Links of Interest: Feb. 4, 2026

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Heated Rivalry

  • A chat with the agent who represents the author of the Game Changers (Heated Rivalry) series. Heated Rivalry began as a work of fan fiction at Archive of Our Own; it has now sold more than 2 million copies across formats. But moving a fan-fiction author into the mainstream requires revision to avoid infringement. This piece includes insights with publishers and a Q&A with Deidre Knight, the agent for author Rachel Reid, focused on the fan-fiction pipeline into traditional publishing. Read Jasmine Vojdani at Vulture (may require subscription).
    • Related: A deep dive into fan fiction’s “total cultural victory.” One professor says, “Writers of all stripes write fan fiction; I’ve taught in a prestige PhD creative writing programme for 20 years, and my students have always talked about their fan fiction. … I’ve even had quite avant-garde students use fan fiction, and that’s interesting, because fan fiction is very affect-driven, and avant-garde practice really isn’t.” Read Eli Cugini at Defector.
  • Hockey romance goes mainstream. Publishers Weekly looks at the genre’s “foremothers,” such as Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace. Read Sophia Stewart and Sam Spratford.
  • Did Don DeLillo invent the “racy hockey novel?” Well, no. But perhaps it’s fun to think so, and this article is full of literary laughs. “When he was outed as its author, DeLillo distanced himself from the 1980 novel [Amazons] and later tried to have the book expunged from the literary record, omitting [the work] from his official bibliography.” He also refused to autograph copies brought to book events. Read Alexandra Alter at the New York Times (gift link).

Trends

  • How do booksellers sell in the travel category today? Sales have dwindled over time, so bookstores have to be creative in their approach, which tends toward “more content and more beauty.” Read Nathalie op de Beeck at Publishers Weekly.
  • More commentary on why The Correspondent has been a surprise hit. In nutshell: nostalgia. The writer says, “This is an epistolary novel for the social media era, appealing to the hearts of readers who feel like they were born just a little too late and are now condemned to operate in a world where interpersonal communication is so omnipresent as to have lost its glamour.” Read Rebecca Onion at Slate.
  • Scholastic is rolling out its shorter and fast-paced middle-grade series. They’re planning to release a new series every season to provide readers with “bingeable” reading options. Read Sally Lodge at Publishers Weekly.

Micro Dramas

Reminder: I’m following this trend closely in 2026.

  • One-minute microdramas on TikTok are earning money. They started in China, and now TikTok has launched a standalone app for microdramas called PineDrama. Hollywood has launched a competing app, GammaTime. Read Amanda Silberling at TechCrunch.
  • Paramount+ is moving into short-form video. Clips will be created from existing content and user-generated content, mimicking YouTube and TikTok strategy. Read Nina Zdinjak at TheStreet.
  • Fox signs deal for 40 scripted vertical-video shows. The deal is with Dhar Mann, a popular creator. Read Todd Spangler at Variety.

Distribution

  • What’s next for Asterism? The small press distributor became an important offering for those left in the lurch after SPD’s demise last year. (See my reporting from that time.) The founder talks about their recent growth and future plans, briefly. Read Nathalie op de Beeck at Publishers Weekly.
  • Shein gets into book distribution. This escaped my attention when it was first announced: Shein has opened its US marketplace to books via a partnership with Alibris. More than 100,000 print titles are currently involved, including many textbooks. Read Sam Spratford at Publishers Weekly.

Media & Tech

  • Audiobooks + YouTube. “If publishers don’t have a YouTube strategy for audiobooks, we/they need one ASAP.” Are you paying attention? I’ll keep beating this drum for as long as it takes. This serves as a good summary of where the audiobook market is right now. Read Full Set Books.
  • Google Books has removed the ability to search the text for copyrighted titles. Reports are coming from users; there has been no official comment from Google. Some suspect AI scraping is a reason for the change. Learn more at Reddit.
    • Readers respond: Author Andrew Shaffer wrote in: “Looks like Google Books search is back! It’s indispensable for research.” I agree, and it’s a relief.
  • Substack has lost its way. Just confirming what we already know, but it’s satisfying to read the history laid out nonetheless. Read David I. Adeleke at Communiqué.

AI

H/T to AI Sidequest for most of these links. I recommend subscribing.

  • AI prefers certain character names. If AI gives you these character names, best to avoid them unless you want it to be known you’re using AI. Read Jochen Voss.
  • Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself to fight impersonations. I’m hoping that eventually laws will be put in place that eliminate the need for this type of trademarking, but for now it’s entirely understandable. Read Will McCurdy at PC Mag.
    • Related: YouTube will soon let you make Shorts with your own AI likeness. You’ll also be given tools (thank god) to manage use of your likeness in AI-generated content. Read Aisha Malik at TechCrunch.
  • Sweden bans AI-generated music from its charts. The change was made when a track created with AI involvement went viral. Read Melissa Elizabeth at Yahoo News.