week, where:

= same as last week

+/- change since last week

+ back on list

++ new on list

x no longer on list (number of x’s: weeks off list)

All lists rank hardcovers and paperbacks separately, except for the USA Today list, which is a single list combining fiction and nonfiction in all formats. Dates shown are posted dates, except those in parentheses, which are dates compiled. New York Times posts its list one week in advance of print publication.

Note that some sources do not compile paperback bestsellers, and some exclude YA books (like the Harry Potter series) from their hardcover and paperback fiction lists.

The post Weekly Bestsellers, 17 August 2026 appeared first on Locus.