Wait. Stop. If you think Jenna Bush Hager is just that upbeat presence on your TV every morning, you’re missing the actual story.
Honestly, 2026 is becoming the year she stops just talking about other people's stories and starts owning the machinery behind them. We aren't just looking at a contract renewal or a new hair color. We are looking at a total pivot.
The Jenna Bush Hager next chapter isn't some vague PR phrase; it is a massive, multi-front expansion into publishing, production, and a brand-new co-hosting era that officially kicked off this week.
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The Sheinelle Era and the End of "Dating"
Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room: the chair next to her.
For nearly a year, since Hoda Kotb left the Today show in January 2025 to focus on her daughters, Jenna has been effectively "dating." That’s her word, not mine. She sat next to 50 different guest co-hosts over the last several months. Fifty! Can you imagine the emotional exhaustion of trying to find chemistry with a rotating door of celebrities while the cameras are rolling at 10:00 AM?
It was messy. It was fun. But it was temporary.
On January 12, 2026, the "Next Chapter" for the fourth hour officially stabilized. Today With Jenna & Friends is dead. Long live Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.
Sheinelle Jones has finally taken the permanent seat. This isn't just a casting choice; it’s a survival tactic for the show. Jenna admitted on the How She Does It podcast that Hoda actually warned her not to sign a new contract too early when the exit was looming. Hoda wanted to make sure Jenna was protected.
Now, with Sheinelle, the vibe has shifted from "guest-star energy" to "forever friend" energy. It’s the stability Jenna needs to fuel her much more ambitious side hustles.
Thousand Voices: Not Just a Book Club Anymore
If you follow her, you know Read With Jenna is a kingmaker. If she picks your book, you’re likely hitting the New York Times bestseller list.
But Jenna got tired of just picking winners. She wanted to make them.
This is the meat of the Jenna Bush Hager next chapter. She launched Thousand Voices, her own media company and publishing imprint in partnership with Random House Publishing Group (RHPG). This isn't just a vanity project where she slaps her name on a cover. She is the one finding the debut authors.
The 2026 release schedule for Thousand Voices is honestly aggressive:
- February 17, 2026: Laws of Love and Logic by Debra Curtis. It’s a decades-spanning debut about a woman torn between a lost youth love and her current husband.
- March 24, 2026: Beneath by Ariel Sullivan. This is a prequel to Conform, the dystopian romance that launched the imprint last year.
- April 28, 2026: Liar’s Dice by Juliet Faithfull. A heart-wrenching story set in 1970s Brazil.
She’s moving into "Romantasy," historical fiction, and heavy-hitting memoirs. She’s essentially building a literary empire that functions independently of her NBC paycheck.
The Texas Dream: Is She Leaving?
Here is the part that makes fans nervous. Jenna has been increasingly vocal about her "dream" next chapter, and it doesn't involve a 3:30 AM alarm in Manhattan.
In August 2025, she told guest co-host Matt Rogers that she envisions a life back in Texas. She wants her kids—Mila, Poppy, and Hal—to experience the "big public high school" life she had in Austin.
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"Linear television, baby!" she joked when asked why she’d ever leave.
She knows the TV landscape is shifting. She’s 44 now. She’s watching her peers like Hoda "turn the page" to find more time for family. While she isn't leaving Today this week, the foundation she’s building with Thousand Voices is clearly her exit ramp.
She’s becoming a producer. She already has projects in development with Universal Content Productions (UCP), including adaptations of Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters and Chris Whitaker’s All the Colors of the Dark.
What This Means for You (The Actionable Part)
If you've been following the Jenna Bush Hager next chapter for book recommendations or lifestyle inspiration, your "to-be-read" pile is about to get very specific.
To stay ahead of the curve in this new era, here is how you should engage with her 2026 moves:
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- Watch the Imprint, Not Just the Club: The books published under Thousand Voices (like Debra Curtis’s upcoming release) are where Jenna is putting her actual money and reputation. They are often "emerging voices," meaning you get to discover authors before they become household names.
- Substack over Instagram: Jenna is shifting her deep-dive content to the Thousand Voices Substack. If you want the "why" behind her picks and her actual thoughts on "turning the page" in her 40s, that's where the raw writing is happening.
- The January "Gateway": Her January 2026 book club pick, Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block, is what she calls a "gateway book." If you’ve fallen out of the habit of reading, this memoir is specifically chosen to restart your brain for the year.
Jenna Bush Hager is no longer just a "First Daughter" or a morning show host. She’s a literary venture capitalist. She is building a world where, if the cameras at NBC ever stop rolling, her voice—and the thousand other voices she’s championed—will still be the loudest in the room.