Florida school district sued over book bans
PEN America—along with Penguin Random House, authors, and parents—has filed suit in federal court.
Increased printing costs at Amazon KDP
Starting June 20, for the first time since its launch in 2016, Amazon KDP will increase the pricing for print (POD) books.
Links of Interest: May 10, 2023
Traditional Publishing Penguin Random House puts forth “voluntary separation offering.” This comes after similar buyout offers from other Big Five publishers Hachette and HarperCollins. The offer is available to employees who will be 60 or older as of the end of the year and who have 15 years of service or more. Read Michael Cader in Publishers … Read more
Shepherd now has genre filters
Book discovery site Shepherd (see our 2022 coverage) has rolled out new features that make searching for recommendations easier. You can now focus on specific genres as well as age group. E.g., here’s best books for sixth graders and best science books. Reminder: Authors are welcome to . . . This content is only available to Hot Sheet … Read more
New agent at SBR Media
Dani Sanchez, owner of Wildfire Marketing Solutions, has joined as a junior agent. She’s primarily looking for contemporary romance, romantic comedy, dark romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, thriller and erotica. Learn more.
New agents at KT Literary
Arley Sorg has joined as associate agent, primarily interested in adult speculative titles, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror with speculative/fantastic elements, literary speculative fiction, and climate fiction. Learn more. Adria Goetz has joined as senior agent and illustration coordinator, seeking picture books (especially by author-illustrators), middle grade fiction, graphic novels, and adult fiction—particularly rom-coms, thrillers, … Read more
Pan Macmillan children’s books to cross over to the US
UK-based Pan Macmillan will begin selling and marketing select Macmillan Children’s Books (MCB) this year in the United States. MCB publishes stories for all ages under three imprints: Two Hoots, Campbell Books, and Kingfisher. The Campbell Books imprint in particular will be a focus; it publishes series for preschoolers, with a specialization in novelty books. Learn … Read more
IBPA launches Innovative Voices Program
Through the recently launched Innovative Voices Program, the Independent Book Publishers Association will provide guidance and support each year to five publishers that focus on people and issues of importance to marginalized communities. The program is sponsored by IngramSpark. The IBPA invites publishers from marginalized communities (as related to their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, … Read more
On the List: High-Stakes Blizzard by Rebecca Hopewell
Publisher: Harlequin (HarperCollins), Live Inspired Inspirational Romance seriesGenre: Inspirational Suspense Romance | $6.50 mass market | $4.99 ebookRelease date: Feb. 21, 2023 Rebecca Hopewell is the kiss-only pen name for an award-winning romance author who lives just outside San Francisco. She’s currently writing her next Love Inspired Suspense novel. High-Stakes Blizzard is the first novel under this pen name. … Read more
Trend Watch: TikTok Offers Book Contracts
Updates on TikTok’s book publishing contracts, discussions over ChatGPT and advance review copies, plus #MSWL Rumblings started last month that TikTok appeared to be planning its own publishing operation, based on a new position posting for an acquisition editor. In April, parent company ByteDance filed an application for a US trademark for a new book-publishing … Read more