News Corp will acquire the Books & Media segment of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, to be operated by HarperCollins Publishers, the companies announced.  HarperCollins is the second largest book publisher in the world, with a roughly 11% market share of the consumer book business in the U.S. At $192 million in sales in 2020, Houghton Mifflin’s trade book business is quite a bit smaller, but will still help beef up HarperCollins market share against its larger competitor Penguin Random House, which after the acquisition of Simon & Schuster will have a 34% market share (see "PRH Acquires S&S").

Both HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin have long histories in the graphic novel business.  Houghton Mifflin publishes Alison Bechdel, whose Fun Home is a perennial bestseller; Kayla Miller’s Click graphic novels for kids; and the Best American Comics series.

News Corp company HarperCollins also has a strong history in graphic novels, with Jerry Craft’s New Kid and Class Act big sellers recently, and the DanTDM graphic novels, Terri Libenson’s Emmie and Friends series, and Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona other recent top sellers.