New Authors Guild survey: majority of respondents have seen income decline
These declines are primarily due to a loss of speaking engagements and freelance journalism assignments.
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A new adult imprint, Astra House, joins a children’s publishing operation
It will publish 20 to 25 adult titles a year across literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing restructures
The children’s market is seeing growth in brand licensing in kids’ books, and sales are reliably driven by what’s popular on streaming video.
Penguin Random House launches a secondary education website
The resource is designed specifically for middle- and high-school educators and administrators
Coronavirus Update: May 27, 2020
Print book sales approach a normal sales distribution in May; bookstores and libraries struggle with how to reopen safely.
Hot Sheet Index: May 27, 2020
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed Traditional publishers’ sales estimates for March 2020. Publishing Industry sales are Flat Year to Date.
Sophie Bradshaw establishes literary agency
The agency will focus on developing undiscovered and first-time authors of memoir; history; mind, body, and spirit; self-help; and business.
#MSWL in a Pandemic Age: Make Me Laugh (Preferably with Pictures)
In a round-up of calls from agents and editors using the Twitter hashtag #MSWL we focus on manuscript solicitations through a pandemic lens.
Closing Image: May 27, 2020
Ebook distributor PublishDrive—which attracts self-publishing genre fiction authors—posted detailed report on springtime sales during COVID.
Red Wheel Weiser launches new imprint
With plans to publish eight to 10 titles per year, Dharma Spring will focus on Buddhist teachings and publish books on meditation techniques
Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies
She had worked at Simon & Schuster for more than 30 years and had been in the position of CEO since 2008.
After being canceled, BookExpo and BookCon move online
All sessions are free and open to the public and will be broadcast through the organization’s Facebook pages.
McGraw-Hill and Cengage cancel merger
Meanwhile, both companies carry significant debt, and K-12 and university textbook sales during coronavirus are anything but stable.
UK government eliminates taxes early on digital publications
Physical reading materials in the UK are not taxed, so the change brings tax equitability between the two formats.
Publishers Weekly launches a trade magazine in Spanish
Publishers Weekly en Español (PWeE) is a joint partnership between US-based Publishers Weekly and Seville, Spain–based Lantia.
A literary agent association forms in Italy
Several dozen literary agents and agencies in Italy have formed ADALI to “ensure professional competence and ethical procedures” for clients.
Predicting (and Preparing for) 2020 and Beyond
Overall, the public’s interest in books and reading remained strong. We’ve gathered insights about the industry’s fortunes in the near term.
Diversion Publishing has launched a podcasts division
Diversion Publishing, started in 2010 by agent Scott Waxman, publishes dozens of titles per year across all formats.
Apple launches Apple Books for Authors
The new online hub is a publishing portal that allows authors to directly upload their finished ebook and audiobook files to Apple’s store.
Harlequin also offers a larger mass-market paperback
Their research found that readers prefer the premium feel, with a larger size, high-quality paper, and larger font.
OverDrive’s Libby is newly available on Sonos
Libby is an app, most commonly used by library patrons on smartphones and tablets, that facilitates library lending for digital materials.
The Hot Sheet Index: May 13, 2020
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the top-selling audiobook genres for 2019 as distributed by Faraway Voices–Romance made up over 27%.
Mills & Boon now offers an ebook subscription service
The romance publisher, owned by HarperCollins, is launching We Love Romance with unlimited access to thousands of titles.
Two new Twitter accounts bring gossip and amusement to the literary community
Lit Twit Gossip decoded (@litgossip) will get you up to speed on the latest controversies on literary Twitter.
Closing Image: May 13, 2020
Findaway’s 2019 Headphone report presents a year of audiobook sales data from self-published authors and small publishers.
Coronavirus Update: May 13, 2020
As BookExpo and BookCon move online, all eyes turn toward biggest industry show of the year, Frankfurt Book Fair, scheduled for mid-October.
Big Publishers’ First-Quarter Reports Decidedly Mixed
Digital audio, ebooks, and bestsellers bolster the industry against varied declines in print and education sales.
Author wins lawsuit against pirate site
The pirate site Ebook.bike was eventually taken down, but not before author John Van Stry filed a lawsuit.
The State of America’s Libraries 2020
The report is notable for how much it isn’t about books at all, but about community services provided.
A new subscription service for manga fans
So far, it offers access to 300 translated manga titles from about a dozen different publishers for $4.99 per month.
Kensington introduces a new mass-market paperback format
Mass-market paperbacks have been declining as a format for years now; last year alone, the sales fell more than 15 percent on a unit basis.
Publishers Weekly launches #BooksAreEssential campaign, inspiring both support and critique
The campaign intends to “highlight the role books play in the health of American culture.”
Coronavirus Update: April 29, 2020
Coronavirus update includes global efforts continuing to mitigate—or reverse—losses and hardships during pandemic.
How Much Will Author Earnings Decline? It’s a Wait-and-See Situation.
The most blatant threat to fiscal stability for self-publishing authors has so far come from Barnes & Noble via ebook distributors.
Going Beyond Virtual Events and Festivals: Innovative and Creative Ways to Market Online
And even if you do offer a creative and enticing online event, it’s hard to sell when so much content right now is available for free.
Ingram launches Bookfinity, an online book discovery website
If you trust quizzes to surface book recommendations, then you might be interested in giving Bookfinity a spin.
Hot Sheet Index: April 29, 2020
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the steps readers take once they finish a book, including reading about the author or following them online.
Closing Image: April 29,2020
Early in 2020, BookNet Canada surveyed Canadians about their leisure and reading behaviors in 2019. The public library is most popular.
Amazon finds itself in hot water again over predatory business practices
The Wall Street Journal published a story that claims Amazon uses data from third-party sellers to launch competing products.
Publishers Weekly rounds up the fastest-growing North American independent publishers
While this report offers real insight into successful small publishers, it invariably includes companies that charge authors up front to publish.
More pushback on the National Emergency Library as the founder offers insight into borrowing behavior
A US Senator has openly questioned the legality of the library in an April 8 letter to the Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle.
Harlequin adds a non-disparagement clause to their freelancer contract
The non-disparagement clause prohibits contractors from making derogatory statements about the publisher
A new craft books series from a UK publisher
White Owl Books has a new craft series debuting in May, with the first titles publishing in North America.
A new business imprint at the University of Virginia
UVA’s Darden School of Business is partnering with the University of Virginia Press on a new business publishing imprint.
Largest US printer files Chapter 11
In a move that was expected before the arrival of COVID-19, the largest US book printer, LSC Communications, has filed for bankruptcy.