Publishing Industry Reporting

Pellerin Books will focus on popular fiction by traditionally published and self-published authors.

According to the AAP, consumer book sales across all formats in 2025 were slightly down (0.9 percent) versus 2024.

ProWritingAid has launched a novel-writing contest called Novel Beginnings, with prizes ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

The newspaper is closing the sports desk and books section; the international desk, among other areas, will also shrink.

The show, called Namaste, is being launched by Texas Bookman, the wholesale division of Half Price Books.

Publishers who distribute with Independent Publishers Group (IPG) can now sell digital books directly to consumer via Shelf.

Authors are profiting off subscription boxes that offer exclusive editions and merchandise that can’t be acquired elsewhere. But they require significant time and investment.

The independent publisher is cofounded by writers who raised $30,000 on Kickstarter.

The new Tor imprint will publish upmarket women’s fiction, suspense, paranormal mystery, magical realism, and historical fantasy.

Abrams, perhaps best known for art and illustrated books, including comics and graphic novels, is launching a new commercial fiction imprint.

The winner receives a book deal with Hachette UK with a £30,000 advance and £20,000 towards the marketing of the finished book.

Are they worth the investment, both financial and emotional? Yes—if the contest is legitimate and the prize offers value to the writer.

Marble Press has acquired CamCat Books from B&T; their catalog includes more than 100 adult and YA titles across multiple categories.

Skylight will publish commercial fiction.

The podcast is for publishing professionals and meant to “answer all the questions you might have about the industry we all love.”

Like in the US, adult fiction was strong while nonfiction declined and showed its lowest performance since 2018.

According to Circana BookScan, overall print unit sales were up just barely, 0.3 percent, in 2025 versus the prior year.

Deals for adult fiction saw 9.3 percent growth, nonfiction deals were down 1.6 percent versus 2024, and children’s deals were flat.

We looked at an app which claims to retell popular books via brief animated chapters, and the results range from absurd to possibly infringing.

These are the news stories and topics I’ll be following closely this year, from growth in AI translation to ad-supported Substack and more.

Each issue of this newsletter contains dozens of links. Here’s what caught readers’ interest in 2025, in order of popularity.

For 2026, works from the year 1930 enter the public domain, including the first four Nancy Drew novels, The Maltese Falcon, and many more.

Nonfiction sales will likely continue to decline in the years ahead due to competing sources of information and entertainment.

In 2026 the publishing business will be moved into WEBTOON Entertainment. The entertainment business will be moved into WEBTOON Productions.

The deal is set to close in January 2026. The new owners include Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX.