Closing Image: September 29, 2021
NPD BookScan recently released figures for thriller book sales in the US, a category that accounts for one in eight adult fiction books sold.
Day: September 29, 2021
Links of Interest: September 29, 2021
Big Five Publishing Congress questions Big Five publishers about ebook pricing for libraries. Lawmakers are asking each of the Big Five publishers to provide information on the economics of the market, including total revenue from ebook licenses from 2018 to 2020 as well as profit margins for each publisher’s top 100 sellers in both print and … Read more
Virtual conference: Reimagining Bookstores
A group of independent bookstores is hosting a free, virtual gathering, Reimagining Bookstores, on October 18 and 19.
Two new literary agencies
In the US, three book publishing executives—Doug Hardy (formerly at Random House), Gary June (formerly at Pearson and Dorling Kindersley), and Tim Moore
New agent alert: Barbara Jones
Formerly an editor at Henry Holt, Jones has joined the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency.
UK-based Sweet Cherry Publishing launches two imprints
One imprint, Clock Tower, will publish fiction for all ages by underrepresented and diverse authors.
Zero Street: a new LGBTQ+ imprint
The University of Nebraska Press is launching Zero Street Fiction, an imprint that will focus on literary fiction and short story collections written by LGBTQ+ authors
Astra establishes a new children’s imprint
Astra announced the launch of its children’s division, Astra Books for Young Readers, which will house one new imprint—Astra Young Readers
The new milestone for bestselling authors: establishing your own imprint
For many years now, celebrities (Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah Winfrey, Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker, to name a few) have been tapped to headline imprints at big publishing houses.
Ingram partners with a startup that produces AI-generated audiobooks
The biggest US book wholesaler and distributor, Ingram, has established a marketing partnership with the UK’s DeepZen, which provides publishers with AI-generated text-to-speech audiobooks.