Links of Interest: Feb. 18, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, AI, marketing & promotion, and culture & politics.
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Audible reminds customers you can seamlessly switch between its audiobooks and Kindle books
In response to Spotify’s Page Match, Audible has rebranded its similar Whispersync for Voice feature (launched in 2012) as “Read & Listen.”
New agent at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
René Kooiker has joined as a junior agent actively building his list in fiction and nonfiction. He is open to submissions.
Spotify launches Page Match and partners with Bookshop on print sales
Page Match allows readers to move seamlessly between a printed book and its audiobook on Spotify.
Book sales update: Feb. 11, 2026
According to the AAP, consumer book sales across all formats in 2025 were slightly down (0.9 percent) versus 2024.
IMHO: Why I’m Grateful for the New York Times Article on AI Romance
The romance market is the place to look for early signs of what the future may hold, thanks to voracious readers and hefty profits to be made.
New agent at L Perkins Agency
David Valentin joins as an agent after first working as an editor and assistant at LPA.
Hachette Children’s Group in the UK launches three new imprints
As part of a restructure, Hachette Children’s Group (UK) has launched three new imprints: Starboard, Tempest, and Blyton Books.
Links of Interest: Feb. 11, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, nonfiction sales, AI, and culture & politics.
Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) names first executive director
The professional organization for literary agents, the AALA, has named Daniel O’Brien as its first-ever executive director.
Indie Authors Can Now Sell Ebooks at Bookshop via Draft2Digital
The partnership gives self-published authors an important new outlet for selling ebooks outside of Amazon.
On the List: I’m Not Trying to Be Difficult by Drew Nieporent
The memoir tells Nieporent’s story of being a middle-class kid from New York’s East Side who developed a lifelong passion for food.
New trade show for New Age spirituality publishers and wholesalers
The show, called Namaste, is being launched by Texas Bookman, the wholesale division of Half Price Books.
IPG partners with Beat to sell digital books
Publishers who distribute with Independent Publishers Group (IPG) can now sell digital books directly to consumer via Shelf.
Links of Interest: Feb. 4, 2026
The latest in hockey romance, trends, micro dramas, distribution, media & tech, and AI.
New agent at Calligraph
Jane McGehee has joined as literary agent and foreign rights manager; previously she was a scout.
New contest for novelists around the globe
ProWritingAid has launched a novel-writing contest called Novel Beginnings, with prizes ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.
Washington Post shutters book section after one-third of staff laid off this morning
The newspaper is closing the sports desk and books section; the international desk, among other areas, will also shrink.
New agent at The Rights Factory
Eman Bare will represent both fiction and nonfiction. She has worked as a journalist, lawyer, and brand strategist.
New commercial fiction imprint: akaSTORY
Abrams, perhaps best known for art and illustrated books, including comics and graphic novels, is launching a new commercial fiction imprint.
We Need Diverse Books launches Unbanned Book Network
The organization will donate books by authors who have been banned, starting with 20 schools in states where bans are most prevalent.
Audiobook platform Libro.fm launches annual subscription
The platform that supports independent booksellers has launched a new subscription plan offering users 12 credits for $169.99 per year.
Links of Interest: Jan. 28, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, media, AI, and culture & politics.
Anthropic possibly purchased 1 million print books for scanning and AI model training
In addition to pirating ebooks, they bought print books from wholesalers and used book retailers, including Ingram and Baker & Taylor.
New publisher: Homeward Books
The independent publisher is cofounded by writers who raised $30,000 on Kickstarter.
Readers respond: nonfiction sales
Ann Kjellberg of Book Post responded to my 2026 prediction that nonfiction will continue to suffer declines because of online competition.
Subscription Boxes for Authors: Are They Worth the Investment?
Authors are profiting off subscription boxes that offer exclusive editions and merchandise that can’t be acquired elsewhere. But they require significant time and investment.
New commercial fiction imprint: Wildthorn Books
The new Tor imprint will publish upmarket women’s fiction, suspense, paranormal mystery, magical realism, and historical fantasy.
Publishers sue Google for AI model training
Hachette Book Group and Cengage are joining a 2023 lawsuit against Google for using books to train its AI model known as Gemini.
Ingram allows its client-publishers to opt out of selling their books to AI firms
It’s rumored that a growing number of AI companies are now buying and scanning books to train their models.
Should Unpublished Writers Enter Writing Contests?
Are they worth the investment, both financial and emotional? Yes—if the contest is legitimate and the prize offers value to the writer.
On the List: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Many booksellers have told the author they recommend it, then the same reader comes back to buy copies for friends, relatives, and others.
New agency: Andrea Colvin Creative Agency
The agency specializes in children’s books and will represent both authors and illustrators. Colvin previously founded Little, Brown Ink.
New UK agent at Madeleine Milburn Agency
Callen Martin has joined the agency and will represent children’s and YA science fiction and fantasy fiction.
New prize for novels: The Libraro Prize
The winner receives a book deal with Hachette UK with a £30,000 advance and £20,000 towards the marketing of the finished book.
New agent at Handspun Literary
Author Justina Ireland has joined as an agent, seeking both adult and children’s fiction. She is currently closed to queries.
Children’s publisher Marble Press expands to adult categories
Marble Press has acquired CamCat Books from B&T; their catalog includes more than 100 adult and YA titles across multiple categories.
New industry podcast: Printed
The podcast is for publishing professionals and meant to “answer all the questions you might have about the industry we all love.”
Links of Interest: Jan. 14, 2026
The latest in traditional publishing, trends, legal issues, audio, AI, and culture & politics.
Major copyright ruling in the US related to global rights
In a break from industry norms, an appeals court ruling that says authors and artists can recapture their rights globally upon reversion.
Author’s voice clone used for deepfake audio edition of his book
There’s a twist: the author says sales of his books on Amazon have gone up as a result of the unauthorized YouTube recordings.
There’s a new bestseller list for small and independent publishers
It’s based on the fiction and nonfiction that’s selling at independent bookstores and includes only small and independent publishers.
2025 US book sales: holding steady for print
According to Circana BookScan, overall print unit sales were up just barely, 0.3 percent, in 2025 versus the prior year.
2025 UK book sales: slight decline
Like in the US, adult fiction was strong while nonfiction declined and showed its lowest performance since 2018.
AI Detection Software: Who’s Using It and Is It Necessary?
Policies that prohibit AI use are easy enough to create, but they are not necessarily easy to enforce.
Publishers Marketplace reports 1.9 percent overall growth in US deals
Deals for adult fiction saw 9.3 percent growth, nonfiction deals were down 1.6 percent versus 2024, and children’s deals were flat.
Beware of book-into-movie apps
We looked at an app which claims to retell popular books via brief animated chapters, and the results range from absurd to possibly infringing.
What to Watch for in 2026
These are the news stories and topics I’ll be following closely this year, from growth in AI translation to ad-supported Substack and more.