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.
Premium Content
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.
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.
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.
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Should Unpublished Writers Enter Writing Contests?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.
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.
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.
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.
New agent at Britt Siess Creative Management
Previously a scout and book-to-film agent, Phoebe Schmidt is primarily interested in upmarket science fiction and fantasy.
New agents at Martin Literary Management
Charlie Serabian represents genre fiction and select nonfiction; Jess Taylor represents primarily YA and new adult.
New agency: Essie White Literary
Storm Literary Agency founder Essie White has launched a new agency representing authors and illustrators.
New agency: Confluence Literary
Bond Literary Agency and Copps Literary Services have merged to form Confluence Literary Agency.
New AI-powered manuscript assessment tool
The tool, by software company Trilogy, helps agents and publishers evaluate unsolicited manuscripts—but are any likely to admit to using it?
Authors Guild pushes Amazon on legality of “Ask This Book” feature
The Guild argues that interactive chatbots represent a new format for books, with rights that must be negotiated and paid for.
Public Domain Day
For 2026, works from the year 1930 enter the public domain, including the first four Nancy Drew novels, The Maltese Falcon, and many more.
Harlequin switches to AI for English-to-French translation
Human translators will still be involved but only to edit the machine output in French.
Book sales: The New York Times recaps what sold in 2025
Of the year’s top 10 bestselling print nonfiction titles, only one was published in 2025; everything else was a backlist title.
Top 10 Clicked Links in 2025
Each issue of this newsletter contains dozens of links. Here’s what caught readers’ interest in 2025, in order of popularity.
Links of Interest: Dec. 31, 2025
The latest in traditional publishing, audiobooks, and marketing & promotion.
New agency: Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency
Bill Ames was previously an acquiring editor at Triumph Books, where he focused on sports publishing.
Links of Interest: Dec. 24, 2025
The latest in AI, traditional publishing, trends, marketing & promotion, and culture & politics.
TikTok signs deal for sale of US unit
The deal is set to close in January 2026. The new owners include Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX.
Nebula Awards prohibit LLM use “at any point during the writing process”
These policies ultimately invite writers to lie about using LLMs if they believe their own use can’t be detected.
Barnes & Noble and Waterstones may go public in 2026
Timing for an IPO would likely be summer 2026 or later, after parent company Elliott Investment’s fiscal year ends in April.
Division changes at Wattpad WEBTOON Studios
In 2026 the publishing business will be moved into WEBTOON Entertainment. The entertainment business will be moved into WEBTOON Productions.
UK nonfiction sales: down 8.4 percent in 2025
Nonfiction sales will likely continue to decline in the years ahead due to competing sources of information and entertainment.