Small Press Insights: bestseller tracking site
Author Jim Hanas has launched a website called Small Press Insights that reveals which small-press books are selling on Amazon.
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New cookbook imprint at Skyhorse
Skyhorse Publishing has launched new cookbook imprint Golden Grove Publishing with Culinary Book Creations CEO James O. Fraioli.
New agent at Mansion Street Literary Management
Katie Ferriello has joined as literary agent, focusing on romance, fantasy, and children’s literature.
Links of Interest: April 22, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, bookselling, culture & politics, and AI.
Barnes & Noble Press sets minimum paperback price of $14.99, among other new guidelines
Cost pressures on print have been increasing, but this requirement will prove challenging for novellas, poetry, or works with low page counts.
Defendants in the Crave copyright case demand that their collective $3.4 million in legal fees be covered
US copyright law allows for the prevailing party to recover legal fees, although it’s discretionary and not automatic.
On the List: The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson
The Poison Daughter is her fourth novel and her first USA Today bestseller.
Microcosm Publishing makes AI policy available
The announcement is due to demand from authors—and also increasingly from stores and sales reps who are asking them to take a strong stance.
Draft2Digital introduces account activation and maintenance fees
They write, “We’ve seen a significant increase in automated and low-quality account creation. A modest activation fee can make a real difference.”
Publisher Subscriptions: Cultivating Reader Loyalty and Profitability
Three nonprofit publishers discuss the importance of their subscription programs: McSweeney’s, Open Letter, and Archipelago Books.
New nonfiction imprint at Abrams
Abrams Well will publish five to six wellness titles annually with its inaugural releases beginning next year.
Whoopi Goldberg partners with Blackstone Publishing
Together they are launching an imprint called WhoopInk, focused on bringing “fresh, diverse new talent to the marketplace” in all genres.
New imprint at Skyhorse with Tucker Carlson
Skyhorse Publishing, known for publishing conservative voices, is launching an imprint in partnership with Tucker Carlson’s media company.
New publisher: Paramount Global Publishing
The operation will adapt the company’s IP into books and develop new original stories that might reach the screen.
Links of Interest: April 15, 2026
The latest in viral news, trends, AI, Amazon, and culture & politics.
New imprint: Caleb and Kyle Publishing
It will focus on English-language originals with previously unpublished English translations of successful German titles.
Copyright law professor files blistering objection in Anthropic case
The objection argues that the settlement, while fair in amount, would funnel most of the money away from authors and toward publishers.
US book sales update: first quarter 2026
Compared to the first three months of 2025, print book sales this year are down by 3.1 percent, according to Circana BookScan.
Readers respond
Responses to stories about plagiarism checks in the media, steering AI toward a happy future, and school visits for children’s authors.
The Bifurcation of Rights: What’s Old Is New Again
How self-publishing authors strategically split print, audio, and ebook rights across multiple publishers—and what bifurcated dealmaking means for author control and income.
Beventi adds ticket ordering for bookstores
The new feature enables readers to purchase event tickets and pre-order books in a single transaction.
New translation imprint: Avocado House
Yen Press is launching a new imprint, Avocado House, dedicated to fiction and nonfiction in translation, about 12 titles per year.
Editors and publishers using AI for manuscript summaries
Based on conversations at London Book Fair, some editors are using AI to generate summaries of manuscripts—which raises numerous questions.
Another AI animation partnership for HarperCollins
HarperCollins-owned Harlequin announced a partnership with Dashverse to produce animated microdramas inspired by their romance titles.
What Moves the Needle on Book Sales: Q&A with Bestselling Author Scott Reintgen
New York Times bestselling author Scott Reintgen breaks down the author-publisher relationship and how his career has been built over time, both incrementally and with purposeful intention.
On the List: Beatrix and the Unicorn by Lita Judge
While Judge had plenty of success with the 30 books prior to Beatrix and the Unicorn, this was her first bestseller.
Harlequin partners with AI company on shortform video
Authors were not consulted and likely don’t have much say over the matter, but they will receive royalties from the videos.
New York Times adds two new bestseller lists and removes one
Added to their audio lists: Children’s, and Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous. They will stop publishing a mass market bestseller list.
AI enters the New York Times book review section
After being alerted by a reader, the Times severed its relationship with the reviewer, Alex Preston, and added a notice to the review.
New agent at P.S. Literary Agency
Gemma Paynter, formerly a product manager at Harlequin, has joined P.S. Literary Agency as associate literary agent.
TokyoPop launches new imprint for young readers
Manga publisher TokyoPop has launched TokyoPop Learning, focusing on books and learning materials for young readers ages 10 and up.
New children’s imprint: Curiosity Unlocked Books
The new imprint from educational publisher Teacher Created Materials will publish fiction and nonfiction for young readers up to age 12.
New translation prize from a literary agency
The David Bellos Translation Prize, championing global literary voices, will be awarded to translations of fiction into English.
New series of translated novels
New World Editions is introducing a series of translated novels by authors from one country for every letter of the alphabet.
New publisher: One Book Publishing
What started as a way to publish Alexei Navalny’s memoir is now branching out into other publications for Russian speakers worldwide.
Can AI-assisted work secure copyright protection in the US? Yes and no.
Some believe we’re in for a decade or more of uncertainty surrounding this issue—and lots of litigation to keep lawyers busy.
AI detection and authors’ fear of witch hunts
When Hachette pulled Mia Ballard’s Shy Girl from publication due to suspected AI usage, the initial evidence arose from readers’ analyses.
Authors and publishers will receive more money per title in Anthropic case
Attorneys’ fees have dropped from $300 million (20% of the award) to $187.5 million (12.5% of the award), leaving more for authors.
IMHO: Hachette pulls novel due to AI use. What does this mean for publishers and authors?
Hachette canceled Shy Girl after suspected AI use, raising questions about editorial oversight, industry standards, and the future of AI detection in publishing.
New imprint for crime genre comics
IDW Publishing, already enjoyed success with its horror imprint, is launching IDW Crime due to demand for “true crime and cult stories”.
New children’s imprint at Sourcebooks
Author and educator Lavaille Lavette is partnering on Joyful Pen Books, focusing on inclusive stories that promote empowerment.
Links of Interest: March 25, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, AI, AI lawsuits, and creativity & culture.
OpenAI kills Sora, its dedicated app for AI-generated video
Apparently OpenAI wants to devote its time to other areas, and the app required too many computational resources.
Judge finds that Tracy Wolff did not plagiarize Crave series
To reach this conclusion, the judge read six drafts of the plaintiff’s work and the four Crave novels, and found no more than common tropes.
Book output tops 4 million in 2025 in the US
The figure, based on ISBNs, represents an increase of 32.5 percent over 2024—but many ebooks have no ISBNs so the true number is even higher.
USA Today bestseller list includes Sarah J. Maas pre-order
Longtime readers may recall my concerns that the list isn’t assembled with the same quality data and oversight as it once was.
What Authors Don’t Know about the Anthropic Settlement (But Should)
Dave Hansen, the executive director of the Authors Alliance and an expert on issues of copyright and fair use, offers clarity on the case.
On the List: Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet
Bernet, who lives and works in Dallas, Texas, said her debut novel took ten years and six manuscripts to get published.