Short news items from the world of book publishing:
10/31/2025
BISG Launches ‘Season of Giving’
The Book Industry Study Group’s newest initiative invites its members and the broader publishing community to fund the purchase and donation of 2,000 banned books to offset 1,000 book challenges across the U.S.10/31/2025
Online Sales Rise 10% at Amazon in Q3
While most of the focus on Amazon’s third quarter financial report was on Amazon Web Services and other AI topics, the company did report that online sales in the quarter increased 10% over a year ago to $67.4 billion.10/30/2025
Industry Veterans Evans and Reid Sell Camino Books to Retire
Industry fixtures John Evans and Alison Reid, who have sold books around California for 36 years are selling Camino Books in Del Mar to retire from bookselling.10/29/2025
Abrams Takes Over Taunton’s Marketing, Sales, Distribution
Following its acquisition of Taunton Books in May 2024, the publisher is now assuming full marketing, sales, and distribution of Taunton titles from Two Rivers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Asia, effective November 1.10/29/2025
Diversion Audio to Launch James Patterson Podcast
The author’s Hungry Dogs podcast, launching today, expands upon his original Substack video series, per Diversion, and creates an “opportunity to provide a platform to promote a wide variety of books.”10/29/2025
Carnegie Foundation to Distribute $10K Grants to U.S. Libraries
Hundreds of Carnegie Libraries across the country will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funding next year as part of the Foundation’s $20 million semiquincentennial initiative supporting civic institutions.10/28/2025
University of Minnesota Press Director Retires
Doug Armato, who has helmed the 100-year-old press for 27 years, is retiring at the end of December. His tenure saw the expansion of the press’s list and the development of strong Indigenous studies, trade, and regional literature programs.10/27/2025
PRH to Support Small and Rural Libraries
The publisher has teamed with United for Libraries to award grants of $500 and $1,000 to support libraries in need, totaling $25,000. In-kind book donation grants of $500 will also be awarded to 20 libraries to purchase PRH titles.10/24/2025
Fundraising Effort for Steve Wilson
The sales rep is selling off portions of his book and record collection to help pay medical bills following a severe car crash this spring.10/23/2025
HarperCollins Breaks Ground on Indiana Supply Chain Facility
The new 1.6 million-square-foot supply chain logistics facility in Brownsburg will be able to ship more than 300 million books annually to more than 100 countries, per the publisher, expanding its distribution capacities. The site is set to open in 2028.10/23/2025
Oni Press to Publish ‘Gender Queer’ Annotated Edition
The graphic novel publisher has announced an expanded hardcover edition of Maia Kobabe’s frequently-banned 2019 memoir, with all-new commentary from the author and other creators. It will be released in May 2026.10/23/2025
GrubStreet Names Next Executive Director
Kim Dawson Ohiomoba will succeed founder and current executive director Eve Bridburg, who will step down after nearly three decades at the end of the year.10/22/2025
S&S COO Dennis Eulau to Retire
Eulau has been with Simon & Schuster for 30 years, and his tenure has also included stints as EVP and CFO. He will retire at the end of November, amid the company’s ongoing search for a new CEO.10/20/2025
Spotify Audiobook Selects Announces Inaugural Titles
Originally launched in March by the streaming company's in-house publishing platform, Spotify Audiobooks, the initiative provides full-service audio publishing for select "novelette"-length stories by independent authors.10/17/2025
Distribution Deals for the Week of October 13, 2025
IPG signs four new publishers to its sales and distribution programs, Stable Book Group and Open Road Integrated Media join forces, and the Lab Press inks deals with three comics distributors.10/17/2025
Jamia Wilson Named Executive Editor at Harmony, Rodale, and Convergent
Wilson will join the Random House Publishing Group’s Harmony, Rodale, and Convergent imprints as VP and executive editor, effective October 20. She has served as VP and executive editor for the Random House imprint since 2021.10/17/2025
European Literature Night Returns to NYC
