What is the Penguin Little Clothbound Classics Series?

Penguin Classics is launching a Little Clothbound Classics series, publishing in August 2022 in the UK. The new series are small-format editions of stories and short novels, bound in a similar style to the ever-popular Clothbound Classics series. It is a great little collection of stories, featuring plenty of classics you probably don’t already have in a nice format, which is an excellent breath of fresh air. The titles have been selected to celebrate a diversity of authors and genres, with locations ranging from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, or from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story set on the moon.

The books will be published in four “seasonal” collections of 12 books released throughout the next year. Each of the titles will be bound in brightly coloured cloth stamped with foil, with a cover design by Coralie Bickford-Smith, and the series editor is Jessica Harrison. 

From the initial buzz around these books, it looks likely they will be heavily showcased in social media, with Penguin planning to target TikTokkers, Instagrammers and YouTubers through competitions, collaborations, and other events, and series bookmarks will be made available to retailers.