Chicago’s Seminary Co-op Bookstore Launches Two Imprints
The first imprint, Offsets, is in partnership with Northwestern University Press and will focus on new translations, out-of-print titles
Premium Content
Bookwire Launches in The US
Bookwire currently offers ebook and audiobook distribution services in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and the UK—with a catalog of a half million ebooks
A New Crowdfunding Platform for Comics
Zoop will offer the usual crowdfunding services but also offer separate support services to help people succeed with their campaigns.
Simon & Schuster Will Have A New Lifestyle Imprint Next Spring
Simon Element will be part of the Atria division and publish 30 to 40 titles every year.
Hugh Howey Launches A Science Fiction Contest For Self-Published Novels
The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition is for stand-alone novels or first in a series. All entries must be published and available for purchase
Big Five Publisher Launches A First Novel Contest
Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, has launched the Books Like Us First Novel Contest to “facilitate accessibility to underrepresented writers and celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States.”
Wattpad Establishes A Contemporary Fiction Imprint
W by Wattpad Books will publish new adult fiction, all based on stories that originated on the Wattpad platform. Wattpad started publishing YA novels in 2019.
Grove Atlantic Partners With Roxane Gay on New Imprint
Roxane Gay Books will accept fiction and nonfiction and also take unagented work—until it becomes too overwhelming, Gay admitted in an interview with The New York Times
Legendary Comics Launches a YA Graphic Novel Imprint
Legendary Comics YA will be part of the larger Legendary Entertainment business, founded in 2000 as a film production and financing company.
Mango Publishing Partners On a New Children’s Imprint
One of the fastest growing independent publishers in the US, Mango has partnered with Woo! Jr. to launch DragonFruit.
Independent Bookstores Seek More Flexible Terms from Publishers—and Their Wishes Might Be Granted
Booksellers hope publishers will help preserve the entire book ecosystem and culture for future generations,
Tyndale Launches Health and Wellness Imprint
Beginning this fall, evangelical publisher Tyndale House is launching Refresh with six to eight titles per year.
Trendspotting: Startup Money + Book Clubs + Celebrity = ?
The publishing world has often pondered who the next Oprah-level tastemaker would be. In recent years, the mantle has been picked up by a number of celebrities.
Harper Collins Focus Launches A New Gift Book Imprint
Harper Celebrate will publish celebratory, seasonal, and lifestyle books, with first titles expected in fall 2022.
Catherine Cho Establishes Her Own Literary Agency
Catherine Cho was previously with Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. She now runs Paper Literary.
Amazon Publishing titles are now available to US libraries
Amazon Publishing, with a catalog of about 10,000 titles, made it possible for US public libraries to purchase ebook and audiobook licenses.
Kima Jones Becomes A Literary Agent
Kima Jones is the founder of Jack Jones Literary Arts, a literary publicity agency that’s well-known for its success in bringing attention to underrepresented authors.
Amazon acquires film studio MGM
The $8.45 billion acquisition includes a catalog of 17,000 TV shows and 4,000 films.
Skyhorse picks up Blake Bailey’s biography of Philip Roth
After allegations of sexual misconduct were reported against Bailey in The New York Times, his publisher, Norton, took his biography out of print in late April and reverted all rights.
T.S. Ferguson Joins Azantian Literary Agency
Most recently, Ferguson was an editor at JIMMY Patterson Books.
The owner of Barnes & Noble buys Paper Source, puts James Daunt in charge
The private equity firm Elliott Investment Management, which owns Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, has acquired US-based Paper Source.
Australia’s Online Bookstore Expands Its Publishing Division
Booktopia has purchased Brio Books, a publisher of mainstream fiction and nonfiction as well as self-published titles.
Simon & Schuster executives open up to The Wall Street Journal about their book deal with Mike Pence and why they’re not backing down
Media outlets continue to report on tensions surrounding the book deal that Simon & Schuster struck with Mike Pence in March.
Australia’s largest online bookstore expands its publishing division
Booktopia has purchased Brio Books, a publisher of mainstream fiction and nonfiction as well as self-published titles.
Book Sales Update: May 26, 2021
Compared to 2020, print unit sales are up 25 percent. Adult fiction continues to see gains, with graphic novels experiencing the most growth
Ever Wished for a Patreon Just for Professional Authors? Try Curious Fictions
As the creator economy heats up, Curious Fictions, a site designed in 2017 for authors of short fiction, quietly chugs away in the background.
New children’s imprint from Sourcebooks
Hometown World is an illustrated children’s book imprint that produces customized regional picture books.
Peachtree Publishing launches YA fiction imprint
Peachtree Teen, coming in summer 2022, will release nine to 12 new titles a year.
Random House’s Ten Speed Press launches 4 Color Books
4 Color Books will work with BIPOC chefs, writers, artists, activists, and innovators on illustrated nonfiction books.
Closing Image: May 12, 2021
UK’s Publishers Association recently released sales figures for 2020, reporting that total consumer sales were up by 7 percent over the prior year.
First-quarter results look good for big US publishers
The increased profits aren’t surprising, given that NPD BookScan is reporting that print book sales are up by about 26 percent versus 2020.
New Federal Writers’ Project bill introduced in Congress
The 21st Century Federal Writers’ Project Act, sponsored by Democratic representatives Ted W. Lieu and Teresa Leger Fernández, would create a new grant program administered by the Department of Labor
Korean firm buys leading US storytelling platforms
Kakao Entertainment, based in Seoul, has acquired two serialized storytelling apps: Radish and Tapas.
Authors organize against Disney to recover royalties
You may recall last year’s case of Alan Dean Foster, who stopped receiving royalties for his Star Wars and Alien novelizations.
Where is the editorial line for Simon & Schuster?
That’s the question that petitioning employees have asked in a follow-up letter to Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp.
Joel Friedlander, 1948–2021
Known to many in the indie author community for his website and blog, The Book Designer, Joel Friedlander passed away on May 7, 2021.
Book sales update: May 12, 2021
Adult fiction has been doing very well this spring, along with graphic novels and YA fiction.
Libraries Ask Publishers for Increased Flexibility in Ebook Licensing
While both publishers and libraries want to boost discoverability of new authors, the inherent tension in the relationship isn’t going anywhere.
Trendspotting: Audio Chat, the Creator Economy
A new regular feature in which I’ll more casually and personally discuss publishing, media, and tech trends that affect authors.
Is Your Book a Good Candidate for Foreign or Translation Rights?
Research and relationship-building are key to success in international rights deals.
Authors Guild launches Writers Marketplace
Writers Marketplace is a free online service for Authors Guild members to market their writing- and publishing-related services to the general public.
OverDrive expands into streaming media
OverDrive now offers streaming media entertainment and learning in addition to ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines.
W.W. Norton takes Philip Roth biography out of print
Blake Bailey, the author of the newly released Roth biography, has been accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women.
Disney returns to book publishing with Hyperion Avenue
Years ago, Disney sold its adult book business to Hachette. Now it’s starting up operations again.
Reese Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine, launches a fellowship for unpublished and underrepresented women writers
LitUp is a new initiative from Hello Sunshine to help foster the careers of 25 women from underrepresented backgrounds over five years.