Short news items from the world of book publishing:
09/26/2025
2025 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners Announced
Kaveh Akbar, Sunil Amirth, and Salman Rushdie are the winners of this year’s Dayton Literary Peace Prizes.09/26/2025
Gathering of the Ghosts Unveils Lineup
Highlights at the Gotham Ghostwriters’ annual conference include a keynote with former Coach CEO Lew Frankfort and writer Joanne Gordon, a panel moderated by PW’s Jonathan Segura, and the presentation of the Andy Awards.09/25/2025
DK Launches Paper Sailor Imprint
The new lifestyle imprint, to be helmed by Richard Atkinson, joins the adult imprint DK Red, which launched last year, in the U.K.-based publisher’s DK Life division.09/25/2025
Crunchyroll Manga to Launch in October
Crunchyroll’s new premium add-on, Crunchyroll Manga, will launch on October 9 as an app in the U.S. and Canada, with web to follow on October 15. The platform will feature titles form such publishers as Square Enix, Viz Media, and Yen Press.09/24/2025
Cartoon Crossroads Presents Annual Awards
Cartoonists Charles Burns, Matt Feazell, Gigi Murakami, and comics distributor Bud Plant each received awards during the eleventh edition of CXC, which took place in Columbus, Ohio, between September 18–21.09/24/2025
Federal Judge Blocks NEA from Imposing Speech Restraints on Grantees
On September 19, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled in favor of four arts organizations in their challenge to the National Endowment for the Arts’ policy disfavoring grant applications for projects the government believes “promote gender ideology.”09/23/2025
Baker Publishing Group Acquires Lexham Press
The Christian publisher’s acquisition of Logos’s in-house publishing division deepens the partnership between the two companies, expanding upon Baker’s portfolio of academic and Christian content, per an announcement.09/23/2025
Martti Berner Appointed CEO of Ahlbäck Agency
Berner will lead the Helsinki-based agency, formerly known as Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency, in its work representing authors, directors, and screenwriters.09/23/2025
AAP Opens Submissions for 2026 PROSE Awards
The Association of American Publishers is now inviting entries for the awards, which recognize professional and scholarly works across five category areas, through November 10.09/19/2025
MetaComet Launches Agents’ Fee Calculation Software
The company’s flagship Royalty Tracker software will now allow publishers to process agents’ fees, as well as author and licensor royalties, and instantly publish agents’ statements to an online portal.09/19/2025
‘Alderbrink’ Spotlights Fine Press Books
The new online magazine, founded by Adam Morgan, is dedicated solely to fine press book publishing, featuring hands-on reviews and news.09/19/2025
Distribution Deals for the Week of September 15, 2025
IPG adds four new publishers to its sales and distribution programs, and S&S inks a deal with Shortwave Publishing.09/18/2025
Ashley Lopez Joins MMQA as Agent
At Massie McQuilkin & Altman, Lopez will represent literary and book club fiction, speculative, horror, thrillers, narrative and practical nonfiction, as well as select poetry and YA. She was formerly director of foreign rights and an agent at WLA Books.09/18/2025
Town Hall to Host Haruki Murakami
The Japanese author will make a rare stateside appearance at Murakami Mixtape, a December 11 event hosted by Manhattan’s Town Hall and Japan Society, with support from the Center for Fiction.09/18/2025
Libro.fm, Silent Book Club Team on Banned Books Week Read-In
As part of the weeklong celebration of the freedom to read, Libro.fm and Silent Book Club will partner with nearly 450 independent bookshops and libraries for a nationwide Read-In from October 5-7, featuring silent reading sessions and other activities.09/18/2025
Sara High Named VP of International Sales at Sourcebooks
High joins Sourcebooks from Hachette Book Group, where she most recently served as VP and director of international sales. Before that, she spent nearly two decades at Workman.09/18/2025
PEN America Condemns Israel’s ‘Destruction of Gaza’s Cultural Heritage’
In a report, PEN said Israel’s military campaign “amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and offers evidence of genocidal intent.” The organization had previously drawn criticism for what some saw as its muted response to the crisis in Gaza.09/18/2025