The seventh annual edition of ELN, hosted by the Czech Center and EUNIC, will be held at the Ukrainian Institute of America on October 23. The event will bring together 13 European authors for panel discussions moderated by PEN America.10/16/2025
Memorial to Be Held for ABA’s Dan Cullen
Cullen, who worked at the American Booksellers Association for 35 years before retiring in January 2022, died at 69 earlier this month. His memorial service will be held on November 2 at the Katonah Village Library in N.Y.10/16/2025
Jeff Hiller to Host 2025 National Book Awards
The Emmy-winning actor and author will host the 76th annual ceremony, set for November 19. Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae will be the featured musical guest.10/15/2025
Atria Bets on Mercedes Ron’s New Adult Duology
Yezanira Venecia at Atria bought North American rights, at auction, to Ron’s Face to Face duology from Johanna Castillo at Writers House. The two novels, about an heiress and her bodyguard, will be released in fall 2026 and spring 2027, respectively.10/14/2025
PRH to Relaunch Two-Day Holiday Transit Program
Penguin Random House’s expedited-shipping program aims to support independent bookstores during and beyond the holiday season, featuring a “no minimums” requirement. The publisher will ensure delivery within two days.10/14/2025
Libby McGuire Promoted to EVP, Director of U.S. Content Coordination at S&S
McGuire will continue to lead the Atria imprint as publisher while also serving as a liaison between the S&S Adult group and its international publishers in Canada, the U.K., Australia, India, Belgium, and the Netherlands.10/09/2025
New Awards to Honor Jack Kirby’s Legacy
ComicArtFans.com, the Kirby Estate, and the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center have launched the Jack & Roz Kirby Awards, named for the legendary comics creator and his wife. The inaugural awards will be presented in February at the Original Art Expo.10/09/2025
Spotify x JED Award Recipients Announced
The award, which grants $10,000 to five fiction writers to support their “unpublished, mental health–driven manuscripts,” was launched in partnership with the Black List, which began expanding into fiction last year.10/09/2025
Tim Paulson Named EVP, Publisher of Andrews McMeel
Paulson joins Andrews McMeel Publishing from University of Kansas Press, where he served as director. The company announced earlier this week that it acquired Quirk Books.10/08/2025
Nicky Devaney to Lead HBG’s New Retail Sales Group
In her expanded role as VP of retail sales, Devaney will oversee the Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and independent sales teams as part of Hachette Book Group’s sales reorganization.10/07/2025
S&S Acquires Allen Levi’s Self-Published Novel
Katherine Nintzel and Sean deLone at Atria, Jason Pinter at Simon Maverick, and Adrienne Kerr at Simon & Schuster Canada took North American rights to Theo of Golden, self-published in 2023, from Suzanne Gluck at WME. Release is set for this fall.10/07/2025
AG to Host Webinar on Anthropic Settlement
Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger and co–lead class counsel Rachel Geman will host a digital briefing for copyright holders included in the $1.5 billion class settlement with Anthropic on Thursday, October 16.10/06/2025
Anthropic Settlement Website Goes Live
The updated site includes claim submission forms and a searchable list of works publishers and authors can use to see if they are covered in the $1.5 billion settlement.10/03/2025
Distribution Deals for the Week of September 29, 2025
IPG has signed on four new publishers to its sales and distribution programs, while Webtoon Entertainment and Boom! Studios partner to adapt the publisher’s comics for web.10/01/2025
Bindery Books Launches App
The influencer-based publisher’s new literary social app will offer users access to commentary and recommendations, thematic book collections, book clubs, and more. The app is currently available on the Apple Store, with Android coming soon.10/01/2025
HC Finalizes Crunchyroll Acquisition in France, Germany
The purchase of the global anime brand, which was initiated in July, adds manga publishing operations to the portfolio of both HarperCollins local companies for the first time.10/01/2025
PRH 2026 Creative Writing Awards Open for Submissions
Penguin Random House and We Need Diverse Books, a national organization advocating for diversity in literature, have opened submissions to their annual awards, which provide $60,000 in scholarships to college-bound high school seniors.10/01/2025
