Trends
- Another trend piece about YA authors moving to adult fiction. The article delves into the difficulties of discerning what distinguishes YA from adult, especially since nearly two-thirds of YA readers are adults. Read Joanne O’Sullivan at Publishers Weekly. Related: Read Nicole Brinkley on her concerns about the YA category and reclaiming it for the teen experience.
- Current trends in romance covers: Cartoon covers have become the standard; apparently romance covers with real people are now “cringe.” Read Alyssa Morris at Romancing the Phone.
Culture & Politics
- President Trump’s lawsuit against Simon & Schuster has been dismissed. He was suing the publisher over Bob Woodward’s audiobook The Trump Tapes. Read Brian Stelter at CNN.
- The history of the beach read: Publishers started promoting summer reading after the Civil War, as travel and tourism increased. Read Jonquilyn Hill at Vox (membership may be required).
- How short-form video affects our vocabulary: If you were ever fond of the app Vine, the precursor to TikTok, you’ll love this brief history. Read Adam Aleksic at Lit Hub.
Libraries
- Several states are trying to make it cheaper for libraries to purchase ebooks. One librarian says, “Every year, libraries spend more and more of their budget feeding the beast that is ebooks to meet their patrons’ demands, and yet we still have wait lists of over six months long to get that book that you want.” Read Erik Ofgang at the New York Times (gift link).
AI
- There was a Senate hearing on AI and copyright infringement. David Baldacci testified. Senator Josh Hawley, a critic of Big Tech, is on the side of creators. Hawley said, “Congress needs to do something. I mean, if the answer is that the biggest corporation in the world, worth trillions of dollars, can come take an individual author’s work like Mr. Baldacci’s, lie about it, hide it, profit off of it, and there’s nothing our law does about that, we need to change the law.” Read Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly.
- How AI is already transforming Hollywood. AI-generated video collapses barriers, allowing anyone to generate imagery that brings to life what’s in their head. Read Steven Zeitchik at Hollywood Reporter.
- Public AI Summit. It’s free to attend online on Aug. 13 and 14. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.