Keith Underwood Appointed Chief Financial, Operating Officer at Bloomsbury
Effective February 6, 2026, Underwood will join Bloomsbury’s board of directors and report to chief executive Nigel Newton, who praised his “AI expertise.” Underwood comes to the U.K. publisher from Guardian Media Group, where he holds the same title.09/17/2025
Marco Jochum Named PRH’s EVP and Director of Global Human Resources
In the newly created position, Jochum will report to Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya and join PRH’s Global Executive Committee. He will also continue to serve as SVP of people and culture at PRH Germany, where he has led HR operations since 2021.09/17/2025
Litquake to Host Dorothy Allison Tribute
The San Francisco literary festival will pay homage to the author, who died last year, with a 12-hour marathon reading of her novel Bastard Out of Carolina on October 12, staged in partnership with Allison’s estate.09/16/2025
HarperCollins Reorganizes DTC, Analytics Teams
As part of the reorganization, Kate Johnson and Alvar Jover have been promoted to SVP of direct-to-consumer and consumer engagement and global director of growth and analytics, respectively. Jim Hanas, VP of central marketing and strategy, will depart.09/16/2025
30th Annual Texas Book Festival Unveils Lineup
The free event, to be held in Austin November 8–9, will feature more than 300 authors including Mitch Albom, Ali Hazelwood, Ada Limón, Matthew McConaughey, and Imani Perry.09/16/2025
Kate Medina to Receive BIO’s Editorial Excellence Award
Biographers International Organization will present the publishing veteran, who spent four decades at Random House and has edited such authors as Jon Meacham and Isabel Wilkerson, with the prize on October 7.09/15/2025
Harper Takes Thriller from V.E. Schwab, Cat Clarke
Sarah Stein at Harper acquired North American rights to The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke, the joint pen name of V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke. Publication is set for April 7, 2026.09/12/2025
Distribution Deals for the Week of September 8, 2025
IPG signed a handful of indie comics publishers, Stable Distribution announced its first wave of publishing partners, and more.09/11/2025
Words Without Borders Receives $100,000 Grant
The general operating grant from Hawthornden Foundation will allow WWB to “scale up its impact and reach a wider and more international community” throughout 2025 and 2026, the literary nonprofit announced.09/11/2025
Books-A-Million Customers Donate $1.2 Million in Books to Children
The bookseller said its 11th annual summer book drive was its most successful yet. During the three-month campaign, customers at all 220 BAM stores are encouraged to buy and donate books picked by their local schools, children’s hospitals, and nonprofits.09/10/2025
Libro.fm Certified as B Corp
The employee-owned audiobook platform has been certified as a B Corporation. Cofounder and CEO Mark Pearson called the certification “a testament to our unwavering commitment to independent bookshops and the communities they serve.”09/10/2025
Atria Nabs Marianne Levy’s Adult Debut
Katherine Nintzel at Atria Books preempted U.S. rights to Levy’s The Fix from Sarah Fuentes at UTA. A spring 2027 release is planned.09/10/2025
Scholastic Names Lauren Sánchez Bezos ‘Literacy Champion’
Sánchez Bezos is partnering with the publisher’s literacy support program, the United States of Readers, which will distribute copies of her picture book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, to students this fall.09/10/2025
IPG Expands Comics Distribution with New Direct Market Terms
Responding to turbulence in the distribution market as the Diamond Comic bankruptcy proceedings continue, Independent Publishers Group has signed a handful of independent comics publishers and announced new terms for distribution to the direct market.09/10/2025
Montlake Nets Colleen Hoover’s Latest
Anh Schluep at Amazon Publishing’s Montlake imprint acquired world English rights to Hoover’s Woman Down from Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret. Publication is set for January 13, 2026.09/10/2025
‘PW’ Reviews to Feature Look-Inside Viewer
Publishers Weekly has partnered with Bowker to include its Book2look viewer, which allows readers to look inside a given title, alongside PW’s online book reviews.09/10/2025