Pluto to Publish Francesca Albanese’s Reports on Palestine
Pluto’s commissioning editor David Shulman acquired world rights to A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness: Reports on Israel’s Genocide in Palestine from the volume’s co-editors Mandy Turner and Lex Takkenberg. The book is slated to publish October 8.10/01/2025
FCC Cuts E-Rate Hotspot Funding
In a statement, the American Library Association criticized the Commission's decision to axe support for WiFi hotspot lending programs across the country, which provide connectivity to patrons lacking reliable internet access at home.09/30/2025
Macmillan and Inkluded Partner for Diversity Initiative
The collaboration will establish mentorship opportunities for Inkluded members and loop in Macmillan employees on Inkluded’s Spotlight panel event series, which explores lesser-known or overlooked topics in publishing.09/30/2025
MetaComet and Firebrand Launch New API
The publishing software companies have launched a turnkey application programming interface that consolidates title, price, and ISBN data, alongside author royalty payout calculations.09/29/2025
BookCon Unveils First Wave of 2026 Authors
Leigh Bardugo, Jasmine Guillory, and Sabaa Tahir are among the featured guests at BookCon 2026, to be held at Javits Center on April 18 and 19.09/26/2025
2025 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners Announced
Kaveh Akbar, Sunil Amirth, and Salman Rushdie are the winners of this year’s Dayton Literary Peace Prizes.09/26/2025
Gathering of the Ghosts Unveils Lineup
Highlights at the Gotham Ghostwriters’ annual conference include a keynote with former Coach CEO Lew Frankfort and writer Joanne Gordon, a panel moderated by PW’s Jonathan Segura, and the presentation of the Andy Awards.09/25/2025
DK Launches Paper Sailor Imprint
The new lifestyle imprint, to be helmed by Richard Atkinson, joins the adult imprint DK Red, which launched last year, in the U.K.-based publisher’s DK Life division.09/25/2025
Crunchyroll Manga to Launch in October
Crunchyroll’s new premium add-on, Crunchyroll Manga, will launch on October 9 as an app in the U.S. and Canada, with web to follow on October 15. The platform will feature titles form such publishers as Square Enix, Viz Media, and Yen Press.09/24/2025
Cartoon Crossroads Presents Annual Awards
Cartoonists Charles Burns, Matt Feazell, Gigi Murakami, and comics distributor Bud Plant each received awards during the eleventh edition of CXC, which took place in Columbus, Ohio, between September 18–21.09/24/2025
Federal Judge Blocks NEA from Imposing Speech Restraints on Grantees
On September 19, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled in favor of four arts organizations in their challenge to the National Endowment for the Arts’ policy disfavoring grant applications for projects the government believes “promote gender ideology.”09/23/2025
Baker Publishing Group Acquires Lexham Press
The Christian publisher’s acquisition of Logos’s in-house publishing division deepens the partnership between the two companies, expanding upon Baker’s portfolio of academic and Christian content, per an announcement.09/23/2025
Martti Berner Appointed CEO of Ahlbäck Agency
Berner will lead the Helsinki-based agency, formerly known as Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency, in its work representing authors, directors, and screenwriters.09/23/2025
AAP Opens Submissions for 2026 PROSE Awards
The Association of American Publishers is now inviting entries for the awards, which recognize professional and scholarly works across five category areas, through November 10.09/19/2025
MetaComet Launches Agents’ Fee Calculation Software
The company’s flagship Royalty Tracker software will now allow publishers to process agents’ fees, as well as author and licensor royalties, and instantly publish agents’ statements to an online portal.09/19/2025
‘Alderbrink’ Spotlights Fine Press Books
The new online magazine, founded by Adam Morgan, is dedicated solely to fine press book publishing, featuring hands-on reviews and news.09/19/2025
Distribution Deals for the Week of September 15, 2025
IPG adds four new publishers to its sales and distribution programs, and S&S inks a deal with Shortwave Publishing.News Brief Archive
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