Chicken Soup for the Soul Sues AI Firms for Copyright Infringement
In the complaint, the company makes the novel claim that the entire generative AI industry was built on a foundation of pirated books, first downloaded by one OpenAI employee in 2018. Defendants include OpenAI and seven other tech firms. more...Layoffs, Moves at Penguin Young Readers as Dial Imprint Shuttered
Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of PYR, has been closed, resulting in a number of layoffs and moves within the division. more...
Book Output Topped Four Million in 2025
The total number of books published in the U.S. in 2025 jumped 32.5% over 2024, according to statistics compiled by Bowker, led by a boom in self-published titles. The number of traditionally published books released last year rose 6.6%, to 642,242. more...
B&T Makes Surprise Chapter 11 Filing
The closed library wholesaler reported that it owes between $100 million and $500 million and has assets of just $1 million to $10 million. It owes Penguin Random House alone more than $23 million. more...and more.
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ComicsBrooklyn to Get Its Own Comic Convention This Fall
The Brooklyn Expo of Comics, supported by industry leaders such as James Tynion IV and Bryce Gold, offers bodega-themed branding and a promise to spotlight New York’s comics talent. Its inaugural edition is set for November 14–15.
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Financial Reporting
Print Sales Fell 3.1% in the First Quarter of 2026
With no title coming close to matching last year’s blockbusters Onyx Storm, The Let Them Theory, and Sunrise on the Reaping, unit sales of print books fell in the period at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden was Q1’s top seller.
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Publisher News
HarperCollins Partners with ‘AI-Powered’ Animation House Toonstar
The publisher will co-produce animated YouTube series based on select titles through a “creator-led” process that employs Toonstar’s proprietary AI production technology, beginning with Lisa Greenwald’s popular middle grade series Friendship List.
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Libraries
PLA 2026: ‘Librarians of the World, Unite!’
The Public Library Association is meeting in Minneapolis April 1–3, with 6,359 registrants to date. At the opening session, mayor Jacob Frey and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson respectively praised librarians as “democracy warriors” and “truth-tellers.”
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Awards & Prizes
PEN America Literary Awards Return to Form
The free speech organization’s flagship book prizes were presented on March 31 at Manhattan’s Town Hall, marking a robust return for the awards program, which had been diminished by a now-lifted boycott for the past two years.
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Publisher News
Globe Pequot Acquires Linden Publishing
In its latest acquisition, Globe Pequot has purchased the Fresno, Calif.–based press and its 275-title backlist, which includes titles on woodworking and arts & crafts as well as general nonfiction and some fiction.
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Bookselling
Hive Mind Seeks to Acquire One of Manhattan’s Last Queer Bookstores
Hive Mind Books, the LGBTQ+ bookstore in Brooklyn, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000 to acquire the Bureau of General Services–Queer Division, housed in the LGBTQ Community Center in Manhattan’s West Village.
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Religion
A Physician Ties Modern Medicine and Ancient Philosophy
Physician and scientist Vipul Mankad finds connections between his work and his experience as a trained meditation practitioner rooted in Hindu tradition in his book When Science Meets the Soul (Astitva Prakashan, out now).
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Religion
HCCP Announces Leadership Shifts, Promotions
With the announcement that SVP of content operations and supply chain Bob Edington will retire in September, many of Edington’s responsibilities are being redistributed at HarperCollins Christian Publishing through several promotions, effective July 1.
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Religion
Pope Leo XIV Is a Blessing to Publishers
Though May marks the first anniversary of his election and installation, the pope has already inspired numerous titles, both new and forthcoming, that explore his writings, his life story, and where he may steer the Catholic Church.
