A.A. World Services has provided an exciting update on the forthcoming Fifth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, affectionately known throughout the Fellowship as the Big Book.
The hardcover edition is now on track for publication in February 2027 and will have a list price of $20 USD. The A.A. World Services Board has also approved producing the hardcover with a removable dust jacket.
The Fifth Edition will include 26 new personal stories of recovery, along with a new preface and foreword and updated appendices.
This will be the first new edition of the Big Book since the Fourth Edition was published in 2001.
Five Years in the Making
The 2026 General Service Conference Final Report provides some additional perspective on the work that went into developing the new edition.
Development of the Fifth Edition was authorized by a 2021 General Service Conference Advisory Action. Over the following five years, nearly 2,400 personal story submissions from A.A. members were reviewed as part of the process that ultimately resulted in the selection of 26 new stories.
At the 76th General Service Conference, held April 26 through May 2, 2026, Conference members were given the opportunity to read and consider the draft. Following discussion, the Conference approved publication of the Fifth Edition with minor editorial changes.
More Information Coming This Fall
A.A. World Services says additional information about publication of the Fifth Edition will be shared with the Fellowship this fall.
For now, we can look forward to another chapter in the history of the book that has carried A.A.’s message of recovery around the world since its first publication in 1939.
Fifth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous
Hardcover Publication: February 2027
List Price: $20 USD
New Recovery Stories: 26
Format: Hardcover with removable dust jacket
We will share additional information as it becomes available from A.A. World Services and the General Service Office.