Trump-Aligned Law Firm Files Civil Rights Complaint Against PRH
America First Legal, founded by Stephen Miller, has asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate Penguin Random House’s DEI policies and programs, which it called “apparent race- and sex-based discrimination.” more...Diamond Bankruptcy Moves to Chapter 7
After trying for nearly a year to restructure the company, the key comics and graphic novel distributor has filed for Chapter 7 and will now focus on selling off its assets. more...
Chaos in Washington, Distribution Turmoil Made for a Tumultuous 2025
The Trump administration targeted several book-adjacent government agencies, while libraries and comics publishers reeled over Baker & Taylor’s closure and Diamond’s bankruptcy, respectively. more...
Authors File New Lawsuit Against AI Companies Seeking More Money
Six authors who opted out of the the proposed Anthropic settlement have filed individual lawsuits against Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity AI, seeking $150,000 for each title from each defendant per the Copyright Act. more...and more.
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ReligionRemembering Vanished Jewish Communities: PW Talks with Jane Ziegelman
In Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World, the historian explores Holocaust survivors’ yizkor books of the towns they once knew and the universal human desire to “remember me, remember us, remember this.”
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Financial Reporting
Barnes & Noble Education Finally Wraps Up Fiscal 2025
After completing an investigation into its financial reporting, the higher educational retailer has filed its delayed 10-K with the SEC, which confirmed a small sales increase in the fiscal year ended May 3, 2025 and an improved bottom line.
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Religion
Ancient Words for Wising Up Now
Princeton University Press’s Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series offers contemporary translations of classic philosophical works that weigh in on timeless topics from life, death, and politics to sports and travel.
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Publisher News
Authors File New Lawsuit Against AI Companies Seeking More Money
Six authors who opted out of the the proposed Anthropic settlement have filed individual lawsuits against Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity AI, seeking $150,000 for each title from each defendant per the Copyright Act.
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Publisher News
Chaos in Washington, Distribution Turmoil Made for a Tumultuous 2025
The Trump administration targeted several book-adjacent government agencies, while libraries and comics publishers reeled over Baker & Taylor’s closure and Diamond’s bankruptcy, respectively.
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Publisher News
Bill Ames Launches Sports-Focused Literary, PR Agency
After 16 years acquiring and publicizing sports titles at Triumph Books, the publishing veteran has launched Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency, a combined literary agency and book publicity and marketing company.
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Business Deals
Book Industry M&A in 2025: All Eyes on B&T, Big Five
The collapse of ReaderLink’s proposed purchase of Baker & Taylor led to the sale of the wholesaler’s distribution business to Lakeside Book Company. Meanwhile, three of the Big Five made acquisitions and a new player emerged to buy two major hybrid publishers.
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Awards & Prizes
Mary Anne Carter Returns to Chair NEA
Carter, who also led the National Endowment for the Arts during President Donald Trump’s first term, has historically supported the agency’s literacy initiatives as well as funding for creative arts therapies.
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Financial Reporting
Scholastic Sales Inched Up in Q2, Profits Rose 11%
Gains in the company’s children’s book publishing and distribution, as well as international groups, offset declines in its entertainment and educational solution units, while lower costs helped boost operating income to $82.9 million.
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Libraries
GAO Report Assesses Library Facilities
The Government Accountability Office released a report on the condition of public library buildings in the U.S., finding that 70% required additional maintenance and only 20% report “good” or “very good” condition.
