Supply Chain
- The paper shortage is likely to get worse before it gets better. Yet another article reiterating that the paper situation is bad. Read Michael Seidlinger in Publishers Weekly.
- Learn how a print book gets made. A series of images and GIFs offers a new level of appreciation for the labor and raw materials that go into manufacturing a book. View and read at The New York Times.
Traditional Publishing
- How to get your cookbook published by a big house: Editors at Penguin Random House UK discuss how they find and acquire titles, how to craft your pitch, and what to expect when working with a traditional publisher. Read at the PRH UK site.
- Midwestern publishers are doing well. Publishers Weekly takes a look at the growth of presses such as Milkweed Editions, Lerner Publishing Group, Belt Publishing, and others. Read Claire Kirch. And Publishers Weekly also covers how a range of small presses are faring as they look past the pandemic.
International
- Total book sales in Canada declined by 7.7 percent from 2018 to 2020. The decline was driven by the nationwide closure of bookstores. Meanwhile, ebook sales increased by more than 30 percent. Learn more from Statistics Canada.
- Canadian bookstore chain Indigo enjoys strong results. During the first nine months of fiscal 2022, revenue increased 19 percent. Read more in Shelf Awareness.
- Storytel CEO steps down after 17 years. Jonas Tellander, who founded the Swedish subscription company, will remain on the board. Most recently, Storytel acquired US-based Audiobooks.com. They project streaming sales growth of about 30 percent this year. Read the press release.
Libraries
- Most Americans oppose book bans. According to a recent poll, Americans don’t think books that discuss race, criticize America’s history of slavery, or share different political views should be banned from school libraries or classrooms. Learn more at School Library Journal.
- How neutral should libraries be? Stanley Kurtz argues that library neutrality—a stance increasingly rejected by librarians—provides a model for coping with our broader national conflicts. Read at The New York Times.
- Penguin Random House continues temporary digital terms, in place since the pandemic began, for libraries. PRH will continue to offer ebook and digital audio licenses for one-year terms at a 50 percent prorated price (through June of this year) as an alternative to the standard two-year term for ebooks or perpetual access for digital audio. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
- Court blocks Maryland ebook law. Introduced last year, the law would require any publisher selling ebooks to consumers to also offer licensing to public libraries on “reasonable terms.” A federal judge found, as industry observers expected, that the Maryland law is in conflict with federal copyright law. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
Amazon
- Amazon overhauls Comixology and not everyone is happy. It’s now harder to read, shop, and publish on the most popular digital comics platform in the US. Read Leon Miller at Polygon.
- Why Amazon’s new LGBTQ+ category matters. A marketing director describes one author’s effort to get Amazon to establish a category appropriate for her book. Read Hanna Kjeldbjerg at Publishers Weekly.
Trends
- Should you incorporate the pandemic into your fiction? There isn’t a right answer. Read Alexandra Alter in The New York Times.
- Why do some authors’ books get a branded design? Yes, it might seem dismal to compare an author to a brand. But it is powerful when done thoughtfully. Read Alana Pockros at AIGA.
- The New York Times profiles at length a new Brooklyn-based literary journal, The Drift. Founded by Harvard graduates of course. Agents and editors are watching. Read Alex Vadukul.
Culture & Politics
- American Booksellers Association town hall discusses freedom of expression. Some board members requested more transparency regarding ABA board actions, especially those that modify organizational policies. Read Claire Kirch at Publishers Weekly.
- Ableist tropes that fiction can do without. At the top of the list: the villainous disabled character. Read Margaret Kingsbury at Book Riot.
- A Russian publisher takes part of the blame for the Ukraine invasion. Eksmo, the largest general trade publisher in Russia—responsible for about 30 percent of Russian book sales annually—says publishers could have done more to foster mutual understanding. Read Ed Nawotka at Publishers Weekly.
- How Russia undermined Ukrainian publishing. In the past, Russian publishers have flooded the Ukrainian market with cheap paperbacks in an effort to undermine local publishers. Read Ed Nawotka at Publishers Weekly.
- International book fairs suspend cooperation with Russian state institutions. Various publishing-related organizations have made statements in support of Ukraine; Frankfurt Book Fair and Bologna Children’s Book Fair have cut ties with Russia. Read Jim Milliot and Ed Nawotka in Publishers Weekly.
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.