Harper Collins has partnered with direct-to-consumer animation company Toonstar to create animated series based on Harper books. The first project is an adaptation of Lisa Greenwald’s Friendship List, and Harper Alley will publish an accompanying graphic novel. “HarperCollins has always embraced innovation that serves our authors and readers by finding new ways to bring great stories to readers wherever they are,” Harper US trade ceo and publisher Liate Stehlik said in a release. “Toonstar’s proven ability to translate beloved stories into engaging animation, while keeping artists at the center of the process, makes them the ideal partner to bring Friendship […]
People 4/2
In First Quarter Deals, Fiction Remains Strong As Children’s Sales Drop Significantly
After a string of record dealmaking years, the market is looking more fractured after the first quarter, highly dependent upon which market segment you are measuring. Adult fiction continues to drive the marketplace. Once again, our deal reports show a record number of major deals at the high end, and total six-figure deals were up slightly. Total fiction deals look up as well, but the comparisons are a little hard to make this year, since as of the beginning of 2026, deals by mature digital publishers are now categorized in our general pool rather than in the digital publisher category. […]
New Callaway Bankruptcy Filing Blames Debt on Covid-19 and “Predatory Lenders”
In a new filing in the Callaway Arts & Entertainment bankruptcy case, founder Nicholas Callaway claims that the Covid-19 pandemic and “predatory lenders” are the causes of the company’s debt. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York at the end of March, revealing six- and seven-figure debts to Hachette Book Group, Bob Dylan, and others. The new filing states that each Callaway book “takes years to develop” and “each published work is a piece of art in and of itself.” Someone must pay for this art; apparently independent lenders […]
PEN America Literary Awards
Macmillan Children’s Shutters Roaring Brook
Tied to the organizational changes Macmillan Children’s announced yesterday is news that the company is closing the Roaring Brook Press imprint. Roaring Brook launched in 2002 and published several award-winning and bestselling authors and illustrators including Philip and Erin Stead, Marcus Sedgwick, Lane Smith, and Michaela Goade. Six staffers have reportedly been laid off across MCPG due to the changes: five in editorial and one in art. The news comes less than two weeks after Penguin Random House announced the closure of longtime imprint Dial Books for Young Readers.