Doubleday to Publish New Nonfiction by John Grisham
Suzanne Herz at Doubleday acquired U.S. rights to Grisham’s Shaken: The Rush to Execute an Innocent Man from David Gernert at the Gernert Company. Release is planned for June 9, 2026.09/10/2025
Self-Published Author Income Survey Opens
The Alliance of Independent Authors’ annual survey is accepting responses through September 17.09/09/2025
Jeffrey Chin Joins HBG as Associate Director of Sales Analytics
Chin, who starts at Hachette Book Group on September 15, previously served as a sales analyst at HarperCollins and held analytics roles at Macmillan and Penguin Random House.09/08/2025
BolognaFiere China to Host Inaugural Illustration Event
The Shanghai Illustration & Pop Show, launched by BolognaFiere’s Chinese subsidiary and inspired by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair’s flagship Illustrators Exhibition, will open in May 2026. It will host some 300 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions.09/05/2025
Crown to Publish Bernie Sanders’s Anti-Oligarchy Manifesto
Gillian Blake and Peter Joseph at Crown acquired world rights to Fight Oligarchy by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who was unagented in the deal. The book will be released in digital formats on September 30 and paperback on October 21.09/05/2025
George Saunders to Receive NBF’s Lifetime Achievement Award
The author will be presented with the 2025 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation at the 76th National Book Awards on November 19.09/05/2025
Jill Perlstein Leaves ABA After 31 Years
The American Booksellers Association’s longtime meetings and planning officer has departed the organization after 31 years. Perlstein is succeeded by Maria Rodriguez.09/04/2025
Random House Nabs Lena Dunham’s Next Memoir
Andy Ward at Random House acquired North American rights to Famesick by Lena Dunham from Bill Clegg at the Clegg Agency.09/04/2025
Random House to Release Bennett Cerf Biography
Nothing Random by longtime PW contributor Gayle Feldman will explore Cerf’s role in shaping the publisher, which he cofounded in 1927, as well as the publishing industry as a whole. The book is slated for a January 2026.09/03/2025
University Press of Kansas Launches Plainspoken Books
The nonfiction trade imprint will focus on “bringing Midwest stories into national conversations,” per the publisher. Plainspoken will debut later this month with its inaugural title, Whirlwind by Chicago newsman Bill Kurtis.09/03/2025
Claire McLaughlin Launches Terrace Public Relations
The full-service literary PR firm will be dedicated to literary and upmarket fiction, genre fiction, and narrative nonfiction. McLaughlin previously served as associate director of publicity at Flatiron Books.09/03/2025
Roxane Gay to Receive National Book Foundation’s 2025 Literarian Award
The author and editor will be presented with this year’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community at the 76th National Book Awards on November 19.09/03/2025
Heather Fain Named Publishing Director at Vintage
Fain has been appointed SVP and publishing director at Vintage, while continuing her role leading marketing across the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. She joined KDPG last year from Pushkin Industries, where she was COO.09/03/2025
James Patterson to Award $500,000 in Grants to Emerging Writers
The author has awarded grants of up to $50,000 to 12 writers with the aim of allowing them to dedicate the time and resources needed to complete their manuscripts, in partnership with a number of literary organizations.09/03/2025
Book Aid International Moves to Larger Warehouse
The U.K.-based nonprofit will begin sending books from its new warehouse in Swindon, England—which has more than twice the capacity of its previous one—on October 1, and will bring on two new staffers to coordinate publishers’ donations.09/02/2025
MacDowell Awards 2025 Fall/Winter Fellowships
MacDowell will welcome 149 artists to its fall and winter residencies this year, including writers Susan Choi (l.) and Leila Mottley.09/02/2025
Lonely Planet to Launch New Book Line
The Journey series will highlight the world’s most “iconic routes,” per the publisher. The line is overseen by guidebook development senior editor Melinda Anderson and will kick off at the end of September with three titles.News Brief Archive
20252024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
