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Vivendi to Separate into Four Companies, Including a Publishing Firm
Vivendi plans to separate into four companies, including an as-yet-unnamed publishing company that would include its nearly 57.3% majority stake in Lagardère, the parent company of Hachette Livre. The company would be listed on the stock market.
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PRH Led in Children’s Picture Book Bestsellers in 2023, While Scholastic Took Top Spot in Fiction
Penguin Random House strengthened its grip on the picture book lists and made gains on the frontlist fiction lists, which Scholastic still rules.
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Endnotes: ‘The Bad Ones’ by Melissa Albert
An inside look at the publication process for Melissa Albert's new horror-tinged YA fantasy.
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Simon & Schuster Kicks Off Its Centennial Celebration
The country's third largest trade publisher will mark its 100th anniversary with a series of events, starting with the release of the Simon & Schuster 100, a selection of titles that the company says reflects the scope of its publishing program.
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Behind Elin Hilderbrand and Tim Ehrenberg's Bookish Podcast with Local Flavor
On 'Books, Beach, & Beyond,' which will return for a second season this summer, two pillars of the Nantucket literary community—bestselling novelist Hilderbrand and Nantucket Book Foundation president Ehrenberg—talk shop with such star guests as Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Ann Patchett.
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Texas Spurs Interest in Spanish-Language Women Writers
The state is home to the U.S.’s top podcast focusing on Hispanophone women writers and the only PhD in creative writing in Spanish in the country.
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Endnotes: ‘The Asteroid Hunter’ by Dante Lauretta
An look at the publication process for a behind-the-scenes account of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.
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Author J.D Barker Apologizes, Dropped by Agent After 'Creepy' BookTok Request
An email sent from a PR firm cofounded by author J.D. Barker invited BookTok influencers—all of them young women—to make sponsored content promoting Barker's forthcoming novel and included ideas for making "racy" videos, which the author would "personally review." Barker has said that he "never approved" the marketing campaign.
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PW Close-Up: Object Lessons
Object Lessons is a beautifully designed book series—published by Bloomsbury Academic—that explores the hidden lives of ordinary things. PW spoke to the series' editors, author and scholar Chris Schaberg, Bloomsbury US's Director of Scholarly and Student Publishing Haaris Naqvi, and author and game designer Ian Bogost about how the series was born, how it's changed their perspectives on the world around them, and what's ahead for Object Lessons in 2024. (Sponsored)
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Penguin Random House to Distribute Wattpad Webtoon
PRH's publisher services division has signed a multi-year sales and distribution agreement with Wattpad Webtoon Book Group as its presence in the world of comics and graphic novel distribution continues to grow.
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Big Five Domination of Adult Bestseller Lists Slipped in 2023
In 2023, the major publishers maintained their grip on the bestseller lists, but indies scored some notable successes, with Entangled, Kensington, and Sourcebooks among those making inroads.
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How 'Feeding Ghosts' by Tessa Hulls Got Made
An inside look at the publication process for the author and artist’s debut graphic novel.
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Why Did Atria Books Send a TikTok Influencer on a Cruise to Antarctica?
When TikTok influencer and self-described nonreader Marc Sebastian asked to be sent on the “ultimate world cruise,” Colleen Hoover's publisher answered the call—and picked up the tab. The publisher’s marketing stunt has proven divisive.
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In Major Win, Appeals Court Upholds Block on Texas Book Rating Law
In an unequivocal 36-page decision, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit—said to be the most conservative court in the nation—agreed with a lower court that the mandatory book ratings called for by the Texas law HB 900 were unconstitutional.
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PW Close-Up: A Discussion with Diamond Book Distributors’ Tony Lutkus
PW spoke with Tony Lutkus, president of Diamond Book Distributors, about the evolution of the graphic novel category over the last two decades, a few of the titles he's excited about dropping in the coming season, and how bringing more graphic titles into bookstores and libraries can subtly transform these literary environments. (Sponsored)
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Layoffs Hit Arcadia Publishing
The Charleston, S.C.–based publisher, which specializes in nonfiction books of local interest and regional history, laid off an unspecified number of employees last week. A source, who asked to remain anonymous, told PW that the number was 16, across multiple departments.
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Veristage Launches Insight, an AI Platform for Book Publishers
Insight offers publishers AI tools, including large language models such as ChatGPT and Claude, to analyze documents and generate metrics, editorial and marketing assets, sales material, and other content.
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New Nonprofit Launches to ‘Certify’ Copyright-Friendly AI Practices
Supported by the Association of American Publishers and others, the new nonprofit aims to “certify fair training data use” in Generative AI, and comes amid a growing number of lawsuits filed against AI companies over alleged copyright infringement.
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Modern Library’s Torchbearers Series to Reissue Elaine Kraf Novels
The Modern Library Torchbearers series, which spotlights women writers throughout history, will reissue four novels by Elaine Kraf, which were originally published between 1969 and 1979.
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Avid Reader Bets Big on Kaliane Bradley's 'The Ministry of Time'
An inside look at the debut speculative novel so charming that Avid Reader Press executive editor Margo Shickmanter preempted it from her bathtub.
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