Viking Penguin Acquires U.S. Rights to Bestselling Self-Published Series, THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION
Brian Tart, President & Publisher of Viking Penguin announced the acquisition of U.S. rights to Beth Brower’s THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION. Allison Dobson, President of the Penguin Publishing Group, acquired print and e-book rights to thirteen novels in the series from Georgina Capel at Georgina Capel Associates LTD. Laura Tisdel, Executive Editor at Viking Penguin, is the editor. Volumes One through Eight will be available as Penguin trade paperbacks on November 24, 2026, with the highly anticipated Volume Nine slated for publication in February 23, 2027. The author has said she plans to write twenty-five novels in the series.
First self-published in 2019 by the author’s own Rhysdon Press, this captivating series has sold more than a million print and e-book copies in the United States and gained a large, passionate readership devoted to the adventures of Emma M. Lion, a charming and strong-willed young woman who returns to Victorian London to claim her inheritance. Each volume spans two months in Emma’s life, with journal entries cataloguing her innermost thoughts and run-ins with a cast of memorable characters, including her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s, a fictional London neighborhood. As The New York Times puts it, “The word-of-mouth success [is] largely thanks to the instantly likable titular heroine. Emma might share the sunny wonder of Anne Shirley, but her wit and modernity are pure Elizabeth Bennet.”
Beth Brower
Brower says, “One always hopes for the right door to open at the right time. Such has been the case with Viking Penguin. Penguin is the publisher who will care for THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION as much as the readers do, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with this excellent team.”
Allison Dobson, President of the Penguin Publishing Group, says, “We are thrilled to welcome Beth Brower to Penguin and to partner with her to bring her beloved and successful series to the widest possible audience in the United States. Emma M. Lion is a timeless heroine and an unforgettable one. I can’t wait for many more readers to meet her.”
Beth Brower is the author of thirteen novels and lives in Utah with her husband.
