W.W. Norton & Company will acquire the college list of Thames & Hudson, the U.K.-based independent publisher of works on the visual arts and research by scholars in many fields, and take over its publication worldwide as of the spring 2026 academic season.
Norton will continue distributing T&H’s trade and college books in the U.S. and Canada via its client publishing relationship with T&H’s U.S. sister company, per the announcement.
“The opportunity to publish Thames & Hudson’s distinguished college list marks an exciting new chapter in a 50-year relationship between our companies,” Julia A. Reidhead, chairman and president of Norton, said in a statement.
“Because of our collaborative work together, we have seen many of T&H’s college books develop, come to fruition, enter the marketplace, and become market leaders in their fields. We will be thrilled to pick up the process and to build and strengthen an already outstanding publishing program,” she added.
T&H’s college list hosts market-leading titles including the art appreciation text Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, by Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields; Archaeology Essentials and Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, both by Colin Renfrew, Paul Bahn, and Elizabeth DeMarrais; and The History of Art: A Global View, a major recent work from an 11-person author team led by Jean Robertson and Deborah Hutton.
These books and 27 additional T&H college titles are already distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Norton, accompanied by learning tools delivered via Norton’s digital platforms.
Norton, which celebrated its centennial in 2023, will add the books to its own extensive college list, alongside its signature Norton Anthologies and Norton Critical Editions titles.
“W.W. Norton is the perfect home for our college publishing program and provides valuable continuity for our authors and for the instructors and students who have adopted our textbooks,” T&H CEO and publisher Sophy Thompson said.
The deal aligns with T&H’s shifting presence in the North American market, Thompson said, noting that its “trade business in the U.S. and Canada, with the distribution support of W. W. Norton, has doubled over the past decade.”
